Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris: New Perspectives on Maritime Trade 1351997513, 9781351997515

Citation preview

Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris

Edited by K.S. Mathew

Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris New Perspectives on Maritime Trade Edited by K.S. Mathew

an informa business

ISBN 978-1-138-23480-2

www.routledge.com

,!7IB1D8-cdeiac!

IMPERIAL ROME, INDIAN OCEAN REGIONS AND MUZIRIS

Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris New Perspectives on Maritime Trade

Edited by K.S. MATHEW

~ ~~o~f!;n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 selection and editorial matter, K.S. Mathew; individual chapters, the contributors; and Manohar Publishers & Distributors The right of K.S. Mathew to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bhutan) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-23480-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-27682-3 (ebk) Typeset in Garamond by Kohli Print, Delhi 110 051

MANOHAR

Contents

Acknowledgements

7

1. Introduction K.S. MATHEW

9

2. Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange in the Indian Ocean during the Early Historic Period: Case Studies from Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) ROBIN CONINGHAM, MARK MANUEL AND JO SHOEBRIDGE

31

3. Local Networks and Long-distance Trade: The Role of the Exchanges between Sri Lanka and India during the Mediterranean Trade ARIANE DE SAXCÉ

53

4. From the Mediterranean to South Asia: The Odyssey of an Indiana Merchant in Roman Times STEVEN E. SIDEBOTHAM

75

5. Wars,Trade and Treaties: New, Revised and Neglected Sources for the Political, Diplomatic, and Military Aspectss of Imperial Rome’s Relations with the Red Sea Basin and India, from Augustus to Diocletian MICHAEL A. SPEIDEL

83

6. Roman Ports on the Red Sea and their Contacts with Africa, Arabia and South Asia: Acient Literary and Recent Archaeological Evidence STEVEN E. SIDEBOTHAM

129

7. The Port of Sumhuram (Khor Rori): New Data on its History ALESSANDRA AVANZINI

179

8. South Arabian Pottery outside South Arabia VITTORIA BUFFA

207

6

Contents

9 . Maritime Trade Contacts of Odisha, East Coast of India, with the Roman World: An Appraisal SILA TRIPATI, SUNIL KUMAR PATNAIK AND GOPAL CHARAN PRADHAN

215

10. Assessing the Early Historic Indian Ocean Trade through Ceramics K. KRISHNAN AND R. BALLAVALLY

231

11. Ancient Ports of Kerala: An Overview V. SELVAKUMAR

269

12. International Maritime Trade: Evidences from Vizhinjam Excavations, South Kerala AJIT KUMAR, S.V. RAJESH, ABHAYAN G.S., VINOD V. AND SUJANA STEPHEN

297

13. Examining the Hinterland and Foreland of the Port of Muziris in the Wider Perspective of the Subcontinent’s Long-distance Networks RANABIR CHAKRAVARTI

307

14. Muziris and the Trajectories of Maritime Trade in the Indian Ocean in the First Millennium CE PIUS MALEKANDATHIL

339

15. A Muziris Export: Schidai or Ivory Trimmings FEDERICO DE ROMANIS

369

16. The Roman Pottery from Pattanam Roberta Tomber

381

17. Money Matters: Indigenous and Foreign Coins in the Malabar Coast (Second Century BCESecond Century CE) SUSMITA BASU MAJUMDAR

395

Bibliography

425

List of Contributors

461

Index

465

Acknowledgements

It is with deep sense of gratitude that I place on record my indebtedness to the contributors to this volume. These scholars from far and wide participated in and presented the findings of their ongoing researches at an international seminar organized in September 2013 by the Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India, Thrissur Circle. The Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Kerala, Devamatha Province (CMI), Thrissur, Ajit Balakrishnan Foundation, Mumbai and Carmel Higher Secondary School, Chalakkudy extended financial assistance to organize the seminar. Dr. Wilson Kokkatt, Dr. Paul Poovathingal, Dr. C.C. Joseph, Christ University Bangalore, Dr. Joy Varkey (IRISH), Dr. T.K. Sebastian (IRISH), Dr. James John, St. Thomas College, Palai, Dr. Joshy Mathew of Pazhassi Raja College, Dr. Poulami Aich, Assumption College, Changanacherry, Dr. Jobi John, Pavanatma College, Murickassery, Idukki, Fr. T.L. Jose Carmel Higher Secondary School and Fr. Liju Porathur, Dharmaram College, Bangalore were some of the scholars who left no stone unturned to make the event a success. Our special thanks are due to T. Sreelakshmi, the Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Thrissur Circle and her devoted team who looked after the logistics for the guests besides the academic organization. I place on record my indebtedness to Gracykutty Mani, my office assistant who is always ready to trace one or the other book from the library and supply it at the right time. A special mention is to be made of Manohar Publishers & Distributors who took pains to bring out the book on schedule. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Ramesh Jain and his colleagues. I would like to convey my special thanks to Rev. Fr. Jose Frank Chakkalackal CMI of Mar Thoma Research Academy, Azhikode and Dr. Jose Thekken, Principal, Christ College, Irinjalakuda for their unstinting help for organizing the seminar. K.S. MATHEW Director, IRISH

CHAPTER 1

Introduction K . S . M AT H E W

After Julius Caesar came to power in 44 BCE the Roman Republic, quickly became the Roman Empire. The outcome of the famous Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BCE , the final war of the Roman Republic, constituted an important milestone in the transition of the Republic into the status of an ‘Empire’. The annexation of Egypt in 30 BCE to the Empire opened up the avenues for increased commercial relations of the Roman Empire with South Asia in general and India in particular. The ongoing trade in spices available on the western coast of India was augmented by leaps and bounds. The fact that Romans used to come to India for trade fleeing from the poverty they experienced in their country even before the dawn of the Christian era was acknowledged even by a well-known Roman poet like Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BCE27 BCE).1 Barbaricum (Barbarikon, a port near Karachi) and Barygaza (Broach) on the north-western coast of India and Naura, Tyndis, Muziris, Nelcynda and Becare on the Malabar Coast were some of the ports with which traders from the Roman Empire had vibrant commercial relations. As Pliny the Elder (c. 23-79 CE) qualifies, Muziris was the premier emporium of India (Primum emporium Indiae).2 It was a haven of vessels from various parts of the world, as 1

‘Impiger extremos currit mercator ad Indos Per mare pauperiem fugiens’. The diligent merchant with a view to fleeing from poverty, travels through sea to remote India’, Horace, Ep. 1.1.45 2 Pliny ref.W.H.S. Jones (tr. & ed.), Pliny’s Natural History, London, 1969, p. 101. ‘They sail thence with the wind Hippalus in forty days to First Emporium of India, Muziris. Besides, the station for ships at a distance from the shore

10

K.S. Mathew

reported by the author of Periplus of the Erythraean Sea in the first century CE.3 Some historians made use of the classical writings of Strabo, Pliny, Tacitus, Ptolemy and sources like Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and the Peutinger table related to the Roman Empire in Greek and Latin and brought to light the details of trade between Imperial Rome and India. E.H. Warmington worked on the commerce between the Roman Empire and India from a Western point of view covering the period from the victory of Augustus Octavian (ruling from 29 BCE-14 CE) up to the death of Marcus Aurelius (161-80 CE).4 Strabo, writing at the time of Augustus (+14 CE), states that 120 ships left for the East every year from the Egyptian port of Myos Hormos.5 Sir Mortimer Wheeler in his Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers speaks of Indian merchants going to Egypt occasionally and Greek merchants from there coming to India now and then for carrying pepper and other spices, especially pepper to Egypt in the second century BCE and affirms that pepper from south India reached the Mediterranean in considerable quantities in the early part of the first century BCE.6 He used references and cargoes have both to be landed and shipped by little boats. There reigned there, when I wrote this, Calabothras.’ 3 Wilfred H. Schoff, The Periplus of Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century, Delhi, 1974, p. 44. ‘Muziris of the same Kingdom (Cerobothara), abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia.’ The period between 80 and 90 CE is ascribed to the writing of Periplus, ref. H.G. Rawlinson, Intercourse between India and the Western World from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome, Delhi: AES Reprints, 2001, p. 106. 4 E.H. Warmington, The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India, Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal,1995. 5 Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers, Pelican Books, 1955, pp. 156-7. Based on the statement of Strabo, Wheeler concludes that the monsoon winds known as Hippalus was in use certainly before 14 CE and declines to accept 40/1 CE as the date to which the discovery of Hippalus is ascribed by Warmington. 6 Wheeler, ibid., p. 157.

Introduction

11

in Sangam literature to speak of the import of gold to Muziris and export of pepper in exchange.7 H.G. Rawlinson, like other scholars, underlines the favourable milieu in the Roman Empire for the development of maritime and intercontinental trade after the annexation of Egypt to the Empire in 30 BCE. Piracy was put down and the trade routes were made safe as a result of Pax Romana on account of which demand for oriental luxuries increased in an hitherto unprecedented manner. Based on the writings of Pliny, he highlights the great demand in the Roman Empire for pepper which was sold at the astronomical price of 15 denarii a pound even in the days of Pliny.8 He refers to Pliny again on the grievance of the Romans for the drain of gold to India, China and Arabia.9 The writings of Strabo were consulted by him to discuss the details of the number of ships (120 ships) which left from Myos Hormos, the Egyptian port, to India every year.10 Periplus Maris Erithraeae was also used by him to learn about Roman trade with Indian ports both on the western and eastern coasts. Drawing on the Periplus, he details the Roman trade route to India via the Red Sea touching Muza, the modern town of Mocha, Okelis, Aden and Kane (Qana) where the ships headed directly to Barygaza or ports of peninsular India.11 Rawlinson has also referred to the work of Ptolemy, the Alexandrian geographer, for identifying some of the ports beyond the mouth of the Ganges. M.P. Charlesworth in his book, Trade-Routes and Commerce of the Roman Empire, devotes a chapter to a discussion of the sea route to India and Ceylon. He refers to the works of Strabo and Ptolemy and also the Periplus of Erythraean Sea. He adds that ships leaving Egypt in July reached the Indian ports by the end of September and returned from India by the end of November and arrived at 7

‘ Thus agitating the white foam of the Periyaru, the beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with the noise’, Wheeler, ibid., p. 160. 8 Pliny’s Natural History, xii.14 ; also ref. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 102. 9 Ibid., p. 103. 10 Strabo, Geography, II, 5.12 & xv.2. 11 Rawlinson, op. cit., pp. 112-13.

12

K.S. Mathew

Alexandria in February.12 The necessary things for facilitating trade and offering security to the traders and their vessels/merchandise were provided by the Roman rulers especially since the time of Augustus. The vessels trading with the East left from one of the three ports such as Arsinoe at the head of the Gulf of Suez, Myos Hormos, half way down the coast of Egypt and distant from Coptos by seven days’ journey and finally Berenike at the extreme limit of the Egyptian province of the Roman Empire. Information available in classical writings in Greek, Latin and Tamil prompted research scholars to identify the ports and throw light on the dynamics of maritime trade between India and Rome by retrieving material evidence through scientific excavations after explorations, collection of surface findings and digging trial pits. The pioneering attempt to locate a Roman settlement and centre of trade was made in Arikamedu on the eastern coast of peninsular India. The earliest reference to the ancient ruins in Arikamedu is found in the accounts of a French astronomer, Guillaume Le Gentil who was in Pondicherry in 1768-71.13 He makes mention of 10-ft high walls built with large-sized bricks on the high bank of the Ariyankuppam River and also of terracotta ring wells which could be dated back to the first century BCE and first century CE. But the historical importance of the site was highlighted later. In 1937, for the first time, Arikamedu attracted the attention of scholars. Children from the village of Arikamedu, known to the French as Virampatnam, brought to a French antiquarian a number of finds picked up from the area. It was Gabriel Jouveau Dubreuil (1885-1945) who studied the finds from the surface of the mound and the river bank as early as 1937. In 1940, Krichenassamy Covoudar who had dug an area of 60 × 30 m to the depth of 0.8 m for the purpose of planting coconut trees found Mediterranean 12

M.P. Charlesworth, Trade-Routes and Commerce of the Roman Empire, Cambridge, 1926, p. 60. 13 G. Le Gentil, Voyages dans les mers de l’Inde fait par ordre du Roi à l’occasion du passage de Venus sur le disque de Soleil de 6 juin 1761 et le 3 du même mois 1769, vol. 2, Paris, 1779, de l’imprimerie royale.

Introduction

13

shipping amphorae and several other fragments from the debris. They were brought to the notice of Dubreuil.14 He made some more study and named it ‘ville romaine’ and identified in 1941 Arikamedu with Poduke emporium of the classical writers. The archaeological site of Arikamedu is situated four km south of the modern town on the right bank of Ariyankuppam or Gingee River just about 1 km before it empties into the Bay of Bengal. The French scholars attached to École Française de ExtrêmeOriente and Indian investigators carried on some useful digging at the site. Between 1941 and 1944, excavations on a small scale were initiated under the direction of L.Faucheux and R. Sarleau. Some parts of the site were declared protected by the French government subsequently. In 1944 excavations were conducted under the direction of Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Director-General of Archaeology in India, and sherds of Italian red-glazed ‘Arretine’ ware and amphorae from the Mediterranean, together with a Roman lamp and a second GraecoRoman gem were discovered from the site. 15 The Arretine ware belonged to the early first century CE. In 1945 a systematic excavation was carried out for three months by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) under the direction of Wheeler himself. The work was resumed for the French government by J.M. Casal in 1947-8.16 He continued excavations for three seasons from 1947 to 1950 and dug out a lot of material. No further excavation in the site was taken up after 1950. Vimala Begley and her team consisting of Peter Francis Jr., Iravatham Mahadevan, K.V. Raman, Steven E. Sidebotham, Kathleen Warner Slane and Elisabeth Lyding Will resumed the excavations for three seasons from 1989 to 1991-2. Rome and India, the Ancient Sea Trade edited by Vimala Begley 14

Vimala Begley et al., The Ancient Port of Arikamedu: New Excavations and Researches 1989-1992, Paris, 1996, pp. 1-3. 15 Wheeler, Rome Beyond Imperial Frontiers, pp. 173-4. 16 For details of both these attempts see, Ancient India, No. 2, Delhi, 1946, pp. 17ff. For detailed information on the work of 1947-8, see J.M. Casal, Fouilles de Virampatnam-Arikamedu (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1949; also Aspects of Archaeology (Essays to O.G.S. Crawford), London, 1951, pp. 354ff; and Germania, 1952, p. 389).

14

K.S. Mathew

and Richard Daniel de Puma contains some interesting studies on the artefacts obtained from the site of Arikamedu and other places connected with Roman trade with India.17 Later the details of the excavations during the period from 1989 to 1992 were edited and brought out by Vimala Begley.18 By now it has been established firmly that Arikamedu was the Poduke of the classical writers and it was connected with Muziris on the Malabar Coast through the Palghat pass, as assumed by a number of scholars. Muziris of the classical writers is located in the lower Periyar basin not far from the Arabian Sea, as indicated in the Greek, Latin and Tamil sources. Classical works in Indian and Western languages give clear indications regarding the location of Muziris on the bank of River Periyar, slightly away from the sea-shore. It is further added that cargoes for import had to be unloaded from the ocean-going ships onto smaller vessels that could carry the goods through the river to the town of Muziris and commodities for export also had to be loaded on such vessels for transfer to the big vessels anchored in the sea. As in the case of Arikamedu, the well-known trade settlement of foreigners in ancient time, Muziris was not on the sea-shore, but on the banks of a river opening out into the sea. It is to be borne in mind that the devastating flood in River Periyar in 1341 CE played havoc with the geomorphology of the lower Periyar Valley. The fourth-century Peutingerian table also points out the location of Muziris. Taking all these into account we have to assess the attempts made by scholars in the recent past to locate Muziris of the Roman times. Till the end of the 1990s Cranganore or Kodungalloor in Trichur district of Kerala was considered to be the location of Muziris. A few chance surface findings, explorations and trial excavations prompted scholars to search for Muziris in places other than Cranganore. Several attempts have been made in the recent past to situate Muziris in the lower Periyar Valley. Shajan K. Paul during 17

Rome and India: The Ancient Sea Trade, Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1991. 18 Begley et al., op. cit., 1996.

Introduction

15

his researches leading to his Doctorate in the Department of Marine Geology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, is reported to have come across some potteries in Pattanam near North Parur in 1996/7. Detailed explorations and excavations were initiated with the assumption that Pattanam (10°09'24''N 76°12'33''E) situated 2 km north of North Parur in Vadakkekkara village, in the district of Ernakulam, Kerala, and 9 km south of Kodungalloor, could be the lost port of Muziris. Pattanam is 3.32 m above the mean sea level, with its highest point about 3-4 m. The core area of the mound is c. 45 hectares and is surrounded by low-lying and marshy land. A new turn of events has taken place with the attempts made by the Centre for Heritage Studies (CHS) situated in the premises of the Tripunithura Palace near Cochin. K.P. Shajan and Selvakumar, a participant in the excavations in Arikamedu under Vimala Begley, conducted some excavations in Pattanam under the direction of the Registrar of CHS, Gopi in 2004 and 2005. M.G.S. Narayanan, an eminent historian and a former Director-General of CHS, delivered the keynote address at an international workshop held in 2003 at CHS. This was published later as ‘Maritime History of Kerala: Notes for a Master Plan’ in which he complimented the attempts of Selvakumar and Shajan, and expressed his opinion that the findings of these scholars would strengthen the assumption that Pattanam could be identified with Muziris. He added that more studies and scientific excavations should be conducted.19 The potteries unearthed from Pattanam were identified as pieces of Roman amphorae with the assistance of Roberta Tomber from the British Museum and V. Selvakumar, K.P. Shajan and his colleagues published an article on the findings from Pattanam in 2004 itself .20 They put forward the hypothesis that Pattanam could be associated with Muziris. Explorations and digging of trenches were done under 19

M.G.S. Narayanan, ‘Maritime History of Kerala: Notes for a Master Plan’, Journal of the Centre for Heritage Studies, vol. 1, 2004, pp. 39-50, see also, Mathrubhoomi Weekly (Malayalam), vol. 92, no. 7, 4 May 2014, pp. 32-7. 20 ‘Locating the Ancient Port of Muziris: Fresh Findings from Pattanam’, Journal of Roman Archaeology, 17 (2004): 351-9.

16

K.S. Mathew

the aegis of the CHS, Tripunithura and the scholars came across evidences of commercial activity and habitation. The cover page of the journal of CHS vol. 2 (2005) carried the images of a Cera coin and potsherd unearthed from the trenches dug in Pattanam. Reports of the excavation in the trial pits conducted by Shajan and Selvakumar were also brought out in this volume of the journal.21 Tomber wrote an article in the same volume about the Roman amphorae.22 The new government that came to power in Kerala under the Left Democratic Front does not seem to have promoted the activities of CHS related to the excavations in Pattanam and a new project with the caption Muziris Heritage Project was launched. One of the items included in the new project came into the hands of the Kerala Council of Historical Research, Thiruvananthapuram of which this writer was one of the founding members. Discovery of ‘surface finds’ of potsherds and beads from Pattanam by the Centre for Cultural and Ecological Studies (CCES), Union Christian College, Aluva in late 1990s also marked the beginning of the attempts to identify Muziris. Two different agencies in the same period, probably without any mutual contacts, brought to light the potsherds pointing to the possible Roman settlement in Pattanam. But nothing considerable is reported to have been done in this regard by the CCES. The excavations headed by P.J. Cherian, as the Director of Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR), under the aegis of the Muziris Project launched by the LDF Government of Kerala, began in Pattanam in 2007 and continued in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Interim Report of the Pattanam Excavations/Explorations 2013 (seventh period of excavation) has been brought out by the KCHR. The archaeologists involved in the excavations at Pattanam were successful in unearthing a small boat and a wharf which could remind us of the small vessels mentioned in the Periplus and also by Pliny, used for the transportation of commodities from 21

‘Trial Excavations at Pattanam: A Preliminary Report’, Journal of the Centre for Heritage Studies, vol. 2 (2005), pp. 57-68. 22 Roberta Tomber, Journal of the Centre for Heritage Studies, vol. 2 (2005), pp. 67-8.

Introduction

17

and to the ocean-going ships anchored at sea to Muziris situated on the bank of a river. The industrial products retrieved through the excavations in Pattanam could point to the existence of an emporium which presupposes a production centre. The excavations conducted during the last seven seasons unearthed 95,213 artefacts relevant to delve deeper into the early historic times and the period immediately following it. The important finds of the archaeological excavations spanning from 2007 through 2013 consist of the following items: (a) Local pottery pieces—an overwhelming quantity of nearly four million sherds (39,72,059); (b) Non-local pottery from distant continents and other parts of India; (c) Indian Rouletted ware (10,720); (d) Fragments of turquoise glazed pottery (1,736) and torpedo jars (3,684); (e) sherds of amphorae (7,430) and Terra Sigillata (160); (f ) Beads-glass (71,467), semi-precious stones (3,095) and terracotta. The presence of a large number of sherds of amphorae in Pattanam has attracted the attention of specialists like Roberta Tomber According to her, the majority of the sherds of Roman amphorae retrieved from Pattanam consists of containers used for the transport of wine. They belonged to Kos (Greece), Campania (Southern Italy and Bay of Naples), Cilicia (Eastern Turkey and Syria), Catalan (Spain), Gaul (France), Rhodes (Greece) and Egypt.23 Terra sigillata is an Italian ceramic referred to earlier as Arretine ware. Sherds of amphorae and terra sigillata excavated from Pattanam are deemed to be belonging to the first century BCE to the second century CE. Sherds of Roman amphorae, Arretine wares, torpedo jars and several items related to the existence of a Roman settlement are among the finds of these excavations, pointing to the fact that the Pattanam site could be Muziris, though it has not been conclusively established. Industrial products of the locality have also been found on the site. Rajan Gurukkal is of the opinion that Pattanam was a centre of maritime trade and settlement from at least two centuries BCE in 23

I am grateful to P.J. Cherian for sharing the information about the archaeological finds from Pattanam. For details about the 7th season of excavation, ref. P.J. Cherian, Interim Report of the Pattanam Excavation/Explorations 2013, Thiruvananthapuram, 2013.

