Polo

• Polo players hone their physical and mental skills as they play a game similar to hockey, driving a little ball with mallets into the opposite team's goal. Only instead of using skates or feet to get around, they ride horses. Historians from the time of Darius the Great (2,500 years ago) record a horse-based sport that may have been a version of polo. About 1,100 years ago, one of Persia's most loved poets, Ferdowsi, extolled the polo skills of legendary princes in Persian history. He also praised one of Persia's rulers for learning polo by the age of seven. As the Pilgrims were settling in Massachusetts, Shah Abbas the Great built a capital city around his polo grounds. The center of town was a huge polo field, and its dimensions are those that are currently used for polo fields.
  
  

Bull Fighting

• Persians set up fights so bulls attacked each other rather than a human matador. These bouts occurred at the end of the harvest, or to celebrate a marriage, or the arrival of an important guest to the village or town. The bulls would fight until one was wounded by the other. The winner was adorned with a floral wreath and a bell, The wounded bull would be treated and allowed to heal unless the wound was fatal; then the animal would be slaughtered by the butcher.
  
  

Backgammon

• Drive through Iran today, and you will find men playing backgammon, a past time that has endured for centuries. Play backgammon and you learn strategic thinking as you plan a few moves ahead to beat your opponent. A Persian story from the time of the Roman empire tells of a page seeking a position in the royal household. He describes the many skills that make him a cultured person, who will fit in well. One of his skills is being expert at backgammon. In another story, a man is described as derelict from excessive drinking and backgammon.
  
  

Chess

• Chess appears in two ancient Persian texts. One is a book of manners, written to encourage the cultural leaders to take notice of how their behavior and sportsmanship afect others. It uses a chess game as an example of where to discipline one's own behavior. In another text, an ambassador from a neighboring realm comes with the gift of ruby and emerald chess pieces. Chess is used as an intelligence test to determine whether the king would be a worthy opponent.