Chapter II

EARLY COINAGE

PUNCH-MARKED COINS AND ROMAN COINS

In this chapter Part I includes the emergence and spread of punch-

marked coins its hoards in Kerala coins of the Cheras of the classical period

and their Importance In Part II the Indo-Roman Trade contact is discussed

Along with this the list of goods of exchange the issue of Roman coins

available Roman coin hoards in Kerala are discussed with their common

features

Part I

Punch- marked coins

Punch-marked coins which represent Indialsquos earliest known numismatic

issues have played a vital role in ancient Indian economy for well over five

centuries from the sixth to the first century BC1

Punch-marked coins known

generally in silver and rarely in copper are of various sizes and weights They

were in vogue when writing was not current in India and were rarely used2

Symbols are the most conspicuous features of these coins and they do not bear

any legend or inscription Various forms of representations like hills birds

trees animals human figures floral and geometrical patterns etc appear on

them the exact importance of which is still not clear and remain as

1 The issue of the silver punch-marked coins stopped sometime by the second

century BC but the coinage exerted great influence during the next four or five

hundred years See PLGupta Coins New Delhi 1969 p-17

2 Shankar Goyal Historiography of the Punch-marked Coins JNSI Vol LX shy

LXI p 73

88

89

mysteriousas ever3

The punching devices of these coins may be identified into

several hundred varieties Earlier symbols were simple and bold but later ones

tended to be comparatively small and complex in design The name punch shy

markedlsquo is derived from the fact that the coins concerned bear symbols

stamped by different punches and these punch-marked symbols were generally

associated with villages towns cities mountains river banks and mint

masters 4

Each of the symbol is found confined to the coins of a particular area

or on those of a particular variety or type Thus they enable one to isolate the

coins of one area from those of another of one state from those of another and

of one period from those of another

In order to remove the difficulties from barter and to have a portable and

convenient standard different metals were introduced and in course of time

different stamps or marks were imprinted on them by the issuing authorities5

Highly controversial theories originated about the date and origin of these

coins In the opinion of ALBasham the uninscribed punch-marked coins

were minted from the 6th century BC onwards and were in circulation for

many centuries6

Moreover from a careful study of the symbols such as the

sun mountains trees branches of trees human figures rabbits dogs

3 RVanaja Indian Coinage New Delhi 1083 p 5 Some of the symbols of the

animals marked on the reverse may represent the totemic nature of the tribes or

clans Some geometrical signs have been taken to represent Brahmi letters and

they may represent the initial letter of a personal name Some scholars have tried

to interpret them as Tantric symbols with the help of Tantric texts See Durga

Prasad Observations on different types of Silver Punch Marked Coins their

Periods and Locale Numismatic Supplement XL VII (1938) p 56

4 Visuddhimagga Vide M Chandas presidential address at the 43 Annual Session

of the Numismatic Society of India December 1953 in JNSI XVI XVI Pt 1 p

7

5 The symbols were the identification of the issuing authority and that

symbolssometimes differed according to the provenance and will of the authority

Romila Thapar From Lineage to State Bombay 1984 p 101

6 AL Basham The Wonder that Was India New Delhi 1967 p 504

90

scorpions snakes etc it can be suggested that the punch-marked coins were

issued even earlier than the 6th

century BC when the most primitive Indians

happened to worship sun mountains trees spirits animals snakes and the like

Most scholars consider the punch-marked coins as of indigenous origin We do

not know in which part of India they originated However in the light of recent

evidences we consider that the birth place of punch-marked coins was in some

territories of north India7

There are also differences of opinion about the

issuing authority of the punch-marked coins8

7 CJ Brown The Coins of India New delhi 1988 p 16

8 Some scholars held the view that this coinage was issued by certain private

authorities while others considered it as a government issue According to VA

Smith The punch-marked coinage was a private coinage issued by guilds and

silversmiths with the permission of the rating powers This theory was also

accepted by DC Sircar Durga Prasad strongly refuted the view that the punch-

marked coins were private issues John Allan is of the view that these coins were

issued by a government authority and not by private individuals For further

details see ANLahiri Numismatography of punch-marked Coins JNSI - XLIX shy

Pp 157 -160 Romila Thapar opines that punch-marked coins were issued by a

central authority and probably the imperial mints were situated in the five major

cities of the empire She does not accept the idea that these coins were traders

tokens which gradually acquired the status of a national coinage See Romila

Thapar Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas p 247 Kautilyalsquos Arthasasthra

speaks about the officials like Lakshanadhyaksha or Rupyadhyaksha

Rupadarsika etc connected with coinage For more details See DR

Bhandarkar Lecture on Ancient Indian Numismatics Pp 156-160 See also

Upendra Thakur Minting of coins and Problems of forgery in Indian Coinslsquo in

GKuppuram and K Kumudamani (ed) History of Science and Technology in

India (in 12 volumes) Vol VIII New Delhi Pp3-6 DB Spooner strongly

refuted private issue theorylsquo of the punch-marked coins and he came to the

conclusion that the issuing authorities of these coins were not private agencies

rather than the states themselves See Asiatic Society of India Annual Report shy

1905 - 06 Pp 150-155 Quoted by MK Sheran Tribal Coins A Study Mysore

1975 p 25

91

Scholars also give divergent pictures regarding the metal of the original

coinage9

The earliest coins found at Kasi and Kosala in the Gangetic valley

and bent-bar coins of Gandhara region of 6th

Century BC are of silver Silver

was preferred for the manufacture of coins because it served better as the

medium of exchange with other regions Besides it carried value when melted

As indigenous silver was not available in much quantity there was the

possibility of it being imported from the West The coins in copper were most

likely local issues and they were issued mostly in the post-Mauryan period

In early periods the coins were manufactured usually by three

techniques - punching casting and striking To manufacture coins metal pieces

were cut into the required shape with the help of a chisel and marks were

punched on them later This type of coins can be seen in all possible shapes

such as square octagonal oblong oval circular rectangular bar-type and

irregular Probably the weight of each coin decided the shape In the beginning

only one side of these coins was punched with symbols and the other side

remained blank In course of time this blank side also came to be stamped with

punched marks

Indialsquos earliest silver punch-marked coins are almost certainly represented

by the Droplet issues10

However in early historic India various states followed

minting techniques according to their suitability These techniques consisted of

two important processes viz preparing plantchets and striking coins from the

9 Copper came into use earlier than silver in India Silver was mainly imported from

abroad and so its purity stood in the way of its use for the manufacture of coins

See - SK Chakraborthy opcit Pp 40-41 AS Altekar thinks that Karshapana

Silver currency may not be earlier than C 800 BC but the east copper round and

square coins may be earlier JNSI XXII Pp 1 But this view does not appear to

be correct Copper came into use for coins most likely at the time of the Mauryas

To PL Gupta the early coins are all in silver and no coin of gold is known in

India prior to the advent of the Indo-Bactrians in the second-first centuries BC

PL Gupta opcit p8 Upendra Thakur is of the view that the number of gold

coins issued by the early Indian kings is far less compared to silver and copper

coins Upendra Thakur Source of gold for Early gold coins of India opcit p 71

10 For more details about the Droplet technique see JNSI Vol LV Pp 169 ff

92

89

mysteriousas ever3

The punching devices of these coins may be identified into

several hundred varieties Earlier symbols were simple and bold but later ones

tended to be comparatively small and complex in design The name punch shy

markedlsquo is derived from the fact that the coins concerned bear symbols

stamped by different punches and these punch-marked symbols were generally

associated with villages towns cities mountains river banks and mint

masters 4

Each of the symbol is found confined to the coins of a particular area

or on those of a particular variety or type Thus they enable one to isolate the

coins of one area from those of another of one state from those of another and

of one period from those of another

In order to remove the difficulties from barter and to have a portable and

convenient standard different metals were introduced and in course of time

different stamps or marks were imprinted on them by the issuing authorities5

Highly controversial theories originated about the date and origin of these

coins In the opinion of ALBasham the uninscribed punch-marked coins

were minted from the 6th century BC onwards and were in circulation for

many centuries6

Moreover from a careful study of the symbols such as the

sun mountains trees branches of trees human figures rabbits dogs

3 RVanaja Indian Coinage New Delhi 1083 p 5 Some of the symbols of the

animals marked on the reverse may represent the totemic nature of the tribes or

clans Some geometrical signs have been taken to represent Brahmi letters and

they may represent the initial letter of a personal name Some scholars have tried

to interpret them as Tantric symbols with the help of Tantric texts See Durga

Prasad Observations on different types of Silver Punch Marked Coins their

Periods and Locale Numismatic Supplement XL VII (1938) p 56

4 Visuddhimagga Vide M Chandas presidential address at the 43 Annual Session

of the Numismatic Society of India December 1953 in JNSI XVI XVI Pt 1 p

7

5 The symbols were the identification of the issuing authority and that

symbolssometimes differed according to the provenance and will of the authority

Romila Thapar From Lineage to State Bombay 1984 p 101

6 AL Basham The Wonder that Was India New Delhi 1967 p 504

90

scorpions snakes etc it can be suggested that the punch-marked coins were

issued even earlier than the 6th

century BC when the most primitive Indians

happened to worship sun mountains trees spirits animals snakes and the like

Most scholars consider the punch-marked coins as of indigenous origin We do

not know in which part of India they originated However in the light of recent

evidences we consider that the birth place of punch-marked coins was in some

territories of north India7

There are also differences of opinion about the

issuing authority of the punch-marked coins8

7 CJ Brown The Coins of India New delhi 1988 p 16

8 Some scholars held the view that this coinage was issued by certain private

authorities while others considered it as a government issue According to VA

Smith The punch-marked coinage was a private coinage issued by guilds and

silversmiths with the permission of the rating powers This theory was also

accepted by DC Sircar Durga Prasad strongly refuted the view that the punch-

marked coins were private issues John Allan is of the view that these coins were

issued by a government authority and not by private individuals For further

details see ANLahiri Numismatography of punch-marked Coins JNSI - XLIX shy

Pp 157 -160 Romila Thapar opines that punch-marked coins were issued by a

central authority and probably the imperial mints were situated in the five major

cities of the empire She does not accept the idea that these coins were traders

tokens which gradually acquired the status of a national coinage See Romila

Thapar Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas p 247 Kautilyalsquos Arthasasthra

speaks about the officials like Lakshanadhyaksha or Rupyadhyaksha

Rupadarsika etc connected with coinage For more details See DR

Bhandarkar Lecture on Ancient Indian Numismatics Pp 156-160 See also

Upendra Thakur Minting of coins and Problems of forgery in Indian Coinslsquo in

GKuppuram and K Kumudamani (ed) History of Science and Technology in

India (in 12 volumes) Vol VIII New Delhi Pp3-6 DB Spooner strongly

refuted private issue theorylsquo of the punch-marked coins and he came to the

conclusion that the issuing authorities of these coins were not private agencies

rather than the states themselves See Asiatic Society of India Annual Report shy

1905 - 06 Pp 150-155 Quoted by MK Sheran Tribal Coins A Study Mysore

1975 p 25

91

Scholars also give divergent pictures regarding the metal of the original

coinage9

The earliest coins found at Kasi and Kosala in the Gangetic valley

and bent-bar coins of Gandhara region of 6th

Century BC are of silver Silver

was preferred for the manufacture of coins because it served better as the

medium of exchange with other regions Besides it carried value when melted

As indigenous silver was not available in much quantity there was the

possibility of it being imported from the West The coins in copper were most

likely local issues and they were issued mostly in the post-Mauryan period

In early periods the coins were manufactured usually by three

techniques - punching casting and striking To manufacture coins metal pieces

were cut into the required shape with the help of a chisel and marks were

punched on them later This type of coins can be seen in all possible shapes

such as square octagonal oblong oval circular rectangular bar-type and

irregular Probably the weight of each coin decided the shape In the beginning

only one side of these coins was punched with symbols and the other side

remained blank In course of time this blank side also came to be stamped with

punched marks

Indialsquos earliest silver punch-marked coins are almost certainly represented

by the Droplet issues10

However in early historic India various states followed

minting techniques according to their suitability These techniques consisted of

two important processes viz preparing plantchets and striking coins from the

9 Copper came into use earlier than silver in India Silver was mainly imported from

abroad and so its purity stood in the way of its use for the manufacture of coins

See - SK Chakraborthy opcit Pp 40-41 AS Altekar thinks that Karshapana

Silver currency may not be earlier than C 800 BC but the east copper round and

square coins may be earlier JNSI XXII Pp 1 But this view does not appear to

be correct Copper came into use for coins most likely at the time of the Mauryas

To PL Gupta the early coins are all in silver and no coin of gold is known in

India prior to the advent of the Indo-Bactrians in the second-first centuries BC

PL Gupta opcit p8 Upendra Thakur is of the view that the number of gold

coins issued by the early Indian kings is far less compared to silver and copper

coins Upendra Thakur Source of gold for Early gold coins of India opcit p 71

10 For more details about the Droplet technique see JNSI Vol LV Pp 169 ff

92

mysteriousas ever3

The punching devices of these coins may be identified into

several hundred varieties Earlier symbols were simple and bold but later ones

tended to be comparatively small and complex in design The name punch shy

markedlsquo is derived from the fact that the coins concerned bear symbols

stamped by different punches and these punch-marked symbols were generally

associated with villages towns cities mountains river banks and mint

masters 4

Each of the symbol is found confined to the coins of a particular area

or on those of a particular variety or type Thus they enable one to isolate the

coins of one area from those of another of one state from those of another and

of one period from those of another

In order to remove the difficulties from barter and to have a portable and

convenient standard different metals were introduced and in course of time

different stamps or marks were imprinted on them by the issuing authorities5

Highly controversial theories originated about the date and origin of these

coins In the opinion of ALBasham the uninscribed punch-marked coins

were minted from the 6th century BC onwards and were in circulation for

many centuries6

Moreover from a careful study of the symbols such as the

sun mountains trees branches of trees human figures rabbits dogs

3 RVanaja Indian Coinage New Delhi 1083 p 5 Some of the symbols of the

animals marked on the reverse may represent the totemic nature of the tribes or

clans Some geometrical signs have been taken to represent Brahmi letters and

they may represent the initial letter of a personal name Some scholars have tried

to interpret them as Tantric symbols with the help of Tantric texts See Durga

Prasad Observations on different types of Silver Punch Marked Coins their

Periods and Locale Numismatic Supplement XL VII (1938) p 56

4 Visuddhimagga Vide M Chandas presidential address at the 43 Annual Session

of the Numismatic Society of India December 1953 in JNSI XVI XVI Pt 1 p

7

5 The symbols were the identification of the issuing authority and that

symbolssometimes differed according to the provenance and will of the authority

Romila Thapar From Lineage to State Bombay 1984 p 101

6 AL Basham The Wonder that Was India New Delhi 1967 p 504

90

scorpions snakes etc it can be suggested that the punch-marked coins were

issued even earlier than the 6th

century BC when the most primitive Indians

happened to worship sun mountains trees spirits animals snakes and the like

Most scholars consider the punch-marked coins as of indigenous origin We do

not know in which part of India they originated However in the light of recent

evidences we consider that the birth place of punch-marked coins was in some

territories of north India7

There are also differences of opinion about the

issuing authority of the punch-marked coins8

7 CJ Brown The Coins of India New delhi 1988 p 16

8 Some scholars held the view that this coinage was issued by certain private

authorities while others considered it as a government issue According to VA

Smith The punch-marked coinage was a private coinage issued by guilds and

silversmiths with the permission of the rating powers This theory was also

accepted by DC Sircar Durga Prasad strongly refuted the view that the punch-

marked coins were private issues John Allan is of the view that these coins were

issued by a government authority and not by private individuals For further

details see ANLahiri Numismatography of punch-marked Coins JNSI - XLIX shy

Pp 157 -160 Romila Thapar opines that punch-marked coins were issued by a

central authority and probably the imperial mints were situated in the five major

cities of the empire She does not accept the idea that these coins were traders

tokens which gradually acquired the status of a national coinage See Romila

Thapar Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas p 247 Kautilyalsquos Arthasasthra

speaks about the officials like Lakshanadhyaksha or Rupyadhyaksha

Rupadarsika etc connected with coinage For more details See DR

Bhandarkar Lecture on Ancient Indian Numismatics Pp 156-160 See also

Upendra Thakur Minting of coins and Problems of forgery in Indian Coinslsquo in

GKuppuram and K Kumudamani (ed) History of Science and Technology in

India (in 12 volumes) Vol VIII New Delhi Pp3-6 DB Spooner strongly

refuted private issue theorylsquo of the punch-marked coins and he came to the

conclusion that the issuing authorities of these coins were not private agencies

rather than the states themselves See Asiatic Society of India Annual Report shy

1905 - 06 Pp 150-155 Quoted by MK Sheran Tribal Coins A Study Mysore

1975 p 25

91

Scholars also give divergent pictures regarding the metal of the original

coinage9

The earliest coins found at Kasi and Kosala in the Gangetic valley

and bent-bar coins of Gandhara region of 6th

Century BC are of silver Silver

was preferred for the manufacture of coins because it served better as the

medium of exchange with other regions Besides it carried value when melted

As indigenous silver was not available in much quantity there was the

possibility of it being imported from the West The coins in copper were most

likely local issues and they were issued mostly in the post-Mauryan period

In early periods the coins were manufactured usually by three

techniques - punching casting and striking To manufacture coins metal pieces

were cut into the required shape with the help of a chisel and marks were

punched on them later This type of coins can be seen in all possible shapes

such as square octagonal oblong oval circular rectangular bar-type and

irregular Probably the weight of each coin decided the shape In the beginning

only one side of these coins was punched with symbols and the other side

remained blank In course of time this blank side also came to be stamped with

punched marks

Indialsquos earliest silver punch-marked coins are almost certainly represented

by the Droplet issues10

However in early historic India various states followed

minting techniques according to their suitability These techniques consisted of

two important processes viz preparing plantchets and striking coins from the

9 Copper came into use earlier than silver in India Silver was mainly imported from

abroad and so its purity stood in the way of its use for the manufacture of coins

See - SK Chakraborthy opcit Pp 40-41 AS Altekar thinks that Karshapana

Silver currency may not be earlier than C 800 BC but the east copper round and

square coins may be earlier JNSI XXII Pp 1 But this view does not appear to

be correct Copper came into use for coins most likely at the time of the Mauryas

To PL Gupta the early coins are all in silver and no coin of gold is known in

India prior to the advent of the Indo-Bactrians in the second-first centuries BC

PL Gupta opcit p8 Upendra Thakur is of the view that the number of gold

coins issued by the early Indian kings is far less compared to silver and copper

coins Upendra Thakur Source of gold for Early gold coins of India opcit p 71

10 For more details about the Droplet technique see JNSI Vol LV Pp 169 ff

92

scorpions snakes etc it can be suggested that the punch-marked coins were

issued even earlier than the 6th

century BC when the most primitive Indians

happened to worship sun mountains trees spirits animals snakes and the like

Most scholars consider the punch-marked coins as of indigenous origin We do

not know in which part of India they originated However in the light of recent

evidences we consider that the birth place of punch-marked coins was in some

territories of north India7

There are also differences of opinion about the

issuing authority of the punch-marked coins8

7 CJ Brown The Coins of India New delhi 1988 p 16

8 Some scholars held the view that this coinage was issued by certain private

authorities while others considered it as a government issue According to VA

Smith The punch-marked coinage was a private coinage issued by guilds and

silversmiths with the permission of the rating powers This theory was also

accepted by DC Sircar Durga Prasad strongly refuted the view that the punch-

marked coins were private issues John Allan is of the view that these coins were

issued by a government authority and not by private individuals For further

details see ANLahiri Numismatography of punch-marked Coins JNSI - XLIX shy

Pp 157 -160 Romila Thapar opines that punch-marked coins were issued by a

central authority and probably the imperial mints were situated in the five major

cities of the empire She does not accept the idea that these coins were traders

tokens which gradually acquired the status of a national coinage See Romila

Thapar Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas p 247 Kautilyalsquos Arthasasthra

speaks about the officials like Lakshanadhyaksha or Rupyadhyaksha

Rupadarsika etc connected with coinage For more details See DR

Bhandarkar Lecture on Ancient Indian Numismatics Pp 156-160 See also

Upendra Thakur Minting of coins and Problems of forgery in Indian Coinslsquo in

GKuppuram and K Kumudamani (ed) History of Science and Technology in

India (in 12 volumes) Vol VIII New Delhi Pp3-6 DB Spooner strongly

refuted private issue theorylsquo of the punch-marked coins and he came to the

conclusion that the issuing authorities of these coins were not private agencies

rather than the states themselves See Asiatic Society of India Annual Report shy

1905 - 06 Pp 150-155 Quoted by MK Sheran Tribal Coins A Study Mysore

1975 p 25

91

Scholars also give divergent pictures regarding the metal of the original

coinage9

The earliest coins found at Kasi and Kosala in the Gangetic valley

and bent-bar coins of Gandhara region of 6th

Century BC are of silver Silver

was preferred for the manufacture of coins because it served better as the

medium of exchange with other regions Besides it carried value when melted

As indigenous silver was not available in much quantity there was the

possibility of it being imported from the West The coins in copper were most

likely local issues and they were issued mostly in the post-Mauryan period

In early periods the coins were manufactured usually by three

techniques - punching casting and striking To manufacture coins metal pieces

were cut into the required shape with the help of a chisel and marks were

punched on them later This type of coins can be seen in all possible shapes

such as square octagonal oblong oval circular rectangular bar-type and

irregular Probably the weight of each coin decided the shape In the beginning

only one side of these coins was punched with symbols and the other side

remained blank In course of time this blank side also came to be stamped with

punched marks

Indialsquos earliest silver punch-marked coins are almost certainly represented

by the Droplet issues10

However in early historic India various states followed

minting techniques according to their suitability These techniques consisted of

two important processes viz preparing plantchets and striking coins from the

9 Copper came into use earlier than silver in India Silver was mainly imported from

abroad and so its purity stood in the way of its use for the manufacture of coins

See - SK Chakraborthy opcit Pp 40-41 AS Altekar thinks that Karshapana

Silver currency may not be earlier than C 800 BC but the east copper round and

square coins may be earlier JNSI XXII Pp 1 But this view does not appear to

be correct Copper came into use for coins most likely at the time of the Mauryas

To PL Gupta the early coins are all in silver and no coin of gold is known in

India prior to the advent of the Indo-Bactrians in the second-first centuries BC

PL Gupta opcit p8 Upendra Thakur is of the view that the number of gold

coins issued by the early Indian kings is far less compared to silver and copper

coins Upendra Thakur Source of gold for Early gold coins of India opcit p 71

10 For more details about the Droplet technique see JNSI Vol LV Pp 169 ff

92

Scholars also give divergent pictures regarding the metal of the original

coinage9

The earliest coins found at Kasi and Kosala in the Gangetic valley

and bent-bar coins of Gandhara region of 6th

Century BC are of silver Silver

was preferred for the manufacture of coins because it served better as the

medium of exchange with other regions Besides it carried value when melted

As indigenous silver was not available in much quantity there was the

possibility of it being imported from the West The coins in copper were most

likely local issues and they were issued mostly in the post-Mauryan period

In early periods the coins were manufactured usually by three

techniques - punching casting and striking To manufacture coins metal pieces

were cut into the required shape with the help of a chisel and marks were

punched on them later This type of coins can be seen in all possible shapes

such as square octagonal oblong oval circular rectangular bar-type and

irregular Probably the weight of each coin decided the shape In the beginning

only one side of these coins was punched with symbols and the other side

remained blank In course of time this blank side also came to be stamped with

punched marks

Indialsquos earliest silver punch-marked coins are almost certainly represented

by the Droplet issues10

However in early historic India various states followed

minting techniques according to their suitability These techniques consisted of

two important processes viz preparing plantchets and striking coins from the

9 Copper came into use earlier than silver in India Silver was mainly imported from

abroad and so its purity stood in the way of its use for the manufacture of coins