18

K.S. Mathew

view of the material remains unearthed from there. The sea-borne trade of Pattanam continued during the period of the Roman Empire too.24 The discovery of a wharf for wooden canoes, a canoe itself and the location of the site of Pattanam near a rivulet connecting it with the Arabian Sea besides the potsherds, Mediterranean as well as Roman wares could, with more evidence help in identifying Muziris. Just like Arikamedu, Pattanam too is situated in the neighbourhood of the sea connected through the branch of a river which became totally disturbed in the great flood of 1341. Therefore, the identification of Pattanam with the Muziris of the classical writers could be taken as a working hypothesis until further evidence to the contrary are brought out. It should, however, be borne in mind that a group of historians from Kerala, including those who, way back in 2004, were inclined to identify Pattanam with Muziris, are disappointed with the findings of the excavations in Pattanam. The fundamental reason, among others, is the absence of infrastructures for a brisk and vibrant maritime trade described by the classical writers.25 If large amount of spices and other hill products were traded in this spot, there should have been storing facilities as well as residential buildings. So far the excavations conducted in Pattanam could not locate any such installations. The absolute and planned exclusion and sidetracking of qualified Indian scholars including those who brought to the notice of the public the importance of Pattanam in connection with Indo-Roman trade, politicization of scientific and academic work and subsequent monopolization of the entire activity at an enormous expenditure from the exchequer and wide publicity smacks of vested interests of diverse nature. It is further held that more scientific excavations involving national bodies and qualified scholars without creating barriers of several types are needed to retrieve relevant data to identify Pattanam with Muziris. Therefore it is felt that time has not yet come to announce that Muziris is Pattanam. 24 25

Rajan Gurukkal, Mathrubhoomi Weekly, vol. 92, no. 7, pp. 27-8. Narayanan, Mathrubhoomi Weekly, op. cit., p. 37.

Introduction

19

A glance at the commodity composition of the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade centred in Muziris may support the opinion that further scientific excavation and research at national or even international level has to be done to unearth installations required for a vibrant trade. EXPORTS FROM MALABAR TO THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The products exported from Muziris and Nelcynda were: black pepper, less costly than the long ones, malabathron (cinnamomum tamala, equivalent to cinnamon, but less costly),26 indigo, cinnamon and cardamom, all grown in Malabar. 27 Pepper from the Malabar coast was an important item in the Indo-Roman sea-borne trade. It must be stressed that pepper was not a product of the forest, nor a wild produce; it was indeed cultivated by the agriculturists in the interior parts of Kerala and was brought to Muziris by boats through the branches of the Periyar River. There was great demand for pearls, ivory, semi-precious stones, including garnets and beryl from Padiyur in the district of Coimbatore,28 sandalwood, nutmeg, precious stones like diamonds and sapphires from Ceylon, nard and Chinese silks both of which came from the north-eastern coast and tortoise shells from the island of Chryse, the Aurea Cherosonesus of Ptolemy, currently known as the peninsula of Malacca. Chinese silk products brought to the Eastern coast were taken to Muziris through the Palghat Pass. Pliny testifies that the use of pepper had become a rage in Europe among the barbarians. Alaric, the head of the Visigoths, after defeating Rome demanded an indemnity of two tons of pepper.29 Cinnamomum 26

The author of the Periplus of Erythraean Sea distinguishes three sorts of malabathron, namely, those made of the largest leaves , those of the smaller and the smallest. Ref. Schoff, op. cit., p. 49. 27 Schoff, op. cit., p. 45. 28 Beryl, from Sanskrit vaidurya was a much priced aquamarine among the Romans. Only two beryl mines existed in south India—at Padiyur and at Vaniambadi. Ref. H.G. Rawlinson, Intercourse between India and the Western World, Delhi: AES, rpt. 2001, p. 101. 29 Ref. Cimino, op. cit., p. 81.

20

K.S. Mathew

tamala, nard, macir and cinnamon along with pearls and cotton materials sent by land and sea from the Gangetic regions were taken to the ports of the western coast of India, especially Muziris. Periplus includes amongst the exports from the Malabar Coast, ‘great quantities of fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, spikenard from the Ganges, malabathron from the places in the interior, transparent stones of all kind, diamonds and sapphires, and tortoise shell’. Other exports included diamonds from central India, pearls from Cape Comorin, and silk from China. Chinese silks were brought to Muziris via the east coast of India. There is evidence to prove that foreign merchants, especially those from the Roman Empire, resided at Muziris as is recorded in the second century CE papyrus kept in the Vienna Museum (Papyrus Vindobonensis G 40822). This papyrus document is of great importance as it chronicles the trade relations between the Mediterranean world and India. It contains a commercial contract that foresees the transport of goods from Muziris to the Red Sea, then on to Coptos, and across the Nile to Alexandria. The Muziris or Vienna papyrus sheds some light on the commodities of export from Muziris. Recent researches conducted by Casson and Federico de Romanis on this take us to the conclusion that there could have been large amounts of pepper in the ship Hermapollon of which no mention was made in the declaration. The commodities mentioned consist of Gangetic nard, sound ivory and schidai (ivory of a lower quality), which amounts to only 11.36 per cent of the entire cargo’s value. De Romanis speculates that the remaining 88.64 per cent of the value must have consisted of pepper and malabathron. His argument is that without assuming the shipping of pepper and malabathron on board the Hermapollon, the problem of the total value of the cargo remains unattended and unexplained.30 The ship 30

Federico de Romanis, ‘Playing Sudoku on the Verso of the Muziris Papyrus: Pepper, Malabathron and Tortoise Shell in the Cargo of the Hermapollon’, Journal of Ancient Indian History, XXVII (2010-11), pp. 75-101; L. Casson, ‘P. Vindob, G40822 and the Shipping of Goods from India’, BASP, 23 (1986), pp. 73-9; L. Casson, ‘New Light on Maritime Loans: P. Vindob G 40822’, ZPE, 84 (1990), pp. 195-206.

Introduction

21

had 60 containers of Gangetic nard, brought from the Ganga delta to Muziris for onward shipment to the Mediterranean port of Alexandria and probably further to various European destinations. IMPORTS FROM THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO MALABAR

The author of the Periplus speaks of the Greek merchants from Egypt who brought wine, brass, lead, glass, etc., for sale to Muziris and Bacare, and who purchased from these ports pepper, ivory, betel, pearls and fine muslins. The traders brought to the Malabar coast a large quantity of coins, topaz, thin clothing, figured linens, antimony, coral, crude glass, copper, tin, lead, wine, and wheat for sailors.31 The Tabula Peutingeriana speaks of a temple dedicated to Augustus at Muziris. This is evidence of the Roman settlement in Muziris.32 A large cache of coins was found at Eyyal, Cochin. They were mostly Augustan-Tiberian denarii. This further buttresses the claim of the Muziris area being a landing point for ships coming from Roman Egypt. The stash of money found on the slope of a hill in 1945 contained 12 Roman gold coins, 50 Roman silver coins and 12 silver punch-marked coins.33 Coins issued by Augustus reached India, which signified trade contact with India during the reign of Emperor Augustus (29 BCE-14 CE). Sixty-eight finds of Roman coins have been recorded in India, of which, 57 come from the south of the Vindhyas. Twenty-nine first century finds comprising aurei or denarii ranging from Augustus to Trajan (98-117 CE) came from Cochin, Pudukkottai, Hyderabad, Mysore and Travancore.34 They are of gold or silver, implying Roman trade with India during the first century.35 Pliny (vi, 101) speaks of 50 million sesterces sent to India. Tiberius 31

Schoff, op. cit., pp. 44-5. Cimino, Ancient Rome and India, op. cit., p. 172. 33 Ibid. 34 Wheeler, op. cit., p. 166. 35 Ibid., p. 167. 32

22

K.S. Mathew

(14-37 CE) complained about the reckless exportation of money.36 The imported coins were used as bullion to be weighed out in exchange for goods. Against this backdrop it is judged judicious and timely to bring out a selection of papers contributed by eminent archaeologists and historians of maritime trade of India from the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Italy and from various universities in India solely for the purpose of furthering the knowledge about trade in the Indian Ocean regions in the remote past without holding any brief for any of the groups. Everyone of the contributors is an expert in the irrespective field and have carved out a niche of their own in academia. Robin Coningham and his colleagues at the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, UK, studied the findings from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka to reconstruct the networks of trade and exchange in the Indian Ocean regions during the early historic period. Excavations conducted after those by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in south India and Anuradhapura, capital of Sri Lanka from the fifth century BCE demonstrated the fact that substantial levels of inter-regional trade flourished before the Roman contact. Against the Euro-centric models suggesting that Indian Ocean trade was the sole preserve of the Roman traders, it is held that there was the presence of pervasive tradition of trade and exchange since the Iron Age and continued to link across the Indian Ocean arena until the establishment of European maritime hegemony in the eighteenth century CE. The focus of this article is on the three well-known ceramic forms underlining their potential in reconstructing the networks of trade and exchange in the Indian Ocean during the early historic period. Ariane Saxce of the Sorbonne University, Paris in her work discusses the local networks and long-distance trade during the Mediterranean trade focusing attention on the exchange between Sri Lanka and India. The author tries to re-examine the assumption that the Greeks and the Romans handled trade by themselves, inaugurating routes and contacts with South Asia and proposes 36

Ibid., p. 167.

Introduction

23

the idea that these traders used and followed networks that were already in vogue. The scholar is of the opinion that Sri Lanka used to trade with the West through Indian merchants before the Roman trade with South Asia took root. A shift seems to have taken place in the fourth and fifth centuries CE when trade contacts and distribution were re-directed to Sri Lanka. The paper is devoted to the study of the evolution of this pattern from the fifth century BCE to the seventh century CE based on the findings of the excavations conducted in Sri Lanka. Interested in highlighting how Imperial Rome extended its hands through the Indian Ocean to Muziris and other Indian ports for extracting the produces made available in India, Steven E. Sidebotham, professor in the University of Delaware, USA was requested to trace the itinerary from the Mediterranean port of Alexandria to Muziris and further on to Arikamedu. According to him, the route took the direction from Alexandria up the Nile River by a felucca, a type of small Egyptian boat propelled by two lateen sails, to the Nile port of Koptos and from there through a caravan of 22 or so camels across the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea Emporium of Berenike about 380 km south-east of Koptos for 12 days. There were praesidia or Roman forts along the route from Koptos to Berenike. These praesidia accommodated a few dozen people among whom were soldiers, a few prostitutes, civilian workers and a few itinerant merchants. En route to Qana from Berenike, the ships landed at a few places like Ptolemais Epitheron and Adulis along the African coast. Then the traveller on the route to India arrived at the South Arabian Indian Ocean port of Qana where he moved to another ship to Muziris and further to Poduke (Arikamedu), a kilometre up the Ariyankuppam River off the Bay of Bengal. Qana was an important centre of trade in frankincense. After a voyage of 40 days from Qana, the traveller reached Muziris. Michael A. Speidel, Professor in the Universities of Zürich and Bern dwells on the extent and means by which Roman Imperial and foreign powers interfered with the dynamics the Indo-Mediterranean and Red Sea trade during the period of Augustus (29 BCE– 14 CE) to that of Diocletian (284-5 CE). A school of thought holds the view that the Roman Emperors had no awareness let alone any

24

K.S. Mathew

policy for generating wealth for the imperial treasury through foreign trade and that there were no commercially inspired wars in Roman history nor did the government take up any measures to promote trade with the East. The author calls into question this strand of thought and supports the opinion contrary to it and asserts that the government collected 25 per cent of import tax from the long-distance maritime trade, and the routes between the Nile and Red Sea ports were heavily guarded by the forces of the Roman Empire. Interference of a powerful government was an essential requirement for providing safe environment for long-distance trade. He bases his argumentation on the publication of new or revised documentary evidence, especially epigraphic, numismatic and papyrological to affirm that the Roman state played an important role in guaranteeing safety and security for those involved in long-distance maritime trade, chiefly in Indo-Mediterranean trade. He asserts that the Roman Empire invested into the security of the Red Sea trade since the early part of the first century CE. He cites inscriptional evidences to buttress this. He adds that besides Rome other powers such as the Nabataean kingdom, Rome’s dependant ally on the Arabian coast, took action against pirates disturbing long distance trade via the Red Sea. Rome had direct access to the Red Sea since 30 BCE through harbours like Arsinoe, Myos Hormos and Berenike. The Roman Empire took over the Nabataean kingdom and its strongholds along the Arabian Red Sea coast as claimed by Trajan (8-117 CE). This enabled Rome to take care of the safety of the vessels and cargo passing through the Red Sea to the East. He states that by the later part of the first century CE a third or even almost half of the profits from Egypt was generated by taxing Red Sea merchants. He adduces numismatic evidence too to strengthen his assertion. He refers also to the embassies sent from India to the Roman Emperors like Augustus (29 BCE-14 CE) seeking friendship (amicitia or foedus amicitiae causa) which was to bring about a peaceful environment for trade. Seven sites at the northern end of the Red Sea yielded considerable data regarding economic and cultural contacts with other areas of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean regions during the Hellenistic (313-30 BCE) and Roman periods (30 BCE-641 CE ).

Introduction

25

They were: Aila (Aqaba), Cleopatris/Arsinoe/Clysma, Nile-Red Sea Canal, Abu Sha’ar, Philoteras, Myos Hormos (Quseir al-Qadim) Marsa Nakari, and Berenike. Steven E. Sidebotham highlights the importance of all six sites in the Roman contacts with India. He devotes considerable space for the role of Berenike. He himself led a team of archaeologists in 1994 to launch excavations at Berenike discovered by the great Italian explorer in 1818.37 Excavations were conducted in 1994-2001 and 2009-13. It was one of the important entrepôts on the route from Alexandria to India and was founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. After the annexation of Egypt to Rome in 30 BCE, the importance of Berenike grew by leaps and bounds. By the late fifth century CE Berenike was in decline and by the middle of the sixth century it was abandoned. At this last outpost of the Roman Empire, a large number of significant finds have been collected providing evidence of cargo from the Malabar Coast and the presence of people from south India. Among the unexpected discoveries at Berenike were a range of ancient Indian goods, including a large quantity of teak wood, black pepper, coconuts, beads made of precious and semi-precious stones, cameo blanks, a Tamil Brahmi graffito, etc. The details of these findings were brought out by E. Sidebotham in 2011.38 Alessandra Avanzini, a professor in the University of Pisa and head of the Italian Mission to Oman deals with new data for the history of the port of Sumhuram in Khor Rori area perched on the rim of the Indian Ocean. Excavations began to be conducted in this site in 1997 by the Italian Mission. They took as points of departure the findings of the American archaeological expeditions to Sumhuram during the 1950s and 1960s which identified Sumhuram with the port of Moscha Limen mentioned in the Periplus and was active between the first and the third century CE. But the findings from excavations of the Italian team testifies that the Sumhuram was founded at the end of the third century BCE and was not aban37

Sidebotham participated in the excavations conducted in Arikamedu under the leadership of Vimala Begley from 1989-92. 38 S.E. Sidebotham, Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route, Berkeley, 2011.

26

K.S. Mathew

doned before the fifth century CE. Avanzini is of the opinion that the foundation of Sumhuram coincided with the beginning of seatrade with the Indian Ocean regions. It was not only a port engaged in international trade, but also an urban centre with its own tradition of craftsmanship. It had commercial relations with India from the very beginning of its history which is proved from the Indian pottery dating back to the last centuries of the millennium BCE. It was built to facilitate trade with south India. The author buttresses her opinion with the help of archaeological findings from the site. Vittoria Buffa of the Italian Mission to Oman throws light on the south Arabian pottery outside south Arabia chiefly at the site of Khor Rori, the ancient Sumhuram from the third century BCE to the fifth century CE. A part of the ceramics retrieved from the site testifies the links of Sumhuram with India and other areas in the East. She hopes that the study of the pottery from Pattanam could add important information on the subject. Sila Tripati of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa and his colleagues discuss the details of the contacts between the Roman world and Orissa on the east coast of India. They are of the opinion that the Roman merchants trading with Muziris and Arikamedu reached Orissa through land and sea routes. Archaeological explorations in Manikapatna, Palur, Radhanagar and Sisupalgharh in Orissa brought to light terracotta, Roman Bullion, lamps, amphorae shreds and rouletted ware suggesting Roman contacts from the early historical period. The references in Periplus and Ptolemy corroborate this opinion according to the authors of the paper under consideration. Assessment of the Indian Ocean trade during the early historic period through the study of ceramics has been attempted by K. Krishnan and Ritvik G. Balvally of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, M.S. University of Baroda. It is held that ceramics form one of the most promising artefacts to enable us to reconstruct the various facets of the interaction between the Roman world on one side and the East. The authors take into account the exchange of different ceramics in the trade of the early historic period and their manifestations in understanding the com-

Introduction

27

plexities of the Indian Ocean regions. They have examined rouletted ware, terra sigillata (Arretine ware), amphorae of different types, ceramics from West Asia, ceramics from East Africa, Indian fine wares, and Indian ceramics overseas. Details of the ancient ports of Kerala are discussed by V. Selvakumar of the Tamil University, Thanjavur based on Sangam literature and the classical works in Latin and Greek in the subsequent article. He bewails the fact the geo-physical identification of the ports with archaeological evidence has not been satisfactorily done till date to help understand better the dynamics of maritime interactions of Kerala. The meaning of Munturai and Pattanam, Tamil terms referring to the ancient ports, is clearly brought out. He underlines the role of the Roman Empire and the process that emerged in the early historic India as the causative factors for the rise of these ancient ports of Kerala. He adds that the main thrust factor for the trade was the consumerist and robust Roman economy. Ajit Kumar and his colleagues from the Department of Archaeology, Kerala University furnish the details of the explorations and excavations conducted in the recent past at Vizhinjam, south of Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. It is held that the artefacts obtained through the explorations and excavations indicate that Vizhinjam was one of the earliest historical townships and trade marts along the south Kerala coast catering to and entrenched in the international maritime trade along the Indian Ocean from as early as the first or the second century BCE. Hinterland and foreland of the port of Muziris in the wider perspective of the long-distance networks of the subcontinent of India are discussed by Ranabir Chakravarti of the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Salience of Muziris can be better understood against the backdrop of commercial and cultural linkages of India with the remote places like West and Central Asian regions and the Eastern Mediterranean. The author makes use of the literature on the Indian Ocean maritime history and the history of the early Indian trade. Mention is made of the trade in the Silk Route. Further, he dwells on the route from Alexandria via the Read Sea and the passage of merchandise and merchants to Muziris during the Roman period. The

28

K.S. Mathew

author supports the view of Casson who concluded that the voyage from Ocelis to Muziris took only 20 days instead of 40 days mentioned by Pliny and states that there could be a scribal error in the calculation of the duration of the voyage. He states that Muziris offered a quicker and shorter connectivity with the Red Sea destination than the ports in Gujarat and the Indus delta. He is of the opinion that the phrases like ‘Indo-Roman’ Trade and ‘RomanIndian’ trade do not fully explain the quintessence of the hinterland and foreland relations of India in general and of Muziris in particular. Different societies were incorporated in the pre-colonial economy. The role of Muziris in the trajectories of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean during the first millennium CE is dealt with in the article by Pius Malekandathil of the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Nuanced and changing character of Muziris in the larger network of commodity movements over the years is the thrust of the communication. The author traces the etymology of the name Muziris to ‘Mesrene’ or ‘Musri’ or ‘Misraim’ denoting Egypt in the ancient literature since the Egyptians used to conduct trade in this port .Though Muziris was the centre of sea-borne trade of Kerala till the fourth century CE, it gave way to Quilon as the pivotal point for the trade between the Abbasid Persia and T’ang China. He too emphasizes that the evidences obtained from the excavations at Pattanam are insufficient to establish that it was Muziris. Among the several items exported from Muziris, schidai or ivory trimmings figured as an item of export as evidenced from the cargo of the ship Hermapollon referred to in the Muziris Papyrus or Papyrus Vindobonensis G 40822 preserved in Vienna. It constituted only 1 per cent of the total freight according to the analysis made by Federico de Romanis of the University of Rome in his article. He suggests that the cargo of Hermapollon included a large volume of pepper, malabathron and tortoise shells. He makes a critical study of the Greek text of the papyrus. A scientific study of the Roman pottery from Pattanam has been made by Roberta Tomber of the British Museum, London. It is stated that since the first exploration at Pattanam and the excavations

Introduction

29

first by the Centre for Heritage Studies, Hill Palace, Tripunithura and second by the Kerala Council of Historical Research, the quantity has grown significantly. The large volume of imported Roman pottery retrieved from Pattanam contributes to its identification as a major overseas port. Amphorae were used by the Romans for the transportation of wine, garum (fish sauce) and olive oil which were essential in their diet. Sigillata refers to pottery with a red-slipped surface primarily used for the production of cups and platters in connection with serving, eating and drinking. The decorative appearance indicates that it was used at the table rather than in kitchen. The author is of the opinion that the majority of the sherds of amphorae retrieved from Pattanam date between the late first century BCE and the first century CE. Details of Sigillata are also provided in the article. It is concluded that these Roman items served as containers of foodstuffs for both foreign merchants and local elites and as status symbols of international trade and contact. Susmita Basu Majumdar, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Calcutta in her article attempts to explore the role of indigenous and foreign currency in shaping the economic scenario in the Malabar coast. Using the Roman and local coins she addresses the issues like—why silver coins of the Romans are found more in the Chera territory compared to the neighbouring contemporary powers or why Roman copper coins of later rulers are found in the Chola and Pandya territories in considerable quantities whereas these are not found in substantial quantity in Chera territory. She points out that Cheras as the indigenous power in the region of Kerala issued coinage in copper and silver and those were portrait type coins. Having analysed the indigenous coins and currency pattern especially of the Chera territory she provides an overall view of the Indo-Roman monetary history. The present research provides a general methodological background to use the numismatic evidences to delve deeper into the Indo-Roman commercial contacts through the coins found at Pattanam. A detailed bibliography is provided at the end for this volume for those interested in further studies.

