The Arabs adopted many Persian customs - including chess, which became popular at the court of the Sasanian Empire - and spread them throughout Europe and Asia. Even the expression shah mat comes from Persian and means "the king is finished", or our checkmate.
Historical documents and archaeological finds prove that chess was already an international pastime in the Middle Ages. It was the favorite game of famous monarchs such as Alfonso the Wise, Ivan the Terrible or Caliph Harun al-Rashid.
It is interesting to note how the evolution of the pieces reflects the climate of each moment and place: we have an example of this at the end of the 15th century, when chess became particularly popular in Europe. In that period several pieces were considerably transformed to suit the nature of the European courts: the adviser, a piece introduced by the Persians, became the queen; the bishop and the rook, on the other hand, took on different forms depending on the country until their current appearance took hold internationally.