See - SK Chakraborthy opcit Pp 40-41 AS Altekar thinks that Karshapana

Silver currency may not be earlier than C 800 BC but the east copper round and

square coins may be earlier JNSI XXII Pp 1 But this view does not appear to

be correct Copper came into use for coins most likely at the time of the Mauryas

To PL Gupta the early coins are all in silver and no coin of gold is known in

India prior to the advent of the Indo-Bactrians in the second-first centuries BC

PL Gupta opcit p8 Upendra Thakur is of the view that the number of gold

coins issued by the early Indian kings is far less compared to silver and copper

coins Upendra Thakur Source of gold for Early gold coins of India opcit p 71

10 For more details about the Droplet technique see JNSI Vol LV Pp 169 ff

92

plantchets and both these techniques embody a dozen techniques for the

fabrication of punch-marked coins in India11

Thousands of punch-marked coins have been discovered virtually from

all parts of the Indian subcontinent often in big hoards consisting of five to

eight thousand pieces They are of numerous denominations and fabric series

earlier ones being local found in restricted areas and later ones universal or

imperial punch-marked coins found almost throughout the country12

The coins

of the local series were chronologically earlier than the coins of the Imperial

series and they mainly represented the coinage of the various Janapadas of the

early Budhist age13

The Imperial series was the coinage of the Magadhan

Empire and it has further been classified into six categories14

The hoards of the

Imperial coins generally do not include the local type of coins But in a few

hoards where local type of coins are known along with the Imperial coins the

former are few in number and are in uquite worn-out condition This shows that

the regional coinage was anterior to the Imperial coinage But some scholars

have criticised this classification15

11 JNSI Vol L VIII - Pp 115-120

12 JNSI XLIX Pp 157-160

13 PL Gupta The Early Coins From KeralaTrivandrum 1965 Pp 3-4

14 Six Categories According to PL Gupta the coins of Period I of the Golakpur

hoardmay be attributed to Ajatasatru (552-520 BC) The coins of period II were

issued by the successors of Ajatasatru in between 520-440 BC the coins of

period III were in all probability issued by Sisunaga and his successors The coins

of period IV may be attributed to the kings of the Nanda dynasty while the coins

of period V may be attributed to Chandnagupta Maurya But it is not certain if all

the coins of this period were issued by him Some of the varieties might belong to

his son Bindusara The coins of period VI should be attributed to Asoka P L

Gupta Ibid

15 Some aspects of this theory have been criticised by SR Goyal According to him

There was no Imperial power in South India in the sixth century BC and coins

of the Imperial series which are recovered from all over India strictly speaking

should be ascribed to the Nandas and Mauryas SR Goyal Indegenous coins of

Early India (Hence forth ICEI) Jodhpur 1994 Pp 90-93 16

93

The punch-marked coins are also known to ancient writers as

Karshapanas Mashas and Panas16

The early punch-marked coins as we have

seen were local with their respective characteristics The later ones have five

symbols punched one after another Literary records speak of Karshapanas

which is derived from Karsha17

of gold silver and copper The gold

Karshapanalsquo was also known as suvarna and niska whereas the silver one

was called purana or dharana Likewise the copper karshapana bore the

popular designation of pana18

However most of these coins are of silver they

are of 32 rattis19

and these silver punch-marked coins are found all over India

from Kabul to the mouth of the Ganges and from the Himalayas to Cape

Comorin20

The units of Karshapana are karshapana ardha-karshapana pada

karshapana chatur - mashaka trimashaka dvi-mashaka and kakani21

Among

the coins of the punch-marked class the rectangular silver bars are generally

believed to be the oldest Some of these bars are bent in shape and the

manufacturing techniques are also different from the ordinary punch-marked

coins22

Thus some scholars believe that the bent bar silver coins precede the

punch-marked coins and punch-marked coins came into use later under the

Mauryas

16 AV Narasimhamurthy The Coins of Karnataka Mysore 1975 p 31

17 A Cunningham Coins of Ancient India From the Earliest Times Down to the

Seventh Century AD London 1891 p 6

18 DC Sircar Studies in Indian coins Delhi 1968 p 2

19 A Cunnigham opcit

20 Ibid p 42

21 DR Bhadarkar Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics Calcuta 1921 p 77

22 DC Sircar op cit Pp 5-6

94

In the order of succession we find that after the punch-marked coins the

technique of casting from moulds came into use some time in the 3rd century

BC In this system instead of punching several symbols by separate dies a

single model was prepared where all the symbols were put together and then

from that model moulds were made and molten metal was poured into the

moulds to cast coins This type of coin-casting was prevalent upto the

beginning of the Christian era These coins were made only of copper The

Yandheyas23

were the foremost in issuing the moulded coins The difficulties

faced in producing cast-coins could have been obviated by following another

technique of minting called die-struck It was a superior and easier method and

so it became very popular at that time

Manufacture of coins by punch-marking and casting (the two previous

methods) gradually became extinct This system was adopted by the north

Indian tribes in which the regular die system was introduced and later on

inscriptions were also added into it At first the device was only on one side

but gradually the double-die system came into practice The die-striking

technique can be described as an anvil and punch technique On a design

engraved on the anvil the coin blank was placed and driven to one with a

punch or hammered to take the impression of the design The anvil-die bore

the symbols in intaglio so that they would come out in relief on the coin In the

next stage a design was engraved on the punch as well so that the coin came

out with types on both faces the type from the anvil being called the obverse

and that of the punch being called the reverse24

The shape of the dies was at

first square or rectangular This is the traditional shape of the indigenous Indian

coins But afterwards coins were made in the circular shape and the dies also

were shaped accordingly Among the most well-produced die-struck

23 The Yandheyas were the famous warrior class in ancient India Their coins fall

intothree classes - the Bull and elephant type the Brahmanya Deva coins and the

warrior type coins For more details see SK Chakkraborthy A study of Ancient

Indian Numismatics (Varanasi 1973) Pp 219-225 24

RVanaja Indian Coinage New Delhi 1983 p 4

95

series of coins in ancient India we can include those issued by the Indo-

Greeks Scytho- Parthians Kushanas the Imperial Guptas etc 25

Punch-marked coins which were so far considered to be the earliest

coins of India were known to have been in circulation throughout India South

India was no exception to this and it has been proved by the discovery of these

coins in different parts of the south The cowrie (cypraea moneta)26

or Kavati in

Malayalam was used as money of the smallest value from ancient times to

recent centuries throughout India including south India The cowrie that was

peoples money even before the actual coins made its appearance could

justifiably take precedence in any description of ancient coins even though

there is not much to be described as this shell is known to all27

The cowrie

shells were mainly imported from East Africa the Maldives and the Laccadive

islands28

and were used for minor transactions They were linked up with

copper We have references to cowrie shells (sippikani) in the Jatakas in the

sense of doits or mites29

and already they had been supplanted by metallic

coins The cowrie remained the medium of exchange when the coins were

found very valuable for the purpose But the relationship between the cowrie

and the standard coin is very difficult to

25 BN Mukherjee Technology of Indian coinage Ancient and Medieval Period in

History of Science and Technology of India Calcutta 1988 p39

26 Archaeology Anthropology and history agree that the money use of cowrie is

recorded only in historical times but on a careful check the monetary use is

found to be by no means coincident with Pre-historic sites For more details

about cowrie money see Primitive Archaic and modern economics Essays of

Karl Polanyi Edited by George Dalton PP 280 ff See also DC Sircar opcit

Pp 279 ff

27 KAN Sasthri Foreign Notices Madras 1939 1953 p 122

28 Watt Sir G The Commercial Products of India London 1908 (Delhi 1966) p

989

29 HHDodwen (ed) Cambridge History of India Vol I London 1922 p 218

96

determine30

There can be no doubt that the number of cowries in lieu of a

particular coin differed in various parts of the country

On the Malabar coast gold and silver were the money of commerce

when Ibn Batuta visited but in the inland towns of the subcontinent cowrie was

31 32in use as the money of the poor The palunku Kasu of Sangam literature is

probably the cowries Kanam is another name of the gold coin in usage but

like kasu it also denoted gold in general33

However the earliest metallic

currency of Tamil land were known as copper globules These globules were

in use as a medium of exchange probably before the arrival of copper and

silver punch-marked coins from the northern part of India34

Because of the

influence of the north the punch-marked coins found in south India sometimes

reflect the similarity with the northern technique of punch-marked coins

The biggest hoard of silver punch-marked coins ever known in India

was found at Amaravati in Gundur district of Andhra35 It was an exclusive

30 In 1740 a rupee in Bengal exchanged for 2400 cowries in 1840 for 6500 See

Walter Elliot The Coins of Southern India London 1986 p 59 Foot Note No 2

At present in Bengal 20 Cowrie shells are given in exchange for a pice a copper

coin So 1280 (20 x 64) Cowries equated to a rupee the silver standard coin See

SK Chakraborthi A Study of Ancient Indian Numismatics Varanasi 1973 p

103 Alexander Cunningham stated that in ancient times 80 Cowries were equal in

value for exchange purposes to a copper Karshapana of 80 ratis and 16 panas of

80 Cowries each he equates to a silver Karshapana or Dharana of 32 ratis For

details See A Cunningham Coins of Ancient India London 189 Pp 46-47

31 George Dalton (ed) Essays of Karl Polanyi opcit p298 Padmanabha Menon

pointed out the use of Cowries in Malabar during 17th century For details see

KP Padmanabha Menon Canter vishers Letter XII in History of Kerala Pp 26shy

27

32 Agam 31512

33 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1975 p 245

34 See JNSI Vol LVIII p 1

35 PL Gupta Inscribed Silver Punch Marked Coins in Oriental Numismatic

Studies Vol I (ed) Devendra Handa New Delhi 1996p2 37

97

determine30

There can be no doubt that the number of cowries in lieu of a

particular coin differed in various parts of the country

On the Malabar coast gold and silver were the money of commerce

when Ibn Batuta visited but in the inland towns of the subcontinent cowrie was

31 32in use as the money of the poor The palunku Kasu of Sangam literature is

probably the cowries Kanam is another name of the gold coin in usage but

like kasu it also denoted gold in general33

However the earliest metallic

currency of Tamil land were known as copper globules These globules were

in use as a medium of exchange probably before the arrival of copper and

silver punch-marked coins from the northern part of India34

Because of the

influence of the north the punch-marked coins found in south India sometimes

reflect the similarity with the northern technique of punch-marked coins

The biggest hoard of silver punch-marked coins ever known in India

was found at Amaravati in Gundur district of Andhra35 It was an exclusive

30 In 1740 a rupee in Bengal exchanged for 2400 cowries in 1840 for 6500 See

Walter Elliot The Coins of Southern India London 1986 p 59 Foot Note No 2

At present in Bengal 20 Cowrie shells are given in exchange for a pice a copper

coin So 1280 (20 x 64) Cowries equated to a rupee the silver standard coin See

SK Chakraborthi A Study of Ancient Indian Numismatics Varanasi 1973 p

103 Alexander Cunningham stated that in ancient times 80 Cowries were equal in

value for exchange purposes to a copper Karshapana of 80 ratis and 16 panas of

80 Cowries each he equates to a silver Karshapana or Dharana of 32 ratis For

details See A Cunningham Coins of Ancient India London 189 Pp 46-47

31 George Dalton (ed) Essays of Karl Polanyi opcit p298 Padmanabha Menon

pointed out the use of Cowries in Malabar during 17th century For details see

KP Padmanabha Menon Canter vishers Letter XII in History of Kerala Pp 26shy

27

32 Agam 31512

33 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1975 p 245

34 See JNSI Vol LVIII p 1

35 PL Gupta Inscribed Silver Punch Marked Coins in Oriental Numismatic

Studies Vol I (ed) Devendra Handa New Delhi 1996p2 37

97

south Indian issue In the peninsular region of the south punch-marked coins

are found in association with Roman coins Many such hoards have been

recovered from the regions of Tamil Nadu Karnataka and Kerala and new

discoveries are continuously reported from all parts of the south Several

punch-marked coins along with Roman coins were reported from random

exposures of Pandukulis (Megalithic tombs) in south India especially from

Coimbatore - Erode areas 36

But the absence of punch-marked coins in the

western Megaliths and relative paucity in later times show that they might have

reached the west coast rather late more or less at the same time as Roman

coins the hoards of which far outnumber the punch-marked coins hoards in the

west coast unlike the eastern Tamilakom and Deccan in general It is a belief

that all the punch-marked coins that were found in the south seem to have

travelled from the north and they do not show any sign of their having been

minted here It also seems to be clear that the silver punch-marked coins were

reaching the south through the religious migrants after the urbanisation in the

north (Mahajanapadas) and the rise of religious faiths like Jainism and

Budhism mainly under the patronage of trading communities37

But the

problem that surrounds these hoards and dating them in relation to their cultural

contexts largely remained speculative38

It is only after the fall of the Mauryan Empire that some silver punch-

marked coins which have five symbols of a local type were issued in the

Pandyan territory But the actual date of the origin and circulation of this coin

are not known The available evidences so far indicate that silver punch-

marked coins of Magadha were in circulation in important commercial centres

36 IK Sarma - South Indian Coinage A Review of the Recent Discoveries p 11

(Madras 1992)

37 IK Sarma opcit p 11

38 TV Mahalingam (ed) Seminar Papers on the Chronology of the Punch marked

coins No 1 Varanasi 1966 Pp 20-23

98

in Tamil Nadu and were accepted as currency by the Tamil Kings39

But the

absence of punch-marked coins in the Mauryan strata at the very historical sites

in Andhra Pradesh supports the view that these coins do not qualify to be

reckoned as official currency of the times in the southern region40

However

Mauryan coins had a unique influence in south India41

After the

disintegration of the Mauryas many subordinate and feudatory families who

were serving the Mauryan Emperors faithfully declared a sudden

independence So the centralised money economy was shattered and it was

replaced by the local one The local governors and the feudatories who were

called Maharashtriya or Marathis42

established their own kingdoms in many

parts of the Deccan They began to issue die-struck coins Their early coins

were uninscribed and were of copper In course of time they started to issue

inscribed coins Among the inscribed coins lead coins were found in large

numbers

The credit of inaugurating the minting of coins in lead goes to these

Marathis After the Marathis Anandas43

ruled the country and their coins are

also available The Sathavahanas built up an empire slowly but steadily

39 JNSI Vol LVIII p 2

40 IK Sarma Punch-marked coins from Recent Excavations A review of the finds

from South India in PL Gupta and AK Jha (Ed) Numismatics and

Archaeology Nasik 1987 Pp 93-101

41 The South Indian punch marked coins has some similarity with the Mauryan type

punch marked coins which was mostly circulated throughout India After the fall

of the Mauryan Empire the Pandyans in South India issued some local type

silver punch marked coins which have five symbols just like Mauryan coins For

details see - PL Gupta coins New Delhi 1969 p43

42 Ibid p 44

43 Their coins have a big symbol of nine arches - two rows of four small arches each

one over the other and above them a big arch Over the symbol is the inscription

The reverse has a tree-in-railing with a few small symbols The Ananda rulers

adopted the title of Raja (Rajno) on their coins Ibid p45

99

sometimes in the first century BC and ruled over a wide territory Their coins

are the richest in the Deccan both in variety and quality The money economy

of the Satavahanas was regional in character44

and it is also believed that they

may be the first indigenous monarchs to issue silver portrait coins Obviously

their economy was indigenous and it played a dominant role in the

development of coinage of South India

During the post-Gupta period money economy received a considerable

set back because of the attacks of the Hunas the decline of the silk trade of

India with Byzantine empire and the collapse of the Sessanid Empire So both

internal and external trades declined and local units of production came into

existence There arose the necessity of producing local commodities to meet

local needs Peasants and artisans had to be attracted to the village for the

purpose There was the transfer of income in cash and kind from trade and

industries to the temples Monasteries and temples formed wide economic

units some of them comprising of more than a hundred villages Because of

the paucity of coins lands were granted not only to priests scholars temples

and monasteries but also to the officers of the state45

During this period urban

life also began to disappear and all these tendencies gradually led to feudalism

The post-Gupta period witnessed the imitation of the Gupta coinage in many

parts of the country The most striking feature of the south Indian coins during

the post-Gupta period is the revival of punch-marked coins The coins of this

period are different from the coins of northern India Among South Indian

coins known as Padmatanka46

round and cup-shaped

44 Shastri AM Coinage of the Satavahanas and Coins from Excavations p 4

Nagpur 1972 45

Sharma RS Indian Feudalism p 11 (Delhi Second Edn 1980)

46 The Kadambas of Banavasi are considered to be the originators of this coin

(Padmatanka) They have a prominent lotus punched in the centre in addition to

various symbols punched on sides Because of the punches the flat thin pieces

assumed the shape of low cup These coins weigh 58 grains On the obverse of

this coin is seen a central punch of a lotus and around this are seen punches

containing retrospectant lions The reverse has a scroll ornament and two

indented marks See PL Gupta opcit Pp 60-64

100

small and thin coins were very popular for many centuries Besides these the

tradition of boar coins also began in south India47

rd rdDuring the Sangam period (from the 3 c BC to the 3 century AD)

the Tamil country was ruled by three traditional kingdoms - the Cholas the

Pandyas and the Cheras They were also mentioned by the Mauryan Emperor

Ashoka as independent neighbours beyond the Imperial borders48

The

Pandyans inhabited the modern Madurai and Tinnevelly districts (ie the southshy

eastern parts of Tamil country) the Cholas the Coromandel coast

(Cholamandalam) ie the north-eastern part of Tamil country and the Cheras

the kingdom in its developed form extended from the west to the east

including the central portion of modern Kerala state and those parts of

Kongunatu which now form the Coimbatore and Salem districts of the present-

day Tamil Nadu State Although their frontiers varied considerably during

different periods this distribution is sufficiently accurate for a study of their

coin types

Scholars believe that tiger fish and bow and arrow were the natural

emblems of the Cholas Pandyas and Cheras or Keralas respectively and the

coins bearing the aforesaid symbols testify to the Chola occupation of the

Pandyas and Kerala kingdoms The Sangam period also witnessed the

development of coinage under the native kings and chieftains influx of coins

of Satavahanas Kushanas Romans Seleucids Phoenicians besides coins from

the Greek Island Rhodes and Crete Among the three major Tamil kingdoms in

the Sangam period the Periplus mentions Kerala as Cerobothra while Pliny

the Roman historian of the first century calls it Caelabothras In contemporary

47 It is generally believed that the early gold coins of South India and the Deccan

which contained a boar on their obverse were issues of the Calukyas of Badami

Ibid p 67

48 See KKrishnamurthy Sangam period Chera coins JNSI XL p 36

101

Tamil country it is invariably referred to as the Chera country49

In early Tamil

literature the Cheras are referred to as Cheralas and Cheramans They had trade

contacts with the traders of the Roman Empire and Muziri was perhaps the

leading port for foreign ships

It is difficult to fix the date of the origin of the early Chera kingdom

However we consider its emergence during the period of Emperor Ashoka ie

3rd century BC The famous Ashoka-edicts founded in the south mention

Kerala as one of the kingdoms lying outside the southern boundary of the

Mauryan Empire Ashoka refers to Kelalaputo in his Girnar inscription and his

Kalsi inscription gives the name Kelaputo standing for Cheraman50

He has

also mentioned the three traditional kingdoms in the south ie the Pandyas

the Cholas and the Cheras as independent neighbours Kerala is also

mentioned in the Rigveda Aitheriyam and Vatmiki Ramayana In Mahabharata

Vyasamuni says that the Cheras Cholas and Pandyas attended the Rajasuya

Yejna performed by Yudhishtira51

It extended to the period of early Chera

kingdom before the Maurya age However our earliest source of knowledge

about the Cheras their kingdom society etc in some details comes from the

early Sangam literature of the first three to four centuries of the Christian era

and travelogues of foreigners who visited South India in ancient times Among

the Sangam works Patittupattu gives more information about the early history

of the ten Chera rulers52

their kingdoms and the society of that time The

earliest Chera king referred to in Tamil literature seems to be Udiyan Cheral

49 Sarkar H An architectural Survey of Temples of Kerala Madras 1978 p 11

50 Ibid p 10

51 See KNJ Vol 1 Nol

52 For details see Sreedharamenon AKeralacharithram (Mal) Kottayam 1967

Pp 66-71 Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Varier Kerala Charithram Sukapuram

1991 Appendix No 1 Pp 231-233 Nagaswamy Tamil coins A Study Madras

1981 Pp3-6

102

who assumed the title Perum Chorru Udiyan and was placed on the throne in

17 AD or 130 AD53

Following him another nine Chera rulers ruled over

ancient Tamilakom and some of them made rich donations to the temples and

villages54

The earliest coins of the Sangam period Chera kingdom are small square

copper coins with symbols similar to those found in silver punch-marked

coins like arched hill elephant trees umbrella river with fishes swastikalsquo

sunlsquo srivatsalsquo wheel (chakra) garland bull etc on the obverse and bow and

arrow the dynastic symbol of the Cheras on the reverse55

In some of the coins

an ankusa (goad) is also found with bow and arrow These coins are die-struck

The Cheras in the Sangam age also issued silver coins with the symbols like the

Sun square tank caducus and Sadacharachakra on the obverse and the

dynastic symbol bow and arrowlsquo on both sides Such round coins were found

at Amaravati river bed near Karur56

The discovery of many silver portrait coins of Makkotai dynasty has also

been reported from different parts of Tamil Nadu57

All such coins carried the

legend

53 Sesha Aiyer fixes the period of Udiyan Cheral in 17 AD while KA Neelakanta

Sastri considers the period 130 A-D See Sesha Aiyer KG Chera Kings of the

Sangham Period SSIC p 517 Neelakanta Sastri KA A Comprehensive History

of India New Delhi 1963 p 123

54 Nedum Cheral Adan gave costly Jewels as donation to the temples and 500

villages in Umbaikadu Narmudi Cheral gifted 40 lakhs gold coins to the poet

Kappiyamar See UV Swaminatha Iyer (ed) Padirrupattu Madras 1957 p 36

55 See JNSI Vol XLIX Pp 36-38

56 See SSIC Vol X - Pp 28-31PVijayaraghavan A Punch-marked Chera Silver

Coins from Karur

57 Krishnamurthy R Cheraman Makkotai Vellikkasu (Kri Pi 2-aam nootandu)

TinamaniTamil news paper Madras 16-3-1991 Quoted from KNJ Vol 1 No 2

103

Makkotai and it had some similarities with Roman portrait type coins58

Besides the silver portrait coins of King Makkotai which belong to a period

starting from the third quarter of 100 BC to the end of 100 AD a counter

struck silver coin of Makkotai59

has been reported Anyhow the discovery of

the silver portrait coins of Makkotai interrogates the priority of Satavahanas in

the issues of silver portrait coins

A coin of King Kuttuvan Kotai60

with a legend in Tamil Brahmi Script

is also available There is a reference about one circular copper coin at Karur

which contains the legend Kollippura61

which means Porayan - the ruler of

Kolli hills in Tamil-Brahmi script on the obverse and a prominent bow and

arrow with the minute symbols like arched-hill fishes and a seated tiger on the

reverse62

No doubt it is clear from the prominent bow and arrow symbol that

the coin is an issue of the Chera ruler Other minute symbols on the coin like

fishes and tiger probably reflect the mutual contacts that existed among the

58 The portrait coins of the Cheras do not carry the dynastic emblems of them ie

the bow and arrow It had only a portrait on the obverse and the legend Makkotai

above the head in Tamil-Brahmi Script The reverse is blank R Krishna Murthy

identified Makkotai with the Sangam period Chera king with the same name For

details see Sangam Period Silver Coins of Makkotai First oriented Numismatic

conferences (Nagpur 1990) Also see SS1C Vol 11 Pp 89-93 R

Krishnamurthy Makkotai Coins Ibid Sangam Age Tamil Coins (Chennai 1997)

Pp 97-103 KNJ Vol 1 No2

59 SSIC Vol VIII Pp 35-39 Like the portrait type of coins of the Roman Emperors

jewellery devices are not seen on the portrait type coins of Makkotai For details

See JNSI Vol LVIII p 7

60 Krishnamurthy R Coins of Kuttuvan Kotai Discovered The Hindu Madras 24shy

5-1994

61 th The Tamil-Brahmi legend on the obverse side of the coin starting at 8 and

ending at 1st

has been read as Kollippurai by Nagaswami See Nagaswamy The

Sangam Age Coin found The Hindu Madras 6-9-1987 P 3 See also SSIC Vol

II Pp10-11

62 See KNJ Vol I No 1

104

major powers Cheras Pandyas and Cholas63

because the fish and tiger

symbols represent the dynastic emblems of the Pandyas and the Cholas

respectively The prominent bow and arrow symbol sometimes reflects the

victory of the Cheras over the Cholas and Pandyas The arched-hill may be

reflecting the ruling area because the legend Kollipurai signifies the ruler of

Kollimalai or Kolli hills The Sangam literature gives information about the

Nilgiris Wayanad and Kollimalai which were under the rule of Porains The

kings of Kottayam royal family were also called Poraikizhar who were

probably the descendants of the Kongu Cheras and the Scholars consider that

the Porains of Kollimalai were directly connected to the Irumporai lineage

which was one of the prominent members among the three collateral lines of

the Cheras namely Cheral Irumporai and Makotai

In the coin under discussion the three emblems are under the same

umbrella But the bow and arrow is prominent This would suggest that both

the Chola and the Pandya had been vanquished A globular gold coin with the

bow and arrow fish and tiger symbols was also found at Coimbatore but

which dynasty issued this coin originally is not known64

63 The Chola ruler Uttama Chola has received the Chera emblem the bow in Addition to the fish and the tiger and has the legend in Devanagari characters and this

coin has to be attributed to a later origin that of Rajendra I whose coin bearing the same

emblems have the legend in Nagari Sri Rajendra See the Tamil Antiquary edited by

Pandit D Savarioroyan Coins and Currency Systems in South India CAD 225-1300 Pp

241251 256 The Pandyas also issued coins with the fish blow and arrow symbol For

details see Nagaswamy R Tamil Coins A Study Madras 1981 p99

64 Vidvan T Ramaswamy Ancient Chera Coin Found (Globule) JNSI Vo LIII

1991-Pp 64-65 The coin is yellowish gold measuring about 12 x 13 x 13 x 12

and 4 gm weight with the symbols of fish tiger and bow and arrow The author concludes

that Since the bow is depicted on fish and tiger it must have been issued by Cheras But

it seems from the figure of the coin in his article that the bow is not depicted on the fish

or on the tiger symbols On the other hand all the three symbols remain quite apart from

each other and are in row Therefore there is no basis for identifying this coin as that of

Chera There are coins where the symbols of the three dynasties occur in a row without

overlapping In such cases precedence of the attribution of the coin is given to the dynasty

whose symbol is placed in the middle In the present coin the fish of the Pandya is in the

middle flanked by the Chera and Chola symbols It would hence be more appropriate to

assign this coin to the Pandya rather than the Chera dynasty with the available data at the

moment

105

During the past decade a number of coins of the Sangam period

belonging to various dynasties of the Tamil country have been brought to light

Among these were many varieties of uninscribed rectangular diestruck Chera

coins made of copper A good number of Chera coins have been taken from the

Amaravathi river bed close to Karur which was the seat of the Chera dynasty

during its heydays Six varieties of Sangam period Chera coins were described

by Krishnamurthy65

Most of the available coins of the early Cheras mainly

exhibit the elephant figure on the obverse and bow and arrow symbol on the

reverse Such types of three double-die copper coins without legend were also

unearthed from Parur near Alangad in the District of Ernakulam Kerala66

Among them two coins are almost semi-circular and the third is more or less

square which is slightly thicker than the other two in shape The obverse has

the standing figure of a tusker facing to right and a staff tipped with a trident is

placed in front of it The reverse of all the coins bears a lamp-stand or a goad

and arrow strung to a bow the top string of the latter being very visible

It has been pointed out that the presence of the elephant on the obverse

and the bow and arrow on the reverse distinctly suggested that the coins must

be of Chera origin67

It is interesting that in the Sangam works the Chera kings

are said to ascend the neck of the elephants68

However the elephant symbol

was adopted by several south Indian dynasties like the Andhra Yadava

Kongu Ganga and Vijayanagara69

But the bow and arrow symbol clearly

reflects the presence of Chera origin The bow is a Chera symbol but it could

65 See JNSI Vol XLIX Pp 36-38

66 TAS Vol V Part II No 49 Pp 162

67 Ibid p 163

68 Padirupattu Verse No 11 Line 19

69 See Elliot W Coins of Southern India London 1866 Plate I - Nos 4 and 6

Plate II - No 43 Plate III Nos - 92118 and 119 The elephant symbol was

sometimes used as an emblem of royalty Like that the lotus was used as the

Indian traditional symbol of mysterious birth and the Svastika denotes the

philosophical symbol of evolution

106

be employed by the Cheras of Makkotai as well as the Kongu Cheras70

and

probably by the kings of Travancore in the later period as they claimed descent

from the Cheras71

No doubt the three copper coins were of the Chera origin

and probably considered the issue prior to 1090 AD72

The three copper coins

discovered at Parur probably belong to the Sangam period Cheras who issued

these types of coins that we knew from the previous accounts

During the Sangam period Cheras maintained trade connections with

foreign countries especially with the Roman Empire and Muziri was the

important centre of their exchange73

One copper coin with the figure of an

elephant ankusa and bow and arrow has been recently reported from

Pattanam near Paravur in Ernakulam district It gives further evidence for the

presence of the Cheras of the Sangam period in Muziris74

Naturally the

indegenous merchants reached this port town and actively participated in the

exchange with the foreigners during this period Thus probably they carried

their native coins not for foreign trade but only for internal purpose and

sometimes it got deposited in the soil of Parur which was near Muziris It is

also believed that the above mentioned three copper coins are not the issue of

the Cheras of Mahodayapuram because they never struck any coins of their

70 Most of the historians consider that the Kongunadu rulers belong to the Chera

dynasty But Sankunni Menon gives a divergent picture about the Kongu rulers

For details see P Sankunni Menon Thiruvithamkur Charithram (Malayalam)

