Backgammon in During Roman Times

Backgammon was not played first in Rome. It was played centuries before the Roman empire. Still, they did shape it a closer to the version we play today. Tabula meand board in Latin. We can also see how the English word Table, shares a similar root. There is evidence of how the game was spread by Roman soldiers and merchants throughout the length of the Roman Empire.

Unlike other ancient games that have been lost in the mists of history, there is written and archaeological evidence of Tabula, including an ancient mirror with an illustration of a game in progress, and an account of a game played by the Emperor Zeno some one thousand five hundred years ago. .

Tabula was usualy played for money, but not for fun, like most backgammon games today. Tabula shared in common with contemporary backgammon a board divided into twenty-four divisions and the use of fifteen counters by each player. . Another similarity to today's game was the way moves were made according to the outcome of a dice throw. Those dice were cast inside a box. The objective of Tabula was, just like backgammon, to bear off all the checkers from the board. Blots were also user - two checkers on on top of another to avoid hits. Tablua and backgammon shear many similarities but have many differences as well. The board used in Tabula or Roman Backgammon, did not have the narrow triangular, alternately colored divisions of the board that today's players are familiar with, but the divisions were of a rectangular shape. Also, checkers had were intoduced into the board from the first square and moved in an counter clockwise direction. The throwing of three dices determined which moves could be made for between one and three checkers. Evidence shows that the counters were generally made from bone, while the dice box was made of wood.