Shatranj

Shatranj (Hindi शतरंज, Urdu شطرنج, from Middle Persian chatrang چترنگ), is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world by the Persians and later Greeks, and ultimately from India (chaturaṅga) via the Persian Empire. Modern chess gradually developed from this game.

The Arabic word shatranj is derived from the Sanskrit chaturanga (catuḥ: "four"; anga: "arm"). In Middle Persian the word appears as chatrang, with the 'u' lost due to syncope and the 'a' lost to apocope, for example, in the title of the text Mâdayân î chatrang ("Book of chess") from the 7th century AD. In Persian folk etymology shat means "100" and ranj means "worries" then it becomes "100 worries", Persian text refers to Shah Ardashir I, who ruled from 224–241, as a master of the game: "By the help of Providence Ardeshir became more victorious and warlike than all, on the polo and the riding-ground, at Chatrang and Vine-Artakhshir, and in several other arts."

However, Karnamak contains many fables and legends, and this only establishes the popularity of chatrang at the time of its composition.

Persian manuscript from the 14th century describing how an ambassador from India brought chess to the Persian court

Indian ambassador introducing chess to the Persian court

Shams-e-Tabrīzī as portrayed in a 1500 painting in a page of a copy of Rumi's poem dedicated to Shams

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