CHAPTER

2

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange in the Indian Ocean during the Early Historic Period: Case Studies from Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) ROBIN

CONINGHAM, AND

MARK

MANUEL

JO SHOEBRIDGE

ABSTRACT

Early studies of Indian Ocean trade during the Early Historic Period attributed its nascence to the advent of Roman merchants and traders in the western portion of the Indian Ocean. 1 Indeed, Sir Mortimer Wheeler's excavations at Arikamedu appeared to support such a hypothesis with its evidence of the dramatic transformation of 'simple fisher-folk' living 'a leisurely and enterprising fashion just above subsistence level'. 2 Subsequent excavations at Arikamedu in south India and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka have demonstrated, however, that substantial levels of inter-regional trade flourished before the Roman contact. 3 This fresh evidence has contributed to the overturning of established Eurocentric models that suggested Indian Ocean trade was the sole preserve of Roman traders, in which South Asia played a passive role. In its place, we now stress the presence of a pervasive tradition of trade and exchange 1

Coningham 2002; Wheeler et al. 1946. Wheeler 1954: 174-5. 3 Begley 1996; Coningham 2006. 2

32

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

which began in the Iron Age and continued to link across the Indian Ocean arena until the establishment of European maritime hegemony in the eighteenth century CE. 4 Despite general acceptance of this theoretical re-orientation, much archaeological and historical focus has tended to remain on the quest for evidence of Roman contact and for the recording of the presence or absence of 'Roman' material. This focus has, in turn, led to the neglect of South Asian materials which have not been researched so vigorously or published so fully. This paper will focus on three wellknown but less-intensively studied ceramic forms-Arikamedu Type 10, Arikamedu Type 1 (Rouletted ware) and Torpedo Jars in order to exemplify their largely unexploited potential in reconstructing networks of trade and exchange in the Indian Ocean during the Early Historic Period

INTRODUCTION The city of Anuradhapura, capital of Sri Lanka from the fifth century BCE to the eleventh century CE, has played a pivotal role in Indian Ocean trade from early island trade exchanges to international networks stretching from Egypt to China (Figure 2.1). Within this paper, the sequence of this trade is traced through the excavations at trench Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta 2 (ASW2), with specific case studies on Arikamedu Type 10, Rouletted ware and Torpedo jars detailing the evidence for local and international trade. 5 It will also demonstrate that, as well as receiving luxury objects from afar, Anuradhapura played an important role in co-ordinating the sourcing and finishing of elite goods for both internal consumption as well as export. This new evidence has also demonstrated the flaws associated with uncritically accepting Eurocentric models which have stressed that Indian Ocean trade was the sole preserve of Roman traders, in which South Asia and South Asians played more passive roles. 6 Instead, it is now clear that inter-regional trade was 4

Coningham 2002. Coningham 1999; 2006. 6 Wheeler 1946; Wheeler 1954. 5

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

33

Figure 2.1: Map of South Asia showing the location of Anuradhapura

thriving long before the appearance of Roman contact within the Indian Ocean, and that this trade continued to flourish long after it disappeared. Indeed, it was not until the sixteenth century CE, that the overwhelming technological advances of the European trading companies allowed western hegemony over this trade. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Early Modern European contact with Sri Lanka, or Ceylon, began in 1505 CE when the Portuguese explorer Francisco de Almeida explored the western coast of the island. While initially a treaty was signed between the Portuguese and the independent Kingdom of Kotte, the Portuguese quickly assumed control of the kingdom and in 1565 moved their capital to Colombo. 7 By 1591 they had control of the northern Kingdom of Jaffna as well but, despite this, Portuguese occupation was restricted to a limited number of small enclaves around the coast whilst much of the interior of the 7

de Silva 1981.

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

34

island remained in the control of the Kingdom of Kandy. The Portuguese were primarily interested in Sri Lanka's spices-in particular cinnamon and arecanuts-and later semi-precious stones. 8 The Kandyan king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe II (r. 1629-87 CE), later agreed to a treaty with the Dutch in 1638 to remove the Portuguese and allow Dutch control over the coastal areas. The Dutch captured Colombo in 1656, Jaffna in 1658 and by 1660 controlled the coastal areas of the island. 9 They set about upgrading the Portuguese forts, such as at Galle, and establishing new ones that could act not only as major trading posts within the Indian Ocean, but also as centres which could procure raw materials, particularly cinnamon and areca nuts, from the interior of the island (Farmer 1963: 28). The new forts were substantial investments catering for permanent occupation all round the year (Nelson 2004). For example, the fort at Galle was constructed in 1663 in the classic star-shape, with three main bastions-the 'Sun', 'Moon' and 'Star'. Further forts were built at Matara, Colombo, Mannar, and Trincomalee. Control of Sri Lanka now lay with the Dutch East India Company, the VOC or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, who sought to monopolize Indian Ocean trade. They retained control of trade within Sri Lanka until the late eighteenth century when the British, keen to expand their own trade within the region, took control of the island. Again, they were invited by the reigning Kandyan king, now Kirti Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (r. 1747-82 CE), to help remove the Dutch from the island and in 1782, Trincomalee fell to the British but was later returned. It was not until after the French invaded the Netherlands in 1793, that the British retook the town in 1795. A joint British-Kandyan force then took Colombo and, in return, the British assumed the Dutch monopoly over the cinnamon trade on the island. 10 The island trade thus passed into the hands of the British East India Company and, in 1802, Ceylon became a Crown Colony. The island's trade was again heavily focused upon cinna8

Bailey 1952: 38, 50-1. Codrington 1939: 112. 10 Bailey 1952: 67-70. 9

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

35

mon and areca nuts, but also pearls, salt, tobacco and gems. 11 As the British sought control over the interior of the island, coffee, tea and rubber plantations, staffed by imported labour from south India came to provide the bulk of trade goods. 12 As such, the island, and Trincomalee in particular, became a major node within British domination of the Indian Ocean trade. Despite the welldocumented importance of Sri Lanka to European domination of Indian Ocean trade, its role in pre-European trade has often been overlooked. However, excavations at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura have documented long-distance trade from the mid-first millennium BCE through to the eleventh century CE, and place the island of Sri Lanka at the centre of global trade networks throughout the past. ANURADHAPURA

The city of Anuradhapura is located in the North-Central Province of Sri Lanka, a semi-arid zone situated in the island's 'Dry Zone' characterized by low level plains, punctuated with low granitic outcrops. Human occupation in the region is almost entirely dependent upon large-scale irrigation works, first constructed in the third and fourth centuries BCE, and heavily restored in the early nineteenth century by colonial pioneers. 13 A number of large river systems, including the Malwatu Oya which flow through Anuradhapura before falling into the Indian Ocean near Mannar Island, drain the northern part of the island but are seasonal in nature. Modern subsistence is based around a combination of rice paddy and chena (slash-and-burn) cultivation, and the landscape is one of open agricultural areas, often focused close to river valleys, recently abandoned areas of chena and untouched jungle/ forest punctuated by granite outcrops. However, plantations-in particular teak-have recently become more frequent. 14 11

Codrington 1939: 162. Farmer 1963: 39-41. 13 Coningham 1999: 1. 14 Ibid., 10-11. 12

36

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

The growth of Anuradhapura as a historic settlement has been traced over the last 30 years through excavations within the citadel of Anuradhapura (Deraniyagala 1992). One of these, the excavations at trench Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta 2 (ASW2), has demonstrated the process by which a small Iron Age village was transformed village into a metropolis. 15 The city of Anuradhapura may be divided into three main zones-the citadel zone, the monastic zone, and the tank zone. The citadel zone was the innermost, secular part of the city, and covered an area of approximately 100 ha (Figure 2.2). It was surrounded by a rampart and a ditch and housed numerous brick and timber structures, including palaces and temples as well as providing a venue for numerous areas for craft activity and workshops. 16 Surrounding the citadel was the monastic zone, or Sacred City, which consisted of four major monastic enclaves-Ruyanvelisaya, Jetavana, Abhayagiri and Mirisivati, as well as smaller monuments, such as the Sri Maha Bodhi Temple, or the Bodhi Tree shrine. The latter was recorded in the Pali chronicle, Mahavamsa, as having been constructed in the third century BCE around a cutting of the Bodhi tree from Bodhgaya, under which the Buddha had obtained enlightenment. Developed over several centuries from the third century BCE, the largest of these monuments is the Ruvanvelisaya stupa, which standing at 106.5 m high is one of the tallest brick-built structures in the world. At their peak, these monasteries and their associated monuments would have housed thousands of monks. 17 The outer tank zone refers to the four massive artificial tanks or reservoirs-Bulankulam, Basawakulam, Tissawewa and Nuwarawewa-that were created to store and distribute water throughout the city all year round but particularly during the long annual dry season. This series of tanks were linked by canals and feeder tanks to alternative watersheds and was controlled by a series of sluices, annicuts and cisterns. 18 The system was the result of several centuries of development and 15

Coningham 1999; 2006. Ibid., 17-21. 17 Ibid., 21-3. 18 Gilliland et al. 2013; Coningham and Gunawardhana 2013. 16

38

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

recent research indicates that the first of these tanks was created in the fourth century BCEand the system developed over the next 800 years before collapsing in the eleventh century CE.19 It is against this backdrop of urban development and religious patronage that the development of Indian Ocean trade at Anuradhapura may be traced. EXCAVATIONS ATTRENCHASW2 As mentioned above, the most recent archaeological excavations at ASW2 were undertaken between 1989 and 1994 and were sponsored by the Society for South Asian Studies, the British Academy, the Ancient India and Iran Trust and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. The excavations were undertaken with the aim of establishing a chronological sequence for the site which could then be mapped against an artefactual sequence and converted into a relative dating framework for the island more generally. As such, the trench was sited at one of the highest parts of the citadel, measured 10 X 10 m in plan, and was excavated to a depth of almost 10 m. 20 The sequence successfully traced the site from its growth from an early Iron Age village with round post-holed houses to an urban medieval metropolis at the heart of Indian Ocean trade. Thirty structural phases were identified, that have been divided into 11 main structural periods, ranging from Period K at the base of the trench to Period A at the summit. The earliest occupation at the site was in Period K (c. 900 to 510 BCE)and consisted of post-hole structures, pits, a hearth and a well faced with undressed stone slabs. The post-holes formed both arcs and linear features, and were concentrated in the north-east corner of the trench. 21 It was also estimated that the settlement of Anuradhapura covered an area of some 18 ha during its initial occupation. 22 The subsequent phase, Period J (c. 510-340 BCE), was 19

Coningham and Gunawardhana 2013. °Coningham 1999: 71. 21 Ibid., 71-2. 22 Ibid., 137. 2

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

39

differentiated on the basis of an increase in the depth and diameter of the post-holes, and a shift in occupation focus to the north-east corner of the trench. Furthermore, there was an increasing volume of burnt fragments of wattle and daub present 23 and the settlement expanded to an extent of 26 ha. 24 Period I (c. 360- 190 BCE) saw a major shift from predominantly circular post-hole structures to rectangular ones, and a move of its focus to the south of the trench. In addition, ovens and hearths were identified, as well as areas of tile collapse over burnt-out buildings. 25 This period also coincided with an expansion of the settlement to cover an area of over 60 ha and the construction of the first rampart around the settlement. Period H (c. 190-100 BCE) was defined by a series of shallow pits with semicircular ends, oriented east-west and filled with wood. One possible interpretation was of a cremation ground, but it is more likely that they represented craft-working facilities. They were concentrated in the north-west and north-east corners of the trench. 26 There was a further shift in Period G (c. 100 BCE-200 CE) to the north and south-eastern part of the trench, with a series of structures delineated by a clay platform and post-holes. Foundation pits with crystalline limestone slabs and gravel packing for timber supports indicated a more substantial architectural development. By the end of Period G, when the city reached its maximum of 100 ha in size, walls were constructed of brick and granite pillars begin to be used to replace earlier timber ones. 27 Period F (300-500 CE) was represented by a pillared hall, comprising five rows of five ashlar columns, surrounded by brick walls. Within this structure, votive offerings and hoards of beads of varying materials, semi-precious stone, bangles, bronze vessels and even a miniature limestone stupa were recovered. It is likely to have been a secular building modelled on monastic structures. 28 Periods D and E were defined by a series of intrusive robIbid., Ibid., 25 Ibid., 26 Ibid., 27 Ibid., 28 Ibid., 23 24

72-4. 138. 74-7. 77. 77-9. 79-80.

40

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

ber pits cut into the pillared hall of Period F, whilst Period C is represented by a single brick wall with lime mortar of unknown function. The dates of these later periods was less clear, but range between the mid- and latter part of the first millennium CE. Period B represented a phase of re-occupation defined by the presence of postholes, brick walls and standing pillars. It dated from end of the first millennium through to the twelfth century CE. 29 Finally, Period A was the post- abandonment level of the site, which was a mix of eroded material and modern activity at the site.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN OCEAN TRADE

Significantly, there was clear evidence of trade and exchange throughout all levels of occupation at the site. The current section traces this evidence through sequence from the most recent phase to the earliest evidence of activity at the site. Even Period A had a British George VI coin dating to 1943, an umbrella and a 1918 tax sign demonstrating the impact of colonial activity within Anuradhapura. 30 Within Periods B, C, D and E, there was evidence of trade with both West and East Asia. 31 This included large volumes of imported Western Asian glazed wares, including 33 sherds of ninth century CE Abbasid lustre-painted glazed wares from Iraq, a single sherd of ninth to tenth century CE 'imitation' lustre ware from north-east Iran, 78 sherds of ninth to tenth century CE white-tin glazed wares from Iraq or Iran and 11 sherds of ninth to thirteenth century CE lead-glazed wares from Iran or Iraq. Glass objects, including a kohl stick with affinities to ones from Fustat in Egypt, 22 further sherds of Egyptian glass, one Syrian and two Persian examples extended this trade into the Red Sea and beyond. Similarly, 3 sherds of late Tang ninth century CE Changsha painted stoneware from south-west China, 10 sherds of ninth to tenth century CE Xing and Ding wares from north China, and six sherds of ninth to tenth century CE Yue green wares from south-east China attest to trade linkages with East Asia. Coins, including leadIbid., 80-2. Ibid., 130. 31 Coningham 2007. 29 30

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

41

copper alloy elephant and swastika, and tree and swastika motifs reminds us that trade with the Indian subcontinent was also an important element at Anuradhapura. Period F has also presented strong evidence of trade with western Asia through the presence of 116 sherds of Blue-glazed wares and 59 sherds of Torpedo Jars with Bitumen coating, which point to interaction with the Sassanian and early Islamic worlds. Nine Lakshmi plaques, six punch-marked coins and one tree and swastika coin also indicate the presence of local trade networks. There was also substantial evidence of Indian Ocean trade within Period G, with Roman or late Hellenistic cut glass and the presence of two late Roman Imperial Third Brasses, one of which is known to have been minted in Antioch. Turquoise-glazed wares indicated contact with the Parthian Empire, whilst an ivory mirror-stand presents stylistic links across the Deccan and the kingdoms of Gandhara to the north. Sherds of Arikamedu Type 10, stamped with impressions of birds and fish, were also found and are indicative of trade with continental South Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral as were finds of Rouletted ware and Black Slipped wares. Furthermore, the recovery of a Pandyan chaitya and fish coin indicated the import of currency from southern India. Earlier examples of long-distance trade were present in Period I in the shape of Northern Black Polished ware, a diagnostic ceramic frequently associated with the Mauryan Empire and the proliferation of sherds of early Brahmi script, again with links to the Indian mainland, suggests that this trade was accompanied by cultural developments and exchange. A lapis lazuli bead from Afghanistan suggested a connection to a wider-reaching trade network and variants of Gangetic punch-marked coins were also recovered. Finally, within Period J, there was evidence of trade with south India through the presence of sherds of Grey ware and western India through a carnelian bead from Gujarat. The presence of Early Brahmi inscriptions with names in dative or genitive case on ceramic vessels suggests that this may have been indicative of the development of a shared trading language. 32 In addition, the introduction of horse into the faunal record of trench ASW2 indicates 32

Coningham et al. 1996.

42

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

the opening of cultural links beyond the island and the presence of vessels with enough tonnage to transport livestock. The excavations suggest that trade within the island was also important with finds of clear quartz from the Hill Country to the south suggesting that Anuradhapura had already become a hub for the procurement of raw materials and their processing and finishing. This section has detailed the archaeological evidence for trade, but it does not reveal how and why that trade developed. Indeed, it is clear that the presence of Roman coinage at Anuradhapura does not necessarily indicate the presence of Roman merchants at the site. The coins could have been acquired elsewhere and brought back to the site, or have changed hands several times on their way from the Roman world to the Indian Ocean island. In contrast, many earlier scholars were quite adamant that the presence of Roman material, including amphorae, Arretine ware and glass bowls, in south India was an indication of the ingenuity of Roman traders and merchants. Indeed, Mortimer Wheeler made it clear that the south Indian port of Arikamedu was established as an Indo-Roman trading port in the second century BCE, and that these traders from the west stimulated the local economy. 33 Moreover, within a section dealing with 'wares imported from the Mediterranean', Wheeler included some wares previously unknown in the Western world. These fine ware ceramics, referred to as Type 1 or Rouletted ware, were identified as a Roman import due to their sophisticated manufacture and decoration. 34 However, Wheeler was unsure of the provenance of these ceramics and drew upon the analogies of European factory forts established in South Asia in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries CE, and viewed Arikamedu, and as such early Indian Ocean trade, as another example of western imperial control, in which South Asians were passive bystanders rather than agents. 35 Since that time much has changed and greater diversity evidenced by the presence of 'Tamil-Brahmi' and 'Prakrit-Brahmi' on sherds at Myos Hormos on the Red Sea, finds of Rouletted ware and 33

Wheeler 1946, 1954. Ibid., 45. 35 Wheeler 1954; Coningham 2002. 34

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

43

Arikamedu Type 10 at both Myos Hormos and Berenike 36 and quantities of Indian pepper. 37 This, in turn, indicates that it was highly likely that the traders were more cosmopolitan in nature than previous anticipated and undoubtedly also included the inhabitants of trading town like Arikamedu on the Coromandel coast, Pattanam on the Malabar coast and Khor Rori along the Omani coast. 38 The following sections will detail three case studies that are contributing to the transformation of our understanding of Indian Ocean trade, further contributing to the mass of scholarship responsible to moving beyond Wheeler's Roman trade model to one of indigenous development. CASE STUDIES

We begin with Arikamedu Type 10, a fine ware ceramic first found at Arikamedu, and whose distribution now extends to Bali in Indonesia, 39 Myos Hormos and Berenike in Egypt, 40 as well as more locally in south India and Sri Lanka including Anuradhapura. 41 Type 10 is a cup-shaped ceramic with stamped decoration, perhaps inspired by Roman glass beakers but with a strong South Asian flavour in the forms of stamps of peacocks on the interior between incised lines (Figure 2.3). Around 80 recorded samples have been identified, although it has often been recorded under different names such as Begley Form 5 at Arikamedu. 42 At Anuradhapura, it was found predominantly within Periods H and G, ranging from 300 BCE to 200 CE. The chemical composition of Type 10 samples from trench ASW2, Kantorodai (Sri Lanka) and Arikamedu were characterized using inductively coupled plasmaatomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). These results indicated 36 Tomber

2000. Sidebotham and Wendrich 2007. 38 Avanzini 2008. 39 Ardika and Bellwood 1991: 224. 40 Tomber 2000: 630. 41 Coningham 1999; Shoebridge and Coningham 2011. 42 Begley 1996. 37

44

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

I

I

/

I

I

I

I

/

Figure 2.3: Profiles of Arikamedu Type 10 from trench ASW2, Anuradhapura.

that the ceramics were manufactured from clay sourced in Peninsular India or Sri Lanka, and therefore could not be imported from the Mediterranean world. 43 Initial studies of the stamps, however, have demonstrated that it is also possible to identify a series of inter-regional stylistic networks between Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the south-east coast of India and a number of sites close to the mouth of the Ganges. 44 This work on Type 10 has been augmented by additional research on Arikamedu Type 1, or Rouletted ware. Like Type 10, this ware was originally considered to have been a Mediterranean43 44

Ford et al. 2005: 918. Shoebridge and Coningham 2011.

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

45

inspired form and, as such, evidence of Roman trade. Rouletted ware is a low dish-shaped vessel (Figure 2.4) and contains bands of indentations on the interior base, ranging from parallel lines, triangles, diamonds and dots, and were possibly produced using a roulette wheel, hence its name. It is much more commonly found than Type 10, with 1,274 sherds recovered from trench ASW2 alone and sherds recovered from Sri Lanka, the Indian mainland, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt and Oman. 45 Ranging in date from 400 BCE to 300 CE, it now is known to pre-date the evidence for Roman trade at Anuradhapura, and re-excavation at Arikamedu also found evidence for Rouletted ware in layers below evidence of Roman materials. 46 ICP-AES analysis of Rouletted ware from Anuradhapura, Kantorodai, Mantai (Sri Lanka), Arikamedu, Alagankulam and Vaddamnu (India) identified that it also had a

t/

Figure 2.4: Profiles of Rouletted Ware (Arikamedu Type 1) from trench ASW2, Anuradhapura. 45 46

Coningham 1999, 2006; Schenk 2006; Tomber 2008. Begley 1988.

46

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

geological provenance of India or Sri Lanka. 47 Indeed, the chemical analysis of both these ceramic types show that they have the same source as an earlier ceramic, Grey ware, which is likely to have been an ancestral form of Rouletted ware. This earlier fine ware, found at both Anuradhapura and Arikamedu, dated back to 500 BCE and demonstrated a continuity of ceramic manufacture and exchange in the region. One particularly well-preserved example was even inscribed with a boat featuring a raised prow and stern, twin rudders, central mast and sails or rigging (Figure 2.5). As such, it has become increasingly clear that both Type 1 and Type 10 ceramics were indigenous to South Asia and pre-dated the appearance of Roman material at the sites in question. This further challenges Wheeler's assertion that Indian Ocean trade was initiated by Roman merchants, and suggests that Indian Ocean trade was firmly established long before Roman ships set sail from Egypt. Whilst Rouletted ware is known to date between 400 BCE to 300 CE, recent analysis of 114 sherds with roulette wheel stamps has indicated very distinct chronological styles, for example, oval stamps appear to be concentrated in Period H, Triangular fans in Phase G3, ribbed fans in G 1 and simple triangles in Period F. We are now beginning to apply such a typology to individual surface finds of Roulette ware elsewhere to create a temporal framework to the spatial

sf 10548

.,

0

1

I

Figure 2.5: Profile and inscribed image of boat on Grey ware vessel from trench ASW2, Anuradhapura. 47

Ford et al. 2005: 918.

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

47

patterning, especially as roulette ware is such a very recognizable form. Whilst the questions surrounding Type 1 and Type 10 have been largely chronological in their nature, chemical analyses on later material from Anuradhapura have been tackling slightly different issues. The 59 sherds of Torpedo Jars found within Period F at trench ASW2, were buff coloured, coarse ware ceramics with thick walls, gently sloping necks, thickened rims and pointed bases (Figure 2.6). They are commonly found throughout the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamian region during the Parthian and Abbasid periods and are generally dated to between the third and ninth centuries CE. 48 Their interiors were often coated with a thick organic residue, presumably to allow for the transportation of liquids. Twenty-one sherds from trench ASW2 were chemically sampled (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and isotopic 13 analysis 0 C and 8D) in order to ascertain what the nature of the coating, where it was sourced from and what, if any, liquids the jars contained. The GC-MS analysis showed that all of the coatings were bitumen, of which there are no known sources within Sri Lanka. Instead, the chemical characterization of the bitumen indicated that it had been sourced close to known samples in south-

Figure 2.6: Profile of Torpedo Jar from trench ASW2, Anuradhapura. 48

Kennet 2004: 84.

48

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

west Iran, particularly Susa and other sites in Luristan province. 49 As mentioned above, bitumen was frequently used throughout western Asia to waterproof ceramic vessels in order to transport liquids. The bitumen coating on the vessels was thin enough to suggest that it had represented a coating, and not the sole content of the vessels. However, it was not possible to ascertain from these samples what liquid this may have been 50 and, as such, the nature of the goods moving between Anuradhapura and southern Iran and Iraq. However, the date of these vessels corresponded with a period at Anuradhapura where building materials were being reused, occupation was largely ephemeral and the city's surrounding irrigation network was on the verge of disintegration. 51 Despite this environment, the internal and external trade routes of Anuradhapura appear to have continued to function strongly. DISCUSSION

The archaeological evidence from Anuradhapura has presented insight into the long-term development of Indian Ocean trade, sequentially from a localized focus to a regional and then an international perspective. As the city grew from a small Iron Age village sourcing material from within the island, its network of exchange grew to articulate with other network operating across southern India, the wider subcontinent, and on to south-east Asia, China, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and on to East Africa. This was all the more remarkable as Anuradhapura was an inland city, dependent on the port of Mantai 85 km away at the mouth of the Malvatu Oya. Moreover, the route between the two appears to have followed the meandering river course with very little investment in infrastructure in the early period and this presumably precluded the movement of quantities of people and materials in the wet season. 52 Indeed, all the imported materials would have 49

Stern et al. 2008: 416-23. Ibid., 425. 51 Gilliland et al. 2013. 52 Coningham and Gunawardhana 2013. 50

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

49

had to be carried either over the shoulders of porters on a pingo or bamboo pole or slowly on buffalo or bullock carts as the river was not navigable in its upper courses. Taking a regional local focus, five years of intensive settlement survey within the hinterland of Anuradhapura has found a minimal amount of these exotic imported goods, suggesting that the urban and monastic core maintained a tight control over transportation and access to these goods. 53 Furthermore, the evidence from trench ASW2, as well as the chemical analyses of Type 10 and Rouletted ware has demonstrated the indigenous development of Indian Ocean trade, into which traders articulating with the Mediterranean world later immersed themselves. It is also necessary to stress that there was greater diversity amongst the entrepots and centres yielding such materials than previously acknowledged. For example, Anuradhapura was not just the recipient of exotic goods but that it was also a very clear node on the great Buddhist pilgrimage routes as noted by the fifth century CE Chinese traveller Faxian. Indeed, the artefactual evidence from trench ASW2 demonstrates that merchants and craftspeople within the city were importing raw materials or semi-processes materials, such as rings and bead blanks of carnelian, amethyst and clear quartz, in order to complete them within the city. The city also hosted metal-working, bone and ivory carving as well as glass object manufacture, providing pilgrims and merchants with goods to re-export but very little trickled out into the surrounding hinterland. It is also significant to note that the pattern provided by Anuradhapura and its hinterland was quite separate from the distribution patterns of find of Rouletted ware on the littoral of the Jaffna Peninsula, where the surveys of Ragupathy identified numerous small sites with the distinct ware, rather than having been restricted to the larger sites like Kan tarodai (19 8 7). Again, this pattern appears to be similar to the spreads of such wares on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. 54 This demonstrates the presence of at least three separate trade and exchange networks in operation on Sri Lanka alone and we may anticipate the presence of many other 53

54

Coningham et al. 2007; Coningham and Gunawardhana 2013. Schenk 2006.

50

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

hundreds if not thousands across the Indian Ocean region, stretching from East Asia to the African coast. None of the major sites mentioned in this paper developed or functioned in the same way and we cannot hope to reconstruct such patterns from analysing maps which just show the presence or absence of a ware. We will only be able to begin characterizing their nature and differentiate their functions through a distinct programme of research-oriented, chronometrically dated and fully-published excavation sequences, as seen at Anuradhapura, Khor Rori, Arikamedu and Berenike as well as subsequent science-based artefactual analysis of the nature discussed above. These case studies demonstrate not only the complex nature of the development of Indian Ocean trade but also indicate the potential of introducing a more dynamic character to the debate. The aim of archaeologists and historians alike should be towards developing new models of Indian Ocean trade which are completely divorced from Wheeler's legacy and built upon locally derived evidence, and which recognize the complexity of transnational exchange networks. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our thanks go to the following individuals for their support in the work carried out in this paper: Prof. Prishanta Gunawardhana, Prof Gamini Adikari, Prof K. Krishnan, Steve Cheshire, Dr. Siran Deraniyagala, Dr. Senarath Dissanayake, Dr. Louise Ford, Prof. Carl Heron, Sarah James, Dr. Derek Kennet, Nikki Paige, Seth Priestman, Dr. Ben Stern and Nick Walsh. The excavations at Anuradhapura were supported by the British Academy, the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology, the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, the Ancient India and Iran Trust and the Society for South Asian Studies (the British Academy) and the hinterland survey by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The samples were courtesy of the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology, the Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute, and from the collections held in the Ancient India and Iran Trust. Thanks are also due to Prof. Jacques Cannan and Elf Aquitaine Production for their support in the analyses of samples in their

Reconstructing Networks of Trade and Exchange

51

Scientific and Technical Centre at Pau (France), and to the Natural Environment Research Council for funding the ICP-AES sample preparation and analysis. Finally, gratitude is expressed to Pro. K.S. Mathew for inviting this paper and to the Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, the Mar Thoma Research Academy and the Archaeological Survey of India for organizing this seminar as well as to the seminar participants for their feedback and comments.

REFERENCES Ardika, I.Wand P.S. Bellwood, 1991, 'Sembiran: The Beginnings oflndian contact with Bali', Antiquity 65: 221-32. Avanzini, A., 2008, A Port in Arabia Between Rome and the Indian Ocean (3rd centuryBCE- 5th centuryCE): Khor Rori report2, Rome: Arabia Amica. Bailey,S.D., 1952, Ceylon,London: Hutchinson. Begley,V., 1988, 'Rouletted Ware at Arikamedu: A New Approach', American journal ofArchaeology92: 427-40. --, 1996, Ancient Port ofArikamedu: New Excavationsand Researches198992, Paris: Ecole Frarn;aiseD'Extreme-Orient. Codrington, H.W, 1939, A Short Historyof Ceylon,London: Macmillan. Coningham, R.A.E., 1999, Anuradhapura:The British-SriLankan Excavations at Anuradhapura, Salgaha Watta 2, vol. 1: The Site (BAR International Series) 824. --, 2002, 'Beyond and Before the Imperial Frontiers: Early Historic Sri Lanka and the origins of Indian Ocean Trade', Man and Environment 27.1: 99-108. --, 2006, Anuradhapura, vol. 2: The Artefacts (BAR International Series) 1508, Oxford: Archaeopress. Coningham, R.A.E and P. Gunawardhana, 2013, Anuradhapura, vol. 3: The Hinterland (BAR International Series), Oxford: Archaeopress. Coningham, R.A.E., ER. Allchin, C.M. Batt and D. Lucy D., 1996, 'Passageto India? Anuradhapura and the Early Use of the Brahmi Script', Cambridge Archaeological journal 6( 1): 73-97. Deraniyagala, S.U., 1992, The Prehistoryof Sri Lanka:An EcologicalPerspective, Colombo: Archaeological Survey of Sri Lanka. Farmer, B.H., 1963, Ceylon:A Divided Nation, London: Oxford University Press.

52

Robin Coningham, Mark Manuel and Jo Shoebridge

Ford, L.A.,A.M. Pollard, R.A.E. Coningham and B. Stern, 2005, 'A Geochemical Investigation of the Origin of Rouletted and other Related South Asian fine wares', Antiquity 79 (306): 909-20. Kennet, D., 2004, Sasanian and Islamic Pottery from Ras al-Khaimah: Classification,Chronologyand Analysisof Tradein the WesternIndian Ocean, Oxford: Archaeopress. Nelson, WA., 2004, The Dutch forts of Sri Lanka: The Military Monuments of Ceylon,Edinburgh: Canongate. Survey,J affna: Ragupathy, P., 1987, EarlySettlementin jaffea: An Archaeological Thillimalar Ragupathy. Schenk, H., 2006, 'The Dating and Historical Value ofRouletted Ware', Zeitschrift far ArchaologieAufereuropaischerKulturen 1: 123-52. Shoebridge, J. and R.A.E. Coningham, 2011, 'Arikamedu Type 10 and the Reconstruction oflndian Ocean Networks of Contact', Journal of Indian OceanArchaeology6: 125-41. Sidebotham, S.E. and WZ. Wendrich (eds), 2007, Berenike1999/2000: Report on theExcavationsat Berenike,Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Silva, K.M. de, 1981, TheHistoryof Sri Lanka, Berkeley:University of California Press. Stern, B., J. Connan, E. Blakelock, R. Jackman, R.A.E. Coningham and C. Heron, 2008, 'From Susa to Anuradhapura: Reconstructing Aspects of Trade and Exchange in Bitumen-coated Ceramic Vesselsbetween Iran and Sri Lanka from the third to Ninth Centuries cE', Archaemoetry50.3: 409-28. Tomber, R., 2000, 'lndo-Roman Trade: The Ceramic Evidence from Egypt', Antiquity 7 4: 624-31. --, 2008, Indo-Roman Trade:FromPotsto Pepper,London: Duckworth. Wheeler, R.E.M., 1954, Rome Beyondthe ImperialFrontiers,London: Penguin. Wheeler, M., A. Ghosh and K. Deva, 1946, Arikamedu: An lndo-Roman Trading-Station on the East Coast oflndia', Ancient India 2: 17-124.

CHAPTER

3

Local Networks and Long-distance Trade: The Role of the Exchanges between Sri Lanka and India during the Mediterranean Trade ARIANE

de SAXCE

Recent archaeological fieldwork and studies in Sri Lanka and South India have opened the way to a re-evaluation of the role of local networks of circulation and trade between South Asia and the Mediterranean. Instead of considering that the Egyptian Greeks or Romans handled the trade by themselves, inaugurating routes and contacts, it appears that they rather followed and re-used networks that were existing locally long before the outburst of exchanges between the Roman Empire and India in the early centuries of the Common Era. As archaeological materials show, Sri Lanka seems to have been trading with western countries through the intermediary of Indian merchantmen before the Common Era and during the first three centuries CE. Then comes a shift in the trade distribution when contacts are redirected towards Sri Lanka in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. We would like to trace the evolution of this pattern from the fifth century BCE to the beginning of the seventh century CE, mainly through the archaeological artefacts. Thus, we will first consider what kind of relations connected Sri Lanka to India in the pre-Periplusperiod, including contacts with North India and Afghanistan, as well as South India. Particular attention will be given to the question of the circumnavigation of the island. Secondly, we will focus on the information suggested by

54

Ariane de Saxd

the Periplus itself, examined through the prism of network analysis, before lastly pointing out the change of situation by the end of the Roman Empire and after.

THE PRE-PERIPLUS TRADE BETWEEN SRI LANKA AND THE COASTS OF INDIA

Evidence from excavations in Sri Lanka during the last two decades and recently have shown ancient trade contacts with both coasts of North India, as well as close interaction with South India. These discoveries indicated a well-established system of maritime exchanges along the coasts and hinterland via the estuaries of rivers, at least from the fifth century BCE onwards. Moreover, not only the North and Dry Zone were strongly connected to South India but also the South and Wet Zone, with the use of circumnavigation, which paved the way for the Romans a few centuries later.

NORTHBOUND TRADE

Contacts with the north-west coast of India were already established at least from the fourth century BCE, as they are mentioned by the Greek authors accompanying Alexander, 1 and diverse pieces of evidence show them as regular after the introduction of Buddhism on the island in the middle of the third century BCE. Apart from chronicles and literary accounts, archaeological material, inscriptions and coins indicate trade relationships with Afghanistan and the north-west coast India. Thus, the site of Anuradhapura (citadel and Salgaha Watta 2) has yielded one sherd of Northern Black Polished ware from period 17, dated from 360 to 190 cal. 2 BCE, that suggests a link with North India where this ceramic type originates. In Tissamaharama, 3 one body sherd and one rim 1

Starting from Onesicritus; for further textual references, see Weerakkody,

1997. 2

3

Coningham et al., 2006, p. 165. Schenk, 2001, p. 128.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

55

sherd derived from phase cl, that is second century BCE, and 37 samples of Plain Grey ware, from phase a (fourth-third centuries BCE), imported as well from the north-west of India, may even indicate contacts before the mission of Mahinda in 250 BCE. This is in keeping with the 15 punch-marked coins, among which two from the same period I, put to light in this site. 4 Such type of coins has been recovered from the Citadel, the Jetavana and Abhayagiri viharas as well as from the south of the island in Tissamaharama, and in many places in hoards. Their circulation is testified by an early Brahmi inscription of the third century BCE referring to trade in kahapanas.5 They belong to a class which can be attributed to the middle and late Mauryan period, so that it is probable that they have reached the island with the first Buddhist contacts under King Asoka. 6 Besides, the absence of any Sri Lankan specific symbol indicates that these coins were imports from India. 7 Similarly, the Mahavarrzsarefers to eight kinds of pearls presented to King As oka by king Devanampiya Tissa (reigning from 250 to 210 BCE). 8 The presence of imported material in a hinterland site such as Anuradhapura in an early period was made possible by the typical trade pattern of South India and Sri Lanka, linking inner political centres to harbours on the coast. In that case, the site of Mantai, on the Palk Strait, was related to the capital city of Anuradhapura through the Aruvi Ari River, such as the southern capital of Ruhuna, Tissamaharama, was connected to the port of Kirinda thanks to the Kirindi Oya, or Ridiyagama to Godavaya with the Walawe Ganga. Among these sites, Mantai, 9 Anuradhapura and Ridiyagama 10 have yielded lapis lazuli beads or raw material, known for coming 4

Bopearachchi, 2006, p. 7. Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 105. 6 Bopearachchi, 2006, p. 16. 7 Ibid., referring to Codrington. 8 Rajan, 2002, p. 85. 9 Carswell, 1991, p. 200. 10 Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 107; 1999, p. 14. 5

56

Ariane de Saxd

from the famous source of Badakshan 11 in the north-east of Afghanistan or from Baluchistan. 12 Five beads have been discovered in Anuradhapura SW2 from periods I, G and F (360 BCE to 600 CE): as the stone does not occur naturally in Sri Lanka, 'it indicates that it is an imported item and that there must have been longdistance trade as early as 360 cal. BCE' . 13 It is also referred to among the 300,000 beads of the Jetanava treasure and has been preserved in traces underneath the line of geese of the ayaka of the stupa,14 attributed to the third century CE, showing a continuity of its use. In the reverse direction, Sri Lanka had to offer its own precious and semi-precious stones, such as those inserted in two rings discovered in the city of A1 Khanoum. This Greek town of Afghanistan was destroyed in the middle of the second century BCE, which gives a terminus ante quem for those jewels decorated with one sapphire and one ruby coming from Sri Lanka, complemented with diamonds from India. These links with Central Asia are correlated by several inscriptions referring to 'Kaboja' or 'Kabojikas', which Paranavitana interprets as 'Kamboja', a population of Arachosia in the extreme west of the Mauryan Empire, mentioned together with Yonas, Sakas and Gandharas in the texts. Several inscriptions from the southern kingdom of Rohana in Hambantota disctrict refer to 'kaboja' or 'kabojhiya' as a proper name; another inscription, from Kurunegala, close to Anuradhapura, refers to a corporation of 'kabojikas'. Their organization in a corporation may allude to their involvement in trade. 15 Thus, these pieces of evidence invite us to consider that there was an established system of exchanges between Sri Lanka, Central Asia and the north-west of India from the third century BCE at 11

Von Rosen, 1988, p. 11: 'the earliest literary attested source of lapis lazuli and also the hitherto richest source oflapis lazuli is Badakshan in northeast Arghanistan'. 12 Coningham et al., 2006, p. 377. 13 Ibid. 14 Unesco, 1993, p. 84. 15 Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 108.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

57

least. The coastal journey along the west and east coasts of India must have facilitated stopovers and redistribution of products in the peninsula, such as carnelian on the west coast and Rouletted ware on the eastern side. Carnelian appears in volcanic traps of the central Deccan plateau, where it has been a source of raw material since Harappan times. 16 When the rock disintegrates, the nodules of chalcedony, which are harder than the matrix, are released. 17 By 200 BCE, Ujjain was one production centre among many others which are still to be identified. 18 Studies on modern techniques, that seem to be in continuity with ancient ones, suggest that the raw material was extracted, baked and then exported to be finished on another site, as from the Narmada Valley to Cambay for example. 19 In Sri Lanka, many beads, intaglios or cameo blanks testify to the export of this material to the coastal cities and the inland centres. In the Jetavana treasure, among 16 intaglios, the majority are in carnelian and, except for two of them, depict local humped bulls or local animals. Moreover, carnelian blanks also indicate that seal carving was practised using an imported material. 20 In Anuradhapura, a total of 102 pieces of carnelian have been discovered, with 13 rings. They date from 510 BCE to 1100 CE, and bead debitage is the predominant form, suggesting local manufacture, especially during period G (c. 200 cal. BCE-CE 130 cal.). 21 Even in the south and south-west coasts, carnelian has been attested, notably in Kataragama 22 and Ridiyagama. 23 The port of Mantai, close to India, has also shown beads similar to those excavated in India. 24 Even the site of Ibbankatuwa, dated between the seventh and the fourth centuries BCE has yielded etched carnelian 16

Roux and Pelegrin, 2000. Allchin, 1979, p. 92. 18 Ibid., p. 97. 19 Ibid., p. 101. 20 Unesco, 1993, p. 83. 21 Coningham et al., 2006, p. 380. 22 Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 107. 23 Bopearachchi, 1999, p. 16. 24 Carswell, 1991, p. 202. 17

58

Ariane de Saxd

beads, 25 thus indicating the wide network of connections in the subcontinent from the middle of the first millennium BCE. The presence of horse bones and teeth in Anuradhapura 26 can be interpreted in two ways: one famous source could have been Ferghana in Afghanistan and they would have followed the west coast of India with the other goods mentioned above, but it can also be assumed that they might have come through the eastern route. Indeed, a seal discovered in Chandraketugarh depicting a horse in a ship, and the indication of the import of horses at Kaveripattinam in the Patfinappalai, suggest that 'horses, brought probably from the north-west of India, were shipped from Chandraketugarh to various ports on the east coast of India for inland destinations in South India and Sri Lanka', 27 all the more so as the east coast is the place of expansion of the Rouletted ware, the exact origin of which is still in debate. Ford et al. 28 are inclined to believe in one single geological source and similar techniques, whereas Magee 29 divides several groups in Ford et al. results, showing a different origin for Rouletted ware and Grey ware in Anuradhapura. Gogte 30 and Schenk 31 rather favour the hypothesis of several production centres in the plains of North India, whether in Bengal or in the middle Ganga plains or both. 32 In all perspectives, even though local imitations have been made, the distribution map of Rouletted ware and its presence in Tissamaharama from the third century BCE, indicate dose cultural interactions on the eastern side of the peninsula, even perhaps following the dispersion of the Buddhist monks. 33 In the south-west of the island, the site of Kelaniya, 34 in a ceramic assemblage indicating an occupation from the third 25

Coningham, 2002, p. 104. Ibid. 27 Gogte, 1997, p. 81. 28 Ford et al., 2005. 29 Magee, 2010. 30 Gogte, 1997, 2001. 31 Schenk, 2006. 32 Ibid., p. 140. 33 Schenk, 2001, p. 130. 34 Bopearachchi, 1999, p. 13. 26

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

59

century BCEto the second century CE, revealed some Rouletted sherds, for the first time in this part of Sri Lanka. Their context was radio-carbon dated between 250 and 185 BCEfor some of them and 115 BCEto 25 CE for the rest. 35 It indicates early links between the west coast of Sri Lanka and the east coast of India. This continuity of contacts and probable redistribution along the coasts of India up to the north most probably took advantage of the close links existing between Sri Lanka and the southern part of India since the Iron Age. INTERACTION WITHSOUTHINDIA Culturally the similarities between Iron Age settlements in South India and in Sri Lanka have been underlined, for example in the early phase of Anuradhapura, where the phase J dated from 510 to 340 BCEshows strong affinities with the Iron Age cultural traditions of peninsular India, 36 so that in terms of commerce these cultural connections may have played a part in facilitating the trade exchanges. Cultural parallels have been shown in particular by the study of graffiti marks achieved by K. Rajan and Osmund Bopearachchi, 37 comparing the results of the excavations in Kodumanal, Tamil Nadu, and in Ridiyagama, in the south of Sri Lanka. The graffiti under study are thought to be clan marks, as in Kodumanal each megalithic burial was associated with a special symbol engraved on all its pottery. 38 Nevertheless, in the habitational context more than 50 marks have been observed, which seems too much for clan signs or may at least indicate some other meaning associated with the marks. They are all post-firing graffiti, engraved most often on the shoulder of Black and Red ware, and are found in Kodumanal during the late phase of the Megalithic period. The similarities of symbols-like the moon, the ladder or the swastika-between 35

Ibid., p. 20. Coningham, 2002, p. 103. 37 Bopearachchi and Rajan, 2002. 38 Ibid., p. I 04. 36

60

Ariane de Saxd

Kodumanal and Ridiyagama, and the widespread area where similar marks are found, 39 including Kelaniya and Mantai in Sri Lanka or Korkai and Alagankulam on the Indian side of the Palk Strait, invite us to consider close social and maybe political and economic links between central Tamil Nadu and the southern coast of Sri Lanka. These economic links appear indeed in some of the archaeological material of Tissamaharama and Ridiyagama, particularly the beads. We have already evoked the lapis lazuli and carnelian of Tissa; another stone deserves attention as far as movements are concerned: the garnet. Its composition can be analysed with precision and corresponds to specific geological contexts, related either to Sri Lanka or to India. In Sri Lanka, the production area is centred around Ratnapura, or Ambalantota and Embilipitia, and delivers garnets of the almandine-pyrope composition. 40 The majority of the garnets, either from Tissa or from Sri Lanka, match the composition of the Ratnapura raw material samples. 41 But six garnet beads of Tissamaharama/ Akurugoda bear a highly almandine composition typical of India. 42 The comparison with south Indian garnets matches with them and implies an import either of the raw material or of the finished products. 43 In Ridiyagama, the commercial orientation of the site is made obvious by the high quantity of punch-marked coins (and later by Roman third brass), 44 for a settlement dated between the fourth century BCE and the seventh century CE, 45 where more than 150 types of semi-precious stone and glass beads have been recovered, showing many similarities with south Indian typologies. 39

Ibid., p. 97: 'such marks are reported from sites like Karur, Alagankulam, Uraiyur, Kodumanal, Arikamedu and Korkai in Tamil Nadu andAriuradhapura, Kantarodai, Manthai, Kelaniya, Ridiyagama and Pomparippu in Sri Lanka'. 40 Perin et al., 2007, pp. 71-2; see also Calligaro et al., 2006. 41 Schussler, Rosch, and Hock, 2001, p. 240. 42 Perin et al., 2007, p. 5. 43 Schussler, Rosch, and Hock, 2001, p. 241. 44 Bopearachchi, 1999, p. 16. 45 Ibid., p. 13.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

61

More generally, the compositional analyses of glass beads in Sri Lanka and in South India deserve attention. Let us compare for example the results for Tamil Nadu 46 and for Sri Lanka. 47 In both areas the mineral lime soda glass (m-Na-Al) dominates with 41 and 43 per cent of the samples respectively: this glass was probably produced in South India, on sites like Appur or Manikollai, and largely distributed in South Asia. No production site is known so far in Sri Lanka: it may thus have been imported from India. However, the mixed soda-potash glass seems to have been produced on the site of Giribawa on the west coast of Sri Lanka, where furnaces and slags have been put to light, as well as raw fragments showing this particular composition, together with finished beads of mNa-Al. Interestingly, it represents 20 per cent of the glass in Sri Lanka, and 2 per cent for Tamil Nadu: 48 it corresponds to orange annular beads, widely distributed, and red disc-shaped beads, only found in South India and in Sri Lanka. 49 As they represent a big amount in Kelaniya as well (33 per cent), their production on the west coast and export to India seems likely. It shows how the west coast of Sri Lanka could have been in contact with the east coast of India and with the East in general, supposing the circumnavigation of the island. Another noticeable point is the presence in Kelaniya (8 per cent of the glass) and in the southern sites of Tissamaharama (26 per cent) and Ridiyagama ( 19 per cent) of the mineral soda calcareous glass with alumina (m-Na-Ca), which is often associated with cobalt blue beads of South-East Asian origin, suggesting as well that the local sailors were used to travel around the island, probably using the southern sites as redistribution centres (Tissamaharama showing for example a very balanced picture between m-Na-Al, mixed soda-potash and m-Na-Ca, each representing 26 per cent of the analysed glass). The recent discovery of a shipwreck in the south, close to the 46

Gratuze and Guillaume, 2012. James Lankton, 2013. 48 Gratuze and Guillaume, 2012, p. 140. 49 Ibid., p. 133. 47

62

Ariane de Saxd

harbour of Godavaya, requires attention as another indication of navigation around the island at an early date. The harbour of Godavaya had already given some pieces of evidence for trade, through a Prakrit-Brahmi inscription of the second century CE 50 located in the Buddhist vihara on top of the rock dominating the sea. It refers to the grant by the king of the duties of the market place to the monastery 51 and has been interpreted as an indication of the customs levied in the port on the goods coming from the seatrade. 52 The monastery could even have been involved somehow in trade and sailing activities, as the stupa was a clearly visible landmark from the sea for the sailors. The shipwreck itself ,53 radio-carbon dated of the second or the first century BCE, 54 gives some clues for relations with South India and, if this is confirmed, will be the best evidence for navigation along the east coasts of India and Sri Lanka until the southern ports of the country, and maybe further. The biggest part of the cargo visible on surface consists of iron, mingled with wooden pieces, 55 and might be related to the iron industry put to light in Ridiyagama, the city connected to Godavaya through the Walawe Ganga. As most of the 'Indian Iron' mentioned in the classical texts 56 must have included Sri Lankan iron or steel, 57 the production from Ridiyagama and the cargo of the Godavaya shipwreck might have been part of a local exchange with India, premise of a long distance trade later with the Red Sea. Secondly, one of the stone querns discovered is adorned with three different auspicious symbols: two fishes, one nandipada and one srzvatsa. Even though the last two are Brahmanical symbols, the first related to Siva and the second to Vi~r:iu, they are present in a Buddhist context on the ayaka of the Jetavanarama Dagoba for 50

Paranavitana, 1970, p. 101. Falk, 2001, pp. 327-30, referring to the interpretations ofHettiarachchi, Bopearachchi, Roth and Kessler. 52 Ibid., p. 329. 53 Bopearachchi, Dissanayaka, and Perera, 2013. 54 Trethewey, 2012, p. 29. 55 Ibid. 56 Periplus6 for instance. 57 Bopearachchi, 1999, p. 16. 51

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

63

example. 58 Besides, the discovery of similar grinding stones in the premises of the Yatala stupa in Tissamaharama invites one to make the hypothesis of a Buddhist context for the shipwreck symbols. Joint with the inscription mentioned above, these signs may allow us to suggest some connection of the ship with Buddhist trading activities, maybe circulating between the Buddhist sites of India and Sri Lanka with several stops along the coast. The last element that hints at a trade link with South India is the chemical composition of the glass. Some semi-circular glass ingots have been discovered on the surface of the site and two samples have been analysed. 59 Their chemical composition consists of mineral soda glass with high alumina (m-Na-Al), probably dating to the second or the first century BCE. The general composition indicates a possible manufacture in South India, as it shares many chemical features with the glasses found on the Tamil coast, where manufacturing sites are known like Appur or Manikollai, even though the trace elements do not exactly match with any site in particular, at this stage of our knowledge. Thus it does not correspond to a particular glass from Arikamedu, nor to the Sri Lankan site of Giribawa, with its furnaces of mixed alcali glass. The Godavaya glass has a very high percentage of vanadium, which has no exact equivalent on excavated sites of India or Sri Lanka. The closest one could be Alagankulam, which is very significant as it is the closest port to Sri Lanka, and as a whole 'the results strongly suggest a South Indian origin for the Godavaya glass'.60 Thus, the Godavaya shipwreck gives another clue for an early Inda-Sri Lankan trade and for the circumnavigation of the island by sailors at an early date, long before the Greeks started using this route, probably by the time of Ptolemy in the second century CE, as his good knowledge of the island indicates. Lastly, evidence of traders circulating between Tami\akam and Sri Lanka is given by seven Sinhala-Prakrit inscriptions, written in the Brahmi script, found in Tamil Nadu on the sites of Arikamedu 58

Bopearachchi, Dissanayaka, and Perera, 2013. Lankton and Bernard Gratuze, in Bopearachchi, Dissanayaka, and Perera, 2013. GOIbid. 59 James

Ariane de Saxd

64

(2), Alagankulam (4) and Kodumanal (1), and listed by I. Mahadevan. 61 They have among other specific linguistic features some genitive suffixes in -sa or -ha and the de-aspiration of the aspirates typical of Sinhala-Prakrit. 62 They are dated palaeographically or by stratigraphy from the second century BCE to the first century CE. 'The occurrence of these characters in Tamil Nadu, particularly at the ports and trade centers, suggest their frequent interaction.' 63 Vice versa, inscriptions referring to Tamil names in Sri Lanka testify for the presence of south Indian traders on the island. Thus, one inscription in Anuradhapura refers to a Tamil householder while two inscriptions from Periya-Puliyankulam allude to a Tamil merchant called Visaka. 64 An inscribed coin reading mahacattan and alluding probably to a big Tamil trader 65 and coins discovered in the area of Tissamaharama bearing Tamil names 66 are other evidence. This constant interaction between the Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka, where specific products such as pearls, textiles or precious stones were in demand, according to Indian and classical literary accounts, paved the way for the later intermediary role of Indian middlemen with western merchants, as the Periplustestifies in its lists of goods available in the markets of India and Sri Lanka. THE TRADE PATTERN DURING AND AFTER THE ROMAN EMPIRE THE EARLY EMPIRE

By the time of the Periplusin the first century CE, and during the Early Empire, it seems that these links were used by Indians to take care of the trade with the West and keep Sri Lanka away from 61

Mahadevan, 1996, two more inscriptions studied in this article come from West Bengal. 62 Ibid., p. 61. 63 Rajan, 2002, p. 92. 64 Bopearachchi, 2008, pp. 16-17. 65 Rajan, 2002, p. 94. 66 Bopearachchi, 2008, pp. 17-20.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

65

direct transactions with merchants of the Red Sea. It is broadly attested by the contrast between thousands of early imperial denarii and aurei discovered in India and their nearly absence in Sri Lanka. 67 But the Periplusitself and some other kinds of evidence also testify for the non-direct connections of Sri Lanka with the western areas. Two well-known passages of the Periplusand their interpretation by Casson 68 deserve attention. In the paragraph 60, the author distinguishes the arrival of goods from the West once a year in Muziris and a continuous trade on the coasts throughout the year, distributing slowly the merchandise and money arrived all at once. It means that local boats were dedicated to the transshipment and carriage of goods from the west coast to the east coast, hypothesis reinforced by the distinctions made by the author between three sorts of boats. The local ones, topika ploia, are doing the coastal travels, the biggest ones, kolandiophonta, are bound for the East and China; the third category, sangara, are described as double monoxylous united by a platform. If there is, as it seems, a specialization of craft depending on their destination, the first category going west, the third one going east, it seems that those double monoxylous or outrigger boats are going to Sri Lanka. The double monoxylous are still in use today as ferries but only on rivers, and would not seem very stable at sea, so that the Greek phrase (literally 'big joint monoxylous') might be interpreted as ships with outrigger, maybe of the Sri Lankan type yatra dhoni. As far as networks are concerned, one may attempt a different kind of exegesis of the Periplus. The analysis of the text content with tools of social network analysis is interesting in a heuristic point of view. When creating a diagram of the different categories of imported and exported goods, Barygaza appears unsurprisingly in the first position for the diversity of the goods exchanged, thus obviously confirming its role of transshipment point. It can be noted that the carnelian referred to earlier is included in the goods transiting from the Deccan sites to the Indian Ocean through Barygaza. 69 It could have been one of the products traded by the 67

Bopearachchi, 1992. Casson, 1989. 69 Periplus48, 49. 68

66

Ariane de Saxd

sailor mentioned in the Brahml inscription from Bagavalena, indicating the gift of a cave by this sailor travelling to Bharukaccha. 70 The diagram reveals however that the ports of Nelcynda, Muziris and Bacare appear also in good position. The representation through graphs makes it visible that Barygaza in the first place, and Muziris in the second, consisted in big exchange places, importing even more than they exported. On the contrary, the situation of Taprobane, only indicated as exporting, prevents any interpretation as an intermediary market. More interestingly, among the four items mentioned for Taprobane, three have a shared network with Muziris: the gems, the pearls and the tortoise shell; the fourth one-the textiles-is in common with Barygaza. It points out a specialization in the networks, probably related to questions of demand and supply: it would have been more convenient to export gems and pearls to the Malabar coast, where western merchants came in search of beryl and were probably specialized in gems and luxury items, and to send the textiles to Barygaza, where they could find their way with famous muslins and cotton from Ter or Paithan, for merchants with other specifications. If we go further and check on the graph what would be the path between Taprobane and Muziris, we find Barygaza as an intermediary, which could seem absurd in terms of geography but not necessarily in terms of economics and can broaden our understanding of the complexity of trade networks. Sri Lanka can be exporting textiles to Barygaza, and Muziris importing grain from Barygaza, specially as grain is mentioned as an import and an export in Barygaza. At the end of the fourth century BCE, Onesicritus already described Barygaza as a reloading point, especially for Sri Lanka. 71 The situation seems to have continued in the time of the Periplus, when Mediterranean merchants could take advantage of it. The gems and other goods could be exported from Sri Lanka to India and from there to the west, as some sapphires attested in Italy can testify. The mummy of a young girl, discovered on the 70 71

Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 107. Schenk,2007,p.63.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

67

site of Grottarossa to the north of Rome, 72 buried in a sarcophagus, was not only found with an ivory doll and wearing a dress of Chinese silk but she also wore a necklace of gold and sapphires, which were analyzed as originating from Sri Lanka. The type of burial, the objects accompanying the dead and the decoration of the sarcophagus, with scenes from the Eneide, indicate a date of the second century CE. The type of embalming and the physical condition of the young girl, rachitic and maybe phthisical, hints at a travel in Egypt, maybe in Alexandria, which climate was reputed to cure pulmonary diseases73 and would have been aimed at healing the little girl, later embalmed so that she could be brought back to Rome. Egypt, where Alexandria was the nodal point for the supply of eastern goods, would have been the best place to find the mortuary offerings. The collection of ivory (probably from India or Sri Lanka), silk from China and sapphires from Sri Lanka, gives a good image of the intermediary role of India in the first centuries of the Common Era, directly linked to Egypt. The study of pottery from South Arabian and Persian Gulf sites shows the active role played by Indians in the trade and these ports as reloading places before going further west. Kane and Muza are also referred to in the Periplus as transshipment points and, for example, Muza is mentioned as importing and exporting ivory and tortoise shell, both products for which Sri Lanka is one possible origin, among other possibilities. The study of Turquoise Glazed pottery from Tissamaharama has evidenced the presence of sherds with a range of date from the first century BCE to the first half of the first century CE. 74 Their context shows that they have been discarded in the second century CE. Contrary to what was usually thought, it reveals contacts between the Persian Gulf and Sri Lanka before the Sassanids, during the Parthian period. Heidrun Schenk shows that transshipment centers like Qana and Sumhuram already worked in the first century BCE passing goods from Mesopotamia to Sri Lanka, probably via the intermediary of Muziris, 72

Scamuzzi, 1964. Scamuzzi, 1965, 77-80 74 Schenk, 2007, p. 62. 73

Ariane de Saxd

68

where 1,736 fragments of Turquoise Glazed pottery and 3,684 sherds of torpedo jar from Mesopotamia have been discovered during the seven seasons of excavations. 75 The latter type reveals the continuation of trade by the end of the Roman Empire and later.

THE LATE EMPIRE AND AFTER

From the fourth and fifth centuries CE onwards, it is well known that the links of Sri Lanka with Rome and with Persia appear to have taken a direct route, made obvious by the thousands of Roman third brass found on the island, that seem to have been in circulation, as the example of Sigiriya, where no other means of exchange has been found, testifies. 76 As much as Romans, Persians and South Arabians seem to have played a dominant role in the trade during this period. In Sigiriya, Osmund Bopearachchi has put into relief the importance of the model of the Moghol gardens in the conception and the organization of the Sigiriya pleasure gardens. 77 He has shown how the symmetrical manipulation of water, the frequent presence of stone water channels and the fourfold division of the garden were related to the Sassanian gardens, themselves influenced by the quadripartite Achaemenid gardens of Cyrus in Pasargadae. 78 Besides, the nestorian cross found in Anuradhapura can testify of those contacts with Persia. The contacts with Mesopotamia are attested through the presence of \orpedo jar', this late neckless cylindrical jar that is generally considered as a wine container during Sassanian times. 79 It has been noticed on the island on the sites of Mantai, Anuradhapura and Tissamaharama, 80 plus three sherds on the recently excavated 75

Cherian, 2013. Bopearachchi, 1990. 77 Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 111-13. 78 Bopearachchi, 2002, p. 112. 79 Tomber, 2009, p. 50. 80 Tomber, 2008, p. 126-7. 76

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

69

site of Kuchchaveli on the East coast. 81 The discoveries on that site, which most important period of occupation is beyond the sixth century CE, confirm the account of Cosmas that Sri Lanka is a crossroads for international trade, through the presence of Roman coins, Red Polished ware, Torpedo jar and Chinese ware altogether, showing its intermediary place between east and west. The development of the studies of Red Polished ware have particularly renewed the understanding of the trade links with India. It is not any more considered only as a sign of first century CE contacts with Gujarat, as it used to be by reference to Deccan sites and links with the Roman trade. Careful analyses of typology and paste have shown late productions of this ware. In Anuradhapura, 92 sherds have been found, with a date range of 200 BCE to 1100 CE; 82 in Tissamaharama, different vessel forms are found, from the first century BCE layers to the eighth-ninth centuries CE (phase h). It then denotes early medieval contacts with India, as well as on South Arabian sites like Qal'at al-Bahrain or al-Shihr (Yemen), 83 were this pottery has been identified, also from a late context. D. Kennet diagnosed a continuous use as late as the eighth century CE. 84 It is interesting to note that it is then an evidence of late contacts between India, Sri Lanka and the Arabian peninsula. Late commercial contacts between Sri Lanka and the West, in parallel with Indian products, were recently proved also with studies on garnet jewelry during the Merovingian times in Gaul. 85 We have already alluded to the difference between the Indian and Sri Lankan garnet. On the cloisonne style, five groups of different garnets have been used. Among them, three are located in South Asia and are big enough to be employed in big pieces to make those jewels: one source is in Rajasthan, the type 1 of almandines, another 81

Excavations of the Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka, and the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, under the direction ofN. Perera and 0. Bopearachchi; publication forthcoming. 82 Coningham, Ford et al. 2006, p. 168. 83 Schenk, 2007, p. 67. 84 Ibid. 85 Calligaro et al., 2006.

70

Ariane de Saxd

one in Sri Lanka, the type 3 of pyraldines and a third one, the type 2, of almandines, is not yet identified and may be from South India or from Rajasthan as well. The type 3 has recently been divided between Sri Lanka and Orissa. They are the sources of the major part of the jewelry in France in the sixth century CE and the cloisonne style stops at the beginning of the seventh century for unexplained reasons of a shortage in the supplies. This shortage is made clear by some tombs decorated with jewels prepared for a cloisonne but without the garnets that are supposed to be inserted. Nevertheless, it indicates a continuity of trade between Sri Lanka, India and the West at a late period. Thus, this short panorama of Sri Lankan participation in the trade shows that the existant local exchanges established before the direct contacts with the Greco-Roman world have been dense and rich enough to prepare the way to long distance trade and facilitate further transactions. The role of Sri Lanka in the western part of the Indian Ocean follows an evolving pattern from close relationships with India playing an intermediary role to a more international and direct involvement in these exchanges as a trade platform between Rome, China, Persia, Arabia and even the Barbarian kingdoms after the end of the Roman Empire.

REFERENCES Allchin, B. 1979, 'The Agate and Carnelian Industry of Western India and Pakistan', in SouthAsianArchaeology1975,91-105, Leiden: Brill. Bopearachchi, Osmund, 1990, 'Some Observations on Roman Coins Found in Recent Excavations at Sigiriya', Ancient Ceylon7: 20-3 7. --, 1992, 'Le Commerce Maritime entre Rome et Sri Lanka d' apres les donnees numismatiques', RevuedesEtudesAnciennes94 (1-2): 107-21. --, 1999, 'Sites Portuaires et Emporia de l'ancien Sri Lanka: nouvelles donnees archeologiques', ArtsAsiatiques,no. 54: 5-22. --, 2002, 'Archaeological Evidence on Shipping Communities of Sri Lanka', in Shipsand the Developmentof Maritime Technologyin the Indian Ocean, 92-127, London; New York: Routledge Curzon.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade --,

71

2006, 'Coins', inAnuradhapura, 7-26. Oxford, Royaume-Uni:Archaeopress. --, 2008, Tamil Traders in Sri Lanka and Sinhalese Traders in Tamil Nadu. Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Bopearachchi, Osmund, Senarath Dissanayaka and Nimal Perera, 2013, 'Recent Archaeological Evidence on the Maritime Trade in the Indian Ocean: Shipwreck at Godavaya', in The Ports of the Indian Oceanfrom the Red Sea to the Gulf of Bengal, Calcutta. Bopearachchi, Osmund and K. Rajan, 2002, 'Graffiti Marks ofKodumanal (India) and Ridiyagama (Sri Lanka)-A Comparative Study', Man and EnvironmentXXVII (2): 97-105. Calligaro, Thomas, Patrick Perin, Frarn;oise Vallet and Jean-Paul Poirot, 2006, 'Contribution a l' etude des grenats merovingiens, nouvelles analyses gemmologiques et geochimiques effectuees au Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musees de France', Antiquites Nationales 38: 111-44. Carswell, John, 1991, 'The Port of Mantai, Sri Lanka', in Rome and India: The Ancient Sea Trade, 197-203. Madison (Wis.): University of Wisconsin press. Casson, Lionel, 1989, The Periplus Maris Erythraei, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Cherian, P.J ., 2013, 'Indian Ocean Maritime Network and the Archaeological Evidence from Pattanam, India'. Communication in the Seminar Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean RegionsandMuziris. Colloquium held in lrinjalakuda, Kerala. Coningham, Robin, 2002, 'Beyond and Before the Imperial Frontiers: Early Historic Sri Lanka and the Origins of Indian Ocean Trade', Man and EnvironmentXXVII (1): 99-108. Coningham, Robin, Daniella Burroni, Randolph Donahue, and Louise Ford, 2006, 'Stone Objects', in Anuradhapura: The British-Sri Lankan Excavations at Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta 2. Volume 2, The Artefacts. 3 77 -429. Oxford: Archaeopress. Coningham, Robin, Louise Ford, Steven Cheshire and Ruth Young, 2006, 'Unglazed Ceramics', in Anuradhapura: The British-Sri Lankan Excavations atAnuradhapura Salgaha Watta2. Volume 2, The Artefacts. 127-331. Oxford: Archaeopress. Falk, Harry, 2001, 'Three Epigraphs from Go?avaya, Sri Lanka', in Ancient Ruhuna?: Sri Lankan-German Archaeological Project in the Southern Province, 327-34. Mainz: P.von Zabern. Ford, L. A., A. M. Pollard, R. A. E. Coningham and B. Stem, 2005, 'A Geochemical Investigation of the Origin of Rouletted and Other Related South Asian Fine Wares', Antiquity 79 (306): 909-20.

72

Ariane de Saxd

Gogte, Vishwas D., 1997, 'The Chandraketugarh-TamlukRegion ofBengal: Source of the Early Historic Rouletted Ware from India and Southeast Asia', Man and Environment XXII ( 1): 69-8 5. --, 2001, 'XRD Analysis of the Rouletted Ware and Other Fine Grey Ware from Tissamaharama', in Ancient Ruhuna?:Sri Lankan-German ArchaeologicalProjectin the Southern Province,197 -202, Mainz: P.von Zabern. Gratuze, Bernard, and Sarah Guillaume, 2012, 'Analysis ofTamil Nadu Glass Beads: Application to the Study oflnland Glass Trade', in New Dimensions in TamilEpigraphy,129-43, Chennai: Cre-A. Lankton, James W, 2013, 'Scientific Study of the Godavaya Glass Ingots: New Insight into Early Glass Production and Exchange in South Asia', in Maritime Tradeand CulturalInteractionsin the Indian Ocean.Colloquium held in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. Magee, Peter, 2010, 'Revisiting Indian Rouletted Ware and the Impact of Indian Ocean Trade in Early Historic South Asia', Antiquity 84: 1043-54. Mahadevan, lravatham, 1996, 'Old Sinhalese Inscriptions from Indian Ports: New Evidence for Ancient India-Sri Lanka Contacts', journal of the Institute ofAsian StudiesXIV: 55-65. Paranavitana, S. 1970, Inscriptionsof Ceylon,Colombo: Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. Perin, Patrick, Thomas Calligaro, Frarn;:oiseVallet, Jean-Paul Poirot, and Dominique Bagault, 2007, 'Provenancing Merovingian Garnets by PIXE and I-Raman Spectrometry', in Post-RomanTowns,Tradeand Settlementin Europeand Byzantium, 69-75, pl. 5, 6. Berlin; New York: De Gruyter. Rajan, K. 2002, 'Maritime Trade in Early Historic Tamil Nadu', Man and Environment XXVII (1): 83-98. Roux, Valentine and Jacques Pelegrin, 2000, Cornalinede l1nde?:despratiques techniquesde Cambayaux techno-systelmes de l1ndus,Paris: Ed. de la Maison des sciences de l'homme. Scamuzzi, Ugo, 1964, 'Studio SullaMummia Di Bambina, Cosidetta "Mummia Di Grottarossa'', Rinvenuta a Roma, Sulla Via Cassia, 115-2-1964', Rivista Di Studi ClassiciXII (3): 264-80. --, 1965, 'La 'Mummia Di Grottarossa', Aegyptus45 (1/2): 74-83. Schenk, Heidrun, 2001, 'The Development of Pottery at Tissamaharama', in Ancient Ruhuna?:Sri Lankan-GermanArchaeological Projectin the Southern Province,59-195, Mainz: P.von Zabern. --, 2006, 'The Dating and Historical Value ofRouletted Ware', Zeitschrift FurArchaologieAufereuropaischer Kulturen 1: 123-52. --, 2007, 'Parthian Glazed Pottery from Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean Trade', ZeitschriftFur ArchaologieAufereuropaischerKulturen2: 57-90.

Local Networks and Long-Distance Trade

73

Schussler, U., C. Rosch and R. Hock, 2001, 'Beads from Ancient Sri LankaFirst Results of a Systematic Material Analysis', in Ancient Ruhuna?: Sri Lankan-German ArchaeologicalProjectin the Southern Province,227 -42, Mainz: P.von Zabern. Tomber, Roberta, 2008, Indo-Roman Trade?:From Pots to Pepper,London: Duckworth. --, 2009, 'Beyond Western India: The Evidence from Imported Amphorae', in Migrations, Trade and Peoples:European Association of South Asian Archaeologists. ProceedingsoftheEighteenthCongress,London, 2005: 42-57, London: The British Association for South Asian Studies, The British Academy. Trethewey, Ken, 2012, 'The Oldest Known Ship in the Indian Ocean', INA Quarterly39 (1-2): 28-9. Unesco, 1993, The Cultural Triangleof Sri Lanka, Paris; Colombo: Unesco; Central Cultural Fund. Von Rosen, Lissie, 1988, Lapis Lazuli in GeologicalContexts and in Ancient WrittenSources.Partille: P.Astrom. Weerakkody, D .P.M., 1997, Taprobane:Ancient Sri Lanka asKnown to Greeks and Romans,Turnhout: Brepols.

CHAPTER

4

From the Mediterranean to South Asia: The Odyssey of an Indian Merchant in Roman Times STEVEN

E. SIDEBOTHAM

INTRODUCTION This paper presents the journey of an imaginary Indian merchant named Kanan, who was away for over a year and was eager to return home. The voyage back home was a long one and began when he travelled from the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, up the Nile River to Koptos and across the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea emporium of Berenike. From there Kanan sailed south landing at Ptolemais Epitheron and Adulis on the African Red Sea coast before arriving at the South Arabian Indian Ocean port of Qana'. He changed ships at Qana' for his onward journey to Pattanam/Muziris on the Kerala/Malabar coast of India. The final leg of his long trip took him by ship around Toprobane/Sri Lanka to Poduke (Arikamedu) about 1 km up the Ariyankuppam River just off the Bay of Bengal on the Coromandel Coast (Figure 4. 1).

KANAN'S TRIP BACK TO INDIA Kanan was deeply impressed by Alexandria in Egypt, one of the four or five largest cities in the Roman Empire. Once he completed delivery of his consignment of goods from India to his Egyptian counterpart he took time out to do some site-seeing. He visited the famous library and museum/research centre. He also gazed on

From the Mediterranean to South Asia

77

the body of Alexander the Great, which at that time was embalmed in honey inside a transparent glass sarcophagus. From afar he saw the famous lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient classical Mediterranean world. He was impressed by Alexandria's several large harbours and by the incredible diversity of languages and peoples that populated the teeming metropolis. Kanan boarded a felucca, a type of small Egyptian boat that had plied the Nile for thousands of years. In order to sail south against the Nile River's strong current, the felucca captain hoisted two lateen sails; the strong prevailing north winds carried the boat and its cargo, crew and passengers to the Nile port of Koptos. Koptos was a very ancient city known in pharaonic times as Gebtu and its chief god was Min, a figure sacred to many crossing or working and living in the adjacent Eastern Desert. Kanan stayed in Koptos a few days until he could arrange passage on a caravan headed across the desert to Berenike, which lay on the Red Sea coast about 380 km to the south-east of Koptos. The caravan comprised 22 camels and a mixed group of people and cargoes; the trip took 12 days. The weather was hot during the day, but cooled off quickly after sunset; there was no humidity, something Kanan knew well from his home in Poduke. Drinking water had to be rationed; there was no bathing on this trip. Using fast-moving camels, the leader of the caravan, a middle-aged Egyptian man who had made this trip many times, was in a hurry on this occasion, as he had a few supplies and messages he had to deliver to soldiers manning several of the praesidia along the route. Praesidia were Roman forts built with locally acquired stones, mainly cobbles and boulders from the surrounding desert. Most of these praesidia were relatively small and accommodated only a few dozen people at the most. These included soldiers, a few prostitutes and civilian workers and some itinerant merchants, like Kanan, en route between Berenike and Koptos or between one of the many gold or emerald mines in the region and the Nile. Most of these forts had towers at each of the four corners and the larger ones also had towers flanking the main gate. The interiors of most praesidiahada large well (hydreumain Greek) in the centre surrounded by rooms, which were storage facilities for food, barracks, a small

78

Steven E. Sidebotham

intramural bath and a shrine to the patron deity or deities of the fort. Kanan noted that some of the praesidiahad no interior wells, but rather had water from the very infrequent, heavy rains channelled from nearby mountain tops into large cisterns located inside them. He also saw that most of these praesidia lay on low ground rather than atop nearby hills or mountains. Clearly, these forts were designed to control the desert routes and their precious water supplies; they were not intended to control vast swathes of territory. The leader of Kanan's caravan also had to purchase some supplies for his mounts and obtain drinking water for his charges at some of these praesidia.The caravan did not always camp at or near one of these praesidia;sometimes the camels, their caretakers, the caravan leader and his few passengers spent the night adjacent to the road, but out of sight of any of the forts. They did stop at a few of the many praesidia along the Berenike- Koptos road during the twelveday crossing. These included a large one by the name of Didymoi that lay in the Wadi Zeydun. They also spent the night just outside the walls of another fort called Aphrodito in Khashm al-Menih. Moving south-east along the road they next spent the night at Dios/ Jovis and then at Aristonis, also known as Xeron, in Wadi Gerf. The next time his caravan spent the night near one of the praesidia was when it arrived at Apollonos, a huge fort in the Wadi Gemal. From there the caravan had a night or two along the road some distance from any forts. It then camped near the water catchment facility in Wadi Khashir. Kanan spent his final night in the desert outside the walls of one of five forts at Vetus Hydreuma in Wadi Abu Greiya. On the final day of their desert journey just a few hours into their march, the Red Sea came into view. The caravan arrived in Berenike that same evening. Everyone was exhausted. After a good meal and a quick bath, Kanan went to the home of Selva, a Tamil who had been staying at Berenike for the past five years. Selva had been the primary representative of a consortium of south Indian merchants who worked for the Chola king. That monarch, through his agents, regularly imported Mediterranean merchandise, especially fine wines, ornate glass, Roman silver and gold coins and red Mediterranean coral to Poduke and exported primarily black pepper to Berenike.

From the Mediterranean to South Asia

79

Other items, however, were transshipped via Muziris from other parts of India to Berenike including pearls and banded agate blanks, which were made into cameos in workshops in Alexandria and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Kanan had no choice but to stay at Berenike until he could arrange passage on a ship bound for southern Arabia; there was no direct non-stop sailing between Egypt and India at that time. While at Berenike Kanan spent his days wandering around this city visiting its temples, small workshops and ports. He was fascinated by the many different ethnic groups who had made Berenike their home, by the many different languages he heard spoken, by the different varieties of food sold, by the many different temples and by the bustle in and around the main port at the south-western edge of the city. After spending two weeks at Berenike, Kanan finally located a ship destined for Qana' on the Indian Ocean and the main port of the south Arabian kingdom of Hadramaut. Much of the frankincense imported to Berenike arrived by ship from Qana' and Kanan noticed a fair amount of discarded ships' ballasts in the harbour. Its dark black volcanic appearance was, he was told by those working as stevedores, a tell-tale indication that it had been loaded on ships arriving at Berenike from Qana', clearly a popular port of call. En route to Qana', Kanan's ship landed at a few places along the African coast to pick up and drop off some cargoes, replenish drinking water and obtain food for the crew and passengers. The first of these stops was at Ptolemais Epitheron. Originally founded as a Ptolemaic era emporium through which captured elephants were shipped by sea to Berenike, by the time Kanan landed there, the port had long passed its glory. Kanan's ship only stayed at Ptolemais Epitheron for a day and a half and then set sail for Adulis, the major Red Sea port of the Kingdom of Axum. At the time of Kanan's visit neither Adulis nor the Kingdom of Axum were very important political or economic players in the Red Sea-Indian Ocean commerce; those roles would not be realized for several centuries yet. The stop at Adulis was uneventful and Kanan had been there before. He was not surprised that many of the indigenous peoples at Adulis and those from the

80

Steven E. Sidebotham

mountain highlands around the capital Axum physically looked very much like him and those dwelling throughout southern India and Taprobane. After engaging in some more trading at Adulis, the captain of the ship set sail for Qana'. There were two harbours as Qana', one east of the city and one to the west. The captain of Kanan's ship anchored in the eastern harbour as ordered by the harbour master. Qana' was a peninsula jutting into the Indian Ocean and comprised two areas. The largest urban quarter lay on low ground and included domestic structures, warehouses, government offices including a customs house, temples, markets, boat landing facilities and a cemetery. Large ships anchored in one of the harbours and smaller lighter boats ferried cargoes to and from those massive ocean-going vessels. There were portions of a lighthouse, cisterns that caught the monsoon rain waters which was then piped to the lower city, and other structures on the upper city. This upper city lay atop an extinct volcano at the south-eastern end of the settlement. Black volcanic basalt comprised almost all the walls of the buildings Kanan saw in the city. It was evident to Kanan where the ships' ballast he had seen in the harbour at Berenike had come from. Many ships plying the route between India and Berenike, between Qana' and the Persian Gulf and between the Indian Ocean coast of Africa and southern India passed through Qana'. Qana' was an important market for African, Roman, Indian and Persian Gulf skippers. It was also at Qana' that these foreigners could obtain frankincense, a gum resin bled from trees of the genus Boswellia. Many species of frankincense trees grew in southern Arabia, the Horn of Africa and on the Indian Ocean island of Socotra. Because frankincense was a royal monopoly of the King of Hadramaut, the main clearing house for this valuable product was through the royal Hardamauti warehouse at Qana'. Kanan had to wait in Qana' for only about a week to find a ship bound for Muziris. The one he boarded had come from the Indian Ocean coast of Africa. After a brief stay to unload cargo, load up a consignment of frankincense for customers in Muziris and obtain drinking water and food for crew and passengers, the ship left. It

From the Mediterranean to South Asia

81

arrived in Muziris after a 40 day crossing of the north-western part of the Indian Ocean. At Muziris, Kanan spent a few days to rest for the final leg of his journey back home. During that time he wandered around Muziris, which he had visited on many previous occasions. The buildings made of fired brick at their bases and with walls and roofs made of wood from palm tree trunks and palm leaves were very familiar to him as were the terracotta ring wells where people from the city obtained their drinking water. Kanan's home at Poduke looked very similar to what he saw at Muziris. Finally, Kanan boarded a ship bound for Poduke. It sailed around Taprobane and put in briefly at Mantai to unload a few passengers and take on drinking water and food. The onward journey to the mouth of the Ariyankuppam River on the Bay of Bengal was uneventful. He landed there and then took a small craft the last kilometre or so to Poduke. He was finally home.

C\

~

Taylor & Francis Taylor&Fr ncisGroup h p:/

r n r nc om

CHAPTER

5

Wars, Trade and Treaties: New, Revised, and Neglected Sources for the Political, Diplomatic, and Military Aspects of Imperial Rome's Relations with the Red Sea Basin and India, from Augustus to Diocletian MICHAEL

A. SPEIDEL

COSMAS AND CONTEXT

In the autumn of 518, an Alexandrian spice trader, later nicknamed Cosmas Indicopleustes (i.e. the voyager to India), sailed into the Gulf of Zula on the African coast of the southern Red Sea. On his arrival at the Axumite trade centre in Adulis he became aware of preparations, which King Kaleb Ella Asbeha, the ruler of the Christian kingdom of Axum was undertaking for a military campaign he intended to lead against the Himyarites in South Arabia. 1 King Kaleb, it seems, aimed to reinforce or re-establish a still young Christian presence and pro-Byzantine political course at the Himyarite court in South Arabian Zafar. For Axumite and Byzantine ambitions, Christian rulers at Zafar

1

For the following see Cosmas, Christian Topography 2, 54ff. with Robin 2010: esp. 69ff. 78ff. and Bowersock 2013: esp. 34ff. 92ff. and (however, adhering ibid. 92 to the traditional date of 523/524 of Cosmas' arrival at Adulis). See also Hatke 2013: esp. 37ff. l 50ff. Phillipson 2012: 63ff. Power 2012, 46ff. Nebes 2010. Fauvelle 2009. Beaucamp/Briquel-Chatonnet/ Robin 1999-2000: 73ff., all with further bibliography.

