The "Charlemagne Chessmen" (11th century)

"The legend regarding the set states that these chessmen were given as a gift to #Charlemagne by Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who was an avid #chess player. The fact that the set displays elephants instead of bishops and chariots instead of rooks denotes a form of the Perso-Arabic game known as #Shatranj, itself coming from the original Indian #Chaturanga..." Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne_chessmen?wprov=sfla1

#Chess is believed to have entered Europe at various points and places between 850-1050 A.D. The crossover happened where the Muslim world mixed with the Christian (especially Al-Andalus, Sicily, and Byzantium).

Several things changed when the game reached Europe. For the first time in Chess's long history, the board was checkered black and white. Initially Chess followed the rules as the Arabic #Shatranj, but the pieces changed: the Elephant became the Bishop; the Vizier or Counselor became the Queen. But the pieces kept the same rules, and it would be 500+ years that the "modern" rules with powerful queens and bishops, emerged in Valencia.

The name of the game has an interesting history, too. Westerners initially referred to Chess as "scac", which is derived from the Arabic and Persian word "shah". This word evolved into "scachi", and from there, "esacs" in Catalonian, "sacchi" in Italian, "échecs" in French, and so on. But in Spain and Portugal, which for centuries were part of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the name evolved from the arabic "al shatranj", through Castillian "acedrex", which became "ajedrez" in Spanish and "xadrez" in Portuguese.

All of this is from "A World of Chess" by Jean-Louis Cazau and Rick Knowlton. Great book. https://bookwyrm.social/book/1995213/s/a-world-of-chess-its-development-and-variations-through-centuries-and-civilizations

Two variants of #shatranj, an early form of #chess. The wheel is the "Byzantine" variant, which makes it possible for pieces to attack from two sides. The oblong model has the same number of squares as a modern board but much less horizontal space. Early shatranj came with different rules. The Vizier - a predecessor to the queen - could move only one diagonal square. The "Elephant" - an early form of today's "bishop" - could move only in sets of 2 diagonal spaces.

Indigenous Games in India: Their Origin and Status in the Progressive Era [pdf 8pp] #kabaddi #KhoKho #polo #shatranj #games https://theacademic.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/89.pdf

#Chess has a rich tradition in the world of #Islam. An interesting impact of the faith upon the design of #shatranj (chess) is how the pieces were depicted. Whereas in #Indian tradition, chess pieces depicted soldiers, chariots, horses, etc, Islam discouraged the use of images to prevent idol worship, but also generally representational art or sculpture. (See "The Immortal Game" by David Shenk: https://bookwyrm.social/book/329694/s/the-immortal-game)

As a result, pieces were often abstracted. In this 12th century Iranian set, the #king and #queen are curves evoking a throne. The #elephant (or #bishop) has two subtle tusks. But all the other pieces are elegant geometric forms, little evoking the concepts they represent.

Learn more: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452204

Image source: metmuseum.org