Tvm 1878 Pp 26-28 For a brief History of the Kongu Cheras See KNJ Vol I

No 2

71 MGS Narayanan Perumals of Kerala Calicut 1996 p 163

72 TAS Vol V opcit p 163

73 See Akam 149 Puram 343 Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira describes the place

name Marichipattanam and Professor Kern who translated the above work into

English wrote that the place was also called as Muziris by the Greeks See KP

Padmanabha Menon Kochi Rajya Charithram Calicut 1989 p 49

74 For more details see Sree The Sunday Supplement of Malayala Manorama

Daily 30th

May 2004 Pp 14-15

107

own75

If they had issued coins they must be accepted as their dynastic currency

and circulated throughout their country because they were powerful than the

early Cheras They mainly followed the barter system of exchange and also

sometimes received the old and valuable coins as fines However the above

mentioned three copper coins were not the issue of the Cheras of

Mahodayapuram and probably it was closely related to the Cheras of Sangam

period Several lead coins in rectangular shape with elephant and bow and

arrow symbol also were issued by the Cheras of Sangamlsquo period76

Among the Sangam rulers Cheras were the most powerful rulers who

controlled a vast territory from Karur in Thiruchirapalli district to Muziris in

the west coast which covered a part of southern Karnataka and Konkan They

maintained close connections with foreign traders especially with the Romans

The Sangam works mention that the large and beautiful ships of the Romans

came to the Chera port Muziri with gold and wine to obtain spices in

exchange77

The ports were even more numerous on the west coast than on the

east and they were all in contact with the traders of the Roman Empire

Periplus says Muziri a city at the height of prosperity was two miles away

from the mouth of the river on which it is situated and was the seat of the

government of the Kingdom under the sway of Kaprobothras78

Pliny in his

Natural History states that Muziris was the first emporium of India79

and

also mentioned the sale of fish for paddy of bags of pepper and of the

transport of a variety of merchandise in small boats from the large ships to the

shore

75 MGS Narayanan The Perumals of Kerala Calicut 1996 p 164

76 Krishnamurthy opcit JNSI Vol L VIII p 7

77 See PK Gopalakrishnan Keralathinte Samskarika Charithram (Mal) Tvm

1974 (6th edn) p 123

78 Sesha Aiyar KG Chera Kings of the Sangham period SSIC p 91

79 Ibid

108

The Roman Empire had a flourishing trade with the Cheras of Sangam

age whose capital was Karur It has been referred to in the Periplus of the

80 81Erythrean Sea and also by Ptolemy From this site a large number of

Roman coins of gold silver and copper had been discovered along with the

findings of the early coins of the Cheras Cholas Pandyas and Satavahanas

The discovery of a punch-marked82

die and Roman coin die in bronze has been

recently reported from Karur This die also leads one to infer that Karur was

probably a mint site where punch-marked and Roman coins were being

manufactured either officially or unofficially Several hoards of Roman coins

which include aurei and denari of Augustus Tiberius Claudius Marcus

Aurelis etc have come from south India

Several coins which belong to the Greeks Phoenicians Syrians and Jews

have been discovered from Karur and surrounding areas Ancient coins issued

by Greek islands like Rhodes Crete etc have been obtained recently from the

Amaravati river bed near Karur which was a prominent centre of the Cheras of

Sangam age83

All the coins from the Greek city states Rhodes Crete Thrace

and Thessaly furnish the details of their trade contacts with the Cheras There

are many references in the early Sangam literature about the Yavanas84

Certain

copper coins originated from the city states of Phoenicia which is on the

80 WH Schoff (ed) The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea Newyork 1912 Pp 205shy

208

81 JW Mc Crindle (ed) Ancient India as Described in Classical literature Delhi

1979 Pp 50 65

82 For details see PV Radhakrishnan A Punch marked Die from Karur SS1C shy

Vol IV-Pp 51 ff

83 RKrishnamurthy Coins from Greek Islands Rhodes and Crete found at Karur

Tamil Nadu SSIC - Vol V - p 29 ff

84 The term Yavana was originally used for the Ionians of Asia Minor who were

conquered by Cyrus in 545 BC gradually it came to be applied for the entire

Greeks then this ethnic name also denoted a political entity See Narain AK

The Indo-Greeks Oxford 1957 p 165

109

eastern sea-boards of the Mediterranean have been reported from the

Amaravati river bed85

Phonecians were the greatest commercially advanced

people of antiquity and they carried the trade with the Mediterranean before the

advent of the Greeks86

After the premature death of Alexander of Macedonia in 323 BC

Phoenecia formed a part of the Syrian Kingdom under Seleucids By 64 BC

Seleucid rule was replaced by Roman rule The available Phoenecian coins

from the Amaravati river bed indicate the contact of the Mediterranean traders

with the Sangam period rulers may be the Cheras during the early 2nd century

BC Some Seleucid coins found at Karur also indicate other trade connections

of the Sangam period Cheras during the 3rd century BC After the death of

Alexander Seleucus I founded Seleucids dynasty in Syria During the reign of

Seleucus II they established trade relations with other countries like India

which reflect through the ten Seleucid coins discovered at Karur87

Besides all

these coins an ancient Jewish bronze coin in round shape has also been

reported from Karur88

Like all the foreign coins found at this place we can

assume from the Jewish coin that the Jewish traders also established trade

connections with south India and all the foreign contacts signify the fact that

the main centre of export trade was Karur which was the seat of the Cheras in

the Sangam period

85 R Krishnamurthy Coins from Phoenicia found at Karur Tamilnadu SSIC Vol

IV Pp 19 ff

86 They eventually became the first great navigators and international traders

exchanging goods of the east for those of the west By the 6th century BC the

Persian army under Cyrus conquered Phoenecia and later it came under the

control of the Persian Empire Persian Empire had established a connection with

India during the reign of Darius For details see ACunningham Coins of

Ancient India London 1891 p12

87 R Krishnamurthy Seleucid Coins from Karur SSIC - Vol Ill p 19 ff

88 See R Krishnamurthy An Ancient Jewish Coin from Karur Tamilnadu JNSI

Vol L IX pp 46-47

110

A large number of silver punch-marked coins have also been discovered

from different parts of Kerala Mainly three hoards of such coins were

unearthed from the state They were Elikulamkara hoard in Kottayam district

Iyyal hoard in Trichur district89

and Kodusserry hoard from Angamali in

Ernakulam district90

Scholars generally considered that they were not of

Kerala origin but of pan Indian91

nature and they were current even in the days

of the Buddha92

Totally 218 silver punch-marked coins were discovered from

the first two hoards viz Kottayam and Iyyal in the year 1946 AD of which

184 coins were unearthed from Kottayam in which only 162 coins have been

93 94classified and the rest of them (34) were reported from Iyyal

The Kottayam hoard consisted only of the silver punch-marked coins

while a few of the silver punch-marked issues have been reported along with

the Roman coins of gold and silver from Iyyal hoard which is the only attested

by-metallic hoard in India95

Of these two hoards only two coins namely coin 9

and 10 of the Kottayam hoard show characteristics different from other popular

varieties96

The classifiable coins may be distinguished in 53 varieties which

89 Firstly two hoards were reported viz Elikulamkara and Iyyal in the year 1946

AD See Department of Archaeology Administrative Reports 1971-72 Pp 75shy

76

90 The latest hoard of punch marked coins in Kerala was discovered during 1987 by

Madavana Paulose while digging for laying foundation for new construction in

his house For details see T Satyamurthy Angamaly Hoard of Silver punch

marked coins SSIC Vol IV Pp 45 ff

91 See A Sreedhara Menon Survey of Kerala HistoryKottayam 1967 p 40 Also

see Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Warrier Kerala Charithram Sukapuram 1991

p 66

92 See A Sreedhara Menon Social and Cultural History of Kerala New Delhi

1979 p 247

93 PL Gupta Early Coins from Kerala Tvm 1965 p 5

94 Ibid Plates II III IV V VI VII

95 Unnithan NG EyyaI hoard of Silver Punch marked and Roman Coins JNSI

Vol XXV Pp 22-28

96 PL Gupta The Early Coins from Kerala Tvm 1965 p 5

111

belong to different periods All the coins provide nothing about the coinage of

Kerala origin But the symbol number 61 viz Elephant to right is seen on a

large number of coins It is generally believed that the elephant and bow and

arrow symbols were used by the Cheras in the Sangam age At the same time

the Elephant Symbol also was used by other dynasties in south India as a royal

emblem So we cannot say that the available punch-marked coins in Iyyal and

Kottayam hoards were of Kerala origin probably they may belong to the

Mauryan97

or post-Mauryan periods which is also applicable in the case of the

Angamali hoard Totally 783 PMCs were reported from this hoard and the

preliminary study and classification of this hoard reveal that the hoard consists

of coins belonging to series I to VII of PL Gupta and TRHardakar98

However 246 coins show either indistinct symbols or are without symbols

One of the important features of the coins belonging to this hoard is that the

bankers mark on the reverse on series I and Series VII are somewhat different

from other hoards found in India

The Angamali hoard consisting of Series I are similar to the onc mainly

found in Magadha and Kasi99

It is equally interesting that the Series I Coins

are found mixed with other coins of the Series from II to VII The punch marks

noticed on the reverse of coin number 141 as bankers mark is similar to the

punch marks on the obverse of Roman gold coins belonging to Neros period

which were discovered from Valluvally in Emakulam district

Generally the Angamali hoard of punch-marked coins reveals the fact

that the coins from this hoard like the Kottayam and lyyal hoards provide no

97 Since a major part of the peninsula was ruled by the Mauryas the punch marked

coins might have circulated in South India see the Gazeteer of India Vol II

(1988) (ed) PN Chopra p XXXVII

98 See PL Gupta and TR Hardakar Ancient Indian Punch Marked Coins

Nasik

1995 p 31

99 Ibid p 31

112

clear information about Kerala However it sometimes speaks about the

economic connection between the Kerala regions and other areas in India

Part II

Roman Coins

Commercial contacts between India and the Roman Empire are fairly well-

attested by several sources but among them the most important one is the

Roman coins which were found in different parts of India India is famous for

the abundance of finds of aurie (gold coins) and denari (silver coins) issued by

the Roman Emperors The available Roman coins from different parts of India

have announced the mutual contact of the Roman traders and the Indians which

throws light on the social political economic and cultural conditions of that

period Roman trade with India started as early as the 1st

century BC and grew

st ndto sizeable proportions by the 1 and 2 centuries AD A commercial network

involving Rome Egypt and Arabia which were major participants in the trade

with India and south-east Asia evolved in the early centuries of the Christian

era A major part of India contributed to this trade activity Roman gold and

silver reached the north -west west and south India in return for luxury items

Majority of the Roman coins were found in the form of hoards which may

be the result of some local fear or panic of some sudden attack or war or some

natural phenomenon which forced the people to bury their treasures100

of the

large number of Roman coins found in India majority of which were

discovered in south India101

particularly Andhra region Tamil Nadu

Karnataka and Kerala Roman coins were rarely found in north India because

100 SSIC VolII Pp27-28

101 AV Narasimhamurthy The coins of Karnataka Mysore 1975 p56 Also See

the opinion of RK Mukherjee cited by VV Krishna Sasthri Roman Gold

Coins Recent discoveries in Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad 1992 pii

113

114

most of these coins were melted and restruck by the Kushan rulers102

But there

are some debates that the Kushana coins are known only in two metals- gold

and copper103

The north Indian hoards are mixed votive deposits of Republican

denarilsquo and 2nd

century AD aurie in Budhist stupas It represents the

remnants of transit trade across north India rather than the new sea-borne trade

of the south104

Various south Indian hoards contain a large number of coins of

the imperial issues especially the coins issued during the reign of Augustus

Tiberius and Nero Republican coins also have been reported from south India

but they are rarer than the imperial coins Before going through the findings of

Roman coins in India a brief description of the history of the coinage of Rome

is necessary

Roman coins proper fall into two classes corresponding to the two main

periods of Roman history The first class includes the money of the Republic

often called the Consularlsquo or Family serieslsquo the second those struck by the

Emperors of the Western empire from the time of Augustus to the capture of

Constantinople by the Turks in AD 1453105

The introduction of a coinage in

Rome has by ancient authority been attributed to Servius Tullius who is said

to have been ―the first to mark copper pieces with the representations of an ox

or some other animal symbol106

No coin of this remote period has however

102 Ibid

103 They used few silver pieces which are not considered to be genuine Probably

they melted or restruck the Roman gold coins ie auries However if they

melted the silver coins of the Romans ie denari why was this metal rare in the

Kushana coinage The truth is that the Roman contact with North India was less

than that of South India The North Indian finds of Roman coins constitute a very

different evidence compared to South Indian findsSee PL Gupta Roman Coins

from Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Govt Museum 1965 opcit p51

104 See Paula J Turner Roman Coins from India London 1989 p17

105 Stanley Lane Poole- Coins and Medals Delhi 1982 p22

106 Ibid

115

been preserved and the tradition is not properly supported by evidences Rome

began to strike money directly when she became the dominant power of central

Italy The Romans borrowed all their ideas of painting and sculpture from the

Greeks and no doubt resorted to the same source for the types of their

coinage107

During the period of the Republic the rulers issued coins in different

metals but apart from military issues the Republic had no gold coins108

The

chief gold money of the Republic was issued outside Rome for only military

purposes and the first purely Roman gold money was struck by Sulla in BC

84-82109

However bronze and silver coins appeared in Rome before the issue

of gold coins It was probably in 335 BC that the first Roman bronze coins

appeared They consisted of heavy cast pieces the Liberal As aes-grave and its

various parts110

In 268 BC the Republic issued a large number of silver denarius of 4

seuples with the quinarius and sesterius its half and quarter111

The silver

denari so diverse in appearance so neat in execution so rich in imagination

and history were the backbone of the Roman coinage and of the currency of

the Mediterranean world for the last 150 years of the Republic112

Between 241

107 Ibid

108 GB Rawlings Ancient Medieval Modern Coins and How to Know them

Chicago 1966 p132

109 Stanley Lane Pooleopcitp26

110 GB Rawlings opcit Pp126-127

AES This can mean either copper or copper alloyed with other metals Some

Roman coinage was produced in pure copper but alloys were more common

Modern writers sometimes use the term bdquoaes‟ abbreviated to AE to describe all

Roman coins in copper bronze and orichalcum just as the older once used

brasslsquo and copper indiscriminately See John Melville Jones A Dictionary of

Ancient Roman Coins London 1990 p28 111

Stanley Lane Poole-opcit p24

112 JN Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Coin Collecting Oxford

1972 p48

116

114

most of these coins were melted and restruck by the Kushan rulers102

But there

are some debates that the Kushana coins are known only in two metals- gold

and copper103

The north Indian hoards are mixed votive deposits of Republican

denarilsquo and 2nd

century AD aurie in Budhist stupas It represents the

remnants of transit trade across north India rather than the new sea-borne trade

of the south104

Various south Indian hoards contain a large number of coins of

the imperial issues especially the coins issued during the reign of Augustus

Tiberius and Nero Republican coins also have been reported from south India

but they are rarer than the imperial coins Before going through the findings of

Roman coins in India a brief description of the history of the coinage of Rome

is necessary

Roman coins proper fall into two classes corresponding to the two main

periods of Roman history The first class includes the money of the Republic

often called the Consularlsquo or Family serieslsquo the second those struck by the

Emperors of the Western empire from the time of Augustus to the capture of

Constantinople by the Turks in AD 1453105

The introduction of a coinage in

Rome has by ancient authority been attributed to Servius Tullius who is said

to have been ―the first to mark copper pieces with the representations of an ox

or some other animal symbol106

No coin of this remote period has however

102 Ibid

103 They used few silver pieces which are not considered to be genuine Probably

they melted or restruck the Roman gold coins ie auries However if they

melted the silver coins of the Romans ie denari why was this metal rare in the

Kushana coinage The truth is that the Roman contact with North India was less

than that of South India The North Indian finds of Roman coins constitute a very

different evidence compared to South Indian findsSee PL Gupta Roman Coins

from Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Govt Museum 1965 opcit p51

104 See Paula J Turner Roman Coins from India London 1989 p17

105 Stanley Lane Poole- Coins and Medals Delhi 1982 p22

106 Ibid

115

been preserved and the tradition is not properly supported by evidences Rome

began to strike money directly when she became the dominant power of central

Italy The Romans borrowed all their ideas of painting and sculpture from the

Greeks and no doubt resorted to the same source for the types of their

coinage107

During the period of the Republic the rulers issued coins in different

metals but apart from military issues the Republic had no gold coins108

The

chief gold money of the Republic was issued outside Rome for only military

purposes and the first purely Roman gold money was struck by Sulla in BC

84-82109

However bronze and silver coins appeared in Rome before the issue

of gold coins It was probably in 335 BC that the first Roman bronze coins

appeared They consisted of heavy cast pieces the Liberal As aes-grave and its

various parts110

In 268 BC the Republic issued a large number of silver denarius of 4

seuples with the quinarius and sesterius its half and quarter111

The silver

denari so diverse in appearance so neat in execution so rich in imagination

and history were the backbone of the Roman coinage and of the currency of

the Mediterranean world for the last 150 years of the Republic112

Between 241

107 Ibid

108 GB Rawlings Ancient Medieval Modern Coins and How to Know them

Chicago 1966 p132

109 Stanley Lane Pooleopcitp26

110 GB Rawlings opcit Pp126-127

AES This can mean either copper or copper alloyed with other metals Some

Roman coinage was produced in pure copper but alloys were more common

Modern writers sometimes use the term bdquoaes‟ abbreviated to AE to describe all

Roman coins in copper bronze and orichalcum just as the older once used

brasslsquo and copper indiscriminately See John Melville Jones A Dictionary of

Ancient Roman Coins London 1990 p28 111

Stanley Lane Poole-opcit p24

112 JN Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Coin Collecting Oxford

1972 p48

116

most of these coins were melted and restruck by the Kushan rulers102

But there

are some debates that the Kushana coins are known only in two metals- gold

and copper103

The north Indian hoards are mixed votive deposits of Republican

denarilsquo and 2nd

century AD aurie in Budhist stupas It represents the

remnants of transit trade across north India rather than the new sea-borne trade

of the south104

Various south Indian hoards contain a large number of coins of

the imperial issues especially the coins issued during the reign of Augustus

Tiberius and Nero Republican coins also have been reported from south India

but they are rarer than the imperial coins Before going through the findings of

Roman coins in India a brief description of the history of the coinage of Rome

is necessary

Roman coins proper fall into two classes corresponding to the two main

periods of Roman history The first class includes the money of the Republic

often called the Consularlsquo or Family serieslsquo the second those struck by the

Emperors of the Western empire from the time of Augustus to the capture of

Constantinople by the Turks in AD 1453105

The introduction of a coinage in

Rome has by ancient authority been attributed to Servius Tullius who is said

to have been ―the first to mark copper pieces with the representations of an ox

or some other animal symbol106

No coin of this remote period has however

102 Ibid

103 They used few silver pieces which are not considered to be genuine Probably

they melted or restruck the Roman gold coins ie auries However if they

melted the silver coins of the Romans ie denari why was this metal rare in the

Kushana coinage The truth is that the Roman contact with North India was less

than that of South India The North Indian finds of Roman coins constitute a very

different evidence compared to South Indian findsSee PL Gupta Roman Coins

from Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Govt Museum 1965 opcit p51

104 See Paula J Turner Roman Coins from India London 1989 p17

105 Stanley Lane Poole- Coins and Medals Delhi 1982 p22

106 Ibid

115

been preserved and the tradition is not properly supported by evidences Rome

began to strike money directly when she became the dominant power of central

Italy The Romans borrowed all their ideas of painting and sculpture from the

Greeks and no doubt resorted to the same source for the types of their

coinage107

During the period of the Republic the rulers issued coins in different

metals but apart from military issues the Republic had no gold coins108

The

chief gold money of the Republic was issued outside Rome for only military

purposes and the first purely Roman gold money was struck by Sulla in BC

84-82109

However bronze and silver coins appeared in Rome before the issue

of gold coins It was probably in 335 BC that the first Roman bronze coins

appeared They consisted of heavy cast pieces the Liberal As aes-grave and its

various parts110

In 268 BC the Republic issued a large number of silver denarius of 4

seuples with the quinarius and sesterius its half and quarter111

The silver

denari so diverse in appearance so neat in execution so rich in imagination

and history were the backbone of the Roman coinage and of the currency of

the Mediterranean world for the last 150 years of the Republic112

Between 241

107 Ibid

108 GB Rawlings Ancient Medieval Modern Coins and How to Know them

Chicago 1966 p132

109 Stanley Lane Pooleopcitp26

110 GB Rawlings opcit Pp126-127

AES This can mean either copper or copper alloyed with other metals Some

Roman coinage was produced in pure copper but alloys were more common

Modern writers sometimes use the term bdquoaes‟ abbreviated to AE to describe all

Roman coins in copper bronze and orichalcum just as the older once used

brasslsquo and copper indiscriminately See John Melville Jones A Dictionary of

Ancient Roman Coins London 1990 p28 111

Stanley Lane Poole-opcit p24

112 JN Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Coin Collecting Oxford

1972 p48

116

been preserved and the tradition is not properly supported by evidences Rome

began to strike money directly when she became the dominant power of central

Italy The Romans borrowed all their ideas of painting and sculpture from the

Greeks and no doubt resorted to the same source for the types of their

coinage107

During the period of the Republic the rulers issued coins in different

metals but apart from military issues the Republic had no gold coins108

The

chief gold money of the Republic was issued outside Rome for only military

purposes and the first purely Roman gold money was struck by Sulla in BC

84-82109

However bronze and silver coins appeared in Rome before the issue

of gold coins It was probably in 335 BC that the first Roman bronze coins

appeared They consisted of heavy cast pieces the Liberal As aes-grave and its

various parts110

In 268 BC the Republic issued a large number of silver denarius of 4

seuples with the quinarius and sesterius its half and quarter111

The silver

denari so diverse in appearance so neat in execution so rich in imagination

and history were the backbone of the Roman coinage and of the currency of

the Mediterranean world for the last 150 years of the Republic112

Between 241

107 Ibid

108 GB Rawlings Ancient Medieval Modern Coins and How to Know them

Chicago 1966 p132

109 Stanley Lane Pooleopcitp26

110 GB Rawlings opcit Pp126-127

AES This can mean either copper or copper alloyed with other metals Some

Roman coinage was produced in pure copper but alloys were more common

Modern writers sometimes use the term bdquoaes‟ abbreviated to AE to describe all

Roman coins in copper bronze and orichalcum just as the older once used

brasslsquo and copper indiscriminately See John Melville Jones A Dictionary of

Ancient Roman Coins London 1990 p28 111

Stanley Lane Poole-opcit p24

112 JN Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Coin Collecting Oxford

1972 p48

116

and 217 BC the denarius was reduced to about 60 grains weight and so

remained throughout the duration of the Republic and until the time of Nero113

The Republican coins carry no obvious evidence of data and their

arrangements in chronological order though highly desirable is not always

easy

The Roman empire is considered to have begun in 27 BC when Caius

Octavius received from the senate the title of Augustus114

It is usual to classify

with the Republican series such coins of this Emperor as they do not bear the

title AVGVSTVS though some prefer to regard all his money as Imperial115

During his period gold became part of the regular currency The gold money of

Augustus consisted principally of aurielsquo though there are some rare half-aurie

and rarer still some quarternioneslsquo or pieces of four aurielsquo The aureuslsquo was

equal to twenty five silver denarilsquo and any variation of the aureus in

succeeding reigns involved a corresponding variation of the denarius so that

the proportion of 25 to 1 should always be maintained116

The denarius remained the chief silver coin until the reign of Caracalla

The quinariuslsquo or half-denarius also continued in use but the Sestertiuslsquo

113 GB Rawlings opcit p130

114 A title invented by the first emperor of Rome and subsequently used by later

Roman emperors Occasionally emperors associated others with them in the rank

and in the time of Diocletian the administrative burden of the Roman empire was

shared for the first time between an emperor of the East and an emperor of the

West Each of these took the rank of Augustus and associated with him a junior

emperor with the rank of Caesar When coins were issued in the name of one

senior emperor the abbreviated title AVGlsquo is given a plural form following the

Roman practice by repeating the first letter so we find AVGGlsquo when there are

two Augusti or AVGGGlsquo when after the death of Constantine the Great each of

his three sons held this rank See John Melville Jones A Dictionary of Roman

Coins London 1990 p29

115 GBRawlings Op-cit p133

116 Ibid pp133-134

117

which under the Republic was struck in silver become a copper coin though

still employed as the unit of account The imperial copper money is generally

divided according to its size into large middle or small brass otherwise first

second or third brass but the classification is mainly for convenience The

coins are (1) of pure or red copper (2) of orichalcum or yellow copper ie

copper mixed with one fifth of zinc117

which was more valuable The

dupondiuslsquo and Aslsquo were of similar size and weight and both came under the

head of middle or second brass but the yellow copper or brass dupondiuslsquo was

worth double the red copper Aslsquo118

An arrangement which includes these two

pieces under one description is inaccurate but occasionally convenient since it

is sometimes difficult to distinguish the yellow copper from the red The term

small or third brass is also elastic as it includes any subdivisions of the Aslsquo119

The Imperial period also witnessed the emergence of some minor coins

like Consecration coins Legionary coins Posthumous coins Restitution coins

Votive coins Medallions etc Apart from this provincial and colonial coins

were also spread during the period of Empire especially in the reign of

Augustus120

Throughout the period when the imperial money was in use the

obverse of the coins bore principally of the Emperors head or bust or that of

the Empress or some other member of the imperial family The type also varied

with period121

The reverse designs are numberless and refer to nearly every

department of the public life of the Roman people Religious subjects

personifications of virtues architecture arts amusements all kinds of civil and

military affairs etc were represented122

Gold and silver under the direct

control of the Emperors naturally showed their portraits Brass and copper

117 Stanely Lane Poole opcit p30

118 GB Rawlings opcitp-134

119 Ibid

120 Ibid Pp 144-146

121 In Pagan times the head or bust was laureate ie wearing a radiated crown

sometimes bare but rarely helmeted in the Christian and Byzantine period it is

usually adorned with a diademlsquo or an erected helmet For details see Stanley

Lanepoole opcit Pp31-33 122

Ibid See also GB Rawlings opcitp135

118

were coined theoretically by direction of the senate and until Gallienuslsquo reign

they bore the letters Slsquo (senate) Clsquo (consulato) on the reverse But the direct

control which the Emperors exercised over the senate resulted almost from the

very beginning in the appearance of the imperial portrait and titles on the SC

coinage as well123

Greek influence on Roman coinages is very strong because it reflects the

artistic style of the Greeks Most of the rulers in the period of the Empire

followed the Greek style of arts and architecture With the Augustan age there

came a visible change and Greek artists were encouraged to visit Rome not

only to decorate the temples of the Gods but also to embellish the villas of the

rich into many of which numerous original works from Greece Asia and

Egypt had already found their way The effect of Greek influence is very

marked on the coins of the Augustus age and especially on those of the two

Agrippinas Caligula and Claudius124

The mythological figures which we meet

with on these coins often strike us very forcibly as copies of Greek statues125

The coins of the early Christian Emperors show light artistic revival and when

in the later times the artists of the west poured into Constantinople carrying

with them all that remained of the artistic life in the ancient world they

imported into the coinage that style of ornament so peculiarly Byzantine the

traces of which are still seen in the architecture of the Greek church both in

Europe and Asia

The Roman contact with India has drawn the attention of many scholars in

India as well as in the west during the last few decades They generally

123 JG Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Oxford 1974 opcitp55

124 Stanely Lane Poole opcit p36

125 The figures on the Roman Coins like Jupiter seated holding his thunder bolt and

scepter Minerva leaning on her spear and shield ornamented with the serpent

Spes tripping likely forward holding a flower and gently raising her dress and

Diana rushing onward in the chase her bow in her outstretched hand and her

hound at her heals ndash are all representations of Greek subjects

119

which under the Republic was struck in silver become a copper coin though

still employed as the unit of account The imperial copper money is generally

divided according to its size into large middle or small brass otherwise first

second or third brass but the classification is mainly for convenience The

coins are (1) of pure or red copper (2) of orichalcum or yellow copper ie

copper mixed with one fifth of zinc117

which was more valuable The

dupondiuslsquo and Aslsquo were of similar size and weight and both came under the

head of middle or second brass but the yellow copper or brass dupondiuslsquo was

worth double the red copper Aslsquo118

An arrangement which includes these two

pieces under one description is inaccurate but occasionally convenient since it

is sometimes difficult to distinguish the yellow copper from the red The term

small or third brass is also elastic as it includes any subdivisions of the Aslsquo119

The Imperial period also witnessed the emergence of some minor coins

like Consecration coins Legionary coins Posthumous coins Restitution coins

Votive coins Medallions etc Apart from this provincial and colonial coins

were also spread during the period of Empire especially in the reign of

Augustus120

Throughout the period when the imperial money was in use the

obverse of the coins bore principally of the Emperors head or bust or that of

the Empress or some other member of the imperial family The type also varied

with period121

The reverse designs are numberless and refer to nearly every

department of the public life of the Roman people Religious subjects

personifications of virtues architecture arts amusements all kinds of civil and

military affairs etc were represented122

Gold and silver under the direct

control of the Emperors naturally showed their portraits Brass and copper

117 Stanely Lane Poole opcit p30

118 GB Rawlings opcitp-134

119 Ibid

120 Ibid Pp 144-146

121 In Pagan times the head or bust was laureate ie wearing a radiated crown

sometimes bare but rarely helmeted in the Christian and Byzantine period it is

usually adorned with a diademlsquo or an erected helmet For details see Stanley

Lanepoole opcit Pp31-33 122

Ibid See also GB Rawlings opcitp135

118

were coined theoretically by direction of the senate and until Gallienuslsquo reign

they bore the letters Slsquo (senate) Clsquo (consulato) on the reverse But the direct

control which the Emperors exercised over the senate resulted almost from the

very beginning in the appearance of the imperial portrait and titles on the SC

coinage as well123

Greek influence on Roman coinages is very strong because it reflects the

artistic style of the Greeks Most of the rulers in the period of the Empire

followed the Greek style of arts and architecture With the Augustan age there

came a visible change and Greek artists were encouraged to visit Rome not

only to decorate the temples of the Gods but also to embellish the villas of the

rich into many of which numerous original works from Greece Asia and

Egypt had already found their way The effect of Greek influence is very

marked on the coins of the Augustus age and especially on those of the two

Agrippinas Caligula and Claudius124

The mythological figures which we meet

with on these coins often strike us very forcibly as copies of Greek statues125

The coins of the early Christian Emperors show light artistic revival and when

in the later times the artists of the west poured into Constantinople carrying

with them all that remained of the artistic life in the ancient world they

imported into the coinage that style of ornament so peculiarly Byzantine the

traces of which are still seen in the architecture of the Greek church both in

Europe and Asia

The Roman contact with India has drawn the attention of many scholars in

India as well as in the west during the last few decades They generally

123 JG Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Oxford 1974 opcitp55

124 Stanely Lane Poole opcit p36

125 The figures on the Roman Coins like Jupiter seated holding his thunder bolt and

scepter Minerva leaning on her spear and shield ornamented with the serpent

Spes tripping likely forward holding a flower and gently raising her dress and

Diana rushing onward in the chase her bow in her outstretched hand and her

hound at her heals ndash are all representations of Greek subjects

119

were coined theoretically by direction of the senate and until Gallienuslsquo reign

they bore the letters Slsquo (senate) Clsquo (consulato) on the reverse But the direct

control which the Emperors exercised over the senate resulted almost from the

very beginning in the appearance of the imperial portrait and titles on the SC

coinage as well123

Greek influence on Roman coinages is very strong because it reflects the

artistic style of the Greeks Most of the rulers in the period of the Empire

followed the Greek style of arts and architecture With the Augustan age there

came a visible change and Greek artists were encouraged to visit Rome not

only to decorate the temples of the Gods but also to embellish the villas of the

rich into many of which numerous original works from Greece Asia and

Egypt had already found their way The effect of Greek influence is very

marked on the coins of the Augustus age and especially on those of the two

Agrippinas Caligula and Claudius124

The mythological figures which we meet

with on these coins often strike us very forcibly as copies of Greek statues125

The coins of the early Christian Emperors show light artistic revival and when

in the later times the artists of the west poured into Constantinople carrying

with them all that remained of the artistic life in the ancient world they

imported into the coinage that style of ornament so peculiarly Byzantine the

traces of which are still seen in the architecture of the Greek church both in

Europe and Asia

The Roman contact with India has drawn the attention of many scholars in

India as well as in the west during the last few decades They generally

123 JG Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Oxford 1974 opcitp55

124 Stanely Lane Poole opcit p36

125 The figures on the Roman Coins like Jupiter seated holding his thunder bolt and

scepter Minerva leaning on her spear and shield ornamented with the serpent

Spes tripping likely forward holding a flower and gently raising her dress and

Diana rushing onward in the chase her bow in her outstretched hand and her

hound at her heals ndash are all representations of Greek subjects

119

believed that the Indo-Roman trade was very prosperous and it lasted for

several centuries Some scholars argued that it had its beginning around the 2nd

century BC while the others place it at the earliest in the middle of the first

century BC But there is unanimity on the point that its decline synchronizes

with the fall of the Roman Empire in the early 4th

century AD They also

considered that the Roman trade had extended more or less throughout India

and also extended even beyond the islands of Sri Lanka We often get

th threferences in the records of 18 and 19 centuries about the finds of Roman

coins at various places in India But they describe the Roman gold coins found

in India as ―Quantity amounting to five Coolie-loads and silver coins as ―some

thousands enough to fill five or six Madras measures ―a dozen quart

126 127measures From the typology of these coins Sewell estimates the flow of

these coins according to chronology

The first Roman coins Republican denari might have reached India in

st 128the 1 century BC but they are less frequently found in India As Roman

coins of the Republican period are rare it may be presumed that there was

hardly any commerce between Rome and India during the Consulate or

Republican period It is believable that most of the Republican coins came to

India only in the imperial period129

Imperial Roman coin finds in India are

larger than the republican issue and it reflects in various south Indian hoards

which contain a large number of coins of Augustus and Tiberius130

It is

126 PL Gupta opcit p40 (Roman Coins from Andhra Pradesh)

127 Sewell discussed the hoards of Roman coins found in India and analyses their

cultural and typological importance For details see JRAS (1904) p 591

128 Quoted from the personal letter of Roger Bland Curator Roman coins in British

Museum to Rev Fr TC Joseph Priests Home Kummannoor Kottayam 6th

July 1992 Also see Paula Turner opcit pp6-7 129

PL Gupta Roman coins from Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad 1965 p40

130 See R Sewell Roman Coins found in India JRAS (1904) p200 Also see RG

Rawlinson Intercourse Between India and the Western World Pp120-121 EH

Warmington Commerce between Roman Empire and India Delhi (1928)

1974Pp 286-295

120

significant that Roman contacts with India began only in the time of Augustus

and it flourished in the entire peninsula during the period of Tiberius It is

evident from this fact that the peak period of this trade was during the reigns of

these two Emperors There was a decline in Roman trade from the death of

Nero till the time of Caracalla and after them we have not many finds of

Roman coins in India131

The period after the death of Caracalla in AD 217 was most critical in

the history of Rome not only in political and military but also in economic and

other spheres The empire had almost collapsed due to the internal and external

pressures commercial enterprises had received a set back and trade had

practically ceased It is also reflected in the trade connection between the

Romans and Indians However there was a revival during the Byzantine

Emperors A few gold coins of this period are known in India but they do not

seem to have drawn the attention of the scholars

Roman merchants had trading settlements in India especially in the south

132 133Of these Arikamedu two miles south of Pondicherry and Muziris were

131 PLGuptaRoman Coins from Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad 1965opcit Pp48-50

132 Arikamedu same as Podoukelsquo mentioned in the Periplus of Erythrian sea was

an important port town in ancient India where various types of Roman potteries

gems lamps glasswares etc have been found The excavation conducted by

Mortimer Wheeler at Arikamedu provided good and authentic data for the study

of Roman trade with India For details see Ancient India No2 p17 See also

PL Gupta opcit (Roman coins from AP) p5 PJ Turner opcit p13

133 Even in the recent period also certain scholars relates the ancient Muziris with

modern Kodungallur But the present excavations conducted under the leadership

of Dr KP Shajan Dr V Selvakumar and Dr PJ Cherian at pattanam near

Paravur in Ernakulam district conclude that Pattanam and its surrounding places

may be considered as ancient Muziris Remains of large number of Roman

potteries coins gems etc were found at pattanam Besides these one copper

coin with the figure of an elephant ankusa and bow and arrow which belongs to

the Cheras during the first century has also been reported from Pattanam For

more details see Sreelsquo (the Sunday supplement of Malayala Manorama Daily

30 May 2004) Pp-6-7 14-15 Muziris is considered as a busy trading centre and

also the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period See JNSI VolXLIX p36 (R

Krishnamurthy Sangam Period Chera Coins)

121

the most important trading stations between the 1st

century BC and second

century AD Large numbers of the remains of Roman import items were

unearthed from here Different views prevailed regarding the appearance of

Roman coins in considerable numbers during this period According to one of

them the terminal trade included commodities produced in India itself and the

transit trade dealt mainly with objects which reached the Indian markets from

different parts of Asia As a result of the commercial transactions with India

most of the Roman coins were in circulation here Whatever may be the trade

there was a regular flow of Roman gold and silver coins to India in order to buy

the Indian commodities134

Certain historians believe that the Roman coins which have been

recovered from this region were used as bullionlsquo135

Scholars like Warmington

are of the view that large quantities of gold and silver coins found in India were

the result of the deliberate exportation of Roman money to india with a view to

create a Roman currency here136

At the sametime certain thinkers rejected this

statement and opined that the Indian merchants recognized only the purity of

the metal in Roman coins and rejected it as a currency137

PLGupta is of the

opinion that the Indian merchants accepted the Roman coins as currency138

However most of the scholars argue that the Roman coins were hoarded only

as bullion and they were not used as everyday currency by the Indians139

These

statements invite more discussions on the spread of Roman coins in India

134 See Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond Imperial Frontiers Bell 1954 p173

135 See Sunil C Ray A Revised Study into the Numismatic Evidence of the Indo-

Roman Trade 3rd

international Colloquium 1991 p142

136 Warmington EH The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India

CambridgeLondon 1974 p274

137 AV Narasimhamurthy The Coins of Karnataka Mysore 1975 p56

138 rdPL Gupta Coins in Rome‟s Indian Trade 93 International Colloquium

(1991) p122 ff 139

See Paula J Turner opcit p16 David W Mc Dowall Indian Imports of

Roman Silver Coins 3rd

International Colloquium 1991 p145

122

Indians had developed their own coinage in ancient period which

proves from the available evidence that at the same time they also earned the

Roman coins through the trade relation and hoarded it in different places No

doubt they were more interested in the valuable metallic content of the Roman

coins The early Roman Emperors issued genuine and pure gold and silver

coins which were more attractive and highly valuable and they were used for

their trade with India Naturally it attracted the local merchants of India

especially of south India and they hoarded the gold and silver or made

ornaments from them after testing their purity140

During the Sangam period the Roman Empire maintained a flourishing

barter deal with Tamilakom exchanging their gold and silver in the form of

coins along with luxury goods such as lamps wine glassware etc for spices

such as pepper and cinnamon and for precious stones ivory muslin and so

on141

If the metallic content of the Roman coin was not pure and valuable the

Indian merchants sometimes rejected such coins and they were forced to

continue the trade through the exchange of other commodities It is clear that

the natives used the coins not so much as currency but as bullion142

ie for the

value of their metals But PLGupta has a divergent opinion about this It is

also a subject of debate whether the Roman coins served as bullion only to be

140 See PL Gupta opcit p77 (Roman Coins from AP) Also see AV

Narasimhamurthy opcitp56

See Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Varrier (ed) Cultural History of Kerala VolI

Tvm 1999 Department of culture Publication Govt of Kerala Trivandrum

p182

142 Coinage is different from bullion in the same metal because of the imprint that

the coin bears and the denomination it is intended to be The governments mark

or type gives the coin a guarantee that the government will accept the coin at a

certain value and because of this the coin is regularity accepted at this value

within the govtlsquos territories Bullion on the other hand (except when formed into

standard ingots bearing an official stamp) bears no such guarantee and simply

worth the intrinsic value of the metal it contains calculated in terms of weight

and purity For details see David W Mac Dowall Indian Imports of Roman

Silver Coin 3rd

International Colloquium 1991 p145

123

the most important trading stations between the 1st

century BC and second

century AD Large numbers of the remains of Roman import items were

unearthed from here Different views prevailed regarding the appearance of

Roman coins in considerable numbers during this period According to one of

them the terminal trade included commodities produced in India itself and the

transit trade dealt mainly with objects which reached the Indian markets from

different parts of Asia As a result of the commercial transactions with India

most of the Roman coins were in circulation here Whatever may be the trade

there was a regular flow of Roman gold and silver coins to India in order to buy

the Indian commodities134

Certain historians believe that the Roman coins which have been

recovered from this region were used as bullionlsquo135

Scholars like Warmington

are of the view that large quantities of gold and silver coins found in India were

the result of the deliberate exportation of Roman money to india with a view to

create a Roman currency here136

At the sametime certain thinkers rejected this

statement and opined that the Indian merchants recognized only the purity of

the metal in Roman coins and rejected it as a currency137

PLGupta is of the

opinion that the Indian merchants accepted the Roman coins as currency138

However most of the scholars argue that the Roman coins were hoarded only

as bullion and they were not used as everyday currency by the Indians139

These

statements invite more discussions on the spread of Roman coins in India

134 See Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond Imperial Frontiers Bell 1954 p173

135 See Sunil C Ray A Revised Study into the Numismatic Evidence of the Indo-

Roman Trade 3rd

international Colloquium 1991 p142

136 Warmington EH The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India

CambridgeLondon 1974 p274

137 AV Narasimhamurthy The Coins of Karnataka Mysore 1975 p56

138 rdPL Gupta Coins in Rome‟s Indian Trade 93 International Colloquium

(1991) p122 ff 139

See Paula J Turner opcit p16 David W Mc Dowall Indian Imports of

Roman Silver Coins 3rd

International Colloquium 1991 p145

122

Indians had developed their own coinage in ancient period which

proves from the available evidence that at the same time they also earned the

Roman coins through the trade relation and hoarded it in different places No

doubt they were more interested in the valuable metallic content of the Roman

coins The early Roman Emperors issued genuine and pure gold and silver

coins which were more attractive and highly valuable and they were used for

their trade with India Naturally it attracted the local merchants of India

especially of south India and they hoarded the gold and silver or made

ornaments from them after testing their purity140

During the Sangam period the Roman Empire maintained a flourishing

barter deal with Tamilakom exchanging their gold and silver in the form of

coins along with luxury goods such as lamps wine glassware etc for spices

such as pepper and cinnamon and for precious stones ivory muslin and so

on141

If the metallic content of the Roman coin was not pure and valuable the

Indian merchants sometimes rejected such coins and they were forced to

continue the trade through the exchange of other commodities It is clear that

the natives used the coins not so much as currency but as bullion142

ie for the

value of their metals But PLGupta has a divergent opinion about this It is

also a subject of debate whether the Roman coins served as bullion only to be

140 See PL Gupta opcit p77 (Roman Coins from AP) Also see AV

Narasimhamurthy opcitp56

See Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Varrier (ed) Cultural History of Kerala VolI

Tvm 1999 Department of culture Publication Govt of Kerala Trivandrum

p182

142 Coinage is different from bullion in the same metal because of the imprint that

the coin bears and the denomination it is intended to be The governments mark

or type gives the coin a guarantee that the government will accept the coin at a

certain value and because of this the coin is regularity accepted at this value

within the govtlsquos territories Bullion on the other hand (except when formed into

standard ingots bearing an official stamp) bears no such guarantee and simply

worth the intrinsic value of the metal it contains calculated in terms of weight

and purity For details see David W Mac Dowall Indian Imports of Roman

Silver Coin 3rd

International Colloquium 1991 p145

123

Indians had developed their own coinage in ancient period which

proves from the available evidence that at the same time they also earned the

Roman coins through the trade relation and hoarded it in different places No

doubt they were more interested in the valuable metallic content of the Roman

coins The early Roman Emperors issued genuine and pure gold and silver

coins which were more attractive and highly valuable and they were used for

their trade with India Naturally it attracted the local merchants of India

especially of south India and they hoarded the gold and silver or made

ornaments from them after testing their purity140

During the Sangam period the Roman Empire maintained a flourishing

barter deal with Tamilakom exchanging their gold and silver in the form of

coins along with luxury goods such as lamps wine glassware etc for spices

such as pepper and cinnamon and for precious stones ivory muslin and so

on141

If the metallic content of the Roman coin was not pure and valuable the

Indian merchants sometimes rejected such coins and they were forced to

continue the trade through the exchange of other commodities It is clear that

the natives used the coins not so much as currency but as bullion142

ie for the

value of their metals But PLGupta has a divergent opinion about this It is

also a subject of debate whether the Roman coins served as bullion only to be

140 See PL Gupta opcit p77 (Roman Coins from AP) Also see AV

Narasimhamurthy opcitp56

See Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Varrier (ed) Cultural History of Kerala VolI

Tvm 1999 Department of culture Publication Govt of Kerala Trivandrum

p182

142 Coinage is different from bullion in the same metal because of the imprint that

the coin bears and the denomination it is intended to be The governments mark

or type gives the coin a guarantee that the government will accept the coin at a

certain value and because of this the coin is regularity accepted at this value

within the govtlsquos territories Bullion on the other hand (except when formed into

standard ingots bearing an official stamp) bears no such guarantee and simply

worth the intrinsic value of the metal it contains calculated in terms of weight

and purity For details see David W Mac Dowall Indian Imports of Roman

Silver Coin 3rd

International Colloquium 1991 p145

123

melted Then they would not have survived for us to tell about the Indo-

Roman trade Their survival itself is clear evidence that they were not treated as

bullion but were accepted as coins into local currency Gupta also argues that

the fact that the Roman coins were used in India as currency is also evidenced

from those finds where the punch-marked coinslsquo and the Roman coins are

found together143

Again some of the Roman coins are noticed counter-stamped with

minute marks like those seen on the punch-marked coins144

It is also

significant to note that the coins from certain hoards were approximately of the

same weight as the indigenous silver punch-marked coins They weigh about

50 to 54 grains145

Besides these certain rulers in India also imitated the Roman

style For instance the Kushana ruler Kajula Kadphises imitated the diademed

Roman-style male head which is identified with Augustus on his issues146

Like that some small copper coins of Pseudo-Roman type are also found at

some places around Madura147

They closely resemble the early copper issues

of the local mints but are Roman in character and which were probably struck

143 For eg the Iyyal hoard in Trichur district Kerala consisted of a hoard of 117

coins of which 12 gold and 71 silver coins were Roman the rest (34) were silver

punch marked coinslsquo For more details see PL Gupta The Early Coins from

Kerala Tvm 1965 plates Nos VI VII VIII IX X XI Also see PJ Turner

opcitp55

144 PL Gupta Roman Coins from Andra Pradesh Hyderabad 1965 opcit p70

The counter-stamping was prevalent as in the past and was current till date For

eg the Portuguese counter-stamped the Indian Rupees of Queen Victoria with

the letters PMlsquo and used them in their colony in Mozambique For details see

JNSI XX Plate II p231 Again the Dutch Trading Company counterstamped

the Persian Abbasid coins the Indo-Portuguese Tankas the Bijapur larins and the

Mughal Rupees with their own monogram VOClsquo and thus had converted them

into their own coins and used them in their trade See PL Gupta Coinslsquo p147

145 PLGupta Roman coins from Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad 1965 opcit p69

146 Ibid Pp 27-28

147 Ibid p49

124

in this country for their own use Through these evidences Gupta came to the

conclusion that Indians maintained a harmonious relation with the Romans and

also recognized their coins as currency He further pointed out that if the Indian

merchants needed only the metal of the Roman coins it would have been much

more convenient for the Roman traders to bring ingots of gold or silver and not

the coins of their own country But it is true in the case of gold silver and

copper in Rome that in order to control the output of coinage the Emperors

had controlled the sources from which the raw copper silver and gold were

obtained ie mines148

It also signifies the non-interference of the private

agencies in the mines Naturally the traders could not use the ingots for their

trade purpose So they used the valuable Roman coins to collect luxury

commodities from the East Thus the Roman gold silver and copper coins

spread in India not as a currency but as bullion and there existed a ―goods for

goods system of exchange149

It is also true that in south India the gold coin

circulated as it came which satisfactorily accounts for the frequent finds of

Roman gold coins at the present day and the total absence of any early Indian

gold coins150

Fine imitations of the Roman coins were also current along with the

genuine coins151

These imitations are so finely executed that they hardly differ

with the original Roman coins so far as the portrait of the emperor and the

figure of the goddess on the reverse are concerned It is only in the legend that

the imitations failed152

On the obverse the legend is a meaningless scribbling

and on the reverse the inscription is erroneous

148 JG Milne CHV Sutherland and JDA Thompson Coin Collecting Oxford

1972 p53

149 See Rajan Gurukal and Raghava Varrier opcit P183

150 A Cunningham Coins of Ancient India London 1891 p50

151 JNSI Vol VIII p10

152 PL Gupta opcitp ii

125

The Roman coin-finds in India should be seen vertically divided into three

periods (1) Early Julio-Claudian period ie up to the time of Nero (AD 68)

(ii) Later Julio- Claudian period ie Vespasian to Nerva (AD 69-98) and

(iii) post- Julio- Claudian period ie AD 98 onwards Likewise they should

be also be distinguished horizontally into three geographical areas viz (a)

southern peninsular region ie the land of the Chera Pandyas and Cholas

(broadly the present states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu) (b) south Deccan ie

the kingdom of the Andhra Satavahanas (broadly the present states of

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) and some parts of southern Maharashtra and

(c) north Deccan and above ie northern part of the state of Maharashtra and

the state of Gujarat Madhyapradesh and to their north153

As we had seen earlier Roman coins found in northern India are very

few compared to those found in the south The significant numismatic

discoveries in different parts of south India reveal that the majority of the

Roman coins were found in the form of hoards a few as stray ones in the

Megalithic tombs and a few others from excavations The analyses of these

coins reveal that the earlier group belonged to Augustus and the latest to

Marcus Aurelius154

Among the Roman coin-finds Nelloore in Andhrapradesh155

is the

earliest recorded find on Indian soil156

However most of the finds came from

153 The vertical and horizontal division is only made for the convenience of the study

of the Roman coin finds in India The vertical division is made on the basis of the

available Roman history and the horizontal division indicates the geographical

distribution pattern of the coins or wherever the Roman coins found in India For

clear details see PL Gupta Roman coins from Andhra Pradesh p9 PJ Turner

Roman Coins Pp511 Sewell R Lists of Roman coins found in India JRSS

(1904) 591-637 154 th

KV Raman Presidential Address Numismatic society of India 77 session

(Shantiniketan February 11-13 1970) 155

For a detailed list of Roman coin finds in India see Paula J Turner Roman Coins

in India 1989opcit Appendix I Pp45 ff

156 Ibid p71

126

PMC

(Kizhoor)

Coimbatore and surrounding regions in Tamil nadu Similarly Roman coins of

Republican and Imperial times were found in Kerala in considerable numbers

the former is fewer than the latter Silver denari of both Republican and

Imperial and gold aurie of Imperial make only have been reported from

different places but the Roman copper coin ie aes are much less in Indian

soil and Kerala is no exception to this We will discuss the reported Roman

coin finds157

in Kerala through the table given below

Table ndash 21

Sites of Roman coin finds in Kerala

SlNo Site District No of

Coins

Metal Associated

finds

1 Alleppey Alleppey

(3rd

in colloquium

P113 FN60)

1 AR

2 Idamaruka 1 AV or AR()

3 Iyyal Thrissur 83 AV amp AR 3 4 silver

4 Kilalur Kannur AV

5 Kottayam Kannur 1000lsquos AV(+AR)

6 Kumbalam Ernakulam 9 AV

7 Mankada Palghat 1 AV

8 Nedumkandam Idukki 50 AR

9 Niranam Pathanamthitta

10 Poonjar Kottayam 6 AV(+AR)

11 Puthenkavu Alapuzha 50+ AV

12 Kottayam Kottayam

13 Valluvally Ernakulam 252 + AV

14 Kadakavur Trivandrum AR

(Note- The Exact number of the coin is not available )

AV-Gold (Latin aurum)

AR ndashSilver (Latin argentum)

Sources PJ Turner Roman Coins in India London 1989 R Champakalakshmi Trade

Ideology and urbanization South India- 300 BC to AD 1300 Studies in South Indian Coins

Vol VI New Delhi 1996 TSatyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins SSIC

157 Because of the availability of indigenous copper coin and its less metal value the

native people were not interested to protect such coins issued by the Romans

See PJ Turner opcit p19 Also see SSIC III Pp 43 ff

127

The above table gives a clear idea of the Roman coin finds in Kerala and it

also declares the importance of further studies in it No doubt the table is

incomplete because most of the coin finds are unpublished till now It may be

observed that in the long span of two millennia the innumerable Roman gold

and silver coins discovered throughout the length and breadth of the state might

straight have gone to the crucible of goldsmiths to convert the pieces into

fascinating ornaments However we can make a brief description about the

Roman coin finds in Kerala through the available evidence Firstly it is clear

that the available Roman coin finds in Kerala includes either gold aurie or

silver denari but the copper coins has not been reported from any site with a

recent exception to Chera copper coins unearthed from Pattanam near North

Paravur Ernakulam District of Kerala about eight kilometers south of

Kodungalloor and the mouth of river periyar158

Apart from other finds the

Iyyal in Trichur district is the only attested bimetallic hoard and it also

contained 34 silver punch-marked coins

Secondly the reported finds are absent in the northern-most and the

southernmost districts of modern Kerala state It indicates the scarcity of

Roman trade connection with these areas Thirdly most of the sites belong to

Idukki district in modern Kerala but a large number of Roman coins came

from Cannannore in Malabar area which contained no less than five coolie

loadslsquo159

Lastly the availability of Roman aurie and denari in modern Kerala state

reveals the fact that it was a great centre of valuable commodities like pepper

cinnamon etc and the Roman merchants established trade contacts in order to

collect the spices and other commodities in return to their gold and silver coins

158 A Roman copper coin has been reported in the collections of

ThiruvananthapuramArt Museum as miscellaneous collection in the central

Register But the locality or the exact spot where it was found is not traceable

For details See SSIC Vol III Pp 43 ff

159 See A Sreedharamenon Keralacharithram Kottayam 1979 p41 For details

see Paula J Turner opcit p62

128

with the south-western parts of ancient Tamil country The ancient Tamil

poems speak about Muziris as the premier160

port of Chera country and the

trade contacts between Yavanas (Romans) and Tamil country ―The thriving

town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold

come splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyaru which belongs to

the Chera of the Periyaru the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with

gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with noise161

―Sacks of

pepper are brought from the houses to the market the gold received from the

ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri

where the music of the surging sea never ceases and where Kuttuvan (the

Chera king) presents to visitors the rare products of the seas and

mountains162

These songs reveal the fact that the Roman gold coins vizaurie

were looked upon by the natives as gold pure and simple Possession of these

coins would have been a measure of their wealth and they concealed their

wealth underground to save it from unwanted attention It is also clear that as a

result of the progressive foreign trade contact Muziris became the important

port town in ancient Kerala and the extensive trade also witnessed the

emergence of other trade centres like Tyndis Naura Bekare Nelkinda etc163

160 Most historians believe that Muziris was in Kodumagalloore It is also considered

as the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period For details see Ravi Varma

opcitp10 See also Santhakumar ldquoMaritime contacts between Ancient Tamilakam and Roman Empire as Gleaned from Numismatic and Archaeological

Evidencerdquo (JSIH) Journal of South Indian History Vol I Issue I Sept 2003

edited by V Kunjali Pp57-62

161 Erukkadur Thayan Kannanar Akam-149

162 Paranar Puram 343 Also see Gurukal and Varrier opcitp67

163 According to William Logan Tyndis was the recent Kadalundy See Malabar

Vol I p76 But Neelakanta Sasthri argued that it was in Ponnany

SeeKANeelakanda Sasthri A History of South India Madras 1976 p139 For

further details about the port town in ancient period see KPPadmanabhamenon

Kochirajya Charithram Trissur 1912 Pp48-49 See Also A Sreedharamenon

Survey of Kerala History Kottayam 2012 Pp64-67

129

The Roman coin-finds in India should be seen vertically divided into three

periods (1) Early Julio-Claudian period ie up to the time of Nero (AD 68)

(ii) Later Julio- Claudian period ie Vespasian to Nerva (AD 69-98) and

(iii) post- Julio- Claudian period ie AD 98 onwards Likewise they should

be also be distinguished horizontally into three geographical areas viz (a)

southern peninsular region ie the land of the Chera Pandyas and Cholas

(broadly the present states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu) (b) south Deccan ie

the kingdom of the Andhra Satavahanas (broadly the present states of

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) and some parts of southern Maharashtra and

(c) north Deccan and above ie northern part of the state of Maharashtra and

the state of Gujarat Madhyapradesh and to their north153

As we had seen earlier Roman coins found in northern India are very

few compared to those found in the south The significant numismatic

discoveries in different parts of south India reveal that the majority of the

Roman coins were found in the form of hoards a few as stray ones in the

Megalithic tombs and a few others from excavations The analyses of these

coins reveal that the earlier group belonged to Augustus and the latest to

Marcus Aurelius154

Among the Roman coin-finds Nelloore in Andhrapradesh155

is the

earliest recorded find on Indian soil156

However most of the finds came from

153 The vertical and horizontal division is only made for the convenience of the study

of the Roman coin finds in India The vertical division is made on the basis of the

available Roman history and the horizontal division indicates the geographical

distribution pattern of the coins or wherever the Roman coins found in India For

clear details see PL Gupta Roman coins from Andhra Pradesh p9 PJ Turner

Roman Coins Pp511 Sewell R Lists of Roman coins found in India JRSS

(1904) 591-637 154 th

KV Raman Presidential Address Numismatic society of India 77 session

(Shantiniketan February 11-13 1970) 155

For a detailed list of Roman coin finds in India see Paula J Turner Roman Coins

in India 1989opcit Appendix I Pp45 ff

156 Ibid p71

126

PMC

(Kizhoor)

Coimbatore and surrounding regions in Tamil nadu Similarly Roman coins of

Republican and Imperial times were found in Kerala in considerable numbers

the former is fewer than the latter Silver denari of both Republican and

Imperial and gold aurie of Imperial make only have been reported from

different places but the Roman copper coin ie aes are much less in Indian

soil and Kerala is no exception to this We will discuss the reported Roman

coin finds157

in Kerala through the table given below

Table ndash 21

Sites of Roman coin finds in Kerala

SlNo Site District No of

Coins

Metal Associated

finds

1 Alleppey Alleppey

(3rd

in colloquium

P113 FN60)

1 AR

2 Idamaruka 1 AV or AR()

3 Iyyal Thrissur 83 AV amp AR 3 4 silver

4 Kilalur Kannur AV

5 Kottayam Kannur 1000lsquos AV(+AR)

6 Kumbalam Ernakulam 9 AV

7 Mankada Palghat 1 AV

8 Nedumkandam Idukki 50 AR

9 Niranam Pathanamthitta

10 Poonjar Kottayam 6 AV(+AR)

11 Puthenkavu Alapuzha 50+ AV

12 Kottayam Kottayam

13 Valluvally Ernakulam 252 + AV

14 Kadakavur Trivandrum AR

(Note- The Exact number of the coin is not available )

AV-Gold (Latin aurum)

AR ndashSilver (Latin argentum)

Sources PJ Turner Roman Coins in India London 1989 R Champakalakshmi Trade

Ideology and urbanization South India- 300 BC to AD 1300 Studies in South Indian Coins

Vol VI New Delhi 1996 TSatyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins SSIC

157 Because of the availability of indigenous copper coin and its less metal value the

native people were not interested to protect such coins issued by the Romans

See PJ Turner opcit p19 Also see SSIC III Pp 43 ff

127

The above table gives a clear idea of the Roman coin finds in Kerala and it

also declares the importance of further studies in it No doubt the table is

incomplete because most of the coin finds are unpublished till now It may be

observed that in the long span of two millennia the innumerable Roman gold

and silver coins discovered throughout the length and breadth of the state might

straight have gone to the crucible of goldsmiths to convert the pieces into

fascinating ornaments However we can make a brief description about the

Roman coin finds in Kerala through the available evidence Firstly it is clear

that the available Roman coin finds in Kerala includes either gold aurie or

silver denari but the copper coins has not been reported from any site with a

recent exception to Chera copper coins unearthed from Pattanam near North

Paravur Ernakulam District of Kerala about eight kilometers south of

Kodungalloor and the mouth of river periyar158

Apart from other finds the

Iyyal in Trichur district is the only attested bimetallic hoard and it also

contained 34 silver punch-marked coins

Secondly the reported finds are absent in the northern-most and the

southernmost districts of modern Kerala state It indicates the scarcity of

Roman trade connection with these areas Thirdly most of the sites belong to

Idukki district in modern Kerala but a large number of Roman coins came

from Cannannore in Malabar area which contained no less than five coolie

loadslsquo159

Lastly the availability of Roman aurie and denari in modern Kerala state

reveals the fact that it was a great centre of valuable commodities like pepper

cinnamon etc and the Roman merchants established trade contacts in order to

collect the spices and other commodities in return to their gold and silver coins

158 A Roman copper coin has been reported in the collections of

ThiruvananthapuramArt Museum as miscellaneous collection in the central

Register But the locality or the exact spot where it was found is not traceable

For details See SSIC Vol III Pp 43 ff

159 See A Sreedharamenon Keralacharithram Kottayam 1979 p41 For details

see Paula J Turner opcit p62

128

with the south-western parts of ancient Tamil country The ancient Tamil

poems speak about Muziris as the premier160

port of Chera country and the

trade contacts between Yavanas (Romans) and Tamil country ―The thriving

town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold

come splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyaru which belongs to

the Chera of the Periyaru the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with

gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with noise161

―Sacks of

pepper are brought from the houses to the market the gold received from the

ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri

where the music of the surging sea never ceases and where Kuttuvan (the

Chera king) presents to visitors the rare products of the seas and

mountains162

These songs reveal the fact that the Roman gold coins vizaurie

were looked upon by the natives as gold pure and simple Possession of these

coins would have been a measure of their wealth and they concealed their

wealth underground to save it from unwanted attention It is also clear that as a

result of the progressive foreign trade contact Muziris became the important

port town in ancient Kerala and the extensive trade also witnessed the

emergence of other trade centres like Tyndis Naura Bekare Nelkinda etc163

160 Most historians believe that Muziris was in Kodumagalloore It is also considered

as the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period For details see Ravi Varma

opcitp10 See also Santhakumar ldquoMaritime contacts between Ancient Tamilakam and Roman Empire as Gleaned from Numismatic and Archaeological

Evidencerdquo (JSIH) Journal of South Indian History Vol I Issue I Sept 2003

edited by V Kunjali Pp57-62

161 Erukkadur Thayan Kannanar Akam-149

162 Paranar Puram 343 Also see Gurukal and Varrier opcitp67

163 According to William Logan Tyndis was the recent Kadalundy See Malabar

Vol I p76 But Neelakanta Sasthri argued that it was in Ponnany

SeeKANeelakanda Sasthri A History of South India Madras 1976 p139 For

further details about the port town in ancient period see KPPadmanabhamenon

Kochirajya Charithram Trissur 1912 Pp48-49 See Also A Sreedharamenon

Survey of Kerala History Kottayam 2012 Pp64-67

129

PMC

(Kizhoor)

Coimbatore and surrounding regions in Tamil nadu Similarly Roman coins of

Republican and Imperial times were found in Kerala in considerable numbers

the former is fewer than the latter Silver denari of both Republican and

Imperial and gold aurie of Imperial make only have been reported from

different places but the Roman copper coin ie aes are much less in Indian

soil and Kerala is no exception to this We will discuss the reported Roman

coin finds157

in Kerala through the table given below

Table ndash 21

Sites of Roman coin finds in Kerala

SlNo Site District No of

Coins

Metal Associated

finds

1 Alleppey Alleppey

(3rd

in colloquium

P113 FN60)

1 AR

2 Idamaruka 1 AV or AR()

3 Iyyal Thrissur 83 AV amp AR 3 4 silver

4 Kilalur Kannur AV

5 Kottayam Kannur 1000lsquos AV(+AR)

6 Kumbalam Ernakulam 9 AV

7 Mankada Palghat 1 AV

8 Nedumkandam Idukki 50 AR

9 Niranam Pathanamthitta

10 Poonjar Kottayam 6 AV(+AR)

11 Puthenkavu Alapuzha 50+ AV

12 Kottayam Kottayam

13 Valluvally Ernakulam 252 + AV

14 Kadakavur Trivandrum AR

(Note- The Exact number of the coin is not available )

AV-Gold (Latin aurum)

AR ndashSilver (Latin argentum)

Sources PJ Turner Roman Coins in India London 1989 R Champakalakshmi Trade

Ideology and urbanization South India- 300 BC to AD 1300 Studies in South Indian Coins

Vol VI New Delhi 1996 TSatyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins SSIC

157 Because of the availability of indigenous copper coin and its less metal value the

native people were not interested to protect such coins issued by the Romans

See PJ Turner opcit p19 Also see SSIC III Pp 43 ff

127

The above table gives a clear idea of the Roman coin finds in Kerala and it

also declares the importance of further studies in it No doubt the table is

incomplete because most of the coin finds are unpublished till now It may be

observed that in the long span of two millennia the innumerable Roman gold

and silver coins discovered throughout the length and breadth of the state might

straight have gone to the crucible of goldsmiths to convert the pieces into

fascinating ornaments However we can make a brief description about the

Roman coin finds in Kerala through the available evidence Firstly it is clear

that the available Roman coin finds in Kerala includes either gold aurie or

silver denari but the copper coins has not been reported from any site with a

recent exception to Chera copper coins unearthed from Pattanam near North

Paravur Ernakulam District of Kerala about eight kilometers south of

Kodungalloor and the mouth of river periyar158

Apart from other finds the

Iyyal in Trichur district is the only attested bimetallic hoard and it also

contained 34 silver punch-marked coins

Secondly the reported finds are absent in the northern-most and the

southernmost districts of modern Kerala state It indicates the scarcity of

Roman trade connection with these areas Thirdly most of the sites belong to

Idukki district in modern Kerala but a large number of Roman coins came

from Cannannore in Malabar area which contained no less than five coolie

loadslsquo159

Lastly the availability of Roman aurie and denari in modern Kerala state

reveals the fact that it was a great centre of valuable commodities like pepper

cinnamon etc and the Roman merchants established trade contacts in order to

collect the spices and other commodities in return to their gold and silver coins

158 A Roman copper coin has been reported in the collections of

ThiruvananthapuramArt Museum as miscellaneous collection in the central

Register But the locality or the exact spot where it was found is not traceable

For details See SSIC Vol III Pp 43 ff

159 See A Sreedharamenon Keralacharithram Kottayam 1979 p41 For details

see Paula J Turner opcit p62

128

with the south-western parts of ancient Tamil country The ancient Tamil

poems speak about Muziris as the premier160

port of Chera country and the

trade contacts between Yavanas (Romans) and Tamil country ―The thriving

town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold

come splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyaru which belongs to

the Chera of the Periyaru the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with

gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with noise161

―Sacks of

pepper are brought from the houses to the market the gold received from the

ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri

where the music of the surging sea never ceases and where Kuttuvan (the

Chera king) presents to visitors the rare products of the seas and

mountains162

These songs reveal the fact that the Roman gold coins vizaurie

were looked upon by the natives as gold pure and simple Possession of these

coins would have been a measure of their wealth and they concealed their

wealth underground to save it from unwanted attention It is also clear that as a

result of the progressive foreign trade contact Muziris became the important

port town in ancient Kerala and the extensive trade also witnessed the

emergence of other trade centres like Tyndis Naura Bekare Nelkinda etc163

160 Most historians believe that Muziris was in Kodumagalloore It is also considered

as the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period For details see Ravi Varma

opcitp10 See also Santhakumar ldquoMaritime contacts between Ancient Tamilakam and Roman Empire as Gleaned from Numismatic and Archaeological

Evidencerdquo (JSIH) Journal of South Indian History Vol I Issue I Sept 2003

edited by V Kunjali Pp57-62

161 Erukkadur Thayan Kannanar Akam-149

162 Paranar Puram 343 Also see Gurukal and Varrier opcitp67

163 According to William Logan Tyndis was the recent Kadalundy See Malabar

Vol I p76 But Neelakanta Sasthri argued that it was in Ponnany

SeeKANeelakanda Sasthri A History of South India Madras 1976 p139 For

further details about the port town in ancient period see KPPadmanabhamenon

Kochirajya Charithram Trissur 1912 Pp48-49 See Also A Sreedharamenon

Survey of Kerala History Kottayam 2012 Pp64-67

129

The above table gives a clear idea of the Roman coin finds in Kerala and it

also declares the importance of further studies in it No doubt the table is

incomplete because most of the coin finds are unpublished till now It may be

observed that in the long span of two millennia the innumerable Roman gold

and silver coins discovered throughout the length and breadth of the state might

straight have gone to the crucible of goldsmiths to convert the pieces into

fascinating ornaments However we can make a brief description about the

Roman coin finds in Kerala through the available evidence Firstly it is clear

that the available Roman coin finds in Kerala includes either gold aurie or

silver denari but the copper coins has not been reported from any site with a

recent exception to Chera copper coins unearthed from Pattanam near North

Paravur Ernakulam District of Kerala about eight kilometers south of

Kodungalloor and the mouth of river periyar158

Apart from other finds the

Iyyal in Trichur district is the only attested bimetallic hoard and it also

contained 34 silver punch-marked coins

Secondly the reported finds are absent in the northern-most and the

southernmost districts of modern Kerala state It indicates the scarcity of

Roman trade connection with these areas Thirdly most of the sites belong to

Idukki district in modern Kerala but a large number of Roman coins came

from Cannannore in Malabar area which contained no less than five coolie

loadslsquo159

Lastly the availability of Roman aurie and denari in modern Kerala state

reveals the fact that it was a great centre of valuable commodities like pepper

cinnamon etc and the Roman merchants established trade contacts in order to

collect the spices and other commodities in return to their gold and silver coins

158 A Roman copper coin has been reported in the collections of

ThiruvananthapuramArt Museum as miscellaneous collection in the central

Register But the locality or the exact spot where it was found is not traceable

For details See SSIC Vol III Pp 43 ff

159 See A Sreedharamenon Keralacharithram Kottayam 1979 p41 For details

see Paula J Turner opcit p62

128

with the south-western parts of ancient Tamil country The ancient Tamil

poems speak about Muziris as the premier160

port of Chera country and the

trade contacts between Yavanas (Romans) and Tamil country ―The thriving

town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold

come splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyaru which belongs to

the Chera of the Periyaru the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with

gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with noise161

―Sacks of

pepper are brought from the houses to the market the gold received from the

ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri

where the music of the surging sea never ceases and where Kuttuvan (the

Chera king) presents to visitors the rare products of the seas and

mountains162

These songs reveal the fact that the Roman gold coins vizaurie

were looked upon by the natives as gold pure and simple Possession of these

coins would have been a measure of their wealth and they concealed their

wealth underground to save it from unwanted attention It is also clear that as a

result of the progressive foreign trade contact Muziris became the important

port town in ancient Kerala and the extensive trade also witnessed the

emergence of other trade centres like Tyndis Naura Bekare Nelkinda etc163

160 Most historians believe that Muziris was in Kodumagalloore It is also considered

as the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period For details see Ravi Varma

opcitp10 See also Santhakumar ldquoMaritime contacts between Ancient Tamilakam and Roman Empire as Gleaned from Numismatic and Archaeological

Evidencerdquo (JSIH) Journal of South Indian History Vol I Issue I Sept 2003

edited by V Kunjali Pp57-62

161 Erukkadur Thayan Kannanar Akam-149

162 Paranar Puram 343 Also see Gurukal and Varrier opcitp67

163 According to William Logan Tyndis was the recent Kadalundy See Malabar

Vol I p76 But Neelakanta Sasthri argued that it was in Ponnany

SeeKANeelakanda Sasthri A History of South India Madras 1976 p139 For

further details about the port town in ancient period see KPPadmanabhamenon

Kochirajya Charithram Trissur 1912 Pp48-49 See Also A Sreedharamenon

Survey of Kerala History Kottayam 2012 Pp64-67

129

with the south-western parts of ancient Tamil country The ancient Tamil

poems speak about Muziris as the premier160

port of Chera country and the

trade contacts between Yavanas (Romans) and Tamil country ―The thriving

town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold

come splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyaru which belongs to

the Chera of the Periyaru the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with

gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with noise161

―Sacks of

pepper are brought from the houses to the market the gold received from the

ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on shore in barges at Muchiri

where the music of the surging sea never ceases and where Kuttuvan (the

Chera king) presents to visitors the rare products of the seas and

mountains162

These songs reveal the fact that the Roman gold coins vizaurie

were looked upon by the natives as gold pure and simple Possession of these

coins would have been a measure of their wealth and they concealed their

wealth underground to save it from unwanted attention It is also clear that as a

result of the progressive foreign trade contact Muziris became the important

port town in ancient Kerala and the extensive trade also witnessed the

emergence of other trade centres like Tyndis Naura Bekare Nelkinda etc163

160 Most historians believe that Muziris was in Kodumagalloore It is also considered

as the seat of the Cheras in Sangam period For details see Ravi Varma

opcitp10 See also Santhakumar ldquoMaritime contacts between Ancient Tamilakam and Roman Empire as Gleaned from Numismatic and Archaeological

Evidencerdquo (JSIH) Journal of South Indian History Vol I Issue I Sept 2003

edited by V Kunjali Pp57-62

161 Erukkadur Thayan Kannanar Akam-149

162 Paranar Puram 343 Also see Gurukal and Varrier opcitp67

163 According to William Logan Tyndis was the recent Kadalundy See Malabar

Vol I p76 But Neelakanta Sasthri argued that it was in Ponnany

SeeKANeelakanda Sasthri A History of South India Madras 1976 p139 For

further details about the port town in ancient period see KPPadmanabhamenon

Kochirajya Charithram Trissur 1912 Pp48-49 See Also A Sreedharamenon

Survey of Kerala History Kottayam 2012 Pp64-67

129

Above all most of the Roman coin finds significantly suggest the advent of

people and ideas into the region from the northern part of the subcontinent and

the western world164

The Roman coins found in Kerala belong to several categories The

evidence from the coins shows that there was a new major thrust in the Eastern

trade under Augustus and his successors whereas there is scant evidence for

pre-imperial trade on a large scale Several hoards and single coins have been

discovered from different parts of Kerala from the 19th

century onwards The

first significant hoard reported in Kerala is the Kottayam hoard located in

Kannur district in Malabar Hundreds of excellently preserved aurie were found

on the slope of a hill by the sea named Vaniyamkadavu at Kottayam165

The

coins which belong to early Julio-Claudian period were all of gold amounting

to no less than five cooie loadslsquo

Probably the coins were preserved in five separate large containers each

one giving enough weight for a coolie load Taking into account the average

weight of the Roman gold coins and if a coolie could carry a weight of about

25-30 kg including the container the total five coolie load would amount to

approximately 15000 coins but the actual quantity could not be assessed fully

A major chunk of this hoard soon disappeared before the news reached the

authorities The coins seem to have been in fine condition that is not worn

and local jewellers were impressed by the quality of gold Like the Pudukottai

hoard in Tamil Nadu Kottayam hoard is also more informative because both

being particularly vast166

164 Gurukal and Varrier Cultural History Tvm 1999 p182

165 Edgar Thurston Coins Catalogue-2 (Madras Govt Museum 1894) p12 Quoted by T Satyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins Tvm 1992 p4

