Ajith Kumar's Blog: The Murder of Alexander the Great - Posts Tagged "ancient-marine-trade"
The Roman Port of Muziris
The Roman Signet-ring from Muziris:
A glorious ring with the Sphinx, the Greek mythical creature known for its magical powers, from 1 c AD, was unearthed recently from the lost ancient port of Muziris in the Kerala state in south India. The 1.2-cm-long banded agate, a precious stone found in the Indian Subcontinent, was from a seal-ring, very similar to the kind worn by Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, who reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The female winged Sphinx was the signet symbol on the finger ring of Emperor Augustus and the symbol then became popular and many wealthy merchants undoubtedly copied it.
A flattering account of the ancient port of Muziris exists in the text Natural History, in which Greek historian Pliny provided the sole testimony that this port was the 'Primum emporium Indiae.' Muziris, famous as the ‘Prime Emporium in India’ in the times of Cleopatra and Augustus, flourished to become a key Roman settlement for marine trade between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean regions — sending out pepper, precious stones, silk, beads, ivory and pottery to West Asia and Rome, and importing gold coins, glass, wine from there.
A Tamil poem in 2nd c AD speaks of Muziris (also known as Muciripattanam or Muciri) as “the city where wine abounds”, and which “bestows wealth to its people abundantly” with “gold coins from the ships are exchanged for pepper brought by local boats through the Periyar river”.
The primitive Roman port, which has now disappeared, was near the modern port city of Cochin (Kochi) in Kerala. Hearing of the wonders of this magnificent port city, a Greek navigator, Eudoxus of Cyzicus, sailed for the first time from the Red Sea to Muziris in around 116 BC, which appears to be the earliest written record of its prosperity.
Several sources confirm that the Romans had established a thriving trading mart in Muziris, with a fort and a Roman temple, under the rule of Greek governors and a judge. Being the local Prakrit word for spicy black pepper, the Greek name “Muziris” probably meant pepper town (Muchiri in Sanskrit). Pepper in those days was an exceptional and precious product, costlier than gold in weight, and available only from the rain-drenched mountains bordering the Muziris coast. The great emperors Solomon and Augustus, as well as Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, used to send their ships to Muziris for its precious spices and the gemstones, which were not available anywhere else in the world.
The conquests of Alexander the Great had established several Roman settlements in India, and the history of Muziris port leads us to the untold mysteries of the ancient world in "The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 2: The Secret War."
https://amzn.com/0999071440
A glorious ring with the Sphinx, the Greek mythical creature known for its magical powers, from 1 c AD, was unearthed recently from the lost ancient port of Muziris in the Kerala state in south India. The 1.2-cm-long banded agate, a precious stone found in the Indian Subcontinent, was from a seal-ring, very similar to the kind worn by Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, who reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The female winged Sphinx was the signet symbol on the finger ring of Emperor Augustus and the symbol then became popular and many wealthy merchants undoubtedly copied it.
A flattering account of the ancient port of Muziris exists in the text Natural History, in which Greek historian Pliny provided the sole testimony that this port was the 'Primum emporium Indiae.' Muziris, famous as the ‘Prime Emporium in India’ in the times of Cleopatra and Augustus, flourished to become a key Roman settlement for marine trade between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean regions — sending out pepper, precious stones, silk, beads, ivory and pottery to West Asia and Rome, and importing gold coins, glass, wine from there.
A Tamil poem in 2nd c AD speaks of Muziris (also known as Muciripattanam or Muciri) as “the city where wine abounds”, and which “bestows wealth to its people abundantly” with “gold coins from the ships are exchanged for pepper brought by local boats through the Periyar river”.
The primitive Roman port, which has now disappeared, was near the modern port city of Cochin (Kochi) in Kerala. Hearing of the wonders of this magnificent port city, a Greek navigator, Eudoxus of Cyzicus, sailed for the first time from the Red Sea to Muziris in around 116 BC, which appears to be the earliest written record of its prosperity.
Several sources confirm that the Romans had established a thriving trading mart in Muziris, with a fort and a Roman temple, under the rule of Greek governors and a judge. Being the local Prakrit word for spicy black pepper, the Greek name “Muziris” probably meant pepper town (Muchiri in Sanskrit). Pepper in those days was an exceptional and precious product, costlier than gold in weight, and available only from the rain-drenched mountains bordering the Muziris coast. The great emperors Solomon and Augustus, as well as Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, used to send their ships to Muziris for its precious spices and the gemstones, which were not available anywhere else in the world.
The conquests of Alexander the Great had established several Roman settlements in India, and the history of Muziris port leads us to the untold mysteries of the ancient world in "The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 2: The Secret War."
https://amzn.com/0999071440
The Murder of Alexander the Great
www.murderofalexanderthegreat.com
Available on Amazon Books:
The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 1: The Puranas.
The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 2: The Secret war
...more
Available on Amazon Books:
The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 1: The Puranas.
The Murder of Alexander the Great, Book 2: The Secret war
...more
