The Persian Origin Of The Word, “Checkmate”

The game of chess is arguably one of the most popular board games on earth, with a following in most countries around the world. Yet, despite this worldwide interest, the answers to vital questions about the game remain a mystery. For example, scholars have not been able to decisively pin down the exact location in which the game war born. In general, chess is thought to have originated in Asia around the 6th-century, with India being the most likely bet. Thankfully, we are much more certain about the origin of chess’ iconic victory-phrase—checkmate.

According to Persian legend, the game of chess was introduced into the Sasanian Persian Empire during the reign of Khosrow I (or Khusrau I, r. 531-579). In a dubious tale recorded during that time, the Persians were said to have sent their game of backgammon to India, and received chess in return in a sort of battle of wits, where each culture tried to decipher logic of the game rules created by the other country. Whether or not chess was introduced to Persia in this manner, the game did, indeed, become popular in the Middle East over the next few centuries.

Etymologists believe that the origin of the word, checkmate, traces back to the language of the Persians. In the Persian language, the objective of the game was to defeat the enemy king (shah) by making the king piece helpless or finished (mat). So, the phrase “shah mat” was coined by the Persians to state that “the king is helpless” or “the king is finished.” The phrase lived on in Arabic (as al-shāh māta), but was interpreted differently, translating into something akin to “the king is dead.” The phrase traveled to medieval France, where it was translated into “eschec mat” and then appeared in the Middle English language as “chekmaten.” Over time, the victory phrase simplified and modernized into the current English statement of “checkmate.”

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture attribution: ("Buzurgmihr Masters the Game of Chess" by Ferdowsi (940–1020), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/chess  
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khosrow-I
• https://www.etymonline.com/word/checkmate 
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/594376?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents 
• https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2011/the-game-of-kings-medieval-ivory-chessmen-from-the-isle-of-lewis/exhibition-blog/game-of-kings/blog/shah-mat 
• http://etymology.enacademic.com/9184/checkmate 
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/checkmate  

 

Deaths At The Black Hole Of Calcutta

The Black Hole of Calcutta incident occurred during the time when Britain was attempting to establish a lasting foothold in the region of India known as Bengal. In early 1756, Britain’s East India Trading Company began to fortify its position in Calcutta, with a special focus on upgrading the local stronghold of Fort William. These fortifications were mainly carried out to better defend against Britain’s long-time rival, France, but the Mughal leader of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah (also spelled Siraj al-Dawlah), was understandably paranoid about the increased militarization of the British in Calcutta; after all, Britain, like many other European powers at the time, was an aggressively imperialistic nation. Siraj-ud-daulah quickly sent a demand stating that the fortifications of Calcutta had to be ceased immediately—a request that the British pointedly ignored. With no compliance from the British, the Mughal ruler of Bengal raised an army (reportedly around 50,000 strong) and marched against the East India Trading Company’s garrison in Calcutta.

By the time Siraj-ud-daulah began sieging the city, most of the British citizenry and important leadership figures had already fled to the safety of the sea. Nevertheless, a small garrison and reportedly one or two unfortunate women were in the vicinity of Fort William when the siege began. The remaining garrison mounted an ineffective resistance (due to being largely outnumbered and poorly equipped), but was forced to surrender on June 20, 1756.

Upon surrender, the garrison, along with however many civilians they had been harboring, were all locked away in a prison of their own creation. The prison was known as the “Black Hole”—it was a small rectangular building measuring around 5.5 meters by 4 meters, with only two windows for air and ventilation. The Black Hole was originally used by the British authorities in Calcutta as a prison for small numbers of petty criminals, but when Siraj-ud-daulah’s forces took Fort William in June 1756, the Black Hole was where all of the British captives were herded for the night.

What actually happened at the Black Hole of Calcutta following the siege in June 20, 1756, remains relatively unknown—the story changes depending on the narrator. According to John Zephaniah Holwell, the leader of the garrison that surrendered at Fort William, a total of 146 prisoners entered the Black Hole, but only 23 lived to leave the prison when the doors were unlocked at around 6:00 a.m., the next morning. In contrast, a study conducted in 1959 claimed that only 64 prisoners were held in the Black Hole—nevertheless the study suggested only 21 of those survived the night of imprisonment. Either way, both scenarios end with a tragically high fatality ratio, especially considering that the cause of death for most of the deceased prisoners was trampling and suffocation.