166 About 80 or 90 coins in Kottayam hoard reached the collection of Maharaja of

Travancore and a large number to General Cullen the then Resident of

Travancore See JASB XX (1851) 371-87 Caldwell A Description of Roman

Imperial Aurie found near Calicut (TVM 1851) Madras Museum Annual

Report 1882 p5 Also See (Drury Capt H) Journal of the Asiatic Society of

Bengal XX (1852) Pp371-287

130

We get some references about the number of coins by which from the

available coins nine (9) were of Augustus 28 of Tiberius two of Caligula and

sixteen each of Claudius and Nero167

This is only a guide to the possible

proportion of the coins of each emperor Despite the lack of numbers for coins

of particular types in the Kottayam hoard it seems likely that the numbers of

coins of each Emperor were proportionately similar to those of Pudukottai168

The Kottayam hoard mainly contained the coins of Augustus Tiberius

Claudius Nero and a few of Gaius169

Apart from a big hoard two coins of gold

of Theodosius and Nero were also available from the surface or stray finds170

Mention of the gold coin of Theodosius indicate the appearance of post Julio-

Claudian issues in ancient Kerala Thus in every sense the Roman coin finds in

Kottayam give evidence of Roman contacts with the Malabar region in modern

Kerala

After this another most important find came from Iyyal171

which is

located in Tallappalli Taluk in Trichur district The Iyyal hoard though small in

size is important for the reason that it is situated on the Highway between the

ancient emporium of Tyndis and Muziris172

From this hoard 117 coins were

unearthed and it covered a period of about 240 years (BC 123-117 AD) of

which 71 silver and 12 gold coins were Roman and the rest (34) being silver

punch-marked coins173

This is the only published hoard of Roman coins of two

167 W Logan Malabar I Madras 1887

168 Paula J Turner opcit P9

169 For more details see Ibid Pp 62-63 Also see Champakalakshmi Trade Ideology

and Urbanization South India 300 BC to AD 1300 New Delhi 1996 p164

170 Ibid p173

171 See JNSI XXV Pp 22-28

172 PLGupta opcit p47

173 See PL Gupta opcit Pt VI VII VIII IX X XI

131

metals and it covered a period from the Republic to Trajan (117 AD) Among

the gold coins three aurie were defaced by slashing and many of the coins are

in poor condition often only fragments remaining From the available 71

denari 4 belong to Republican period they seem to cover the period between

123 and 86 BC 12 denarii belong to the Triumvirate period (44-31 BC) of

Octavian 1 denarius of Octavian issued between BC 29-27 from Gaul as

Imperator perpotus and 36 denarii of Claudius and 5 denarii of Nero also have

been identified

Among the aurei 8 of Tiberius 1 of Claudius 2 of Nero and 1 of Trajan

have been reported from Iyyal174

The silver coins are not having chisel cut on

the head while the gold coins have chisel cut on Tiberius Claudius and Nerolsquos

headthat probably indicate the non-acceptance of the currency value of the

coins It is extremely unlikely that all the silver denarii came from Rome in the

same worn condition as they are seen in the hoard and it also shows that the

Roman coins flowed into India even after the reign of Nero Above all

bimetallic hoards of Roman coins are rare in India only the Iyyal has attested

find of denarii and aurie and this find is the only one of aurie with indigenous

silver (punch-marked coins)175

Besides these two hoards another large hoard of Roman coins was

unearthed in Valluvally near Pattanam176

North Parur Taluk in Ernakulam

district In 1983 two hundred and fifty two coins could be recovered by the

local police from Valluvally but the original number is unknown177

According

to the local people the number amounted to thousands The published report

174 For further details see PL Gupta opcit p48

175 PJ Turner opcit p8

176 See MG Sasibhooshan Coins from Kerala Malayalam Literary Survey Journal

of Kerala Sahitya Academy Trichur 1987 January-June Pp75-80 Also see

JNSI Vol XLIX Pp39-40

177 T Sathyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins Tvm 1992 p5

132

suggest that the coins includes those belonging to the periods of Roman

Emperors like Augustus (BC31-AD 14) Nero (AD54-68) Vespasian (AD

69-79) Domitian (AD 81-96) Trajan (AD 98-117) Hadrian (117-138 AD)

Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (AD161-180)178

The

obverse of the coins contain the heads of the Emperors concerned and on the

other side the emblems of Roman gods and goddesses and other symbols179

The legends on the coins are written in Latin the official language of the

Roman Empire The notable feature of the hoard is that the coins up to the

period of Hadrian are worn out recording their wide circulation for a longer

time Later about 314 gold coins were traced out by Peter Berghaus (including

two suspected imitation coins) 180

Apart from these large hoards several minor hoards also were reported

from different places of Kerala Among them the notable one is the

Nedumkandam hoard which contains both the Republican and Imperial coins

of Rome181

Nedumkandam is located in Udumbanchola Taluk in Idukki

district on the ghat-route More than 50 silver coins were discovered from this

hoard in 1992 but the reported coins are few in number and all of them belong

to the Julio-Claudian period182

Compared to the number of coins reported from

Iyyal the percentage of Republican issue is low Only 4 silver coins of the

Republican period are reported from Iyyal and it is datable to BC 123-91 But

the Nedumkandam hoard contains about 50 of the silver coins from the

Republican period and it is datable to C190 BC Republican coins are very

few in Indian subcontinent and only 5 finds were reported ie Laccadives

178 MG Sasibhooshan A Treasure of Roman Gold Indian Express (Daily) Cochin

2-12-1983

179 JNSI XLIX p40

180 SSIC Vol IV Pp33 ff

181 SSIC Vol VI Pp31 ff

182 Republican coins and 11 coins belonging to the period of Augustus Ibid

133

Kalkkinar (1909) Iyyal (1945) in South and Manikyalan (1830) Pakli (1898)

in North till the discovery of the Nedumkandam hoard No doubt the

discovery of Nedumkandam brought to light the new areas from where the

materials were acquired for exports in Western coast

Another find is from Poonjar on the ghat-route in Kottayam district and

it contains certain Roman coins which mainly belong to the early Julio-

Claudian period183

The available report shows that about 5 aurie were

discovered from the stray finds184

Among them 2 were the issue of Antonius

Pius it represents the post Julio-Claudian period The rest of them being the

issues of Augustus Claudius and Nero belongs to the early Julio-Claudian

period In short the Poonjar find provides the picture of Roman trade during

post-Claudian period but most of the coins in this village represent the early

Julio-Claudian issues

Coins from the early Julio-Claudian period have been discovered at

Idamaruku (Kottayam district) and from the Highranges in Idukki district185

Idamaruku is a place close to Poonjar Besides this another find also has been

discovered at Niranam near Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district186

All these

evidences reveal the importance of these areas in the map of Roman trade

About 50 aurie have been reported from Puthenkavu which is located in

Chengannoor Taluk in Quilon district Most of them belong to the post -Julio-

Claudian period The exact number of coins is not available However all

issues were post-date Theodosius I187

Though relevant excavations were

183 PJ Turner opcit p7 Also see Satyamurthy opcit p4

184 PL Gupta Coins in Romes Indian Trade Coinage Trade and Economy New

Delhi 1970 p133

185 See MG Shashibhooshan opcitp79

186 Shasibhooshan MG opcit p79 Also see PJ Turner opcit p74

187 Champakalakshmi opcit p265

134

We get some references about the number of coins by which from the

available coins nine (9) were of Augustus 28 of Tiberius two of Caligula and

sixteen each of Claudius and Nero167

This is only a guide to the possible

proportion of the coins of each emperor Despite the lack of numbers for coins

of particular types in the Kottayam hoard it seems likely that the numbers of

coins of each Emperor were proportionately similar to those of Pudukottai168

The Kottayam hoard mainly contained the coins of Augustus Tiberius

Claudius Nero and a few of Gaius169

Apart from a big hoard two coins of gold

of Theodosius and Nero were also available from the surface or stray finds170

Mention of the gold coin of Theodosius indicate the appearance of post Julio-

Claudian issues in ancient Kerala Thus in every sense the Roman coin finds in

Kottayam give evidence of Roman contacts with the Malabar region in modern

Kerala

After this another most important find came from Iyyal171

which is

located in Tallappalli Taluk in Trichur district The Iyyal hoard though small in

size is important for the reason that it is situated on the Highway between the

ancient emporium of Tyndis and Muziris172

From this hoard 117 coins were

unearthed and it covered a period of about 240 years (BC 123-117 AD) of

which 71 silver and 12 gold coins were Roman and the rest (34) being silver

punch-marked coins173

This is the only published hoard of Roman coins of two

167 W Logan Malabar I Madras 1887

168 Paula J Turner opcit P9

169 For more details see Ibid Pp 62-63 Also see Champakalakshmi Trade Ideology

and Urbanization South India 300 BC to AD 1300 New Delhi 1996 p164

170 Ibid p173

171 See JNSI XXV Pp 22-28

172 PLGupta opcit p47

173 See PL Gupta opcit Pt VI VII VIII IX X XI

131

metals and it covered a period from the Republic to Trajan (117 AD) Among

the gold coins three aurie were defaced by slashing and many of the coins are

in poor condition often only fragments remaining From the available 71

denari 4 belong to Republican period they seem to cover the period between

123 and 86 BC 12 denarii belong to the Triumvirate period (44-31 BC) of

Octavian 1 denarius of Octavian issued between BC 29-27 from Gaul as

Imperator perpotus and 36 denarii of Claudius and 5 denarii of Nero also have

been identified

Among the aurei 8 of Tiberius 1 of Claudius 2 of Nero and 1 of Trajan

have been reported from Iyyal174

The silver coins are not having chisel cut on

the head while the gold coins have chisel cut on Tiberius Claudius and Nerolsquos

headthat probably indicate the non-acceptance of the currency value of the

coins It is extremely unlikely that all the silver denarii came from Rome in the

same worn condition as they are seen in the hoard and it also shows that the

Roman coins flowed into India even after the reign of Nero Above all

bimetallic hoards of Roman coins are rare in India only the Iyyal has attested

find of denarii and aurie and this find is the only one of aurie with indigenous

silver (punch-marked coins)175

Besides these two hoards another large hoard of Roman coins was

unearthed in Valluvally near Pattanam176

North Parur Taluk in Ernakulam

district In 1983 two hundred and fifty two coins could be recovered by the

local police from Valluvally but the original number is unknown177

According

to the local people the number amounted to thousands The published report

174 For further details see PL Gupta opcit p48

175 PJ Turner opcit p8

176 See MG Sasibhooshan Coins from Kerala Malayalam Literary Survey Journal

of Kerala Sahitya Academy Trichur 1987 January-June Pp75-80 Also see

JNSI Vol XLIX Pp39-40

177 T Sathyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins Tvm 1992 p5

132

suggest that the coins includes those belonging to the periods of Roman

Emperors like Augustus (BC31-AD 14) Nero (AD54-68) Vespasian (AD

69-79) Domitian (AD 81-96) Trajan (AD 98-117) Hadrian (117-138 AD)

Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (AD161-180)178

The

obverse of the coins contain the heads of the Emperors concerned and on the

other side the emblems of Roman gods and goddesses and other symbols179

The legends on the coins are written in Latin the official language of the

Roman Empire The notable feature of the hoard is that the coins up to the

period of Hadrian are worn out recording their wide circulation for a longer

time Later about 314 gold coins were traced out by Peter Berghaus (including

two suspected imitation coins) 180

Apart from these large hoards several minor hoards also were reported

from different places of Kerala Among them the notable one is the

Nedumkandam hoard which contains both the Republican and Imperial coins

of Rome181

Nedumkandam is located in Udumbanchola Taluk in Idukki

district on the ghat-route More than 50 silver coins were discovered from this

hoard in 1992 but the reported coins are few in number and all of them belong

to the Julio-Claudian period182

Compared to the number of coins reported from

Iyyal the percentage of Republican issue is low Only 4 silver coins of the

Republican period are reported from Iyyal and it is datable to BC 123-91 But

the Nedumkandam hoard contains about 50 of the silver coins from the

Republican period and it is datable to C190 BC Republican coins are very

few in Indian subcontinent and only 5 finds were reported ie Laccadives

178 MG Sasibhooshan A Treasure of Roman Gold Indian Express (Daily) Cochin

2-12-1983

179 JNSI XLIX p40

180 SSIC Vol IV Pp33 ff

181 SSIC Vol VI Pp31 ff

182 Republican coins and 11 coins belonging to the period of Augustus Ibid

133

Kalkkinar (1909) Iyyal (1945) in South and Manikyalan (1830) Pakli (1898)

in North till the discovery of the Nedumkandam hoard No doubt the

discovery of Nedumkandam brought to light the new areas from where the

materials were acquired for exports in Western coast

Another find is from Poonjar on the ghat-route in Kottayam district and

it contains certain Roman coins which mainly belong to the early Julio-

Claudian period183

The available report shows that about 5 aurie were

discovered from the stray finds184

Among them 2 were the issue of Antonius

Pius it represents the post Julio-Claudian period The rest of them being the

issues of Augustus Claudius and Nero belongs to the early Julio-Claudian

period In short the Poonjar find provides the picture of Roman trade during

post-Claudian period but most of the coins in this village represent the early

Julio-Claudian issues

Coins from the early Julio-Claudian period have been discovered at

Idamaruku (Kottayam district) and from the Highranges in Idukki district185

Idamaruku is a place close to Poonjar Besides this another find also has been

discovered at Niranam near Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district186

All these

evidences reveal the importance of these areas in the map of Roman trade

About 50 aurie have been reported from Puthenkavu which is located in

Chengannoor Taluk in Quilon district Most of them belong to the post -Julio-

Claudian period The exact number of coins is not available However all

issues were post-date Theodosius I187

Though relevant excavations were

183 PJ Turner opcit p7 Also see Satyamurthy opcit p4

184 PL Gupta Coins in Romes Indian Trade Coinage Trade and Economy New

Delhi 1970 p133

185 See MG Shashibhooshan opcitp79

186 Shasibhooshan MG opcit p79 Also see PJ Turner opcit p74

187 Champakalakshmi opcit p265

134

metals and it covered a period from the Republic to Trajan (117 AD) Among

the gold coins three aurie were defaced by slashing and many of the coins are

in poor condition often only fragments remaining From the available 71

denari 4 belong to Republican period they seem to cover the period between

123 and 86 BC 12 denarii belong to the Triumvirate period (44-31 BC) of

Octavian 1 denarius of Octavian issued between BC 29-27 from Gaul as

Imperator perpotus and 36 denarii of Claudius and 5 denarii of Nero also have

been identified

Among the aurei 8 of Tiberius 1 of Claudius 2 of Nero and 1 of Trajan

have been reported from Iyyal174

The silver coins are not having chisel cut on

the head while the gold coins have chisel cut on Tiberius Claudius and Nerolsquos

headthat probably indicate the non-acceptance of the currency value of the

coins It is extremely unlikely that all the silver denarii came from Rome in the

same worn condition as they are seen in the hoard and it also shows that the

Roman coins flowed into India even after the reign of Nero Above all

bimetallic hoards of Roman coins are rare in India only the Iyyal has attested

find of denarii and aurie and this find is the only one of aurie with indigenous

silver (punch-marked coins)175

Besides these two hoards another large hoard of Roman coins was

unearthed in Valluvally near Pattanam176

North Parur Taluk in Ernakulam

district In 1983 two hundred and fifty two coins could be recovered by the

local police from Valluvally but the original number is unknown177

According

to the local people the number amounted to thousands The published report

174 For further details see PL Gupta opcit p48

175 PJ Turner opcit p8

176 See MG Sasibhooshan Coins from Kerala Malayalam Literary Survey Journal

of Kerala Sahitya Academy Trichur 1987 January-June Pp75-80 Also see

JNSI Vol XLIX Pp39-40

177 T Sathyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Gold Coins Tvm 1992 p5

132

suggest that the coins includes those belonging to the periods of Roman

Emperors like Augustus (BC31-AD 14) Nero (AD54-68) Vespasian (AD

69-79) Domitian (AD 81-96) Trajan (AD 98-117) Hadrian (117-138 AD)

Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (AD161-180)178

The

obverse of the coins contain the heads of the Emperors concerned and on the

other side the emblems of Roman gods and goddesses and other symbols179

The legends on the coins are written in Latin the official language of the

Roman Empire The notable feature of the hoard is that the coins up to the

period of Hadrian are worn out recording their wide circulation for a longer

time Later about 314 gold coins were traced out by Peter Berghaus (including

two suspected imitation coins) 180

Apart from these large hoards several minor hoards also were reported

from different places of Kerala Among them the notable one is the

Nedumkandam hoard which contains both the Republican and Imperial coins

of Rome181

Nedumkandam is located in Udumbanchola Taluk in Idukki

district on the ghat-route More than 50 silver coins were discovered from this

hoard in 1992 but the reported coins are few in number and all of them belong

to the Julio-Claudian period182

Compared to the number of coins reported from

Iyyal the percentage of Republican issue is low Only 4 silver coins of the

Republican period are reported from Iyyal and it is datable to BC 123-91 But

the Nedumkandam hoard contains about 50 of the silver coins from the

Republican period and it is datable to C190 BC Republican coins are very

few in Indian subcontinent and only 5 finds were reported ie Laccadives

178 MG Sasibhooshan A Treasure of Roman Gold Indian Express (Daily) Cochin

2-12-1983

179 JNSI XLIX p40

180 SSIC Vol IV Pp33 ff

181 SSIC Vol VI Pp31 ff

182 Republican coins and 11 coins belonging to the period of Augustus Ibid

133

Kalkkinar (1909) Iyyal (1945) in South and Manikyalan (1830) Pakli (1898)

in North till the discovery of the Nedumkandam hoard No doubt the

discovery of Nedumkandam brought to light the new areas from where the

materials were acquired for exports in Western coast

Another find is from Poonjar on the ghat-route in Kottayam district and

it contains certain Roman coins which mainly belong to the early Julio-

Claudian period183

The available report shows that about 5 aurie were

discovered from the stray finds184

Among them 2 were the issue of Antonius

Pius it represents the post Julio-Claudian period The rest of them being the

issues of Augustus Claudius and Nero belongs to the early Julio-Claudian

period In short the Poonjar find provides the picture of Roman trade during

post-Claudian period but most of the coins in this village represent the early

Julio-Claudian issues

Coins from the early Julio-Claudian period have been discovered at

Idamaruku (Kottayam district) and from the Highranges in Idukki district185

Idamaruku is a place close to Poonjar Besides this another find also has been

discovered at Niranam near Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district186

All these

evidences reveal the importance of these areas in the map of Roman trade

About 50 aurie have been reported from Puthenkavu which is located in

Chengannoor Taluk in Quilon district Most of them belong to the post -Julio-

Claudian period The exact number of coins is not available However all

issues were post-date Theodosius I187

Though relevant excavations were

183 PJ Turner opcit p7 Also see Satyamurthy opcit p4

184 PL Gupta Coins in Romes Indian Trade Coinage Trade and Economy New

Delhi 1970 p133

185 See MG Shashibhooshan opcitp79

186 Shasibhooshan MG opcit p79 Also see PJ Turner opcit p74

187 Champakalakshmi opcit p265

134

suggest that the coins includes those belonging to the periods of Roman

Emperors like Augustus (BC31-AD 14) Nero (AD54-68) Vespasian (AD

69-79) Domitian (AD 81-96) Trajan (AD 98-117) Hadrian (117-138 AD)

Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (AD161-180)178

The

obverse of the coins contain the heads of the Emperors concerned and on the

other side the emblems of Roman gods and goddesses and other symbols179

The legends on the coins are written in Latin the official language of the

Roman Empire The notable feature of the hoard is that the coins up to the

period of Hadrian are worn out recording their wide circulation for a longer

time Later about 314 gold coins were traced out by Peter Berghaus (including

two suspected imitation coins) 180

Apart from these large hoards several minor hoards also were reported

from different places of Kerala Among them the notable one is the

Nedumkandam hoard which contains both the Republican and Imperial coins

of Rome181

Nedumkandam is located in Udumbanchola Taluk in Idukki

district on the ghat-route More than 50 silver coins were discovered from this

hoard in 1992 but the reported coins are few in number and all of them belong

to the Julio-Claudian period182

Compared to the number of coins reported from

Iyyal the percentage of Republican issue is low Only 4 silver coins of the

Republican period are reported from Iyyal and it is datable to BC 123-91 But

the Nedumkandam hoard contains about 50 of the silver coins from the

Republican period and it is datable to C190 BC Republican coins are very

few in Indian subcontinent and only 5 finds were reported ie Laccadives

178 MG Sasibhooshan A Treasure of Roman Gold Indian Express (Daily) Cochin

2-12-1983

179 JNSI XLIX p40

180 SSIC Vol IV Pp33 ff

181 SSIC Vol VI Pp31 ff

182 Republican coins and 11 coins belonging to the period of Augustus Ibid

133

Kalkkinar (1909) Iyyal (1945) in South and Manikyalan (1830) Pakli (1898)

in North till the discovery of the Nedumkandam hoard No doubt the

discovery of Nedumkandam brought to light the new areas from where the

materials were acquired for exports in Western coast

Another find is from Poonjar on the ghat-route in Kottayam district and

it contains certain Roman coins which mainly belong to the early Julio-

Claudian period183

The available report shows that about 5 aurie were

discovered from the stray finds184

Among them 2 were the issue of Antonius

Pius it represents the post Julio-Claudian period The rest of them being the

issues of Augustus Claudius and Nero belongs to the early Julio-Claudian

period In short the Poonjar find provides the picture of Roman trade during

post-Claudian period but most of the coins in this village represent the early

Julio-Claudian issues

Coins from the early Julio-Claudian period have been discovered at

Idamaruku (Kottayam district) and from the Highranges in Idukki district185

Idamaruku is a place close to Poonjar Besides this another find also has been

discovered at Niranam near Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district186

All these

evidences reveal the importance of these areas in the map of Roman trade

About 50 aurie have been reported from Puthenkavu which is located in

Chengannoor Taluk in Quilon district Most of them belong to the post -Julio-

Claudian period The exact number of coins is not available However all

issues were post-date Theodosius I187

Though relevant excavations were

183 PJ Turner opcit p7 Also see Satyamurthy opcit p4

184 PL Gupta Coins in Romes Indian Trade Coinage Trade and Economy New

Delhi 1970 p133

185 See MG Shashibhooshan opcitp79

186 Shasibhooshan MG opcit p79 Also see PJ Turner opcit p74

187 Champakalakshmi opcit p265

134

Kalkkinar (1909) Iyyal (1945) in South and Manikyalan (1830) Pakli (1898)

in North till the discovery of the Nedumkandam hoard No doubt the

discovery of Nedumkandam brought to light the new areas from where the

materials were acquired for exports in Western coast

Another find is from Poonjar on the ghat-route in Kottayam district and

it contains certain Roman coins which mainly belong to the early Julio-

Claudian period183

The available report shows that about 5 aurie were

discovered from the stray finds184

Among them 2 were the issue of Antonius

Pius it represents the post Julio-Claudian period The rest of them being the

issues of Augustus Claudius and Nero belongs to the early Julio-Claudian

period In short the Poonjar find provides the picture of Roman trade during

post-Claudian period but most of the coins in this village represent the early

Julio-Claudian issues

Coins from the early Julio-Claudian period have been discovered at

Idamaruku (Kottayam district) and from the Highranges in Idukki district185

Idamaruku is a place close to Poonjar Besides this another find also has been

discovered at Niranam near Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district186

All these

evidences reveal the importance of these areas in the map of Roman trade

About 50 aurie have been reported from Puthenkavu which is located in

Chengannoor Taluk in Quilon district Most of them belong to the post -Julio-

Claudian period The exact number of coins is not available However all

issues were post-date Theodosius I187

Though relevant excavations were

183 PJ Turner opcit p7 Also see Satyamurthy opcit p4

184 PL Gupta Coins in Romes Indian Trade Coinage Trade and Economy New

Delhi 1970 p133

185 See MG Shashibhooshan opcitp79

186 Shasibhooshan MG opcit p79 Also see PJ Turner opcit p74

187 Champakalakshmi opcit p265

134

absent the reported coins from Puthenkavu reveal the Roman trade contacts

with the Travancore area

The Kumbalam hoard in Ernakulam district provides a list of 9 aurie

which belong to the post Julio-Claudian period One aureus of Hadrian (117shy

138 AD) four aurie of Antonius Pius (138-161 AD) and another four aurie of

Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) were reported from this hoard188

The

catalogue published on these coins shows a variety of types legends style of

portraits of the emperor on the obverse and likewise different divinities and

their postures on the reverse The common factor seems to be their mint-fresh

condition and absence of the slash marks and their general weight ranging

from 692 to 738 grains It is generally accepted that the Kumbalam hoardlsquo

from the South ndashWest Coast of India (Ernakulam district in Kerala) is unique

because it provides the evidence that in the second half of the 2nd

century

Roman aurie have come to India without having circulated anywhere else or

later on in India

Certain references had also existed about the gold coins from Kilalur

(Kizhoor) in Kannur district189

but not published in detail Similarly a hoard

from Alapuzha also has been reported190

One denarius of Tiberius has been

interpreted but further details are absent191

Recently Roman denari has also

been reported at Kadakkavur in Thiruvananthapuram district192

Besides these

an aureus of Nero has been listed from Mankada in Palakadu district193

and also

from Kottayam in Kottayam district194

but more information is not available In

short the Roman coin finds are large in Kerala but they lack proper analysis

188 SSIC Pp 29 ff

189 See JASB XX pp371-387 Also see Champakalakshmi opcit p172

190 rdPeter Berghaus Roman Coins from India and their Imitations 3 International

Colloquium 1991 PIII FN 60

191 See Champakalakshmi opcit p163

192 See Satyamurthy Gold Coins of Travancore state SSIC Vol II p117

193 ASI Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (1963-64)p161

194 See T Satyamurthy Catalogue of Roman Coins Tvm 1992 p5

135

and interpretation The most important facts derived at are (a) the nonshy

availability of the total coins from the site wherever they are discovered(b)

absence of further details and scientific study about the available coins and (c)

the scarcity of proper study materials on the Roman coinage and its circulation

in India

However the available evidence from the Roman coins in India furnish

the knowledge about the mutual commercial relations existed between India

and the Roman world which led to the flow of a variety of the commodities

Roman trade with India

The discovery of coinage associated with the remnants of civilization is

often cited as proof of the existence of a marketing system in that society

Coinage is viewed as the consequence of the demands of a market system that

has evolved beyond previous localized commodity exchange While earlier

exchange was largely reciprocal the use of coinage implies less personalized

market transactions and likely exchange with external economic agents Gold

and silver coinage often had prestige and value in early societies and might be

used for large scale exchange It is generally believed that trade is the main

factor responsible for the movement of coins from one country to another

Early Tamilakom had an extensive maritime trade with foreign

countries Remarkable growth of foreign trade is to be ascribed to the

availability of certain commercial products in the Western regions of ancient

Tamilakom now known as Kerala From very early times extensive trade was

carried out in between Kerala and west Asian countries of Arabia Syria and

Egypt The Aksumite kingdom or often referred as Abyssinian kingdom in

North Africa maintained trade connection with India and their coin type has

been reported from south India195

The Greeks had considerable role in the

195 For details see SSIC Vol VIII Pp 58-64 Also see Elankulam Kunjan Pillai

Studies in Kerala History Tvm 1970 p394

136

commercial field of south India from about the 3rd

century BC which can be

proved through the Tamil names of south Indian articles borrowed by the

Hellenes So also the Asian countries had maintained a flourishing trade

connection with the early South Indian kingdoms196

On the basis of the

Chinese annals their trade flourished prior to the early Christian era197

The

Chinese imported south Indian spices largely and exported their silks sugar etc

to India198

But the real glory in the trade connection started with the dawn of

the Roman Empire which is evident from the available Roman coin finds in

different parts of South India

Roman republic did not have a flourishing contact with India199

and the

coins belonging to this period circulated in India only during the time of the

Empire During the time of the consulate or Republican period most of the

export items from India to Europe probably went to Greece rather than to

Rome200

These conclusions are based on the fact that very few consular coins

have been unearthed so far in India but most of those coins circulated in India

only during the time of the empire The Roman contacts with India began

during the reign of Augustus as it is clear from the finds which are confined to

several areas in south India although a considerable antiquity has been

assigned to the commerce between the ancient Tamil country and the west201

It

196 PT Sreenivasa Iyengar- History of the Tamils Chennai 2001 Pp193-94 Also

See KP Padmanabhamenon Kochirajyacharitram Calicut 1989 p47

197 Schoff WH Periplus of Erythrean Sea (1912) Delhi 1974 p246

198 PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcit p102

199 KS Mathew Pius Malekandathil (ed) Trade Economy of the Malabar Coast and

the Europeans in Kerala Economy and European trade Moovattupuzha 2003

p1 200

JRAS (1904) Pp 593-594

201 RS Kennedy King in Early South India as chieftain and emperor IHR (1976)

Vol III Pp1-15 Also see KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils Madras

1975University of Madras 1969 p249

137

perhaps started as sporadic trade or unscheduled exchange and gradually

became a fruitful commerce in which spices pearls gems cotton fabrics and

other oriental exotics were traded for Roman gold and wine and other valuable

articles over two centuries202

There is a general consensus among the scholars that the trade began under

Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled up to 14 AD and that it reached a peak

under Nero (54-68 AD) and then maintained a high level till Marcus Aurelius

(161-180 AD) During the 3rd

century AD with the decline of the Roman

Empire and the depreciation of its currency the trade with the east vanquished

From this time trade declined up to Caracalla and then almost entirely ceased

except for a slight revival under the Byzantine Emperors203

The evidence of

Roman coins of Byzantium though rare in south India indicates the

continuance of trade after the death of Nero204

Indialsquos trade relations with the foreign countries had great antiquity It

sometimes existed before the Harappan civilization and flourished during that

civilization The Indus valley people had established trade connections with the

people from Afghanistan Turkmania Persian Gulf regions etc and carried their

goods through an elaborate standard of trade routes205

that connect the Indian

trade centres in the north-western regions with the foreign countries

202 Scoff WH (ed) Periplus of Erythrean Sea - Pp 26-61 Also See Akananurulsquo

149 Purananuru- 343

203 Sewell Lists of Roman Coins found in India JRAS (1904) Pp591-637 Also see

PL Gupta opcit p50

204 IK Sarma South Indian Coinage A review of recent discoveriesChennai 2003

p24

205 These trade routes extended upto Medeteranean region during the period between

1000 BC and 200 BC For more details See Nayanjot Lahiri The Archaeology

of Indian Trade Routes (upto C 200 BC) New Delhi 1968 Map-5 p62 Map

12 p126 Map 46 p392 The traders from Mohenjodaro made trade connection

with Malabar For details see Rev H Heras SJ Studies in Proto-Indo

Mediterranean culture Vol I Pp 98-110

138

Without proper trade routes whether it was by the land or sea long

distance trade had no future and no proper results Fortunately the foreign

countries had discovered many land routes or sea routes to the eastern countries

especially India before the early Christian centuries We have allusions to sea

voyages in the Rig-Veda The Indian literature (Buddhist) refers to the long

distance sea voyages where sailors going far into the sea made use of shore-

sighting birds206

It was the Indian traders who used to carry cargo for overseas

trade initially Later the discovery of monsoon winds for navigational purpose

by the Greek sailors turned the picture upside down

The most important routes in the third century BC was mainly by the sea

to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris to Seleucia where it joined the overland

route from India and other Eastern countries207

During the time of Ptolemy

Philadelphians (285-246 BC) of Egypt opened a new sea route to India

particularly when they lost possession of Syria and the supremacy in the

Aegean sea Philadelphians built a port at Myos Hormos 180 miles north of

Berenice which became the most important centre in the Red Sea for Indian

trade208

The caravan route from Coptos halfway down the Nile connected the

route with the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenic on the Red sea 209

The

famous explorer Eudoxus twice made the voyages to India in the latter part of

the second century BC and came to be known as the ―great explorer210

But it

was during the first century BC the Western world was united under Rome

that they began to push eastwards by land and sea Both land and sea routes

206 PLGupta opcit p2

207 Ibid- p122

208 Ibid

209 Lionel Casson Ancient Naval Technology and the Route to India in Rome and

India the Ancient Sea trade (Ed) Vimala Begely and Richard Daniel De Puma

Madison 1866 p8

210 PL Gupta opcit p3

139

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

and interpretation The most important facts derived at are (a) the nonshy

availability of the total coins from the site wherever they are discovered(b)

absence of further details and scientific study about the available coins and (c)

the scarcity of proper study materials on the Roman coinage and its circulation

in India

However the available evidence from the Roman coins in India furnish

the knowledge about the mutual commercial relations existed between India

and the Roman world which led to the flow of a variety of the commodities

Roman trade with India

The discovery of coinage associated with the remnants of civilization is

often cited as proof of the existence of a marketing system in that society

Coinage is viewed as the consequence of the demands of a market system that

has evolved beyond previous localized commodity exchange While earlier

exchange was largely reciprocal the use of coinage implies less personalized

market transactions and likely exchange with external economic agents Gold

and silver coinage often had prestige and value in early societies and might be

used for large scale exchange It is generally believed that trade is the main

factor responsible for the movement of coins from one country to another

Early Tamilakom had an extensive maritime trade with foreign

countries Remarkable growth of foreign trade is to be ascribed to the

availability of certain commercial products in the Western regions of ancient

Tamilakom now known as Kerala From very early times extensive trade was

carried out in between Kerala and west Asian countries of Arabia Syria and

Egypt The Aksumite kingdom or often referred as Abyssinian kingdom in

North Africa maintained trade connection with India and their coin type has

been reported from south India195

The Greeks had considerable role in the

195 For details see SSIC Vol VIII Pp 58-64 Also see Elankulam Kunjan Pillai

Studies in Kerala History Tvm 1970 p394

136

commercial field of south India from about the 3rd

century BC which can be

proved through the Tamil names of south Indian articles borrowed by the

Hellenes So also the Asian countries had maintained a flourishing trade

connection with the early South Indian kingdoms196

On the basis of the

Chinese annals their trade flourished prior to the early Christian era197

The

Chinese imported south Indian spices largely and exported their silks sugar etc

to India198

But the real glory in the trade connection started with the dawn of

the Roman Empire which is evident from the available Roman coin finds in

different parts of South India

Roman republic did not have a flourishing contact with India199

and the

coins belonging to this period circulated in India only during the time of the

Empire During the time of the consulate or Republican period most of the

export items from India to Europe probably went to Greece rather than to

Rome200

These conclusions are based on the fact that very few consular coins

have been unearthed so far in India but most of those coins circulated in India

only during the time of the empire The Roman contacts with India began

during the reign of Augustus as it is clear from the finds which are confined to

several areas in south India although a considerable antiquity has been

assigned to the commerce between the ancient Tamil country and the west201

It

196 PT Sreenivasa Iyengar- History of the Tamils Chennai 2001 Pp193-94 Also

See KP Padmanabhamenon Kochirajyacharitram Calicut 1989 p47

197 Schoff WH Periplus of Erythrean Sea (1912) Delhi 1974 p246

198 PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcit p102

199 KS Mathew Pius Malekandathil (ed) Trade Economy of the Malabar Coast and

the Europeans in Kerala Economy and European trade Moovattupuzha 2003

p1 200

JRAS (1904) Pp 593-594

201 RS Kennedy King in Early South India as chieftain and emperor IHR (1976)

Vol III Pp1-15 Also see KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils Madras

1975University of Madras 1969 p249

137

perhaps started as sporadic trade or unscheduled exchange and gradually

became a fruitful commerce in which spices pearls gems cotton fabrics and

other oriental exotics were traded for Roman gold and wine and other valuable

articles over two centuries202

There is a general consensus among the scholars that the trade began under

Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled up to 14 AD and that it reached a peak

under Nero (54-68 AD) and then maintained a high level till Marcus Aurelius

(161-180 AD) During the 3rd

century AD with the decline of the Roman

Empire and the depreciation of its currency the trade with the east vanquished

From this time trade declined up to Caracalla and then almost entirely ceased

except for a slight revival under the Byzantine Emperors203

The evidence of

Roman coins of Byzantium though rare in south India indicates the

continuance of trade after the death of Nero204

Indialsquos trade relations with the foreign countries had great antiquity It

sometimes existed before the Harappan civilization and flourished during that

civilization The Indus valley people had established trade connections with the

people from Afghanistan Turkmania Persian Gulf regions etc and carried their

goods through an elaborate standard of trade routes205

that connect the Indian

trade centres in the north-western regions with the foreign countries

202 Scoff WH (ed) Periplus of Erythrean Sea - Pp 26-61 Also See Akananurulsquo

149 Purananuru- 343

203 Sewell Lists of Roman Coins found in India JRAS (1904) Pp591-637 Also see

PL Gupta opcit p50

204 IK Sarma South Indian Coinage A review of recent discoveriesChennai 2003

p24

205 These trade routes extended upto Medeteranean region during the period between

1000 BC and 200 BC For more details See Nayanjot Lahiri The Archaeology

of Indian Trade Routes (upto C 200 BC) New Delhi 1968 Map-5 p62 Map

12 p126 Map 46 p392 The traders from Mohenjodaro made trade connection

with Malabar For details see Rev H Heras SJ Studies in Proto-Indo

Mediterranean culture Vol I Pp 98-110

138

Without proper trade routes whether it was by the land or sea long

distance trade had no future and no proper results Fortunately the foreign

countries had discovered many land routes or sea routes to the eastern countries

especially India before the early Christian centuries We have allusions to sea

voyages in the Rig-Veda The Indian literature (Buddhist) refers to the long

distance sea voyages where sailors going far into the sea made use of shore-

sighting birds206

It was the Indian traders who used to carry cargo for overseas

trade initially Later the discovery of monsoon winds for navigational purpose

by the Greek sailors turned the picture upside down

The most important routes in the third century BC was mainly by the sea

to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris to Seleucia where it joined the overland

route from India and other Eastern countries207

During the time of Ptolemy

Philadelphians (285-246 BC) of Egypt opened a new sea route to India

particularly when they lost possession of Syria and the supremacy in the

Aegean sea Philadelphians built a port at Myos Hormos 180 miles north of

Berenice which became the most important centre in the Red Sea for Indian

trade208

The caravan route from Coptos halfway down the Nile connected the

route with the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenic on the Red sea 209

The

famous explorer Eudoxus twice made the voyages to India in the latter part of

the second century BC and came to be known as the ―great explorer210

But it

was during the first century BC the Western world was united under Rome

that they began to push eastwards by land and sea Both land and sea routes

206 PLGupta opcit p2

207 Ibid- p122

208 Ibid

209 Lionel Casson Ancient Naval Technology and the Route to India in Rome and

India the Ancient Sea trade (Ed) Vimala Begely and Richard Daniel De Puma

Madison 1866 p8

210 PL Gupta opcit p3

139

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

commercial field of south India from about the 3rd

century BC which can be

proved through the Tamil names of south Indian articles borrowed by the

Hellenes So also the Asian countries had maintained a flourishing trade

connection with the early South Indian kingdoms196

On the basis of the

Chinese annals their trade flourished prior to the early Christian era197

The

Chinese imported south Indian spices largely and exported their silks sugar etc

to India198

But the real glory in the trade connection started with the dawn of

the Roman Empire which is evident from the available Roman coin finds in

different parts of South India

Roman republic did not have a flourishing contact with India199

and the

coins belonging to this period circulated in India only during the time of the

Empire During the time of the consulate or Republican period most of the

export items from India to Europe probably went to Greece rather than to

Rome200

These conclusions are based on the fact that very few consular coins

have been unearthed so far in India but most of those coins circulated in India

only during the time of the empire The Roman contacts with India began

during the reign of Augustus as it is clear from the finds which are confined to

several areas in south India although a considerable antiquity has been

assigned to the commerce between the ancient Tamil country and the west201

It

196 PT Sreenivasa Iyengar- History of the Tamils Chennai 2001 Pp193-94 Also

See KP Padmanabhamenon Kochirajyacharitram Calicut 1989 p47

197 Schoff WH Periplus of Erythrean Sea (1912) Delhi 1974 p246

198 PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcit p102

199 KS Mathew Pius Malekandathil (ed) Trade Economy of the Malabar Coast and

the Europeans in Kerala Economy and European trade Moovattupuzha 2003

p1 200

JRAS (1904) Pp 593-594

201 RS Kennedy King in Early South India as chieftain and emperor IHR (1976)

Vol III Pp1-15 Also see KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils Madras

1975University of Madras 1969 p249

137

perhaps started as sporadic trade or unscheduled exchange and gradually

became a fruitful commerce in which spices pearls gems cotton fabrics and

other oriental exotics were traded for Roman gold and wine and other valuable

articles over two centuries202

There is a general consensus among the scholars that the trade began under

Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled up to 14 AD and that it reached a peak

under Nero (54-68 AD) and then maintained a high level till Marcus Aurelius

(161-180 AD) During the 3rd

century AD with the decline of the Roman

Empire and the depreciation of its currency the trade with the east vanquished

From this time trade declined up to Caracalla and then almost entirely ceased

except for a slight revival under the Byzantine Emperors203

The evidence of

Roman coins of Byzantium though rare in south India indicates the

continuance of trade after the death of Nero204

Indialsquos trade relations with the foreign countries had great antiquity It

sometimes existed before the Harappan civilization and flourished during that

civilization The Indus valley people had established trade connections with the

people from Afghanistan Turkmania Persian Gulf regions etc and carried their

goods through an elaborate standard of trade routes205

that connect the Indian

trade centres in the north-western regions with the foreign countries

202 Scoff WH (ed) Periplus of Erythrean Sea - Pp 26-61 Also See Akananurulsquo

149 Purananuru- 343

203 Sewell Lists of Roman Coins found in India JRAS (1904) Pp591-637 Also see

PL Gupta opcit p50

204 IK Sarma South Indian Coinage A review of recent discoveriesChennai 2003

p24

205 These trade routes extended upto Medeteranean region during the period between

1000 BC and 200 BC For more details See Nayanjot Lahiri The Archaeology

of Indian Trade Routes (upto C 200 BC) New Delhi 1968 Map-5 p62 Map

12 p126 Map 46 p392 The traders from Mohenjodaro made trade connection

with Malabar For details see Rev H Heras SJ Studies in Proto-Indo

Mediterranean culture Vol I Pp 98-110

138

Without proper trade routes whether it was by the land or sea long

distance trade had no future and no proper results Fortunately the foreign

countries had discovered many land routes or sea routes to the eastern countries

especially India before the early Christian centuries We have allusions to sea

voyages in the Rig-Veda The Indian literature (Buddhist) refers to the long

distance sea voyages where sailors going far into the sea made use of shore-

sighting birds206

It was the Indian traders who used to carry cargo for overseas

trade initially Later the discovery of monsoon winds for navigational purpose

by the Greek sailors turned the picture upside down

The most important routes in the third century BC was mainly by the sea

to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris to Seleucia where it joined the overland

route from India and other Eastern countries207

During the time of Ptolemy

Philadelphians (285-246 BC) of Egypt opened a new sea route to India

particularly when they lost possession of Syria and the supremacy in the

Aegean sea Philadelphians built a port at Myos Hormos 180 miles north of

Berenice which became the most important centre in the Red Sea for Indian

trade208

The caravan route from Coptos halfway down the Nile connected the

route with the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenic on the Red sea 209

The

famous explorer Eudoxus twice made the voyages to India in the latter part of

the second century BC and came to be known as the ―great explorer210

But it

was during the first century BC the Western world was united under Rome

that they began to push eastwards by land and sea Both land and sea routes

206 PLGupta opcit p2

207 Ibid- p122

208 Ibid

209 Lionel Casson Ancient Naval Technology and the Route to India in Rome and

India the Ancient Sea trade (Ed) Vimala Begely and Richard Daniel De Puma

Madison 1866 p8

210 PL Gupta opcit p3

139

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

perhaps started as sporadic trade or unscheduled exchange and gradually

became a fruitful commerce in which spices pearls gems cotton fabrics and

other oriental exotics were traded for Roman gold and wine and other valuable

articles over two centuries202

There is a general consensus among the scholars that the trade began under

Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled up to 14 AD and that it reached a peak

under Nero (54-68 AD) and then maintained a high level till Marcus Aurelius

(161-180 AD) During the 3rd

century AD with the decline of the Roman

Empire and the depreciation of its currency the trade with the east vanquished

From this time trade declined up to Caracalla and then almost entirely ceased

except for a slight revival under the Byzantine Emperors203

The evidence of

Roman coins of Byzantium though rare in south India indicates the

continuance of trade after the death of Nero204

Indialsquos trade relations with the foreign countries had great antiquity It

sometimes existed before the Harappan civilization and flourished during that

civilization The Indus valley people had established trade connections with the

people from Afghanistan Turkmania Persian Gulf regions etc and carried their

goods through an elaborate standard of trade routes205

that connect the Indian

trade centres in the north-western regions with the foreign countries

202 Scoff WH (ed) Periplus of Erythrean Sea - Pp 26-61 Also See Akananurulsquo

149 Purananuru- 343

203 Sewell Lists of Roman Coins found in India JRAS (1904) Pp591-637 Also see

PL Gupta opcit p50

204 IK Sarma South Indian Coinage A review of recent discoveriesChennai 2003

p24

205 These trade routes extended upto Medeteranean region during the period between

1000 BC and 200 BC For more details See Nayanjot Lahiri The Archaeology

of Indian Trade Routes (upto C 200 BC) New Delhi 1968 Map-5 p62 Map

12 p126 Map 46 p392 The traders from Mohenjodaro made trade connection

with Malabar For details see Rev H Heras SJ Studies in Proto-Indo

Mediterranean culture Vol I Pp 98-110

138

Without proper trade routes whether it was by the land or sea long

distance trade had no future and no proper results Fortunately the foreign

countries had discovered many land routes or sea routes to the eastern countries

especially India before the early Christian centuries We have allusions to sea

voyages in the Rig-Veda The Indian literature (Buddhist) refers to the long

distance sea voyages where sailors going far into the sea made use of shore-

sighting birds206

It was the Indian traders who used to carry cargo for overseas

trade initially Later the discovery of monsoon winds for navigational purpose

by the Greek sailors turned the picture upside down

The most important routes in the third century BC was mainly by the sea

to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris to Seleucia where it joined the overland

route from India and other Eastern countries207

During the time of Ptolemy

Philadelphians (285-246 BC) of Egypt opened a new sea route to India

particularly when they lost possession of Syria and the supremacy in the

Aegean sea Philadelphians built a port at Myos Hormos 180 miles north of

Berenice which became the most important centre in the Red Sea for Indian

trade208

The caravan route from Coptos halfway down the Nile connected the

route with the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenic on the Red sea 209

The

famous explorer Eudoxus twice made the voyages to India in the latter part of

the second century BC and came to be known as the ―great explorer210

But it

was during the first century BC the Western world was united under Rome

that they began to push eastwards by land and sea Both land and sea routes

206 PLGupta opcit p2

207 Ibid- p122

208 Ibid

209 Lionel Casson Ancient Naval Technology and the Route to India in Rome and

India the Ancient Sea trade (Ed) Vimala Begely and Richard Daniel De Puma

Madison 1866 p8

210 PL Gupta opcit p3

139

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

Without proper trade routes whether it was by the land or sea long

distance trade had no future and no proper results Fortunately the foreign

countries had discovered many land routes or sea routes to the eastern countries

especially India before the early Christian centuries We have allusions to sea

voyages in the Rig-Veda The Indian literature (Buddhist) refers to the long

distance sea voyages where sailors going far into the sea made use of shore-

sighting birds206

It was the Indian traders who used to carry cargo for overseas

trade initially Later the discovery of monsoon winds for navigational purpose

by the Greek sailors turned the picture upside down

The most important routes in the third century BC was mainly by the sea

to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris to Seleucia where it joined the overland

route from India and other Eastern countries207

During the time of Ptolemy

Philadelphians (285-246 BC) of Egypt opened a new sea route to India

particularly when they lost possession of Syria and the supremacy in the

Aegean sea Philadelphians built a port at Myos Hormos 180 miles north of

Berenice which became the most important centre in the Red Sea for Indian

trade208

The caravan route from Coptos halfway down the Nile connected the

route with the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenic on the Red sea 209

The

famous explorer Eudoxus twice made the voyages to India in the latter part of

the second century BC and came to be known as the ―great explorer210

But it

was during the first century BC the Western world was united under Rome

that they began to push eastwards by land and sea Both land and sea routes

206 PLGupta opcit p2

207 Ibid- p122

208 Ibid

209 Lionel Casson Ancient Naval Technology and the Route to India in Rome and

India the Ancient Sea trade (Ed) Vimala Begely and Richard Daniel De Puma

Madison 1866 p8

210 PL Gupta opcit p3

139

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

were quite popular among the merchants to reach India from Rome and to

return home after their trade

However the land trade route had to pass though Parthia which was a

hostile country211

Because of the disturbances from the robbers the Roman

emperors encouraged the sailors to discover new sea routes to the eastern

countries Thus by about the middle of the First century AD Hippalus

discovered the secrets of the existence of monsoon winds blowing regularly

across the Indian Ocean and with the help of these monsoon winds Roman

ships reached Muziris and other ports of south India212

Romans also

discovered another route to south-west India through cape Guardafui213

Generally three indirect sea routes to India were familiar to the sailors

and the merchants from the East Mediterranean coast The first route may have

begun from the Phoenician cities second from Greece and third from

Alexandria in Egypt214

With the help of these trade routes foreign traders

could reach India in a shorter time and return with goods from peninsular India

without the fear of robhers With these advantages and facilities about 120

ships were sailing annaually to India according to Strabo from the port of

Myos Hormos215

The south Indian rulers at that time mainly Cheras Cholas

Pandyas and Satavahanas provided all protection and help to the Roman traders

and thereby an elaborate exchange relation existed between the Indian and the

211 Ibid p-3

212 See Rosa Maria Cimino (Ed) Ancient Rome and India Commercial and

Cultural

Contacts between the Roman world and India New Delhi 1996 p26

213 JI Miller The Spice trade of the Roman Empire 29 BC to 641 AD Plate- 5

Oxford 1969

214 For details see RKrishnamurthy Hellenistic period coins from Karur a review

SSIC Vol10 Pp-1213

215 Strabo VolVIII P119 in KS Mathew opcit p4

140

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

Roman world It was also responsible for the emergence of port towns like

Muziris Nelcynda etc in South India which greatly facilitated the Romans to

conduct a smooth trade with India

At the same time there existed highways called peruvazhilsquo which

connected villages and towns and tolls were levied at the entrance to towns and

at crossroads216

Obviously the Roman coin finds mark out a trade route from

Kerala coast through the Palakkad gap across the peninsula to the Roman

trading stations on the east coast The rivers had a great significance in the

progress of trade in south India The river Periar served as the most important

means of transportation of pepper and other spices produced in the hinterlands

which were in great demand by the traders from the Roman Empire217

There

are some references about the sea trade of the Tamils in the early period The

puramlsquo songs refer to a Pandya prince who was drowned in the sea (Kadalul

Mainta Glam Peruvaludi)218

A Chola ruler who plied a fleet across the sea and

controlled the high winds is an oft-repeated legend in the Sangam age and later

literatures219

He was a legendary Chola and an ancestor of Karikala of the

second century AD220

The Tamils were familiar with the harrowing

experience of being caught in a storm in mid-ocean221

However the sails of the ship helped the vessels to pierce the strong

waves of the ocean and on board the ship drums were beaten and tall flags were

hung from the mast222

While at harbour the ships were anchored by a thick

216 KK Pillai A Social History of the Tamils University of Madras 1969 p241

217 KS Mathew opcitl p5

218 Puram 182

219 Ibid 66

220 Subramanyan N Sangam Polity Bombay 1966 p241

221 Manimekalai IV 29-34

222 Maduraikkanci 77-83

141

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

long rope to the either end of which a big stone was attached223

The smaller

boats used in river transport were known as ambilsquo pahrilsquo and odailsquo224

and

larger boats as kalamlsquo vangamlsquo and navaylsquo225

The harbour Pukar(Puhar) or

Kaveripumpattinam was generally safe even for bigger vessels226

Warehouses

were built on the beach near the quarters of fishermen The two kinds of goods

(export and import) were found heaped on the quay Lighthouses called

―Kalam Kari ilangu Cudar the light that beckons the ship are referred to227

The most significant commercial settlements of south India like Puhar Muziris

etc are no less important in understanding the nature of their contact and

interaction which is clear from the Roman pottery and other associate finds

discovered by the excavations There is a reference about the force of Cohorts

maintained by the Roman merchants to protect their trade228

The Peutingerian

table a collection of ancient maps composed in third centuryAD mentions

Tyndis and Muziris and refers to a temple of Augustus on the west coast229

But

there is no reference in the Sangam literature about a temple for Augustus

Emissaries went to him from several Indian states and Augustus

223 Ibid 378

224 Akam 2918 10112 18723 Puram 2614 34 32 38124

225 Akam 135 262 3012-13 56 321

226 Puram 30

227 Subramanyan N opcit p242

228 William Logan Malabar Manual Vol I Trivandrum 1887 p199 Also See PL

Gupta opcit p5

229 For details see VA Smith The Early History of India from 600 BC to

Muhamedan Conquest p463 See also Subramanyan N opcit p240 V Nagam

Aiya Travancore State Manual Vol I p242 CA Innes Malabar Gazetteer

Vol I PT Sreenivasa Iyangar opcitp312 Ibrahim Kunju Studies in Medieval

Kerala History p4 Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair Kerala State Gazetteer vol

