South Indians in Roman Egypt?

Frontline, from the publishers of The Hindu ^ | Volume 27, Issue 8, April 10-23, 2010 | R. Krishnakumar

[SunkenCiv]

One way to understand the implications of the archaeological discoveries at Pattanam is to delve into the amazing wealth of data from the excavations at the lost Ptolemic-Roman port city of Berenike, on Egypt's Red Sea coast. During the Ptolemic-Roman period (third century B.C. to sixth century A.D), Berenike served as a key transit port between ancient Egypt and Rome on one side and the Red Sea-Indian Ocean regions, including South Arabia, East Africa, India and Sri Lanka, on the other. This ancient port city was well-connected by roads from the Nile that passed through the Eastern Desert of Egypt and also by sea routes from the Indian Ocean regions. Cargoes unloaded at Berenike and other Egyptian Red Sea ports (such as Myos Hormos, now lost) used to be taken along the desert roads to the Nile and from there through the river to the Mediterranean Sea and across, to the Roman trade centres. Exotic goods from Rome and Egypt flowed into Berenike along the same desert road before being loaded into large ships bound for the Indian Ocean... According to most accounts, one of the major centres in India that ships from Berenike travelled to, along with the monsoon winds, was the emporium of Muziris, on the Malabar coast... it was Berenike that eventually offered invaluable proof of its links with the Yavanas...

[SunkenCiv]

One famous example of deliberately fabricated historical myth is the Roman poet Virgil's epic elaboration in the Aeneas, in which Venus shares her identity with goddess Manimekala. This must be viewed against the fact that there is no record of either literature or comparable arts in India prior to the Christian era. At the dawn of a new era the sub-continent was apparently a pristine paradise perched at the very end of the then known world. Innovations in Tamil and Sanskrit literature datable to the early Christian era are thus probably unsurpassed in history. They contain a landscape constructed by received knowledge, of travelers' tale and of 'family resemblance', which serve to locate zones of identity and zones of discrepancy. Description of a crystal or glass pavilion, murals in stucco, wall painting and life-like sculpture in Manimekalai are proof of Mediterranean influence in India. This is confirmed by literary allusion to numerous Greeks in India identified as Yavana from Yavanapura or Alexandria. The Greek connection apparently included Pompeii, where an ivory statuette in early Buddhist style was recovered from a merchant's house on the "via dell' Abbondanza". [Arputhrani Sengupta, Associate Professor, Dept. of History of Art, National Museum Institute, New Delhi, India, "Narrative in Tamil Epic (Second Century AD): Transmission of Myth"] (fig.8) Goddess Manimekala-Isis-Aphrodite in Sanchi style, Pompeii, 1 st century AD

[SunkenCiv]

Rome's East India Company
[Field Notes]

A sturdy 100-foot-long Roman trading vessel bound for India foundered off the Red Sea port of Quseir, Egypt. The ship settled 200 feet below the surface, where it remained undisturbed until a group of British and American archaeologists discovered it in 1993. Douglas Haldane believes the ship was part of a fleet sent by the Roman emperor Augustus -- who seized control of Egypt after the naval battle of Actium in 31 B.C. -- to control trade in the Indian Ocean. He predicts that gold, silver and other precious metals used as currency will be found on board, as well as wine from the Campania region of southern Italy.

India And The Roman Empire

Fine muslins, jewels, especially beryls and pearls, drugs, spices and condiments from India were in great demand. The volume of trade was, therefore, increased to an unprecedented extent. The sea-borne trade between India and Rome received great impetus in the reign of Emperor Claudius by Hippalaus' discovery, in 45 A.D., of the existence of the monsoon winds, blowing regularly across the Indian Ocean. According to Pliny nearly L 5,50,000 flowed every year from Rome to India to pay for the balance of trade. This statement is borne out by the huge hoards of Roman coins unearthed in Indian soil in Tamilnadu.

[SunkenCiv]

	Romans and Barbarians: Four Views from the Empire's Edge, 1st Century AD by Derek Williams
	At Empire's Edge: Exploring Rome's Egyptian Frontier by Robert B. Jackson
[T]he scenic Myos Hormos Road between the Red Sea and the Nile served as a vital artery through the Eastern Desert. Halfway along its path, in Wadi Hammamat, an astounding collection of graffiti and inscriptions attest to its commercial and political importance... These inscriptions, for example, reveal that Queen Hatshepsut's famous expedition to the land of Punt began along this route to the sea.

