The backgammon game was not born with the launch of the first internet backgammon software. Backgammon history tracks back to ancient Egypt and the game made appearances also in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance. Backgammon is the most
ancient board game known to man. Here you can read about the ancient history of backgammon from 3500 BC up to the 6th century A.C.
Senet - Backgammon in Ancient Egypt
Several wooden game boards, each one of them consists of 30 squares, are the earliest evidence related to backgammon. Found in an Egyptian archeological site and dated in the 3500 BC, the board is believed to be related to a game called
Senet, sometimes spelled
Senate.
Similar to backgammon,
Senet was a game for two players. The game rules are still uncertain, but it is agreed that the players' moves were conducted by the dice.
The Royal Game of Ur – Mesopotamian Ancestors of Backgammon
The game boards and equipment discovered in the Royal Tombs of UR (nowadays Iraq) date back to the 27th century BC. The antique board game used to be played with a set dice, and a set of 14 game pieces, 7 for each player. It is believed that
The Royal Game was a race game, in which the first player whose pieces were removed off the board won the game.
Ludus Duodecim Scriptorium/Tabula – Romans Plays Backgammon
Ludus Duodecim Scriptorium = game of 12 markings and
Tabula= table were popular board games at the Roman and the Byzantine Empires, respectively. Both games share some similarities with modern backgammon.
The
Ludus board consisted of 3 rows of 12 points. Each player had a set of 15 pieces. The object of the game was to move the game pieces in a path suggested by the roll of the dice.
The board used in
Tabula consists of only two rows. According to Medieval illustration, Tabula board looked exactly like today's backgammon board.
Tabula rules were almost identical to
Ludus Duodecim Scriptorium with some additions. For example, in Tabula, when a player had left single piece on the board, he was facing a threat of hit. Ring any bell?
Backgammon History
