Roman trade with India according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 1st century CE.

A Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century AD

Roman trade with India started around the beginning of the Common Era (CE) following the reign of Augustus and his conquest of Egypt, theretofore India's biggest trade partner in the West. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 439 pixelsFull resolution (3496 × 1918 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 439 pixelsFull resolution (3496 × 1918 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei ) is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along East Africa and India. ... Download high resolution version (600x800, 115 KB)Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel. ... Download high resolution version (600x800, 115 KB)Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel. ... Pollice Verso (With a Turned Thumb), an 1872 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, is a well known history painters researched conception of a gladiatorial combat. ... Aromatic vials in the shape of Greek gods, Begram, 2nd century. ... “Era Vulgaris” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ... The Roman Empire 120, with Aegyptus province highlighted See Egypt Province for the province of the Ottoman Empire. ...

Background

Roman trade in India succeeded the presence of the Greeks in the subcontinent since the conquests of Alexander, with the establishment of the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms until the beginning of our era. The political power of the Greeks waned in the north, mainly due to nomadic invasions, but trade relations between the Mediterranean and India continued for several centuries, managed by the Romans with Greek intermediaries. Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... The term Hellenistic (derived from Héllēn, the Greeks traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek people that were conquered by Alexander the Great. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (or Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom) covered the areas of Bactria and Sogdiana, comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. The expansion of the Greco-Bactrians into northern India from 180 BCE established... The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom[1]) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent from 180 BCE to around 10 CE, and was ruled by a succession of more than thirty Hellenistic kings,[2] often in conflict with each other. ... The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. ...

The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.^[1]), by the time of Augustus up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos to India. So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the Kushans for their own coinage, that Pliny (NH VI.101) complained about the drain of specie to India: Another article treats of Eudoxus of Cnidus. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ... Myos Hormos was a Red Sea port constructed by the Ptolemies around the 3rd century BC. A few of its main destinations were the Indus delta and the Kathiawar peninsula in India. ... Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ...

"India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million sesterces from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what percentage of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?" The sestertius was an ancient Roman coin. ...

—Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.^[2]

In practice, this trade was still handled by Greek middlemen, as all the recorded names of ship captains for the period are Greek.

Indian ports

Coin of the Roman emperor Augustus found at the Pudukottai hoard. British Museum.

Indian imitation of a coin of Augustus. 1st century AD. British Museum.

In India, the ports of Barbaricum (modern Karachi), Barygaza, and Muziris and Arikamedu on the southern tip of India were the main centers of this trade. Ptolemy described Muzuris as "a port packed with Greek ships" (VII.I.8), and the Tamil Sangam describes that "fine vessels, masterpieces of Yavana workmanship, arrive with gold and depart with pepper". For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ... ... The British Museum in London is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... The British Museum in London is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... Barbarikon port during Kushan empire, c. ... Karachi (Urdu: كراچى, Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the capital of the province of Sindh, and the most populated city in Pakistan. ... Bharuch is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. ... Muziris is a lost port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala which was a major center of trade, especially pepper and other spices, with the Roman Empire from the 1st or 2nd century BCE to probably as late as 6th century CE. Large hordes of coins and innumerable... Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted its best-known excavation in the 1940s. ... A medieval artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ... Yona, Yonaka or Yavana is a Pali word used in ancient India to designate Greeks. ...

