for students of BA IV sem BHU

1. Indo-Roman Trade
Prachi Virag Sontakke
Assistant Professor
Center for Advanced Studies
Department of A.I.H.C. & Archaeology,
Banaras Hindu University

3. Indo-Roman Trade

4. प्रस्तावना
• Indo-Roman trade: रोमन साम्राज्य की उन्नत राजनीततक,आर्थिक,सामाजजक जस्थतत का
पररणाम
• Roman Empire: असीम धन, असीम राज्य शजतत, सुव्यवजस्थत सैन्य संगठन, राजशाही
एवं धनी लोगों से र्िजन्हत समाज, उन्नत व्यापाररक गततववर्धयााँ
• The conquests of Augustus (27 BCE-14 BCE) : ममस्र क
े बंदरगाहों पर रोम का कब्जा
• Roman aristocracy: इतने धनी की स्वयं हेतु भारत से ववलामसता की वस्तुएाँ आयाततत
करा सक
े
• बढ़ती सामाजजक मांग
• भारत रोम व्यापार की शुरुआत

5. Sources
• Periplus of the Erythrean Sea,
• Strabo’s Geography
• Pliny’s the elder Natural History,
• Ptolemy’s Geography (2nd century CE)
• Tamil literature (the Sangam anthologies)
• Archaeological Remains:
a) Excavated Remains
b) Coins
c) Ceramics
d) Art & craft items
e) Inscriptions.

6. Backdrop for Indo Roman trade
• रोमन राज्य की बढ़ती राजनीततक-आर्थिक शजतत
• भारत में क
ु षाणों व सातवाहनों का उदय
• मानसूनी हवाओं की खोज

7. भारतीय राजवंश और रोम व्यापार
• क
ु षाण काल में पजचिमोत्तर भारत का अन्य देशों से संपक
ि
• कतनष्क ने रोम व्यापार में वृद्र्ध हेतु अपने मसतक
े भी रोमन भारमान पर
िलाये
• समुद्र द्वारा रोम व्यापार पर तनयंत्रण हेतु शक-सातवाहन संघषि
• शक-पार्थियन संघषि स्थल मागि से व्यापार हेतु
• रोम क
े राजा का तनदेश : व्यापारी जल मागि से जाये
• िेर, िोल, पाण्ड्य राज्यों से भी रोम व्यापार
• रोम व्यापार हेतु बंदरगाह : सोपरा, भृगुकच्छ, मुज़ररस, कोरकई, कवेरीपट्टनम

8. Hippalus and Monsoon
• The journey is 2000 miles (3200 km) across the open Indian ocean.
• Before Hippalus, Greek geographers thought that Indian coast stretched from W to E.
• Hippalus was probably the first (in the west) to recognize the N-S direction of India's
west coast.
• Periplus on the Erythrean Sea: Hippalus discovered direct route from Red Sea to India.
• Pliny the Elder: Hippalus discovered not the route but the monsoon winds (the south-
west monsoon wind).
• The use of Hippalus direct route greatly contributed to the prosperity of trade between
Roma and India.

9. व्यापार का स्वरूप
• काल : c. 1st cent BCE to 2nd cent CE.
• दक्षिण भारत से प्रारजभभक व्यापार क
े प्रिुर प्रमाण
• समुद्रीय एवं स्थल मागों द्वारा व्यापार
• समुद्रीय व्यापार सातवाहनों द्वारा तनयंत्रत्रत
• स्थल व्यापार क
ु षाणों द्वारा तनयंत्रत्रत

10. Periplus’s list of Indian articles exported to Rome
• Spices
• Black pepper
• Long pepper
• Dry ginger
• Cardamoms spikenard
• Ivory,
• Agate,
• Carnelian,
• Cotton cloth
• Silk cloth
• Yarn
• Sandalwood,
• Teak
• Ebony for medical and architectural
purposes
• Indian birds and animals
• Pearls
• Indian Medicinal herbs
• Brass vessels

11. ebony
spikenard
bdellium
costus
lycium
cinnabar

12. long pepper,
malabathrum
Cinnamon

13. Resource Areas
• Teak: Satpura range.
• Blackwood: north Konkan and central India and Western Ghats
• Ebony and sandalwood: Malabar coast
• Spices:Kerala
• Aromatics: Tapti basin, Sind and Kathiawar;
• Semi-precious stones: agate, red jasper and onyx–from the Deccan;
• Muslins: Ter in Deccan,
• Indigo:western India;
• Spikenard: Himalayas and also Ujjain?;
• Costus: Kashmir

