"Khusra Anushirawan" Naushirawan or Chosroes as he is
more frequently called, being the Byzantine title applied to him,
was King of Persia and reigned 48 years, from 528 to 576 as
stated by some authors, or from 531 to 579 according to others.
He is described also as Chosroes the Just. The receipt of chess
in Persia from India early in his reign, and the great appreciation
and encouragement of it, is the best attested fact in chess history,
if not really the only one as to which there is entire concurrence
in opinion among all writers.
The Persian and Arabian historians are unanimous that the
game of chess was invented in India, some time previous to the
Sixth century of our Era, and was introduced into Persia during
the reign of Kisra Naushirawan, the Chosroes of the Byzantine
historians, and the contemporary of Justinian, they differ only as
to the time of its modification, some ascribing it to about this
period, and others to that of Alexander the Great, 336 to 323 B.C.
Although several works concur in stating that chess first came
to Persia from India, through Burzuvia the physician, most
learned in languages with the materials of the book called Culila
Dimna, quite early in Chosroes' reign, some think differently and
attribute Burzuvia's mission to India and return to a late date.
It is related from the Shahnama, the great Persian poem that it
came from Kanoj, Kanauj, commonly written Canoge, by means
of a magnificent embassy from the King of Hind, accompanied by
a train of elephants with rich canopies, together with a thousand
camels heavily laden, the whole escorted by a numerous and
gallant army of Scindian cavalry. After depositing the various
and costly presents, last of all the Ambassador displayed before
the King and the astonished court, a chess board, elaborately
constructed together with the chessmen, tastefully and curiously
carved from solid pieces of ivory and ebony. Then the
Ambassador presented a letter richly illumined, written by the hand
of the Sovereign of Hind, to Naushirawan the translation of which
is given as follows: