History

Backgammon is the oldest known recorded game. Traditionally, it was believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, Sumeria, or Mesopotamia in the Persian empire (present-day Iran). However, more recent conclusive evidence indicates that the game originated on the eastern borders of Iran, near Afghanistan.(e.g.) The Iranian chancellor and thinker of the Sassanid Empire Bozorgmehr is said to have created the ancient version of the game. In English, the word backgammon is believed to be derived from "back" plus the Middle English word "gamen" (game).

Tabula was a form of backgammon played by the ancient Romans. It was called tabula, which means 'table' or 'board', since it was played on a special board. Tabula bears some similarity to Egyptian Senet, which dates back to at least 3000 BC.

The game of Tabula was similar to modern-day Backgammon in that the same board was used with fifteen pieces alloted to each player with the object of the game being to be the first to bear off all fifteen pieces. It differed in that the game began with no pieces on the board so that these first had to be entered by the roll of the dice. Likewise, three dice were used instead of two. Finally, both players entered the board from the same table and moved around the board in the same counterclockwise direction.