II Part I Pp 138-140 KM Panikar Studies in Indian History p13 KK Pillai

A Social History of the Tamils p270

142

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

FINDS OF ROMAN COINS IN KERALA

143

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

himself says that Indian embassies came frequently230

The Chera the Chola

and the Pandya monarchs of the Sangam period sent separate Embassies231

This led to the increase in the volume of Indialsquos trade with Rome during the

time of Augustus

During the beginning of the Christian era Roman trade with India reached

new dimensions because of the discovery of a new direct sea route to India

with the help of monsoon winds Western India and its long coast line opened

to Arabian sea became a haven for Roman maritime traders With the help of

natural and also physical support from the native people the Romans

maintained a terminal trade connection with Indians232

South India especially Kerala is famous for spices which attracted the

foreign merchants like the Mesopotamians Egyptians Arabians Phoenicians

Greeks etc and they carried on an extensive trade with the west coast from very

ancient period onwards233

The Sangam works mention the native merchant class like Vaniganlsquo

Chetti234

etc and they had a significant role in the commercial field The

articles of Roman trade mainly comprised of animal products plant products

minerals etc 235

at the same time according to Periplus a few male and female

230 Warmington The Commerce between Roman empire and India Cambridge

1928 p35

231 Ibid p37

232 REM Wheeler Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p164

233 A Sreedharamenon opcit Pp59-62 The recent discovery of Papyrus document

in the 2nd

century AD from the archives of Vienna deals with the maritime loan

arrangements made between the traders of Muziris and Alexandria It shows the

non-isolation and closer trade connection between the East and the West for

more details see KS Mathew opcit Appendix Pp 25-26

234 KK Pillai opcit Pp247-248

235 WH Scoff Periplus Pp44-45

144

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

slaves and Roman craftsman like carpenters and masons were brought to India

The products mainly exported from the west coast of India were pepper

malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala)236

indigo cinnamon and cardamom all

grown in Malabar Among the spices pepper which was used chiefly as

medicine by the Greeks and was called by Hipocratus as ―Indian remedy237

was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade It was valued by the

Romans as highly as gold and silver and hence the name Yavanapriyalsquo was

given to it by Sanskrit writers238

According to Pliny pepper had come very

239 thmuch in Roman fashion Pepper sometimes made up 34 of the total bulk of

240 241the average Rome bound cargolsquo or any way it would be more than half

The ships that visited the Western ports during the first century AD were of

large size on account of the pepper that was being carried The Sangam

literatures refer to the prosperity of the Muziris port in the pepper trade and the

virtual monopoly of the Cheras over it242

Apart from Muziris the Cheras

maintained trade in both black and white pepper through the ports like

Nelcynda Tyndis etc and thereby earned considerable profit from the Western

countries especially from Rome

236 The author of Periplus distinguishes three sorts of Malabathram namely those

made of the largest leaves those of smaller and the smallest For details see Ibid

p49

237 Warmington opcitp182 See also Elamkulam Studies in Kerala History Tvm

1970 Pp394-396

238 A Sreedharamenon opcitp62

239 Pliny Natural History XII 14 Coins in Romes Indian Trade PL Gupta p128

FN 46

240 WH Scoff opcitp214

241 Warmington opcit p181

242 For details see Akam-149 7-11 Also See Puram- 343 1-10

145

Cardamom yet another important spice exported to the west is found in

interior southern Kerala Malabar and the highlands bordering the district of

Madurai Thirunelveli and Dindigal243

Cardamom commanded a ready market

in the Roman world for its use as medicine and funerary perfume244

Another

important export item was cinnamon which is the bark of a tree an aromatic

substance with combined taste of sweetness and pungence It was in high

demand among the Romans as perfume incense condiment and medicine245

Malabathrumlsquo identified as betel leaflsquo (or Cinnamon bark) was another export

item from the west coast246

Nard (Nardus) seems to be a grass or leaf which

was yet another item of export along with Malabathrum It was used to extract

an oil for cosmetic purposes247

A large variety of Indian wood were also exported from west coast to

Rome They were generally divided into two classes viz 1) ornamental timber

wood 2) and fragrant wood sometimes used as medicines The most

noticeable forest products exported from south India were sandal wood teak

ebony and eagle wood that mainly comes from the hilly tracts of Coimbatore-

Salem regions of Tamil Nadu Karnataka and Malabar regions248

Indian cotton

was an important item of Roman trade with India Tamil poems refer to the

internal circuit of cotton goods mainly through gift to the poets and bards249

243 Warmington opcit p185

244 PL Gupta opcit p-7

245 Ibid p6

246 Warmington opcit Pp188-190

247 Puram 122 502

248 G Watt The Commercial Products of India Today and Tomorrowlsquos Delhi

1966 p976

249 Akam 8621 13620 Puram 39828

146

Fine quality and different varieties of Cotton cloth industries flourished

in the Deccan area250

It was basically from Gujarat The export of silk to Rome

in large quantities began in the reign of Augustus and continued till the time of

Marcus Aurelius It is recorded that silk was worth its weight in gold So the

Indians acted as intermediaries in the Chinese silk trade with the west251

In

south India the muslin cloth trade was mainly under the control of the Cholas

however it was exported from the Malabar Coast

There was a great demand for the mineral products particularly precious

stones which were most valuable and also attractive South Indian pearls were

rated among the best and highly valued in the ancient world and the Roman

ladies wore them as finger and ear ornaments and also used to decorate their

shoes252

The Andhra and Gangetic regions were popular in the pearl industry

and they also reached in considerable quantity to the Malabar ports where

they were exported to Rome They were used by the ruling elite both to adorn

themselves and as gift to the bards253

In south India the Cholas and Pandyas

tried to control the pearl coast Among them Cholas had special interest to

control the valuable export goods like pearls which were more in the Pandyan

kingdom and pepper which was abundant in the regions of the Cheras Plunder

mechanism was one of the most successful means of acquiring such valuables

for exchange and consumption

Other items of south Indian trade with the west were beryllsquo The beryl

mines of Pandiyur in the Coimbatore district are wellknown254

The Tamil

country particularly Kodumanam near Noyyallsquo river was famous for its jewel

250 PL Gupta opcit p7

251 Ibidopcit p18

252 Ibid p-6

253 Puram 37611-17 Akam 2612

254 G Watt opcit p-556

147

craft and goldsmiths255

Excavations in the Coimbatore region have brought to

light six-sided beryl prisms that have been interpreted as evidence of the

exchange of beryl for Roman coins256

Beryl mines have also been located at

Vaniyambadi in the Salem district Diamonds sapphires rubies etc were the

most precious items to the Westerners and they brought them mainly from

different parts of south India particularly from the Chola-Pandya regions

However most of them came from Sreelanka which was famous for the best

quality gems Ancient Kerala regions were not famous for the precious stone

mines but a great export trade in all kinds of precious stones was conducted

from the Malabar ports257

Besides the valuable precious stones large quantities of Indian iron and

steel different kinds of Indian animals etc were exported from south India

Animals like elephants lions tigers rhinoceroses buffalos monkeys etc and

birds like parrots peacocks etc were the important items of export from the

258 259West Coast Other important items of export were tortoise shell and ivory

which had great demand in the Western countries and these were mainly

brought from Barygaza Muziris and Nelcynda260

In short a variety of Indian

goods were exported from the port towns in south India to the Roman Empire

from the beginning of the Christian era onwards

In return to the export items Roman merchants largely imported their

native goods to India The imported items consisted of coins Topaz thin

255 Patirruppattu- 671 745

256 Warmington opcitp251

257 PL Gupta opcitp7

258 Ibid

259 Indian ivory is mentioned frequently as soon as the Roman Empire begins For

more details see Warmington opcit p163 References to the Indian tortoises

shell are common from the beginning of the Empire Ibid Pp166-167

260 PL Gupta opcitp6

148

clothings uline copper tin lead crude glass and figured linens and also wheat

for the sailors261

The Purananuru refers to the import of delicious wine which

was eagerly sought after by the kings and the ruling elites262

The excavations

conducted at different places in south India reveal the existence of pottery

particularly with amphoras as a main part of the import items of the Romans to

India The Periplus did not list many manufactured goods that were brought to

India by the Roman traders263

Most of the imported items were not the product of the Romans but they

were mainly the products of Egypt and Arabian countries However the

Roman gold and silver coins had a considerable role in the exchange trade with

the Eastern countries As discussed earlier their circulation and use as a

medium of exchange have been one of the major points of dispute among the

scholars The Tamil literary sources have very little to offer by way of evidence

on Roman coins The yavanalsquo literature provides much information about the

import items including the Roman coins but there is no reference on the native

coinage as a part of the exchange system

The Periplus gives a list of export and import commodities and also

gives information about the important trade centres in the East But the import

items of the Roman Empire were negligible in comparison to the Indian

exports So the balance of trade was very unfavorable to the west264

The

Roman Empire drained much of its treasure as the pure gold and silver coins

into the south Indian markets as bullion265

This drain and wasteful

261 WH Scoff opcit Pp44-45

262 Puram 56

263 PL Gupta opcit

264 Ibid p-8

265 Vidya Prakash Coinage of South India Varanasi 1968Pp5 21-23

149

extravagance of the richer classes in Rome was condemned by Pliny266

He also

opined that there was ―no year in which India did not drain the Roman Empire

of a hundred million sesterces267

This was presumably the value of articles

imported into India but the articles purchased in India were paid in Roman

coins268

Pliny had made another reference that the goods from India were sold

at hundred times their original cost which would mean that the quantum of

gold that reached the traders was hundred times more than what reached

India269

We have no doubt that a large number of Roman gold and silver coins

were in circulation in India as proved by the Roman coin finds in different parts

of the country Many hoards have also been unearthed from various parts of the

modern Kerala region Why so many Roman gold and silver coins are found

here and there in different parts of Kerala state so far away from Rome

Naturally we concentrate our attention to the trade affairs that existed between

the east and the west The Romans imported the luxurious goods from India in

return they exported their commodities and coins and thereby an elaborate

―goods for goods system of exchange existed among them

The pattern of Roman trade was not uniform throughout the entire

Indian territories It differed from place to place and from time to time270

An

266 See JNSI Vol XXV PtI p 22

267 Mommsen Provinces of Roman Empire Vol I Pp199-300 In Indian Shipping

A History of the Sea borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the

Earliest Times RK Mukherjee P122 Also see V Kanakasabhai The Tamils

Eighteen hundred years ago Pp32-38

268 Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p167

269 Rajan Gurukal Formation of Agrarian society in Kerala Historical Antecedents

in Perspectives on Kerala History (ed) PJ Cherian Vol II Part II Unit- I

Chapter I Tvm 1999 p 33

270 Sunil C Ray A revised study into the numismatic evidence of the Indo-Roman

Trade Delhi 1984 p138

150

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14

Fine quality and different varieties of Cotton cloth industries flourished

in the Deccan area250

It was basically from Gujarat The export of silk to Rome

in large quantities began in the reign of Augustus and continued till the time of

Marcus Aurelius It is recorded that silk was worth its weight in gold So the

Indians acted as intermediaries in the Chinese silk trade with the west251

In

south India the muslin cloth trade was mainly under the control of the Cholas

however it was exported from the Malabar Coast

There was a great demand for the mineral products particularly precious

stones which were most valuable and also attractive South Indian pearls were

rated among the best and highly valued in the ancient world and the Roman

ladies wore them as finger and ear ornaments and also used to decorate their

shoes252

The Andhra and Gangetic regions were popular in the pearl industry

and they also reached in considerable quantity to the Malabar ports where

they were exported to Rome They were used by the ruling elite both to adorn

themselves and as gift to the bards253

In south India the Cholas and Pandyas

tried to control the pearl coast Among them Cholas had special interest to

control the valuable export goods like pearls which were more in the Pandyan

kingdom and pepper which was abundant in the regions of the Cheras Plunder

mechanism was one of the most successful means of acquiring such valuables

for exchange and consumption

Other items of south Indian trade with the west were beryllsquo The beryl

mines of Pandiyur in the Coimbatore district are wellknown254

The Tamil

country particularly Kodumanam near Noyyallsquo river was famous for its jewel

250 PL Gupta opcit p7

251 Ibidopcit p18

252 Ibid p-6

253 Puram 37611-17 Akam 2612

254 G Watt opcit p-556

147

craft and goldsmiths255

Excavations in the Coimbatore region have brought to

light six-sided beryl prisms that have been interpreted as evidence of the

exchange of beryl for Roman coins256

Beryl mines have also been located at

Vaniyambadi in the Salem district Diamonds sapphires rubies etc were the

most precious items to the Westerners and they brought them mainly from

different parts of south India particularly from the Chola-Pandya regions

However most of them came from Sreelanka which was famous for the best

quality gems Ancient Kerala regions were not famous for the precious stone

mines but a great export trade in all kinds of precious stones was conducted

from the Malabar ports257

Besides the valuable precious stones large quantities of Indian iron and

steel different kinds of Indian animals etc were exported from south India

Animals like elephants lions tigers rhinoceroses buffalos monkeys etc and

birds like parrots peacocks etc were the important items of export from the

258 259West Coast Other important items of export were tortoise shell and ivory

which had great demand in the Western countries and these were mainly

brought from Barygaza Muziris and Nelcynda260

In short a variety of Indian

goods were exported from the port towns in south India to the Roman Empire

from the beginning of the Christian era onwards

In return to the export items Roman merchants largely imported their

native goods to India The imported items consisted of coins Topaz thin

255 Patirruppattu- 671 745

256 Warmington opcitp251

257 PL Gupta opcitp7

258 Ibid

259 Indian ivory is mentioned frequently as soon as the Roman Empire begins For

more details see Warmington opcit p163 References to the Indian tortoises

shell are common from the beginning of the Empire Ibid Pp166-167

260 PL Gupta opcitp6

148

clothings uline copper tin lead crude glass and figured linens and also wheat

for the sailors261

The Purananuru refers to the import of delicious wine which

was eagerly sought after by the kings and the ruling elites262

The excavations

conducted at different places in south India reveal the existence of pottery

particularly with amphoras as a main part of the import items of the Romans to

India The Periplus did not list many manufactured goods that were brought to

India by the Roman traders263

Most of the imported items were not the product of the Romans but they

were mainly the products of Egypt and Arabian countries However the

Roman gold and silver coins had a considerable role in the exchange trade with

the Eastern countries As discussed earlier their circulation and use as a

medium of exchange have been one of the major points of dispute among the

scholars The Tamil literary sources have very little to offer by way of evidence

on Roman coins The yavanalsquo literature provides much information about the

import items including the Roman coins but there is no reference on the native

coinage as a part of the exchange system

The Periplus gives a list of export and import commodities and also

gives information about the important trade centres in the East But the import

items of the Roman Empire were negligible in comparison to the Indian

exports So the balance of trade was very unfavorable to the west264

The

Roman Empire drained much of its treasure as the pure gold and silver coins

into the south Indian markets as bullion265

This drain and wasteful

261 WH Scoff opcit Pp44-45

262 Puram 56

263 PL Gupta opcit

264 Ibid p-8

265 Vidya Prakash Coinage of South India Varanasi 1968Pp5 21-23

149

extravagance of the richer classes in Rome was condemned by Pliny266

He also

opined that there was ―no year in which India did not drain the Roman Empire

of a hundred million sesterces267

This was presumably the value of articles

imported into India but the articles purchased in India were paid in Roman

coins268

Pliny had made another reference that the goods from India were sold

at hundred times their original cost which would mean that the quantum of

gold that reached the traders was hundred times more than what reached

India269

We have no doubt that a large number of Roman gold and silver coins

were in circulation in India as proved by the Roman coin finds in different parts

of the country Many hoards have also been unearthed from various parts of the

modern Kerala region Why so many Roman gold and silver coins are found

here and there in different parts of Kerala state so far away from Rome

Naturally we concentrate our attention to the trade affairs that existed between

the east and the west The Romans imported the luxurious goods from India in

return they exported their commodities and coins and thereby an elaborate

―goods for goods system of exchange existed among them

The pattern of Roman trade was not uniform throughout the entire

Indian territories It differed from place to place and from time to time270

An

266 See JNSI Vol XXV PtI p 22

267 Mommsen Provinces of Roman Empire Vol I Pp199-300 In Indian Shipping

A History of the Sea borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the

Earliest Times RK Mukherjee P122 Also see V Kanakasabhai The Tamils

Eighteen hundred years ago Pp32-38

268 Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p167

269 Rajan Gurukal Formation of Agrarian society in Kerala Historical Antecedents

in Perspectives on Kerala History (ed) PJ Cherian Vol II Part II Unit- I

Chapter I Tvm 1999 p 33

270 Sunil C Ray A revised study into the numismatic evidence of the Indo-Roman

Trade Delhi 1984 p138

150

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14

craft and goldsmiths255

Excavations in the Coimbatore region have brought to

light six-sided beryl prisms that have been interpreted as evidence of the

exchange of beryl for Roman coins256

Beryl mines have also been located at

Vaniyambadi in the Salem district Diamonds sapphires rubies etc were the

most precious items to the Westerners and they brought them mainly from

different parts of south India particularly from the Chola-Pandya regions

However most of them came from Sreelanka which was famous for the best

quality gems Ancient Kerala regions were not famous for the precious stone

mines but a great export trade in all kinds of precious stones was conducted

from the Malabar ports257

Besides the valuable precious stones large quantities of Indian iron and

steel different kinds of Indian animals etc were exported from south India

Animals like elephants lions tigers rhinoceroses buffalos monkeys etc and

birds like parrots peacocks etc were the important items of export from the

258 259West Coast Other important items of export were tortoise shell and ivory

which had great demand in the Western countries and these were mainly

brought from Barygaza Muziris and Nelcynda260

In short a variety of Indian

goods were exported from the port towns in south India to the Roman Empire

from the beginning of the Christian era onwards

In return to the export items Roman merchants largely imported their

native goods to India The imported items consisted of coins Topaz thin

255 Patirruppattu- 671 745

256 Warmington opcitp251

257 PL Gupta opcitp7

258 Ibid

259 Indian ivory is mentioned frequently as soon as the Roman Empire begins For

more details see Warmington opcit p163 References to the Indian tortoises

shell are common from the beginning of the Empire Ibid Pp166-167

260 PL Gupta opcitp6

148

clothings uline copper tin lead crude glass and figured linens and also wheat

for the sailors261

The Purananuru refers to the import of delicious wine which

was eagerly sought after by the kings and the ruling elites262

The excavations

conducted at different places in south India reveal the existence of pottery

particularly with amphoras as a main part of the import items of the Romans to

India The Periplus did not list many manufactured goods that were brought to

India by the Roman traders263

Most of the imported items were not the product of the Romans but they

were mainly the products of Egypt and Arabian countries However the

Roman gold and silver coins had a considerable role in the exchange trade with

the Eastern countries As discussed earlier their circulation and use as a

medium of exchange have been one of the major points of dispute among the

scholars The Tamil literary sources have very little to offer by way of evidence

on Roman coins The yavanalsquo literature provides much information about the

import items including the Roman coins but there is no reference on the native

coinage as a part of the exchange system

The Periplus gives a list of export and import commodities and also

gives information about the important trade centres in the East But the import

items of the Roman Empire were negligible in comparison to the Indian

exports So the balance of trade was very unfavorable to the west264

The

Roman Empire drained much of its treasure as the pure gold and silver coins

into the south Indian markets as bullion265

This drain and wasteful

261 WH Scoff opcit Pp44-45

262 Puram 56

263 PL Gupta opcit

264 Ibid p-8

265 Vidya Prakash Coinage of South India Varanasi 1968Pp5 21-23

149

extravagance of the richer classes in Rome was condemned by Pliny266

He also

opined that there was ―no year in which India did not drain the Roman Empire

of a hundred million sesterces267

This was presumably the value of articles

imported into India but the articles purchased in India were paid in Roman

coins268

Pliny had made another reference that the goods from India were sold

at hundred times their original cost which would mean that the quantum of

gold that reached the traders was hundred times more than what reached

India269

We have no doubt that a large number of Roman gold and silver coins

were in circulation in India as proved by the Roman coin finds in different parts

of the country Many hoards have also been unearthed from various parts of the

modern Kerala region Why so many Roman gold and silver coins are found

here and there in different parts of Kerala state so far away from Rome

Naturally we concentrate our attention to the trade affairs that existed between

the east and the west The Romans imported the luxurious goods from India in

return they exported their commodities and coins and thereby an elaborate

―goods for goods system of exchange existed among them

The pattern of Roman trade was not uniform throughout the entire

Indian territories It differed from place to place and from time to time270

An

266 See JNSI Vol XXV PtI p 22

267 Mommsen Provinces of Roman Empire Vol I Pp199-300 In Indian Shipping

A History of the Sea borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the

Earliest Times RK Mukherjee P122 Also see V Kanakasabhai The Tamils

Eighteen hundred years ago Pp32-38

268 Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p167

269 Rajan Gurukal Formation of Agrarian society in Kerala Historical Antecedents

in Perspectives on Kerala History (ed) PJ Cherian Vol II Part II Unit- I

Chapter I Tvm 1999 p 33

270 Sunil C Ray A revised study into the numismatic evidence of the Indo-Roman

Trade Delhi 1984 p138

150

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14

clothings uline copper tin lead crude glass and figured linens and also wheat

for the sailors261

The Purananuru refers to the import of delicious wine which

was eagerly sought after by the kings and the ruling elites262

The excavations

conducted at different places in south India reveal the existence of pottery

particularly with amphoras as a main part of the import items of the Romans to

India The Periplus did not list many manufactured goods that were brought to

India by the Roman traders263

Most of the imported items were not the product of the Romans but they

were mainly the products of Egypt and Arabian countries However the

Roman gold and silver coins had a considerable role in the exchange trade with

the Eastern countries As discussed earlier their circulation and use as a

medium of exchange have been one of the major points of dispute among the

scholars The Tamil literary sources have very little to offer by way of evidence

on Roman coins The yavanalsquo literature provides much information about the

import items including the Roman coins but there is no reference on the native

coinage as a part of the exchange system

The Periplus gives a list of export and import commodities and also

gives information about the important trade centres in the East But the import

items of the Roman Empire were negligible in comparison to the Indian

exports So the balance of trade was very unfavorable to the west264

The

Roman Empire drained much of its treasure as the pure gold and silver coins

into the south Indian markets as bullion265

This drain and wasteful

261 WH Scoff opcit Pp44-45

262 Puram 56

263 PL Gupta opcit

264 Ibid p-8

265 Vidya Prakash Coinage of South India Varanasi 1968Pp5 21-23

149

extravagance of the richer classes in Rome was condemned by Pliny266

He also

opined that there was ―no year in which India did not drain the Roman Empire

of a hundred million sesterces267

This was presumably the value of articles

imported into India but the articles purchased in India were paid in Roman

coins268

Pliny had made another reference that the goods from India were sold

at hundred times their original cost which would mean that the quantum of

gold that reached the traders was hundred times more than what reached

India269

We have no doubt that a large number of Roman gold and silver coins

were in circulation in India as proved by the Roman coin finds in different parts

of the country Many hoards have also been unearthed from various parts of the

modern Kerala region Why so many Roman gold and silver coins are found

here and there in different parts of Kerala state so far away from Rome

Naturally we concentrate our attention to the trade affairs that existed between

the east and the west The Romans imported the luxurious goods from India in

return they exported their commodities and coins and thereby an elaborate

―goods for goods system of exchange existed among them

The pattern of Roman trade was not uniform throughout the entire

Indian territories It differed from place to place and from time to time270

An

266 See JNSI Vol XXV PtI p 22

267 Mommsen Provinces of Roman Empire Vol I Pp199-300 In Indian Shipping

A History of the Sea borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the

Earliest Times RK Mukherjee P122 Also see V Kanakasabhai The Tamils

Eighteen hundred years ago Pp32-38

268 Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p167

269 Rajan Gurukal Formation of Agrarian society in Kerala Historical Antecedents

in Perspectives on Kerala History (ed) PJ Cherian Vol II Part II Unit- I

Chapter I Tvm 1999 p 33

270 Sunil C Ray A revised study into the numismatic evidence of the Indo-Roman

Trade Delhi 1984 p138

150

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14

extravagance of the richer classes in Rome was condemned by Pliny266

He also

opined that there was ―no year in which India did not drain the Roman Empire

of a hundred million sesterces267

This was presumably the value of articles

imported into India but the articles purchased in India were paid in Roman

coins268

Pliny had made another reference that the goods from India were sold

at hundred times their original cost which would mean that the quantum of

gold that reached the traders was hundred times more than what reached

India269

We have no doubt that a large number of Roman gold and silver coins

were in circulation in India as proved by the Roman coin finds in different parts

of the country Many hoards have also been unearthed from various parts of the

modern Kerala region Why so many Roman gold and silver coins are found

here and there in different parts of Kerala state so far away from Rome

Naturally we concentrate our attention to the trade affairs that existed between

the east and the west The Romans imported the luxurious goods from India in

return they exported their commodities and coins and thereby an elaborate

―goods for goods system of exchange existed among them

The pattern of Roman trade was not uniform throughout the entire

Indian territories It differed from place to place and from time to time270

An

266 See JNSI Vol XXV PtI p 22

267 Mommsen Provinces of Roman Empire Vol I Pp199-300 In Indian Shipping

A History of the Sea borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the

Earliest Times RK Mukherjee P122 Also see V Kanakasabhai The Tamils

Eighteen hundred years ago Pp32-38

268 Mortimer Wheeler Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers Beil 1954 p167

269 Rajan Gurukal Formation of Agrarian society in Kerala Historical Antecedents

in Perspectives on Kerala History (ed) PJ Cherian Vol II Part II Unit- I

Chapter I Tvm 1999 p 33

270 Sunil C Ray A revised study into the numismatic evidence of the Indo-Roman

Trade Delhi 1984 p138

150

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14

important question is what was the role of the native people in India in

organizing the trade relation with the outsiders No doubt without any help

from the native people the foreigners could not have collected commodities

from India The indigenous merchants must have functioned as middlemen

between the rich merchants of Rome and the forest dwellers of South India271

By using the available facilities in India the Roman traders established close

relation with the native people and collected the ―wealth of India

Probably the native people gave their help to carry the goods from the

hinterland to the port towns and also for loading them in the foreign ships If it

is true it cannot be neglected that the native people received the Roman coins

as wages for their service which they happily kept both for reasons of intrinsic

value and exchange value These coins as forms of wealth were used both for

exchange purpose as currency and as bullion and some of these were carried

from place to place for trade when they got converted as metals for bullion or

as coins In some places they were stored as non depreciable form of wealth for

reasons of proved security Fortunately most of them came to hoards or stray

finds to the surface and provided evidences regarding Indo-Roman trade

connection that existed from the early Christian centuries onwards

271 See MGS Narayanan Re-interpretations in South Indian History Tvm 1977

151

p14