What is Arabian Mate?

Arabian Mate is a checkmating pattern in chess that involves a knight and a rook in a cooperative action. Specifically, the knight covers the escape squares of the opponent's king and the rook delivers the checkmate. It is one of the oldest known checkmate patterns, its origins traced back to the ancient game of shatranj. The term 'Arabian Mate' refers to the fact that chess, in its earlier form, was played predominantly in the Arabian Peninsula.