D. 600, Spain and the Aquitaine
Dominions being commonly pointed to as the countries which first
received it from the Arabs or Saracens in Europe after the Persian
period above named. There is no indication in any of the works of
a notion of the knowledge and practice of chess in Europe at an
earlier date, so it appears not unreasonable to conclude that the
following extract, which applies to a period seven hundred years
before the Persian epoch, must have entirely escaped the notice
of all the writers. The article occurs in the "Biographical
Dictionary of the Society for Diffusing Useful Knowledge"
(Longman & Co., Vol. I, Part II, pp. 842, 512), under the head
of "Ahenobarbus." The following is an extract of the Biography,
which is given in full in the Appendix:
"Ahenobarbus triumphed at Rome for his victory over Averni,
and, according to Cicero, over the Allobroges also, in
B.C. 120. In their Consulship (B.C. 115), Ahenobarbus and his
colleague, L. Coecilius Metellus Dalmatius, prohibited all
scenic exhibitions at Rome, except that of the Latin flute
players, and all games of chance, except Chess or Draughts,
&c.
Pages:
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76