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Evidence for Shatranj ar-Rumiya
2 pieces of evidence found.
Id DLP.Evidence.1190
Type Contemporary rule description
Location 33°19'16.16"N, 44°25'5.05"E
Date 1140-01-01 - 1140-12-31
Rules Circular board. Empty central circle, with four concentric rows of spaces, sixteen spaces per circle. Pieces are as follows: Rukh (x2), placed on two adjacent squares in the outer circle, move any number of spaces orthogonally; Asb (x2), placed in the two spaces adjacent to the Rukh in the next circle, move as Chess knights; Pil (x2): Placed in the two spaces adjacent to the Asb in the next circle in, move two spaces diagonally, jumping over the first space; Fres (x1): placed on the inner circle adjacent to the left Pil, moves one space diagonally; Shah (x1), placed to the right of the Fers, moves one space in any direction, Baidaq (x8), placed in each space flanking the other pieces, those on the left move clockwise, those on the right anti-clockwise, one space forward or one space diagonally to capture. No en passant, no promotion. When two Baidaq meet and neither can move, the opponent captures them. The opponent who can checkmate the opponent's Shah wins.
Content Text from Manuscript 560 'Abd al-Hamid I library, Istanbul. Written by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin al-Mubarak bin 'Ali al-Mudhahhab al Baghdadi in 1140. "This is the Byzantine Chess which Siwar al-Harrani gave to Dhu'l Yaminain Tahir b. al-Husain b. Mus'ab, when he resided in Mesopotamia. We see that its properties, the number of its squares, and its form resemble the Indian chess, except that the Indian Baidaq can queen because it has a limit, while the Byzantine Baidaq cannot queen because it has no limit. The squares of the Byzantine Rukh exceed those os the Indian Rukh, and the squares of the Indian Faras exceed those of the Byzantine Faras. The Indian game is longer than the Byzantine, and there is no difference between them except that the Indian plan is square and the Byzantine round. The Byzantine Fils are concordant while the Indian are not. It is agreed that the Byzantine game is more modern than the Indian: the original, as people agree, is the Indian. It is a rule that when 2 Baidaqs of one species meet, the player of the other species takes them for nothing." Murray 1913: 342-343.
Confidence 100
Ages Adult
Social status Elite, Nobility
Source Murray, H. J. R. 1913. A History of Chess. London: Oxford University Press.
Id DLP.Evidence.1191
Type Contemporary rule description
Location 36°28'0.92"N, 52°21'4.04"E
Date 1352-01-01 - 1352-12-31
Rules Circular board. Empty central circle, with four concentric rows of spaces, sixteen spaces per circle. Four citadels in the center of the circle. Pieces are as follows: Rukh (x2), placed on two adjacent squares in the inner circle, move any number of spaces orthogonally; Asb (x2), placed in the two spaces adjacent to the Rukh in the next circle, move as Chess knights; Pil (x2): Placed in the two spaces adjacent to the Asb in the next circle out, move two spaces diagonally, jumping over the first space; Fres (x1): placed on the outer circle adjacent to the left Pil, moves one space diagonally; Shah (x1), placed to the right of the Fers, moves one space in any direction, Baidaq (x8), placed in each space flanking the other pieces, those on the left move clockwise, those on the right anti-clockwise, one space forward or one space diagonally to capture. No en passant, no promotion. When two Baidaq meet and neither can move, the opponent captures them. The opponent who can checkmate the opponent's Shah wins. If a player can move their Shah into one of the citadels, the game is a draw.
Content From Nafa'is al-funun ft 'ard'is al-'uyun ("Treasury of the sciences" by Muhammad ibn Mahmoud al-Amuli. "Most MSS. of [al-Amuli] reverse the arrangement of the earlier MSS entirely, placing the Shahs and Firzans on the outer ring, and also continue the diagonals bounding the quadrants in which the men are placed right across the central space, thus creating four additional squares, which al-Amuli calls husun, or citadels. If a player can play his Shah to one of these squares he cannot lose the game." Murray 1913: 342.
Confidence 100
Ages Adult
Social status Elite
Genders Male
Source Murray, H. J. R. 1913. A History of Chess. London: Oxford University Press.
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