Chovgan
![]() | This article may require copy editing for non-fluent English. (April 2023) |
![]() Chowgan in a Persian miniature from Tabriz, Iran of the 16th century (from Arifi's "Ball and club" manuscript)[1] | |
Players | 6 |
---|---|
Playing time | 30 minutes |
Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game in the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
---|---|
Country | loan |
Reference | 00905 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2013 (8th session) |
Chogān, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling | |
---|---|
Country | Iran |
Reference | 01282 |
Region | Asia |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2017 (12th session) |
Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan (Persian: چوگان, romanized: čōwgan, Azerbaijani: Çövkən), is a sporting team game with horses that originated in ancient Iran .[2][3] It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.[4]
It was later adopted in the
History
Chovgan originated in ancient Iran (Persia) and was a Persian national sport played extensively by the nobility.[2][3] Women played as well as men. Chovgan originated in the middle of the first millennium A.D., as a team game. It was trendy during the centuries in the Middle East. Fragments of the game were periodically portrayed in ancient miniatures, and detailed descriptions and rules of the game were also given in the ancient manuscripts. Chogān is an Iranian traditional horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling. It has a history of over 2,000 years in Iran and has mostly been played in royal courts and urban fields.[5] Some authors give dates as early as the 5th century BC (or earlier)[6] to the 1st century AD[7] for its origin by the Medes. Certainly, the earliest records of polo are from the Median (an ancient Iranian people).[8] During the period of the Parthian Empire (247 BC - 224 AD), the sport enjoyed great patronage under the kings and noblemen. According to The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, polo (known as čowgān in Middle Persian, i.e., chovgan), was a Persian ball game and an important pastime in the court of the Sasanian Empire (224–651).[9] It was also part of royal education for the Sasanian ruling class.[9] Emperor Shapur II learned to play polo when he was seven years old in 316 AD. Known as "chovgan," it is still played in the region today.[citation needed]
Englishmen had a significant role in the distribution and development of the game in Europe and around the world. So chovgan, brought from India to England in the 19th century, became more popular, and the addition of new rules favored the spread of this game in Europe and the United States. Namely, on the initiative of Englishmen, this game acquired its present name, "polo," and was included in the program of the Olympic Games held in 1900 in Paris.[citation needed]
Chovgan in Iran
Chovgan, known as chowkan in the
Polo was, at first, a training game for cavalry units, usually the king's guard or other elite troops.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Naghshe_Jahan_Square_Isfahan_modified.jpg/300px-Naghshe_Jahan_Square_Isfahan_modified.jpg)
Sultan
From Persia, polo spread to the Byzantines (who called it
Later on Polo was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia, including the
Chovgan in Azerbaijan
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Miniature_depicts_a_chovqan_game_the_story_of_Khosrow_and_Shirin_of_Nizami_Ganjevi.png/220px-Miniature_depicts_a_chovqan_game_the_story_of_Khosrow_and_Shirin_of_Nizami_Ganjevi.png)
In Azerbaijan, chovqan (
One of the varieties of this game was broadly cultivated in Azerbaijan. Here two teams strive to score a goal with special clubs. Rules in the modern edition of the game are the following: two goals with a width of 3 meters with semi-circled areas with a radius of 6 meters are fixed in enough big place. The game was held with a rubber or woven leather belt ball. Clubs can be different in form. In Azerbaijani, the clubs are reminiscent of a shepherd's crook.[4] There are six riders in each team, 4 of whom act as attackers and two as fullbacks. The latter can play only in their half of the area. Goals can be scored behind the borders of the penalty area. The duration of the game is 30 minutes in two periods.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Puak_Azeri_bermain_Chovgan_di_Piala_All_Union_ke-12.png/220px-Puak_Azeri_bermain_Chovgan_di_Piala_All_Union_ke-12.png)
In 1979, a documentary called “Chovgan game”, shot by Azerbaijan's Jafar Jabbarly film studio recorded the sport's rules and historical development. However, overall the Soviet era saw a decline of the sport to near 'oblivion'
In 2013, chovqan in the Republic of Azerbaijan, was included in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.[22]
See also
- Polo
- Chowgan ground
- Chowgan, Kermanshah
- International Chovgan Federation (IGF) for Chovgan established in 2 February 2024
References
- ^ Л. С. Бретеницкий, Б. В. Веймарн. Искусство Азербайджана IV—XVIII веков. — М., 1976.
- ^ a b Massé, H. (24 April 2012). "Čawgān". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 2. Brill Online.
The game originated in Persia, and was generally played on horseback (...)
- ^ a b "The origins and history of Polo". Historic UK. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
It is since these origins in Persia that the game has often been associated with the rich and noble of society; the game was played by Kings, Princes and Queens in Persia.
- ^ a b c В. Парфенов. (2004). Кавказские национальные конные игры. HORSE.RU. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
- ^ a b "Chogān, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling".
- ^ R. G. Goel, Veena Goel, Encyclopaedia of sports and games, Published by Vikas Pub. House, 1988, excerpt from page 318: Persian Polo. Its birthplace was Asia, and authorities credit Persia with having devised it about 2000 BC..
- ISBN 0-313-31600-7, p. 157.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84537-913-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
- ^ Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople Byzantine. Développement Urbaine et Répertoire Topographique (in French). Paris, France: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. pp. 118–119.
- ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
- ISBN 978-0-87848-099-9.
- ^ Richard C. Latham. "Polo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
- ^ a b "Polo History". Archived from the original on 2010-09-25.
- ^ "Playing Polo in Historic Naqsh-e Jahan Square?". Payvand.com. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ "Touregypt.net". Touregypt.net. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ISBN 0-486-43357-9, p. 98.
- ^ Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th centuries by Robert Crego. page 25. Published 2003. Greenwood Press. Sports & Recreation. 296 pages
ISBN 0-313-31610-4
- ISBN 0761420118.
- ^ Film interview at 7'36"
- ^ Azernews report on the 2013 President's Cup competition
- ^ Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game in the Republic of Azerbaijan
External links
Media related to Chovgan at Wikimedia Commons