14. आयाततत वस्तुएाँ
• वारुणी = रोमन वाइन
• Copper
• Tin
• Lead
• Coral
• Topaz
• Waist girdles.
• Dates
• Glass, Tin
• Antimony,
• Gold
• Vessels of silver
• Singing boys
• Maidens
• Beads
• Rings
• Lamps

15. Costal Centers
(East- Coast)
1. Sopatma
2. Podouke
3. Kaviripattanam or Puhar
4. Puddukottai
5. Pandion Pandya

16. Costal Centers
(West Coast)
1. Barygaza
2. Sop para
3. Kalliena
4. Semulla
5. Palaipatmai
6. Mouziris

17. Hinterland Sites
• Ter
• Pratisthan
• Naneghat
• Junnar
• Nasik
• Bhokardhan
• Kanheri

18. भारतीय बंदरगाह
• अररकमेडु
• भडौि
• मुज़ररस

19. अररकामेडु (Poduke )
• 4 km from Pondicherry (Coromandal coast)
• Periplus Maris Erythraei: mentions a marketplace named Poduke.
• G.W.B. Huntingford: identified as possibly being Arikamedu
• First excavations conducted in 1954 and another in 1989-1992.
• Warehouse
• Amphorae and Arretine ware
• Numerus beads: shell, bone, gold, stones
• Roman coins
• Structural remains relating to merchants and sailors

24. Bharuch/Barygaza.
• One of the most important trade center of the west coast.
• Exported muslin, beads, fragrant ointments and ivory to Rome.
• Trade relations with two inland cites- Pratiṣṭhāna and Ter.
• Periplus on the Erythrean Sea: journey from Bharuch to Paithana takes 20 days.
• Ter was at a further distance of ten days from Paithana.
• Both Paithana and Ter were well known for the export of carnelian, muslin
• Ter and Paithana were also a part of hinterland southern trade routes.

25. मुज़ररस / Murachipattanam.
• मसालों का शहर
• Muziris = 'first emporium of India' for the Romans, where the ships of the Yavanas arrived in
large numbers and took back pepper, and other products in exchange of gold.
• Sangam literature: Roman ships coming to Muziris laden with gold to be exchanged for
pepper.
• Pliny, the Elder + Periplus of the Erythrean Sea: लाल समुद्र से मुज़ररस पहुाँिने में 14 ददन
• Yielded antiquities such as coins,wood, spices, vegetables, nuts, beads, uncut gem-stones,
copper, bronze & iron objects, bricks, roof-tiles & ceramic including the early Roman.
• Pattanam excavation: evidence for the shipping of moong beans, green gram, gooseberry,
sesame seeds and coconuts too.

26. Naneghat Pass

27. Naneghat
Pass

28. Naneghat Caves

29. Arsinoe
• Trade through the harbour of Arsinoe, the present day Suez.
• Goods from the East African trade landed at Arsinoe
• Efforts of Roman administration to divert as much of the trade to the maritime routes as
possible.
• The rising prominence of Berenice eventually overshadowed Arsinoe.
• The navigation to Arsinoe port became difficult in comparison to Berenice due to the
northern winds in the Gulf of Suez.

30. Berenice
• Berenice = Transit port between ancient Egypt and Rome
• Built by king Ptolemy II in 275 BCE and named after his mother.
• Excavations at Berenike yielded 7.55 kg of black pepper (piper nigrum)
in a ceramic container made of Nile silt.
• Shards of common Indian pottery, shards of Indian Rouletted Ware,
some with Tamil-Brāhmi characters
• Remains of teak wood and cotton sails of Indian weave (?)
• The presence of the teakwood among the finds = possibility of an
Indian boat-building centre on the Red Sea coast.
• The presence of Indian merchants and their ships in the Red Sea.
• A few shards of IRW (16 shards of 3 dishes) and stamped bowls from
Berenike could be part of the personal belongings probably of
merchants from India.

