Roman Settlement of Kaveripattinam

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Alexander the Great, born in 256 BC in Pella, Macedonia. At the age

of thirteen he became a pupil of Aristotle. Alexander routed Darious

and forced his entire army east. After this the city of Babylon

surrendered, which allowed Alexander to easily capture Susa and

Persepolis.

 

 

Darius was soon killed by one of his generals which made Alexander

King of Asia. He did not rest for long, as he had set his sights on

India. In 326 BC Alexander defeated Porus, the prince of India.

Alexander was now at the height of his power. His empire stretched

from the lonian Sea to northern india. Alexander had greater plans.

He wanted to combine Asia and Europe into one country, and named

Babylon the new capital. The most profitable overseas trade was the

Roman trade with South India. Yavana merchants (i.e. marchants from

western Asia and the Mediterranean) had trading establishments both

in the Satavahana kingdoms and in those of the far south. Early

South Indian literature describes Yavan ships arriving with their

cargoes at the city of Kaveripattinam. Excavations in 1945 uncovered

a sizeable Roman settlement which was a trading station, it would

seem that the Roman were using Arikamedu from the first century BC

to the early second century AD.

 

The frequency of hoards of Roman coins found in the Deccan and south

India indicate the volume of this trade. Most of the urban centers

of the south were ports which prospered on this trade, Western

culture had its early birth in Greece and Rome. India came into

contact with Greece politically in the days of Alexander the Great

in the 4th century BC. But the cultural contact of the Greek as well

as the Greece-Roman world with India was in all probability

farearlier and lasted quite longer so far as South India was

concerned. The Great Greek dramatists of the 4th century BC.,

Particularly Euripedes and Aristophanes, appear to, havebeen

familiar with the Kannda country and the Kannada language, and had

actually used Kannada phrases and expressions in the dialogues of

theircharacters. This shows a far more intimate contact of the

Greeks with Kannada India culture than whith Indian Culture

elsewhere. Kannada and Tamil are two of the most ancient

literature's not only of South India, but of all india as well. The

antiquity of Kannada literature as at present back to the 9th

century of the Christain era.

 

A study of Roman coins in south India forms a fascinating but little

known chapter in the history of south India. A large number of Roman

coins of gold and silver found in south India and Karnataka testify

to a highly flourishing trade between India and Rome during the

early part of the first century AD. In addition to these hoards of

Roman coins, many antiquites and pottery having connections with

roman culture have been unearthed at many sites in this area.

Further, there are a large number of references to Rome in Indian

and Greek literary texts. All these point to an era of brilliant

maritime contact between India and Rome in the early centuries of

the Christian era.

 

Large Number of Roman coins found in Karnataka were made of Gold,

Silver and Copper. From the beginning of the Christian era to the

third century AD., Roman Silver and gold coins were brought into

this region for the purchase of Indian commodities which were in

great demand in Rome. These coins have been gound at various places

in the Chera, Pandya and Chola countries in large numbers. These

coins were often converted into Indian coins by a simple method.

 

 

 

REFERENCES: 1. Coins and Currency system N. Karnataka Dr. A.V.

Narasimha Murthy.