Excerpt from Games Ancient and Oriental and How to Play Them: Being the Games of the Ancient Egyptians; The Hiera Gramme of the Greeks, the Ludus Latrunculorum of the Romans and the Oriental Games of Chess, Draughts, Backgammon and Magic Squares The present age is distinguished for discovery of the records and monuments of antiquity, and for the wonderful discoveries of the secrets of nature; for searching after things long past, and for making progress with rapid strides into the future. These two studies frequently go hand in hand together. We study the buildings and the sculptures of the ancients, and the paintings of the old masters, and we apply the principles thus learnt to the requirements of the present day; we study ancient authors, not merely to improve our taste and intellect, but also to enable us to exert our faculties to the best advantage in the affairs of life. The past, the present, and the future are woven together in all the studies and occupations of man. As a healthy recreation from pursuits of more severe study, necessity and usefulness, the following pages are offered in the hope that some of the amusements of past ages may take their place among the relaxations of modern times. The author directed his attention many years ago to the games of chess, draughts, and backgammon, and to the formation of magic squares. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Islamic civilization flourished in the Middle Ages across a vast geographical area that spans today's Middle and Near East. First published in 2006, Medieval Islamic Civilization examines the socio-cultural history of the regions where Islam took hold between the 7th and 16th centuries. This important two-volume work contains over 700 alphabetically arranged entries, contributed and signed by international scholars and experts in fields such as Arabic languages, Arabic literature, architecture, history of science, Islamic arts, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, Near Eastern studies, politics, religion, Semitic studies, theology, and more. Entries also explore the importance of interfaith relations and the permeation of persons, ideas, and objects across geographical and intellectual boundaries between Europe and the Islamic world. This reference work provides an exhaustive and vivid portrait of Islamic civilization and brings together in one authoritative text all aspects of Islamic civilization during the Middle Ages. Accessible to scholars, students and non-specialists, this resource will be of great use in research and understanding of the roots of today's Islamic society as well as the rich and vivid culture of medieval Islamic civilization.