31. Trade and transit zone
• Sea trade carried on both by Indian and
by foreign merchants
• Major destination of the export
commodities was the Roman world.
• Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were both
a destination and transit zone.
• Alexandria was also an important centre
for the manufacture
• Red Sea trade was important and the
trading centres and ports on the Red
Sea were well guarded under Roman
authority.

32. व्यापाररक मागि
• Cargos shifted from Indian port to
Berenike through Indian ocean.
• Cargoes had to be unloaded at Berenike
and transported on camels’ back across
the desert route to Alexandria.
• From Alexandria they had to be carried
beyond by boats to Koptos and finally to
all over Europe.
• It required huge amounts of money for
various purposes at several points
between the port and market.

33. भारत में व्यापारी
• Kanheri inscription: sagara palagavas = community of traders.
• Literary texts:
• साथिवाह = leader of merchants was the most influential of the traders. He
led his caravan through inhospitable regions probably with the help of
guides and protected the merchandise with the help of mercenaries.
• वणणज : A general merchant
• सेटदठ : The financier
• नेगम : market city
• Satavahana inscriptions: वणणज, सेटदठ, तनगम, साथिवाह

34. • Archaeological finds at Arikamedu as well as Pattanam: Arabs, Greeks, and Romans had
their settlements in and around the port-site
• Amphora and terra sigillata, the West Asian torpedo jar as well as Turquoise Glazed
Pottery at Pattanam, and Arikamedu: foreign merchant camps?
• Presence of amphorae implies import of olive oil, wine , of which the first and last hardly
had any use-value to the local people.
• Foreign merchants carried grains of their preference? Storage Jars?
• Grains, olive oil, dry fruits & wine imported not for exchange: for consumption by foreign
merchants.
• Remains of Roman glass bowls, fragments of painted glass objects, and glass pendants:
suggestive of personal belongings rather than a part of the merchandises.
Foreign Merchant Camps

35. Ships
• Cargo shipped in Greek and Roman, Arab vessels, Indian ships.
• Periplus: foreign ships kotumba & trappaga + small vessels used by natives.
• Sangam Literature: Indian trading vessels called sangara and kolandiphonta.
• Sangadam = double canoe meant only for river traffic.
• Kolandiphonta, vangam and navay = large vessels for overseas voyages.
• Jatakas, Amarkosha: Ships even with three masts
• Satavahana coins of Yajna Sri Satakarni: show a double masted ship with sail.
• Indian traders traded as far as the Red Sea: Quseir-al Qadim (port on the Red Sea coast)
• Inscription on pottery with Tamil names indicate the use of their own ships to the SE Asia.
• Sangam literature: references to seafaring instincts of Tamils & knowledge of ship building.

36. Ships

38. भारत मे रोमन व्यापार क
े पुराताजववक प्रमाण
• Roman coins
• Terra Sigillata (Arretine Ware)
• Rouletted ware
• Amphorae Jars
• Clay lamps
• Sculptures

39. Amphorae Jars

41. Terra Sigillata (Arretine Ware)

42. Terra Sigillata (Arretine Ware)

43. Rouletted ware

44. Grey pottery with engravings,
Arikamedu, 1st century CE

46. Roman Coins

47. Roman Coins (Bullae)

49. Bronze image of Poseidon

51. “The Muziris Papyrus”
• Loan agreement signed
between a merchant and a
financier from Alexandria,
Egypt, for an expedition to
Muziris.
• Is perhaps the only
‘primary document’ which
records Kerala’s maritime,
cultural interfaces in the
second century CE.

52. आयाततत वस्तुओं क
े पुरावशेष
• Parts of wine jugs in excavations (as at Ter), carved alabaster (Junnar), lapiz lazuli
(Bhokardan), a tiny fig of lapis lazuli at Brahmapuri (south Karnataka), lamps
manufactured by Yavanas,
• Varieties of glass beads: blue glass beads; faience and kaolin, mirror handles and necks
of unguent bottles.
• Shell bangles (Nevasa, Maheshwar, Bhokardan),
• Ivory seal matrix (Kondapur), ivory statuette (Ter)?
• Iron and copper: for tools, implements, utensils, etc. (Pitalkhora, Bhokardan,
Kaundinyapura .
• Antimony rods and silver : Nevasa

53. रोमन साम्राज्य क
े प्रयास
• The entire routes from the Red Sea ports to Alexandria, were protected by the
forts, bastions and garrisons of the Roman emperor.
• Strabo: Augustan campaigns against Ethiopia and Arabia for the protection of Red
Sea ports with a strong naval reinforcement.
• Romans cleared out the canal from the Nile to harbour center of Arsinoe on the Red Sea,
which had silted up
• Pliny: ships had archers offering protection from piracy, who were most probably
imperial soldiers of Roman.
• Roman aristocrats = individual financiers of the merchants and their costly
enterprises.

