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History of Backgammon
Over 5000 years ago, the Pharaohs of Egypt were playing the same game. Backgammon is considered to be the oldest board game of any civilization.
It was not called Backgammon back then; it was referred to as “Senat”. It was usually played by royal figures. The oldest boards have been dated between 3000 -1788 BCE and found in the royal tomb at the Ur of Chaldees.
The Romans also found this game to their liking and it has been mentioned in the writings of Homer, Plato and Sophocles. It was known by another name, LDS (Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum) meaning the game of 12 lines. It had 15 markers of each color and was played on a leather board.
Tabula replace LDS in the beginning of the first century. This game used 2 X 12 lines and found its way to British land during the Roman conquests. It became quite popular due to the Roman Emperor Claudius who is thought to have loved the game.
Tabula then became Alea in the 6th century and the board became much like it is today. Alea meant the ‘art of gambling with dice’.
Asia discovered it in the 9th century and called it Nard. This game involved 30 checkers and two dice.
1025 marked the first written record of backgammon in British territories. It was called “Tables” and played much in the taverns. In 1743, Edward Hoyle wrote the official documentation for the game. It documented the history, origin and rules.
Backgammon was launched in the 1920’s when the cube made its first appearance. In the late 60’s, the World Championship was held in Monte Carlo and it was now an international game. The 70’s were populated with books on the subject.
Today, backgammon is still in full swing and available on computers, the internet, and of course the board.
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