84

MichaelA. Speidel

offered promising prospects since the earlier Jewish rulers of the Himyarites were considered to be hostile to the Byzantine Empire and allies of the Persians. 2 While preparing for his expedition across the Red Sea, Kaleb instructed his governor Abbas at Adulis to send him copies of two ancient Greek inscriptions that stood at the western gates of this old trade centre, by the side of the road leading to the royal capital at Axum. Both monuments evoked Greek gods, glorified military campaigns from the distant past and contained references to the African Red Sea coast. Moreover, the throne served as a setting for the public execution of criminals. Originally, the road-side position of these two inscriptions was probably chosen in order to address and impress either members of a local Greek-speaking community or travellers (merchants and diplomats) on their way from Adulis to the Axumite royal capital. The older text (from around 244 BCE) was inscribed onto a stele oflocal basalt and gives an account of a campaign, which Ptolemy III (246-222 BCE) led into Mesopotamia against the Seleucids. 3 The second inscription dates from a few centuries later, but unfortunately it neither bears a date nor a dear reference to known events. 4 This text was inscribed onto a marble throne and contains the account of the military exploits of a local African king on both sides of the Red Sea.5 The Axumite king Kaleb, it seems, sought inspiration from such ancient epigraphic records, presumably for political justification and perhaps also for the composition of an inscription that would relate the accounts of his future victories in Africa and in Arabia. 6 At any rate, Kaleb surely had a fair idea of the contents of both Greek inscriptions and obviously considered them 2

John Diakrinomenos in Theod. Anagnost, Kirchengeschichte (ed. Hansen 1995), p. 157 (cf. p. 152). See also Procop., Bella 1,19,1. Bowersock 2013: 93ff. Robin 2010: 75f. Beaucamp/Briquel-Chatonnet/Robin 1999-2000: 73ff. 3 Cosmas, Christian Topography 2, 58-9. OGIS 54 = SB 8545a = RIE276. Cf. Bowersock 2013, 34ff. 4 Cosmas, Christian Topography2, 60-3. OGIS 199 = SB 85456 = RIE 277. Cf. Bowersock 2013: 44ff. Hatke 2013: 38ff. Cf. also below at nn. 70 and 110. 5 On such thrones see Phillipson 2012: 132ff. Breyer 2012: 1llff. 6 Robin 2010, 77. Kaleb's inscription: compare RIE191 (for an English translation see e.g. Munro-Hay 1991: 230).

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

85

very relevant to his plans, although he (and most of his contemporary countrymen, it seems) did not understand Greek.7 Cosmas (and even more so his fellow merchants on the South Arabian side of the Red Sea) could expect turbulent times to begin, and their end was not foreseeable. 8 As it happened, the spice trader became more than a passive witness of these earliest stages of historical events that were, over the course of the following years, to radically change the political and religious landscape in the countries around the southern Red Sea.9 For Cosmas got directly involved in Kaleb's preparations, as Abbas, the governor of Adulis, passed the king's order to produce a transcription of the two Greek inscriptions on to Cosmas and his companion Menas. Both inscriptions are now lost, but Cosmas' transcription survives and thus his epigraphic mission at Adulis turned out to be of great importance for our current knowledge of the history of the southern Red Sea basin in Antiquity. Yet the episode is also remarkable for exemplifying many of the characteristic traits, which connected the African and the Arabian coasts of the Red Sea in late Antiquity, and which linked this entire part of the Ancient World in pre-Islamic times both with India and with the political, cultural and religious developments of the Eastern Mediterranean basin under Byzantine domination. At the same time, however, the episode also points to the old age of the overlapping entanglements between the Mediterranean world and the Red Sea countries and to their manifestations in regional and international politics and warfare, religion and long distance trade with India, Hellenistic culture, the Greek language, or the importance of epigraphic commemoration. For the first three centuries of Roman rule, the by far best researched phenomenon that linked the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and even to countries beyond the Bab el Mandeb is, of course, the sea-bound Inda-Mediterranean trade. Scholarly contributions to this fascinating feature of the Ancient World have reached large numbers and steady progress in our understanding is being made. Other related

7

Malalas 18, 56. On the use of Greek in Axum see most recently Phillipson 2012: 54f. 8 Cf. Mart. S. Arethae (ed. Detoraki 2007) 2.27. 9 For recent accounts see Bowersock 2013, Robin 2010, Nebes 2010.

86

MichaelA. Speidel

phenomena have seen less scholarly consensus in the past decades. In particular, the extent and the means by which Roman imperial governments and foreign powers consciously and purposely interfered with the dynamics and the contexts of the Inda-Mediterranean and Red Sea trade continues to raise scholarly debates. 10 This is surely (at least partly) due to the influence of one school of thought, which holds that that there was no awareness, let alone policy, for generating wealth for the Roman treasury by foreign trade, that there were no commercial or commercially inspired wars in Roman history, and that the Roman imperial governments never undertook measures to promote trade with the East. 11 According to this view, the Roman emperors neither conceived of their realm as an economic unit nor did they develop anything that could be described as an imperial economic policy. Trade through the Red Sea and to India, particularly during the first three centuries CE, is therefore usually understood to have been free of political implications (at least as far as the Roman Empire is concerned). Yet even if there are good reasons to question whether Roman governments had any deeper understanding of economic fundamentals, they were undeniably aware of the importance of taxes and customs duties as major sources of income for the imperial treasury. We therefore hardly need to question whether or not Roman imperial governments indeed interfered with the extremely lucrative long-distance maritime commerce, for this is clearly borne out by the 25 per cent import tax and the heavily guarded routes between the Nile and the Red Sea ports. 12 On a practical level, an ancient merchant wishing to engage in trade activities beyond the confines of his native state not only needed

10

See e.g. Sidebotham 1986: esp. 113ff. Young 2001, Bowman 2010, McLaughlin 2010, all with further bibliography. 11 Thus esp. Finley 1973: 23, 158, Casson 1989: 35ff. For an extensive discussion, earlier bibliography and a different point of view see now Gabrielsen 2011. 12 Lack of economic understanding: see, for instance, Speidel 2009a. Awareness of the importance of customs duties: Cic., Man. 7,17. Tac., Ann. 1,11,4. Suet., Aug. 101,4. Cf. Speidel 2009: 55ff. 25 per cent import tax: see esp. Jordens 2009: 355ff. for the sources and a full discussion.

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

87

the relevant sets of knowledge (economic, geographical, behavioural, logistic, etc.), but he (or his agent) also depended on an environment, which was favourable to his commercial intentions. 13 That foremost included safe access to the foreign markets he intended to visit, as well as the necessary property and market rights. He equally needed undiscriminating access to foreign legal systems or to be received into local traditions of hospitality. For if long-distance merchants wanted to successfully and safely carry out transactions abroad, and if they wanted to have some guarantee that their private contracts would be honoured by local and other foreign partners, they depended on physical safety and legal security alike. A Roman merchant might therefore put all his faith into a foreign network of trusted friends or acquaintances, and the peacefulness, hospitality and goodwill of the rulers and inhabitants of foreign worlds. He might also invest into guards and other security measures. But gold and silver and other great riches stored in the cargo bay of freight ships or loaded on the backs of camels were always likely to attract pirates and brigands of all walks of life. A merchant's private arrangements alone therefore left a substantial risk for his safe return, and the help of powerful rulers who undertook to establish a safe environment within their realm were welcome complements to lower the merchant's risk of being dispossessed or harmed. The physical safety and legal security of those on business abroad were of course well-known categories in the Ancient World-as was their crucial impact on risk and transaction costs. These categories are therefore all but absent from our sources, as we shall see in a moment. It will suffice for now to recall Strabo's idealizing description of life at the Nabataean capital Petra with respect to Nabataean courts of justice. For, in a well-known passage, the Augustan geographer reports that the Nabtaeans had excellent laws for the administration of public affairs. Athenodorus, a philosopher and my friend, who had been at Petra, used to relate with surprise, that he found many Romans and also many other foreigners residing there. He observed the foreigners frequently engaged in litigation, both with 13

On the technicalities of the Indo-Mediterranean perial period see most recently Ruffing 2013.

trade during the im-

88

MichaelA. Speidel

one another and with the natives, but the natives never had any dispute amongst themselves, and lived together in perfect harmony. 14

In a world such as ours today, we would surely expect international treaties and trade agreements to cover such issues as access to foreign markets and legal systems. However, there seems to be a firm consensus among the historians of the Roman Empire that imperial Rome never concluded international trade accords. Moses Finley held that Rome only ever signed such agreements (with its Italian allies and with Carthage) in the very early phases of its history. After Rome became the predominant power in Italy and the Western Mediterranean it allegedly ceased to do so, for as the victorious conqueror it could now set the rules unilaterally and simply impose its will by the use of force. 15 Recent works on Roman economy therefore have nothing to add to the subject of Roman international trade agreements as instruments of economic promotion during the imperial period. Yet, relevant information would be very welcome and no doubt have an import on issues related to the 'New Institutional Economics', which has become the most fashionable approach to Roman economic history in recent years. 16 To be sure, Rome's military engagement in the Red Sea basin is generally held to have been a catastrophic failure or to have been nearly non-existent. It is therefore usually absent from investigations into the Indo-Mediterranean trade. It is, of course, not difficult from a modern perspective to find good reasons why the imperial Roman State should have considered promoting the IndoMediterranean trade. Yet, how could it have done so beyond the reach of its armies and fleets, if it indeed refused to conclude international trade agreements? Recent publications of new or revised documentary evidence, epigraphic mainly, but some also papyrological and numismatic, encourage a re-examination of the role that the Roman State played in this respect.

14

Strabo 16,4,21. Finley 1973: 161. 16 Cf. e.g. Manning/Morris 2005: 34. 232. Scheidel 2012: 49. 198. 'New Institutional Economics': see esp. North/Thomas 1973, North 1990. 15

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

89

FARASAN: A NEW DIMENSION

Only a few years ago two fragmentary Latin inscriptions were discovered on the main island of the Farasan archipelago in the southern Red Sea, just off the coast of Saudi Arabia. These two texts from well over 1,000 km beyond the southern confines of Roman Egypt provide a new dimension to how we should think about Rome's involvement in the Red Sea basin, for they attest a Roman military and administrative presence on the main island of Farasan in the first half of the second century CE. 17 Only the lower right hand corner of what appears to be the earlier inscription survives. This fragment (often overlooked in recent accounts) dates, perhaps, from the twenties of the second century CE. It is set in a tabula ansata and attests building activities by a detachment of Roman legionary soldiers from the province of Arabia: 18 - - -] [- - -]VI FERR [- - -]PR PR The letters PR PR in the last line of this Latin building inscription are doubtless the remains pr(o) pr(aetore)of the titulature of a Roman senatorial governor. As is well known, the only Roman province on the Red Sea governed by a legatusAugusti provinciaepro praetorewas provincia Arabia. Furthermore, the Latin language and the formulaic structure of such building inscriptions leave no doubt that the letters -]VI FERR in the line above referred to legioVI Ferrata.19 The reference to this legion provides a chronological frame for the date of this inscription, for legioVI Ferratabelonged to the garrison of the province of Arabia only for a short period of time after 114 and before 132/5(?). 20 The detachment might therefore have come to Farasan in 17

For a more detailed version in German language of the following chapter see Speidel 2009: 635-49. 18 Villeneuve 2007: 23ff. AE 2005, 1640 =AE 2007, 1659 (Farasan). Overlooked: e.g. Mc Laughlin 2010: 79ff, Power 2012: 63, Bowersock 2013: 54f. 19 For examples see e.g. Saxer 1967: 63ff. Horster 2001: 50f. with n. 139, 168ff., 443ff.; Cotton/Eck 1999: 21 lff. 2 °Cf. Speidel 2009: 639f. with bibliography.

90

Michael A. Speidel

connection with (or in the wake of) the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom. If true, this may imply that the islands had been under the control of the Nabataeans before the Romans turned their kingdom into a province. 21 Not much can be said about the nature of the building, which the Roman soldiers constructed on the island, apart from that it presumably served military purposes and that it was evidently made of stone (which implies that it was erected with the intention to remain in use for the forseeable future). A second Latin building inscription from 144 CE, again set in a tabula ansata, attests the presence on Farasan of a mixed detachment of legionary and auxiliary soldiers from Egypt, vexill(atio) leg(ionis) II Tr(aianae)Fortiset auxil(iares)eius, and their construction, in stone, of a fortress (castra)on the island: 22 Imp(eratore) Caes(are) Tito Ael(io) Hadr(iano) Antonino Aug(usto) Pio, pont(ifice) max(imo), trib(unicia) pot(estate) VIL c(o)s(ule) III, p(atre) p(atriae), vexill(atio) leg(ionis) II Tr(aianae) Fortis et auxil(iares) eius cq,str[asub-} Avitq praef(ecto) FerresaniPWtt:tf (?) et Pont(i) Hercul(is) fec(erunt) ft q[ed(icaverunt)}.

This inscription reveals a new phase in the Roman occupation of Farasan, and also attests the existence of a Roman prefecture of 'the harbour of Farasan and of the Herculian Sea': praef(ectus) Ferresani portus(?) et Pont(i) Herculis.The prefect's sphere of responsibility thus covered not only the Farasan islands but also an area called the Herculian Sea, which, as the editors convincingly maintained, must surely have been a term for the southernmost part of the Red Sea and the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The nature of the Farasan prefecture and its purpose are not fully spelled out, although they bring to mind

21

For Nabataean finds on Farasan and in southern Arabia see the bibliography in Speidel 2009: 647f. and Speidel forthcoming. Cf. Also Pliny's Insulae Malichu in this very region: NH 6,34,175. Ptol. 6,7,44. Villeneuve/ Phillips/Facey 2004: 160f. 22 Villeneuve/Phillips/Facey 2004. AE 2004, 1643 =AE 2005, 1639 =AE 2007, 1659 (Farasan). Speidel 2009: 635ff.

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

91

other equestrian positions such as the praefectusinsularum Baliarum, the praefectus orae maritimae Hispaniae citerioris,the praefectus orae Ponticaemaritimae or, in Egypt, the praefectusmontis Berenikidis.Yet whatever the true nature and purpose of the Farasan prefecture may have been, it should surely comply with the general characteristics of other Roman prefectures in the provinces. Thus, praefecti of a region were members of the equestrian order. They were generally under the orders of a provincial governor and replaced by a successor after their term of duty. 23 Roman praefecti were thus representatives of a type of government, which scholars of the Roman World universally define as direct rule. In other words, there can be no doubt that the Farasan islands and the Herculian Sea were considered, by the Romans, to have belonged to the Imperium Romanum. Moreover, the setting up of a military garrison on Farasan in connection with or in the wake of the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom, the construction on (at least) two separate occasions of (a) building(s) and of a fort in stone, as well as the establishment of a prefecture are strong indications of Rome's intention to uphold a permanent military and administrative presence in the southern Red Sea. In this, the Romans were successful for at least around three decades, as borne out by the Farasan inscriptions. But what were the political and military contexts of this Roman stronghold? Roman prefects (in contrast e.g. to praepositivexillationis) generally dealt both with civilian and military affairs. Therefore, this was probably also true for the prefect of Farasan. His military responsibilities at the harbour of Farasan and in the southern part of the Red Sea are of course reflected by the garrison of Roman soldiers. These soldiers may have been involved with enforcing Roman custom's control and safeguarding a customs station on Farasan, as some scholars have suggested. 24 If true, the establishment of this prefecture might have aimed at preventing contraband trade into the

23

See e.g. Zwicky 1944: 1lff; Jones 1960: 115ff. Brunt 1983: 55ff; Speidel 2009: 637ff. with bibliography. Evidently, the praefectusAegypti does not belong to this category. 24 Villeneuve/Philips/Facey 2004: 173ff.; Jordens 2009: 366 n. 45; McLaughlin 2010: 81; Sidebotham 2011: 188.

92

MichaelA. Speidel

Empire. 25 Yet, one wonders whether this measure would have been successful, and how it might have affected the procedures and institutions of the existing taxation system, which apparently continued to function as it had done before. 26 According to another suggestion, the prefecture was established to fight pirates or to protect merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea.27 That may bear some truth, but it should hardly provoke images of the hunt for Caribbean pirates such as Captain Blackbeard and others. 28 Nor should we think of modern military operations, such as the one that has been labelled 'Atalanta' and is currently being conducted by the European Union around the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa to protect merchant ships from Somali pirates. Roman campaigns against pirates (and those who were declared to be pirates) usually aimed to destroy pirate settlements and strong-holds ashore, and to eliminate or deport the entire pirate population. 29 At any rate, the establishment and upkeep of a permanent Roman prefecture and military garrison on Farasan could hardly have been carried out without further bases or the help or consent of supporters in the southern Red Sea. Yet, whatever other purposes the Roman prefecture and the mixed garrison of legionary and auxiliary soldiers on Farasan may have had,

25

For the importance Rome attributed to the prevention of contraband cf. e.g. Mitchell 2005: 195ff. 26 As indicated e.g. by the famous Musiris papyrus P.Vindob. G 40822 = SB XVIII 13167. For the functioning of the existing system cf. e.g. Jordens 2009: 355ff.; Cottier 2010. 27 E.g. Villeneuve/Philips/Facey 2004: 159. 169ff.; McLaughlin 2010: 80f.; Marek 2013: 314. Cargo ships sailing to India had archers aboard to fight off pirates: Plin., NH 6,26, 101. Philostr., v. Apoll. 3,35. Unfortunately, we are not told where en route these archers were most needed. In the Red Sea, piracy threatened mainly along the central stretches of the Arabian coast: PME 20. Cf. Philostr., v. Apoll. 3,35. OGIS 199 = SB 85456 = RIE 277. 28 Cf. e.g. Dio 55,28, 1, explaining that Augustus established an equestrian prefecture on Sardinia to fight local piracy (cf. Strabo 5,2,7). Compare also the military tasks of the prefect of Berenike fighting brigand in Egypt's eastern desert: e.g. O.Krok. 14. 41. 60. 87. 88. 29 Cf. e.g. De Souza 2002: 114. 210, etc.