54. Cultural Contacts
• The Rome-India trade saw several cultural exchanges which had lasting effect
for both the civilizations.
• The Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum engaged in the Indian Ocean trade network,
receiving an influence by Roman culture and Indian architecture.
• Traces of Indian influences appear in Roman works of silver and ivory.
• Also in Egyptian cotton and silk fabrics used for sale in Europe.
• The Indian presence in Alexandria may have influenced the culture.
• Clement of Alexandria mentions the Buddha in his writings and other Indian
religions find mentions in other texts of the period.
• Christian and Jewish settlers from the Rome continued to live in India long after
the decline in bilateral trade.
• Large hoards of Roman coins have been found throughout India, and especially
in the busy maritime trading centers of the south.
• The Tamil Sangam literature of India recorded mention of the traders.
• One such mention reads: "The beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with
gold and returned with pepper, and Muziris resounded with the noise.

55. भारत रोम व्यापार का सांस्कृ ततक प्रभाव
1. Cultural Exchange
2. Religious acceptance
3. Donation
4. Architectural influence

56. भारत रोम व्यापार
और
भारतीय कला-स्थापवय

57. जुन्नर गुहाओं में यवन दानी
Sr.
No.
Name of the
Yavana Donor
Designation
Recorded in the
Inscription
Date of the donation (Circa,
on palaeographic
background)
Donation
1 Chanda A Yavana 60 B.C.E. Gabhadara
2 Irila A Yavana 230 C.E. 2 Podhiyo
(2 cisterns)
3 Chita A Yavana 280 C.E. Bhojanamantapa (A
dining Hall)

58. नामसक गुहाओं में यवन दानी
Sr.
No.
Name of the
Yavana Donor
Designation
Recorded in the
Inscription
Date of the donation (Circa,
on palaeographic
background)
Donation
1 Indragnidata
along with his
father
Dhammadev and
son
Dhammarakhita
A Yavana 120 C.E. Lena (A Cave), Podhio
(A Cistern),
A Chaityagriha
(congregati-on Hall)
2 Lekhak Damchik
Budhik
A Shaka, writer by
Profession
A water Cistern

59. कारले गुहाओं में यवन दानी
Sr. No. Name of the
Yavana Donor
Designation
Recorded in the
Inscription
Date of the donation
(Circa, on palaeographic
background)
Donation
1 Sinhadhaya A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar
2 Dhamma A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar
3 Vitasangata A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar
4 Dhammadhaya A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar
5 Chulayakha A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar
6 Yasavadhana A Yavana 50 C.E. Thambho i.e. A Pillar

63. भारतीय कला पर ग्रीक-रोमन प्रभाव
• Bedsa: Pillars and pilasters, often described as ‘Persepolitan’
surmounted by spirited sculpture–human and animal.
• Nasik: Persepolitan pillars flanking the arch opening.
• Karle: At entrance, two free standing Pillars with Perseolitan
capitals, surmounted by addorsed lions.
• Bharhut: Bharhut pillar capital with rosette, beads and reels,
flame palmette designs.

64. भारत रोम व्यापार क
े पतन क
े कारण
• Roman-Persian Wars: Khusaro I of the Persian Sassanian Dynasty
captured the areas under the Roman Byzantine empire.
• The Arabs, led by 'Amr ibn al-'As, crossed into Egypt in late 639 or
early 640 C.E.
• Islamic conquest of Egypt: fall of ports such as Alexandria.

65. तनष्कषि
• Vibrant trade routes connected the economies of India and the Roman Empire.
• Roman-Indian exchange was an enormously expensive state protected enterprise
by the Egyptian, eastern Mediterranean and Arab merchants primarily to cater to
the demand of the Roman elites
• The spread of the Buddhist religion and ideology was a major component of this
impact.
• The wealth made by Indian traders is reflected in the architecture of the time.
• The spread of the Buddhist religion and ideology was a major component of this
impact.