[SunkenCiv]

• Chronology of Asian maritime history -- A gold medallion of Marcus Aurelius' predecessor Antoninus Pius dated 152 CE has been unearthed at Oc Eo, the main port of Funan in southern Vietnam, which flourished between the 1st and 6th centuries - especially after strife disrupted caravans across central Asia in the C2nd-3rd. The alternative land-sea route involved maritime sections from the Middle East to northwest India, across the Bay of Bengal to the Isthmus of Kra, across the Gulf of Thailand to Funan, and from Funan to China. Other C2nd-3rd finds at Oc Eo include Roman coins, Indian seals, and jewellery. At around the same time, a commercial centre developed at Ko-ying in the Sunda Straits; Malay seamen brought spices and forest products to Funan. [David Chandler, "A history of Cambodia", p.14, & Kenneth Hall, "Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia", p.59, both citing Louis Malleret, "L'arch&eacuteologie du delta de Mekong", 4.vols (Paris 1959-63) - vol 3, "La culture du Fou-nan", 1962; Kenneth Hall, "Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia", p.20-21, citing O.W. Wolters, "Early Indonesian Commerce: a study of the origins of Sri Vijaya", Ithaca, 1967. Funan and Ko-ying are the Chinese names.

[JerseyHighlander]

Ping for later.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Jack Hammer]

South Indians in Roman Egypt?

Probably - those early Indian seafarers got around.

[Little Ray]

The Romans had lots of trade with India, to the point that Senators lamented to drain of silver from Rome to buy pepper. There is no reason some Indians couldn’t have followed the trade goods into the Med.

[Jack Hammer]

Yes, I believe you’re right.

[Tallguy]

There’s always another middleman to be cut-out if you’re just willing to go a little bit further on your trading expedition.

[colorado tanker]

to the point that Senators lamented to drain of silver from Rome to buy pepper

One can only imagine the expense of the stuff in that era with fairly primitive maritime technology and unfriendly states in Persia.

[SunkenCiv]

Heh... primitive...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1528600/posts?page=13#13

[SunkenCiv]

Some enterprising Romans imported labor from India to feed the Empire’s taste for Indian-made products. :’)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2475027/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2488786/posts

[SunkenCiv]

sidebar:

Those About To Die
Chapter XII
by Daniel P. Mannix

There were also man-sized apes called tityrus with round faces, reddish color and whiskers. Pictures of them appear on vases and they were apparently orangutans, imported from Indonesia. As far as I know, the Romans never exhibited gorillas although these biggest of all apes were known to the Phoenicians, who gave them their present name which means "hairy savage."

The surviving ancient text, Periplus of Hanno, describes a voyage down the western coast of Africa by Carthaginians (who were Phoenician in origin, language, and ethnicity); it describes Mount Cameroun in eruption, and the gorilla; a couple of gorilla skins were tacked up on the wall of the Carthaginian temple where a Greek traveler encountered the text and preserved a Greek translation. Anyway, when the gorilla was rediscovered by non-Africans in the 19th century, the Periplus account of the beast was remembered, and that's how it got its name. :')

[Jack Hammer]

Travel for trade seems to be a long-standing Indian tradition; we can still find Indian traders in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and... well... pretty much everywhere. For some reason, probably having to do with the primitive nature of early travel, and with strictures in early texts on law and ethics (Manu and others) regarding loss of caste due to travel “overseas,” we assume this is a more recent trend. Guess it isn’t!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks JH.

[colorado tanker]

I was thinking more of sailing technology and especially ships that were better at tacking or beating into the wind. Ships that were better at sailing into headwinds didn't arrive in the Indian Ocean until after the Roman era, IIRC.

[SunkenCiv]

The lateen sail was paired with the square (”Roman”) sail during the Middle Ages, making it possible to do both — take maximum advantage of tailwinds, and tack “into” the wind (which always goes slower). It was in use in the Indian Ocean, and made it’s way into the Med via the Muzzies — but it’s difficult to believe that it had no prior existence. It was probably in use not long after the first discerned use of watercraft on open seas (which is 800,000 years ago). AFAIK, ancient sails have never been found on the seafloor, neither has any other significant amount of ropes, riggings, or fabrics, that would be a GREAT find, maybe a vessel preserved as were the Pisa boats.

[SunkenCiv]

wow, whoops, “made its way” not “made it’s way”.

[colorado tanker]

I'm no expert, but some googling indicates there is some controversy about when lateen sails appeared in the Indian Ocean. The conventional view is the Arabs introduced it around the time of the founding of the Arab empire. Others argue it came later, possibly as late as the Portuguese. Dunno.

One thing fer shure, Matey, Lucky Jack Aubrey could sail as close to the wind as any seaman alive.