Chess is from Persia and India. Checkmate is Persian for the king is dead. Persian chessman consisted of two men on elephants, two men on horseback, two men on camels, a vizier and a king plus pawns.
Chess in the Christian world went through some noticeable changes: out with the two men on camels and in with two bishops; out with the vizier and in with the queen, out with the two men on elephants and in with the rooks.