Life and Art from FT Weekend cover image

Treasure hunting on the Thames, with Jo Ellison

Life and Art from FT Weekend

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The History of Backgammon

Greeks call it tavli. The araces, tali arabs call it cheshbesh. The french call it je de tab e. It's at least thousand years old. I think it's just under five thousand years was the earliest ancestor of thatgammon recorded in, i think, ancient mesopotamia. Well, when when i go to greece or armenian you see these sort of older menad at tables playing backamon all day. It's like in everyone's blood. There's something so a comforting about the consistency of it as well.

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