Object: Checkmate the opponent's King. Kings, Rooks, and Knights move as in orthodox chess. Elephants jump two diagonal. Generals move one diagonal. Pawns do not have an initial double step. There is no castling. When two pawns of one color meet on opposing squares, blocking both of them, both are automatically removed from the board. This removal does not count as a move for either player. Stalemate is a win, as is reducing the opponent's forces to only his King.
 
Byzantine chess, also called round chess, is a 1000-year-old variant of Shatranj. It was popular in the 10th century in Byzantium, hence the name. A description of the game appears on the Chess Variant Pages.