In the south, the main trading partners were the Tamil dynasties of the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras. The 2nd-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes Greco-Roman merchants selling in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens, topaz, coral, storax, frankincense, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little wine" in exchange for "costus, bdellium, lycium, nard, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Seric skins, cotton cloth, silk yarn, and indigo". In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth. At Cape Comorin and in Sri Lanka, they would buy pearls and gems. Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... The Cholas were a South Indian Tamil dynasty, antedating the early Sangam literature (c. ... The Cheras were one of the three ancient Tamil dynasties who ruled the southern tip of the peninsula of India for most of its early history. ... The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei ) is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along East Africa and India. ... Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4(F,OH)2. ... Extant Subclasses and Orders Alcyonaria    Alcyonacea    Helioporacea Zoantharia    Antipatharia    Corallimorpharia    Scleractinia    Zoanthidea [1][2]  See Anthozoa for details For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation). ... Storax is the resinous exudate of the Sweetgum, occasionally used in incense or as an aromatic fixative in perfumery. ... 100g of frankincense resin. ... The plant known to the Ancient Romans as costus is probably Saussurea lappa Costus is a genus of perennial tropical herbs. ... Bedellium (Hebrew bedolach) was probably an aromatic gum like balsam that was exuded from a tree, probably one of several species in the genus Commiphora. ... Species About 100, including: Lycium afrum Lycium andersonii Lycium barbarum - wolfberry Lycium berlandieri Lycium carolinianum Lycium chilense Lycium depressum Lycium europaeum Lycium exsertum Lycium ferocissimum Lycium fremontii Lycium pallidum Lycium ruthenicum Lycium tetrandrum Boxthorn (Lycium) is a genus of about 100 species of plants in the Solanaceae, native throughout most... Binomial name Nardostachys grandiflora DC. Spikenard (also nard and muskroot) is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of India and Nepal. ... Turquoise (or turquois) is opaque, blue-to-green hydrated copper aluminium phosphate mineral according to the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·5H2O. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been enjoyed as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique... A block of lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest of all gems, with a history of use stretching back 7,000 years. ... Silk dresses Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. ... Indigo dye indigo molecule Indigo dye is an important dyestuff with a distinctive blue color (see indigo). ... Kanyakumari is a town and a cape at the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. ... Freshadama grade cultured freshwater pearls. ...

Barigaza

Trade with Barigaza, under the control of the Indo-Scythian Western Satrap Nahapana ("Nambanus"), was especially flourishing: The Indo-Scythian King of Kings Azes II (c. ... The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (35-405) were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states). ... Nahapana (119-124 CE) was an important ruler of the Western Kshatrapas, descendant of the Indo-Scythians, in northwestern India. ...

49. There are imported into this market-town (Barigaza), wine, Italian preferred, also Laodicean and Arabian; copper, tin, and lead; coral and topaz; thin clothing and inferior sorts of all kinds; bright-colored girdles a cubit wide; storax, sweet clover, flint glass, realgar, antimony, gold and silver coin, on which there is a profit when exchanged for the money of the country; and ointment, but not very costly and not much. And for the King there are brought into those places very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem, fine wines, thin clothing of the finest weaves, and the choicest ointments. There are exported from these places spikenard, costus, bdellium, ivory, agate and carnelian, lycium, cotton cloth of all kinds, silk cloth, mallow cloth, yarn, long pepper and such other things as are brought here from the various market-towns. Those bound for this market-town from Egypt make the voyage favorably about the month of July, that is Epiphi.

—Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, paragraph 49.^[3]

Muziris

Muziris is a lost port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala, locally known as Vanchi, which was a major center of trade, especially pepper and other spices, with the Roman Empire from the 1st or 2nd century BCE to probably as late as 6th century CE. Large hoards of coins and innumerable shards of amphorae found in the town of Pattanam, have elicited recent archeological interest as a probable location of this mythical port city. Today this place is called Cranganore. Muziris is a lost port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala which was a major center of trade, especially pepper and other spices, with the Roman Empire from the 1st or 2nd century BCE to probably as late as 6th century CE. Large hordes of coins and innumerable... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Vanchi was the ancient capital of the Chera kingdom. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ... Pattanam is potentially the lost Roman port city of Muziris Paravur taluk in the southern Indian state of Kerala which was a major center of Roman trade. ... Cranganore (modern day Kodungallur) was a famous and prosperous sea-port in the southern Indian state of Kerala, about 38 km from the present day Cochin. ...

According to the Periplus, numerous Greek seamen managed an intense trade with Muziris:

"Muziris and Nelcynda, which are now of leading importance (...) Muziris, of the same kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia."

—The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 53-54

Pliny the Elder also matter-of-factly commented on the qualities of Muziris, although in not very favorable term: Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ...

"If the wind, called Hippalus, happens to be blowing, it is possible to arrive in forty days at the nearest market of India, called Muziris. This, however, is not a particularly desirable place to disembark, on account of the pirates which frequent its vicinity, where they occupy a place called Nitrias; nor, in fact, is it very rich in products. Besides, the road-stead for shipping is a considerable distance from the shore, and the cargoes have to be conveyed in boats, either for loading or discharging."

—Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.26

Arikamedu

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, of the early 2 AD, mentions a marketplace named Poduke (ch. 60), which G.W.B. Huntingford identified as possibly being Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam), about 2 miles from the modern Pondicherry. Huntingford further notes that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937, and archeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century AD".^[4] The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei ) is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along East Africa and India. ... Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted its best-known excavation in the 1940s. ... Ariyankuppam(Tamil: அரியாங்குப்பம்) is a commune Panchayat in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. ... Map of Pondicherry Region, Union Territory of Pondicherry, India Pondicherry (Tamil:புதுவை,Hindi: पॉण्डिचेरी) is a Union Territory of India. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Large hoards of Roman coins have been found throughout India, and especially in the south, where maritime trade was busiest. One such hoard is in Pudukottai, where coins of the Roman emperor Augustus were found. ...

Other contacts

Main article: Buddhism and the Roman world

Also various exchanges are recorded between India and Rome during this period. In particular, embassies from India, as well as several missions from "Sramanas" to the Roman emperors, are known. Finally, Roman goods and works of art found their way to the Kushans, as archaeological finds in Begram have confirmed. Several instances of interaction between Buddhism and the Roman world are documented by Classical and early Christian writers. ... It has been suggested that shramana be merged into this article or section. ... Aromatic vials in the shape of Greek gods, Begram, 2nd century. ...

Christianity

It is believed that Saint Thomas came to Kerala, India to spread Christianity around 52 AD. Even today people flock to the Church at Malayatoor. The various denominations of modern Saint Thomas Christians ascribe their unwritten tradition to the end of the 2nd century and believe that Thomas landed at Maliankara near Moothakunnam village in Paravoor Thaluk in AD 52. This village located 5 kilometers from Kodungallur in Kerala (state), India in AD 52 and founded (St. Thomas) the churches popularly known as 'Ezharappallikal', meaning Seven and Half churches. These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithamkode — the half church. (See also Saint Thomas of Mylapur). Thomas, also called St. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... The Saint Thomas Christians are a group of Christians from the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in South India, who follow Syriac Christianity. ... Moothakunnam is a small village in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. ... A Roman law prohibits the execution of old and crippled slaves. ... , “Cranganore” redirects here. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... A Roman law prohibits the execution of old and crippled slaves. ... , “Cranganore” redirects here. ... , For the district with the same name, see Kollam District. ... Niranam is a small village in Southern part of Kerala in India. ... Kokkamangalam is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala state, south India. ... This article is about a town in Ernakulam district. ... Palayoor/Palayur is a part of Thrissur district and is located on the west coast of Kerala, in India. ... Saint Thomas of Mylapore, or in Portuguese São Tomé de Meliapore, in Latin Sancti Thomae de Meliapor), was a suffragan to the primatial See of Goa in the East Indies. ...

See also

• Indian maritime history

India has had a maritime history dating back around 5,000 years. ...

Notes

Cornelius Gallus (c. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ... Aswan (Arabic: أسوان Aswān) (, population 200,000) is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. ... Myos Hormos was a Red Sea port constructed by the Ptolemies around the 3rd century BC. A few of its main destinations were the Indus delta and the Kathiawar peninsula in India. ... The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt began following Alexander the Greats conquest in 332 BC and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. It was founded when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt, creating a powerful Hellenistic state from southern Syria...

References

• Lionel Casson, The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text With Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-691-04060-5.
• Chami, F. A. 1999. “The Early Iron Age on Mafia island and its relationship with the mainland.” Azania Vol. XXXIV 1999, pp. 1–10.
• Chami, Felix A. 2002. “The Graeco-Romans and Paanchea/Azania: sailing in the Erythraean Sea” (MS Word-format document), Red Sea Trade and Travel. The British Museum. Organised by The Society for Arabian Studies. Downloaded on 20 July 2003.
• Miller, J. Innes. 1969. The Spice Trade of The Roman Empire: 29 B.C. to A.D. 641. Oxford University Press. Special edition for Sandpiper Books. 1998. ISBN 0-19-814264-1.