Backgammon (5)

5th History of Backgammon:
Backgammon and Arab

5. Ride Along with the Arabs: Typically in the history of games, the Arabs, after their conquest of Persia in the 7th century, learned all the games the Persians learned from the Indians, who may or may not have learned them from the Chinese. The Arabs raised the level of play in these games to unimagined heights and wrote the first books about them. They then invaded Spain and Sicily, fought off the Crusaders, and traded with the Venetians, all of which led to an exchange of ideas and games.


The Arabs adopted Backgammon immediately, but the Islamic religious authorities were troubled by the game and its gambling aspect (just as Chess had troubled them with its "graven images", which are forbidden by the Koran). Chess survived in the Islamic world because the players switched from the fanciful pieces used by the Persians to abstract pieces with no resemblance to people, animals, or anything else. Backgammon couldn't do without its dice, and in the 8th century it was banned. This ban was not successful. Though the Islamic courts threatened players with various penalties, the game continued to flourish -- a lesson the Catholic Church was fated to learn all over again a few centuries later.

The first book about Backgammon was written by an Arab of the 9th century.

Next: Backgammon in Europe.