INTRODUCTION TO BACKGAMMON

One of the world’s best board games is also one of its oldest. Backgammon-type boards, dice, and playing pieces, some 5,000 or more years old, have been discovered among the ruins of ancient Sumer and Egypt. The Persians, Greeks, and Romans were enthusiastic players, with the Emperor Claudius authoring a book in 50 A.D. on dice games and installing a board to play tabula (a backgammon precursor) in his royal carriage.

The Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century spread the game throughout the Middle East; it was later brought back to Europe by the Crusaders. It flourished as a favorite gambling game, both for the masses and the aristocrats, in France and England