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

93

the geographical location on an island in the middle of the Red Sea well over 1,000 km south of Roman Egypt's southern borders was a clear demonstration of Rome's military power and its willingness to use force should it decide to intervene in the region. One such instance from the reign of Antoninus Pius may indeed be on record. For in his famous 'Roman Oration', Aelius Aristides, praising Roman rule, said that wars had become a phenomenon of the past and that in his days military engagements were few, short and occurred only on the most distant fringes of the Roman world. As one of only three examples of recent international military conflicts, the orator points to the people of the Red Sea who in his opinion were incapable of enjoying the blessings of Roman rule. 30 One might also speculate that the Farasan detachment would have had orders to prevent (or intervene in) such military conflicts as the one mentioned by Aristides or others that resembled the one initiated by King Kaleb in the early sixth century. At any rate, unless there was an additional Roman naval unit in Farasan, the legionary (and auxiliary?) soldiers must have had ships of their own, as they would otherwise hardly have been capable of enforcing Rome's will beyond the coastline of this small island. 31 Eutropius offers confirmation. For this fourth-century historian relates that Emperor Trajan established a new war fleet in the Red Sea, so that he could lay waste to the borders of India. 32 Jordanes, repeating Eutropius' statement, adds that a statue ofTrajan was set up in mari Rubro,33 and several sources relate that Trajan restored or enlarged the canal that linked the Nile (and thus the Mediterranean) with the Red Sea.34 It is, again, tempting to understand these passages in the context of the provincialization of the Nabataean kingdom in 106 CE. Yet if there is any truth in these statements, it seems evident that the term

30 31

Arist., or. Rom. 70. For the ships oflegions see e.g. Sarnowski/Trynkowski 1986: 536; Varon

2000: 71 lff. 32

Eutrop., Brev. 8,3,2. Jord., Rom. 268. Discussed in Speidel forthcoming. 34 See esp. Oertel 1964: Adams 2007: 34f; Jordens 2009: 417ff.; Sheehan 2010: esp. 35ff.; Aubert 2004 has recently argued that the canal was never in use before the Arab conquest, but see Jordens 2007: 470 with n. 3. 33

94

Michael A. Speidel

'India' was hardly used here to describe the subcontinent but it surely rather meant the countries around the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, as many late Roman texts also called this region 'India'. 35

ROMAN EXPANSION, TRADE, AND SECURITY IN THE RED SEA REGION

At any rate, the seat of the prefecture on an island in the middle of the Red Sea and its sphere of activity in the southernmost part of the Red Sea strongly suggest that it was Rome's intention to establish control and safety in the region, and thereby to protect the sea-bound trade. This goes well with other Roman investments and activities in the Red Sea basin to protect the flow of trade. These measures are surely best borne out by the heavily guarded routes between Coptos on the Nile and the Red Sea harbours of Myos Hormos and Berenike. 36 Along these roads, Roman soldiers were posted in a dense row of forts and watchtowers in order to safeguard the caravans, which transported a great many precious goods between Coptos and the Red Sea. A widely neglected find of fragmentary Latin inscriptions of the early fourth century CE from the military fort at Abu Sha' ar on the Egyptian Red Sea coast, includes one fragment which appears to clearly spell out that this fort served purposes which benefitted merchants. For this fragment, apparently part of a building inscription mentioning an ala (?)}nova Maximi[ana, contains the letters-Jum mercator[um-. 37 The date of these fragments also brings to mind the diplomatic and 35

Mayerson 1993: Salles 1994. for instance the Latin building inscriptions CIL III 6627 (cf. III 14147) = ILS 2483 or AE 2001, 2051 = AE 2005, 1630. See also the relevant passages and contributions in Young 2001: esp. 69£ (cf also 128ff. 157ff.). Cuvigny 2003; 2005; Jordens 2009: 424ff.; Sidebotham 2011: 76ff., 125ff. See also O.Krok. 6. 47. 87 for reports of Roman soldiers fighting brigands in Egypt's eastern desert. 37 Bagnall/Sheridan 1994: 162f. fig. 5: ala (?)} nova Maximi[ana - - - I - - ad us(?)Jum mercator[um -. (I owe my knowledge of the Abu Sha'ar inscriptions to the kindness of Steve Sidebotham). See ibid.: 163 on the assumed purpose of the fort: 'The area it was to protect is in a border zone of desert, 36 See

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

95

military efforts, which Diocletian undertook to pacify the Blemmyes and the Nubians on Egypt's southern boarders. 38 Furthermore, graffiti and inscriptions also attest Roman military presence on the socalled (Incense Road' at the Oasis of Al-'Ula or in the Wadi Sirhan (both in modern Saudi Arabia) in the second century CE. 39 To be sure, Roman military protection would not have entirely eliminated a merchant's own investment into security measures, as he, not the Roman state, was responsible for the safe arrival of the goods. 40 Still, Rome invested into the security of the Red Sea trade since the early first century CE. This has recently become much clearer, as a re-edition of two ostraca from the so-called Nikanor archive has produced evidence for the presence, in the Red Sea, of Roman warships during the first half of the first century CE. 41 The very recent edition of a new papyrus from Quseir al-Qadim supplies further confirmation. For this text concerns a Roman soldier (crrpa-r[t]O:Hll~)from the Red Sea harbour ofMyos Hormos who was, in 93 CE, attached to a tesseraria ship (presumably a dispatch boat) called Hippocampus (seahorse). 42

and a major purpose is theprotection of merchants'. This was the conclusion Steven Sidebotham already drew in 1986 from the location of the fort: Sidebotham 1986: 51: 'it is doubtful that the military would place a fort and station a garrison in such a distant location in the Tetrarchic period unless it was intended to protect continued commercial activities'. Compare CIL III 3653 = ILS 775 = RIU 3, 771 = AE 1999, 1264 (Brigetio, 371 cE) for another inscription expressing a similar notion. 38 Paneg. Lat. 8(5),5,2: ... trophaea Niliaca sub quibus Aethiops et Indus interemuit. Cf. AE 1981, 777 = SEG 31, 1116: a Roman soldier's epitaph from Ada Koy (Turkey) who fought in 'India' under Diocletian. Cf. DrewBear 1981: esp. 97£ and Zon., 12,31B-C. 39 Cf. Sipila 2004: 320; Hackl/Jenni/Schneider 2003: 55f. See now also Villeneuve 2015, 37-45 for new Roman military inscriptions from Hegra. 40 P.Vindob. G 40822 = SB XVIII 13167, recto col. ii 1. 3-4. Plin., NH 6,26, 101. Philostr., v. Apoll. 3,35. 41 Messeri 2005 on 0. Petr. 296 (mentioning AouKto~KAco8to~1ptripapKCO~ [=1ptftpapxo~]. 1st half 1st century CE) and O.Petr. 279 (mentioning Ia1opv1Ao~, 1£00apapt~ Auptpvou [=AtPupvou]. 16. September 52 cE). 42 van Rengen 2011: P. 004 (mentioning AouKio~Aoyyivo~ 01pa1[t]co1ri~ 'InnoKaµnou 1£00apapia~. 25. March 93 cE).

96

MichaelA. Speidel

Myos Hormos was, of course, the harbour at which Aelius Gallus in 25 BCE left behind the large Roman war fleet, which he had constructed for his expedition to southern Arabia. 43 The Farasan inscriptions now also provide proof of Roman naval presence in the Red Sea during the second century CE. But Rome was not alone in trying to establish safety for the maritime trade routes through the Red Sea (cf. below p. lOlf.). For, the soldiers of the Nabataean kingdom, Rome's dependant ally on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea, are reported to have hunted down pirates (or those declared to be pirates) in their settlements and strongholds ashore. 44 It is surely relevant in this context that the Nabataean king was a dependant ally of the Roman Empire, for his military enterprises are most likely to have required Roman consent. Aelius Gallus' Arabian campaign in 26/25 BCE was immediately followed by another Roman expedition: Publius Petronius, Gallus' successor to the governorship of Egypt, led his army into the (Ethiopian' (Nubian) kingdom of Meroe on two separate occasions in 25/24 and in 22/21 BCE. 45 Officially, Rome declared these campaigns to be counter-attacks following (Ethiopian' hostilities. But Strabo, for one, believed the Roman expeditions to southern Arabia and (Ethiopia' to have belonged to one and the same strategic concept. 46 He reports that Augustus ordered his armies to south Arabia and (Ethiopia' because these were the neighbouring countries of the Trogodyte (African) Red Sea coast, (which is contiguous to Egypt'. 47 Augustus, it therefore seems, intended to secure Roman control not only of south Arabia and Ethiopia, but also of the African Red Sea coast. Roman interest in this coast and its main trading centre at Adulis seems also to have been expressed in the now lost works of King Juba II of Mauretania. For Juba composed his scholarly writings on this 43

Strabo 16,4,24. PME 20. 45 Strabo 17,1,54. RgdA26,5. Plin.,NH6,35,181.Dio 54,5,4£ Cf.Jameson 1968. 46 Strabo 16,4,22. For a commentary see Speidel 2009: 645. The selection of gentes from the Sebasteion at Carian Aphrodisias also possibly included Ethiopians (Smith 1988, 55. 57£ and Plate VIII, 9). 47 Strabo 16,4,22. 44

Wars, Trade and Treaties

97

region 'for C. Caesar concerning his expedition against Arabia'. They were thus evidently to instruct and to prepare Augustus' grandson for his military campaigns in the East. Pliny the Elder drew primarily on Juba's account and the information collected by the Roman expeditionary forces for his description of the Arabian Peninsula in his encyclopaedic 'Natural History' from around the mid-seventies of the first century CE. 48 In this work, he referred to the settlement at Adulis (oppidum Adulitarum) as 'the most important trading centre of the Trogodytes and the Ethiopians' (maximum hie emporium Trogodytarum, etiam Aethiopum). 49 As Juba himself drew on earlier Hellenistic sources, Adulis is even likely to already have been an important emporium in the first century BCE. 50 In the mid-first century CE, the Periplus Maris Erythraei describes Zoskales, the ruler of a kingdom on the African Red Sea coast between somewhere north of (but excluding, it seems) Ptolemais Theron and the Babel Mandeb in the South as a man who 'is fussy about his possessions and always enlarging them, but in other respects an excellent person and well acquainted with Greek letters' .51 It is perhaps not to be ruled out that this characterization was not simply the author's private impression, but that it was inspired by Roman official assessments and therefore intended also to refer to Zoskales' political and military behaviour as a king who was (if true) in the habit of continuously extending his realm. If so, the author of the Periplus (and, presumably, Roman public opinion), remarkably, still seems to have thought of him in favourable and friendly terms. According to Strabo, Publius Petronius' first campaign to 'Ethiopia' forced the Nubians to plead for friendship (cptAia)with Rome, and 48

Plin., NH6,31,141. Cf. Roller 2003: 227ff. Bowersock 2013: 27. The passage from Pliny also includes a reference to Dionysius of Charax who was sent by Augustus to gather all necessary information in the East for C. Caesar's campaign and included some of this information in his later publications. 49 Plin., NH 6,34, 172ff. But see also Plin., NH 6,34, 140 for Pliny giving preference to information by Nabataean ambassadors and Roman merchants (legati Arabum nostrique negotiators) over the account of King Juba. 5 °Cf. Phillipson 2012: 71ff. 51 PME 5 (cf. 2-3), transl. Bowersock 2013: 148 n. 11. Cf. also Casson 1989: 109f.

98

Michael A. Speidel

in 20 BCE, after a second defeat, Nubian ambassadors managed to negotiate a treaty on favourable terms. 52 A papyrus fragment from perhaps the second half of the first century CE, which is kept at Milano, preserves the report of Roman military operations against 'Ethiopians' and 'Trogodytes' .53 Unfortunately, it is not clear which event the report refers to. Finally, Nero is reported to have contemplated an expedition to Ethiopia. Again, neither the motives nor the circumstances are transmitted in our sources. 54 According to Seneca, however, Roman soldiers on an exploration mission penetrated into the Ethiopian highlands and benefitted from the help of the 'Ethiopian' king who gave them support and recommended them to neighbouring kings (a regeAethiopiae instructi auxilio commendatique proximis regibus). This episode appears to refer to a Roman attempt to extend political influence to Red Sea countries beyond the kingdom of Meroe. 55 At any rate, it is a welcome illustration of how in these years political relations were seen, at Rome, to function south of the fines imperii at Syene or Berenike. 56 In fact, Josephus in his bellum judaicum, no doubt quoting official Roman positions, had king Agrippa II declare that 'the Romans have entirely subdued the Ethiopians, as far as the Red Sea', and 'Roman Egypt ... is extended as far as the Ethiopians and Arabia the Happy, and borders upon India' .57 52

Strabo 17,1,54. FHN III, no. 224. 54 Sen., Q. Nat. 6,8,3. Plin., NH6,35,181 and 184-6. 12,8,19. Dio 63,8,1. Cf. Hine 2011: 119ff. 55 Sen., Q. Nat. 6,8,3. On political relations between Nubia and Axum see now Hatke 2013. 56 For Roman diplomatic missions between Meroe and Rome continuing well into the third century cE see e.g SB V 7944 = FNH II 168. CIL III 83 with Lajtar/van der Vliet 2006 and Hatke 2013, 58. For (annual?) Byzantine embassies to the Ethiopian court in the fourth century CE see e.g. CTh. 12,12,2 (356 cE) and CSEL 39,116 (Petr. Diac., Liberde locis sanctis, CCSL, vol. 175, p. 101. Cf. Wilkinson 1999: 206; Caner 2010: 213). But see Malalas 18,56. Fines imperii: Plin., NH 12,8,19. Tac., Ann. 2,61 (claustra imperii). Cf. PME 1. 57 Jos., Bf 2,16,4. Cf. also Arist., or. rom. 82 for a very similar statement. India: not the subcontinent, but the 'Horn of Africa'. Cf. on the confusion in general, see Mayerson 1993. 53

Wars, Trade and Treaties

99

In short, the documents and events listed above clearly attest a substantial military and diplomatic investment of the Roman state both into the control of the countries around the Red Sea basin and into the safety of the long distance trade through the Red Sea from the early Empire onward. In 106, the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom under Emperor Trajan brought a new dimension to Rome's involvement in the Red Sea, for now Rome took over the government, administration, jurisdiction and defence of the former Nabataean territories. 58 Thus, Tacitus, who was writing his Annales precisely in these years, claimed in that work that the limits of the Roman Empire (claustra Romani imperii) were now beginning to extend to the Red Sea (nunc rubrum ad mare patescit). 59 Tacitus's emphasis on the Red Sea seems puzzling. For Pompey had already declared to have extended Roman rule to the Red Sea around 150 years earlier in inscriptions that were still on public display at prominent locations in Rome. 60 Moreover (as is well known) Rome also had direct access to the Red Sea since 30 BCE, mainly via the harbours of Arsinoe/Cleopatris/Clysma, Myos Hormos and Berenike. It therefore seems more likely that the prominence of the Red Sea in Trajanic imperial statements was founded in a Roman claim to have taken control of the entire Red Sea basin. Rome's take-over of the Nabataean kingdom and its strongholds along the Arabian Red Sea coast are therefore likely to have been the historical context for the construction work that was carried out on the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea during the reign ofTrajan, as well as for the war fleet this emperor is said to have established in the Red Sea, and for the prefecture that was set up on Farasan. 61 58

C£ Speidel 2009: 633ff. 59 Tac., Ann. 2,61. Cf. Speidel 2009, 648£ For the date of the Annalessee Birley 2000. See also the milestones of the 'via nova Traiana a finibus Syriae usque ad mare Rubrum: CIL III 14149, etc. For Azania, roughly the Somali coast south of the Cap Guardafui, allegedly also being under Roman control see the commentary by J. Hill to section 15 of the ancient Chinese text 'Wei Liie' at http:/ /depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes 11_30. html#l5_1 (22 September 2013). 60 Pompey's inscriptions: Diod. 40,4. Plin., NH7, 26,97. 61 Red Sea canal: see above n. 34. Fleet: see notes 41 and 42 above. Farasan: see above text to notes 17ff.

100

MichaelA. Speidel

As is well known, these developments began with the Roman conquest of Egypt, putting an end to the open conflicts between the Nabataeans and the Ptolemies. This improved security on the Red Sea trading routes dramatically, for Strabo claims that maritime trade with the Trogodytes, Ethiopia and India increased sixfold under Augustus as a result of Roman rule. 62 There is also some evidence to suggest that Cleopatra had forged a network of allies around the Red Sea (or so the victor's propaganda held). Rome's conquest of Egypt would therefore have had immediate political implications for many of these former allies of the last queen of Egypt. Thus, Plutarch, Cassius Dio and Orosius describe Egypt's neighbours, Ethiopia and the Red Sea countries, as trusted allies of the Queen of Egypt. 63 Moreover, the list oflanguages, which Cleopatra is said to have spoken, and which included those of the Ethiopians, Trogodytes and Arabs, has recently been interpreted as reflecting the elements of her system of alliances. 64 It is remarkable, therefore, that Vergil and Florus even imply that Sabaeans, Arabs and other Red Sea countries contributed to or supported the forces of Antonius at Actium. 65 After Antonius' defeat, Cleopatra called the neighbouring tribes and kings to her aid, and began to move what remained of her forces to the Red Sea where she hoped to establish a new base. However, she was stopped by the Nabataean king Malichus I, who had an axe to grind with the queen. 66 Finally, after Cleopatra realized that her fate was sealed, she sent her son Caesarian with much of the royal treasure via Ethiopia to India (i.e. to a country bordering on the southern Red Sea or the 'Horn of Africa'). 67 We should, therefore, perhaps not rule out that in 30 BCE the Roman conquerors of Egypt believed (or so claimed) that many of the countries around the Red Sea belonged to a hostile alliance, 62

Strabo 2,5,12. 17,1,13. 'Nabataean pirates': cf. Holbl 56 and most recently Sidebotham 2011, 35. 177. 63 Plut.,Ant. 81,2. Dio 51,6,2-3 and 51,15,5. Oros. 6,19,14. 64 Languages: Plut., Ant. 27,3.Cf. Strootmann 2010, 151, giving much importance to the fact that Latin is missing from the list. 65 Verg., Aen. 8,705-6: omnis eo terroreAegyptus et Indi, omnisArabs, omnes vertebant terga Sabaei. Florus 2,21,7. 66 Plut., Ant. 69,2f. Dio 51,6,2f. 51,7, If. Axe to grind: cf. Bowersock 1983: 40ff. 67 Plut.,Ant. 81,2. Dio 51,15,5.

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

101

and that this belief had an important impact on Roman decisions to invade kingdoms in southern Arabia and Nubia. For hostile nations around the Red Sea were not only a potential threat to Romans and Roman possessions but they were also a potential menace to the seaborne trade, and therefore to the Roman treasury's income. INDO-MEDITERRANEAN TRADE AND THE ROMAN TREASURY

The correlation between safety and the flow of trade was, of course, well known in the Ancient World, and it was also clearly spelled out with respect to the long-distance trade with India and South Arabia in the surviving written sources. 68 Augustus, for instance, was remembered at Alexandria for having freed the seas from pirates. Theodor Mommsen was surely right to take this remark by Philo to refer to the Red Sea rather than to the Mediterranean. 69 Furthermore, a local (Axumite) king boasted in a famous text inscribed onto a marble throne at Adulis, that he subjected the tribes of the Arabitai and Kinaidokolpitai along the Arabian coast between Leuke Kame and the kingdom of Saba in order to bring peace to the maritime and overland trade routes. 70 It is the second inscription Cosmas Indicopleustes transcribed for King Kaleb in the autumn of 518. The text unfortunately bears no date or reference to securely identifiable events, but is usually dated to the third century CE. Other dates, however, cannot be ruled out. 71 The Adulis inscription thus appears 68

On ancient states establishing safety for the benefit of the flow of trade cf. in general Gabrielsen 2011. 69 Philo, Leg. ad Gaium 146. Mommsen 1904, 615. 7 °Cosmas 2,60-63. OGIS 199 = RIE 277 (Monumentum Adulitanum regisAethiopum). Cf. above n. 4. For this understanding of the passage concerning the Arabites and Kinaidokolpites see Cuvigny/Robin 708. See also RIE269, perhaps from the same ruler (thus e.g. Bowersock 2013: 58£) and from king Ezana in the fourth century CE RIE188. 71 Cf. most recently, Bowersock 2013: 44ff.; Hatke 2013: 38ff.; Breyer 2012: 117 (with some confusing mistakes). Phillipson 2012: 75 prefers a date in the second century CE. For a date towards the later second century CE see also Robin 1989, 155 and Cuvigny/Robin 1996: 710£ Fauvelle 2009 argued for a date in the late first century BCE. However, Fauvelle's arguments were recently rejected by Hatke 2013: 38ff. n. 142.

102

MichaelA. Speidel

to report African military efforts to suppress Arabian piracy precisely along the same stretch of the Arabian Red Sea coast where Nabataean forces fought pirates in the first century CE. 72As this campaign covered the coastal regions between Leuke Kame and the kingdom of Saba, and as it made local Arabian kings tributary to the African king, it seems reasonable to assume that the attack involved the consent (or even support) of the powers bordering on the operational zone. Curiously, however, the inscription fails to name the Romans in connection with this or any of the king's other military expeditions in the region. At any rate, the proclaimed objectives (or rather justifications) of this campaign (security for the overland and maritime trade routes) were no doubt in the interest of all Red Sea powers that benefitted from an undisturbed long distance trade, and therefore surely among their shared values. At a much later date, the Syriac Chronicle of Zuqnin reports how a hostile king of the Himyarites seized and killed Roman merchants passing through his realm in the early sixth century until the flow of trade between Constantinople and south Arabia almost entirely broke down. 73 These few examples suffice to show that the Roman government was well aware of the very basic correlation between safety and the volume of trade, and that it knew it could increase the latter by manipulating the former. It was indeed common Roman belief that Roman governments had done so repeatedly in the past, particularly by fighting piracy. 74 Moreover, Rome had very good reason to do so and to invest into the safety of the Inda-Mediterranean trade routes, for it imposed a heavy 25 per cent tax on goods imported from the East. 75 Strabo, for one, even believed that collecting import taxes (at 72

PME 20. Cf. Cuvigny/Robin 1996: 713f. Chronicle of Zuqnin 54 (ad annum 846 = 534/35 CE). Cf. Witakowski 1996: 51. For Roman awareness of foreign taxes on the prices of imported goods see Strabo 16,1,27 and Plin., NH 12,32,63-65. 74 One might only mention Rome's official reasons for its fighting the First Illyrian War or those for Pompey's command, based on the !ex Gabinia, to fight piracy in the East (cf. De Souza 2002: 149-79 for a recent view). But see also the !ex de provinciis praetoriis of 100 BCE on the Roman occupation of Cilicia (Crawford et al. 1996, no. 12. Cf. e.g. Geelhaar 2002 for a recent assessment) or, using very general terms, Cic .. Mani!. 11 (cf. Pol. 2,8). 75 See most recently Jordens 2009, 355ff. 73

Wars, Tradeand Treaties

103

least in certain cases) could generate more money than exploiting conquered territory. 76 It is indeed not unlikely that Rome even collected the 25 per cent import tax throughout the first century CE on goods that entered the dependent kingdom of the Nabataeans at the fort (cppouptov) of Leuke Kame, for according to the Periplus Maris Erythraei, a customs officer (napaArpr-rri~) and a centurion (£KUTOVTUPX11~) with a detachment of soldiers had been sent there. 77 Support for such an interpretation can be found in epigraphic evidence for Roman soldiers collecting the capitulum lenocenitax in Chersonesus Taurica or in reports of other dependent kings of the first and second centuries CE sending tribute to Rome. 78 If true, this raises questions with regard to the ambassadors and (gifts' King Charibael of the Sabaeans and Himyarites is said to have continuously sent to the Romans in the mid-first century CE. Interestingly, the elder Pliny also mentions the arrival at Rome of embassies bringing gifts of frankincense 76

Strabo 2,5,8 and 4,5,3. PME 19: rcapa,dprn1