Even though the true statistics of the Black Hole of Calcutta incident remain a debated topic, the tale was an inspiration and a war-cry to another wave of British imperialism in India. By January 1757, the combined forces of Robert Clive on land and Admiral Charles Watson at sea worked together to recapture Calcutta and Fort William from the Mughal forces. Clive rode that momentum to further victories in Bengal, and with the help of a disgruntled Mughal general named Mir Ja’far, the British were able to soundly defeat the forces of Siraj-ud-daulah at the battle of Plassey in June 23, 1957. Following the Battle of Plassey, Mir Ja’far (with British support) became the next regional leader of Bengal, and Siraj-ud-daulah was assassinated or executed several days later, in early July.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Top picture attribution: (Public Domain Brick box from pixabay.com, cropped and modified).

Sources:

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Hole-of-Calcutta 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Siraj-al-Dawlah 
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Plassey 
• http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/black-hole-calcutta 
• https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/Blackh.html 
• http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=221 
• http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/south-asian-history/black-hole-calcutta  

The Ancient Greek Historian, Herodotus, Wrote That A Tribe In India Ate Their Own Parents

(Engraved ancient wall from India with a Roman bust of Herodotus, both [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and pexels.com)

Fair warning—this article will discuss endocannibalism, defined as eating the flesh of one’s own family or tribe, usually after death. If you think you have the stomach for this topic, carry on. If not, no one will hold it against you.

The ancient historian, Herodotus (5th century BCE), has an odd relationship with the history community. On the one hand, he is considered the father of the field of history. On the other hand, much of his historical writing was biased, exaggerated, fantastical and inaccurate. Herodotus’ antics, however, can be largely excused if he truly was the first historian—he would have had no other standard with which to guide his own historical method and style. Nevertheless, he undoubtedly sparked the Hellenistic’ world’s interest in history and inspired a long line of historians.

Herodotus’ descriptions of India are also looked upon with great interest. After all, he wrote one of the first Western descriptions of India. Yet, in his description of the Indian culture, like many other non-Greek cultures he described, his observations could often be quite peculiar.

In the third book of Herodotus’ The Histories, the historian gives a plea for cultural tolerance. He explained that every culture has a bias in favor of their own ways and customs. To Herodotus, it was ok and natural to prefer your own way of life over that of another, as long as you still showed respect for the cultures of others. As an example to this point, Herodotus wrote of funerary ceremonies found in different cultures. In the example, the ancient Greek custom of burning the dead was compared to a community in India that Herodotus named as the Callatiae.

According to Herodotus, the Callatiae were an endocannibalistic society—they ate the flesh of members from their own community. Apparently, in that tribe of ancient India, the children of a deceased man or woman would consume the flesh of their dead parent. Herodotus did not mention how much human flesh was consumed, but he did write that the Callatiae believed their custom was wholly proper—the Callatiae believed the Greek tradition of burning the dead was equally as ghastly as the Greeks assumed endocannibalism to be.

Even though the claim of ancient Indians eating the flesh of their deceased parents may sound far fetched, it may very well be a true and accurate statement. In fact, endocannibalism was at one point found in multiple cultures around the globe. In the South American regions of Brazil and Peru, the Matsés (Mayoruna) and Wari tribes were thought to have practiced endocannibalism at one point in their past. More convincingly, the outcast Aghoris religious group (still in existence, today, in northern India) is still believed to consume the flesh of dead humans in their pursuit of spiritual power and enlightenment.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Sources:

• The Histories by Herodotus, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt and revised by John Marincola. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002).  
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/11444748/Meet-the-flesh-eating-cannibal-Aghori-monks-of-Varanasi-India-in-pictures.html?frame=3216967 
• https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/wari/865  
• http://www.matses.info/