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Chovgan

Chovgan
Polo game.jpg
Chovqan in a Persian miniature from Tabriz in Iran of the 16th century (from Arifi's "Ball and club" manuscript)
Players 6
Playing time 30 minutes
Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game in the Republic of Azerbaijan
Country Iran
Reference 905
Region Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 2013 (8th session)

Chovgan or Chovken (Middle Persian: čaukān or čōkān, New Persian: čōgan or čōvgan), is a sporting team game with horses and a version of the modern polo game. From time immemorial it was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. Nowadays, chovgan is played in Azerbaijan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Chovgan was originated in the middle of the first millennium A.D., as a team game. It was very popular during the centuries in the Middle East. Fragments of the game were periodically portrayed in ancient miniatures, and also detailed descriptions and rules of the game were also given in the ancient manuscripts. The first fixed chovgan match was held approximately in the year 600 between Turkmens and Persians in which Turkmens gained a victory.

Englishmen had a great role in distribution and development of the game in Europe and the whole world. So chovgan – brought from India to England in the 19th century became more popular and addition of new rules into it favored quick spreading of this game in Europe and the USA. Namely on the initiative of Englishmen this game acquired its present name – polo and was included into program of the Olympic Games held in 1900, in Paris. 5 teams from three countries took part in the contests.

The origins of the game of polo are obscure, being claimed by Iran, China, India and others. Some authors give dates as early as the 5th century BC (or earlier) to the 1st century AD for its origin by the Medes. Certainly the earliest records of polo are Median (an ancient Iranian people), and by the time of the Tang dynasty, records of polo were well-established in China.


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