Dice games are among the oldest in human history. Sets of dice dating back to 3,000 BCE – that’s more than 5,000 years old – have been found in Turkey.
The ancient Romans were well-acquainted with the often six-sided game pieces. In the year 49 BCE, before he became dictator and laid the groundwork for Rome’s first emperors, Gaius Julius Caesar prepared to cross the Rubicon River, which defined Italy’s northern border, with a single legion of troops. A former Roman consul (like a president, but only for one year), he’d already established himself as a great military leader with his conquests and subsequent putdown of rebellions in Gaul.