Pots of Gold in the Backyard!

Really, no joke! There was a time when gold coins minted in Rome were hoarded in South India. There was an active and prosperous trade going on with the Romans as early as 2^nd century BC and through to the 2^nd century AD. The Roman conquest of Egypt linked Alexandria, the famous port in Egypt to Rome and via Arabian Sea to the South Indian ports in the Indian peninsula.

Yavana traders, as the Indians called the Greek traders, had become active in South India. Arabs by the end of mid-first century AD had learned to use the monsoon winds to travel speedily across the mid-ocean rather than winding up the coasts.

Ships sailing from the southern end of Red Sea would wait for the South West Monsoon to pass its peak before they set sail for India, using the now less ferocious wind. The returning North East Monsoon from across India in the winter would bring these ships back. The seamen and traders from Egypt had to stay a short while in Indian coastal cities to wait for the favorable monsoon winds. Thus there sprang colonies of Yavanas in Indian coastal area.

Shipping was brisk and South Indians took up long distance voyagers to Red sea or South East Asia for trade. Pliny, the Roman author and naturalist, a naval and army commander of early Roman Empire, who lived in the first century AD, says that Indian ships were of 75 tons and some could even hold up to 700 passengers.

Indian traders sailed to South East Asia to obtain spices which were not readily available in India and traded it with the Roman traders. They sailed by sea to Java, Sumatra and Bali, earning immense profits as they resold these to the Alexandrian merchants in India. They went even to Myanmar and Cambodia.

An Indian Brahmin, Kaundinya, was said to have married a Cambodian princess and introduced Indian culture, especially Hinduism in Cambodia. Angkor Wat stands a testimony to this cultural exchange. For almost 5 centuries, starting from 5^th century to 15^th century AD, majority of Cambodian population were Hindus, until they were gradually converted into Buddhism after the decay and demise of the Indian kingdoms there.

It was a global trade even during 1^st Century AD. Unfortunately gradually Arab traders took over the Western coast commercial maritime initiative and replaced Indian traders as intermediaries. Indian traders became the suppliers and no more the carriers of goods to countries westward.  

Indian vessels brought rice, wheat, and textiles to Socotra in the Arabian Sea, now a part of Yemen. The imports to India were pearls, dyes, wine, dates, gold and specially trained slaves. Roman traders purchased spices from Indian traders, especially pepper, which was used in preservation and in medicine by the Roman world. Such spices were exchanged for Roman gold and silver coins, coral and wine.

Semi-precious stones, particularly beryl, jewels, textiles, pearls, sandalwood, ebony and teak were also exported from India. To amuse the rich patrons in Rome, they imported from India ivory and animals like apes, parrots and peacocks, in addition to textiles, jewels and spices.

Important ports on the eastern coast of India were Poompuhar or Kaveripattinam, Arikamedu and others. A Greek maritime geography of the 1^st Century AD, called Periplus, lists out a compendium of ports and routes along Red Sea and the Indian coast. Kodangallur or Cranganore near Kochi on the western coast of India was linked to the trade in pepper, spices and beryl. Rich pepper trade with Malabar Coast continued for centuries until the time of Portuguese.

There was a settlement of Yavanas in Arikmedu, in south east India from 1^st century BC. It seems textiles were manufactured locally, but to the specification of the Romans and shipped west to eventually reach Rome. What is it except outsourcing, as our textile factories and tailoring units are doing today in the 21^st century!

Roman merchants who traded in India were not necessarily Romans from Rome, but consisted of Egyptians Jews, Greeks from Alexandria and Eastern Mediterranean and also some from North Africa, from all parts of Roman Empire.  

Wine, Olive oil and fish sauce had come from the southern Italy and Greek islands for the use of the Yavana traders, who had settled in South India. Korkai, Alangankulam, Kodumanal, all had such contacts with the Romans. Pot shreds with the names of Indians inscribed on them, some in Tamil Brahmi and some in Prakrit languages have been recently excavated in the ports on the Red Sea, providing evidence of Indian’s extended seafaring activity to distance shores in search of profits in trade.

Most importantly, hoards of Roman imperial coins have been unearthed in some Buddhist sites in Deccan and deep in south India. These coins were of earlier Roman Emperors like Augustus and Tiberius. The debased coins of Nero were not thought worthy of hoarding. Excavations have also shown attempts by Indian rulers to imitate the portraits of Roman coins with substandard portraits of the local rulers.

Roman historian Pliny complained that the trade with the east was causing a serious drain on the income of Rome, to the extent of 550 million sesterces, every year, of which at least one fifth went to India. (Sesterce, a large brass coin of early Rome, has been calculated to be equivalent to $1.55 in 2015). Balance of trade seems to be very much in favor of India. Roman currency denarius was freely in circulation in South India.

Roman gold and silver coins have been found in South India, literally in hoards; even recently such pots full of Roman gold coins have been accidentally unearthed in people’s backyards, while digging for construction of a house or a well. What a find! Of course one has to unfortunately surrender such treasures to the government! These coins were used largely as bullion or as high values currency, leading it to be hoarded; it might have been used as an item of gift-exchange among the local chiefs or as potential capital for further exchange.

With all the brisk trade and pots full of Roman gold and silver coins made by the Indian traders, hardly any written account has been left by the Indians on the places they visited or traded with. Whereas Marco Polo, who visited India in 1288 and 1293, during Pandyan kingdom, has left such elaborate account of India, its rulers, people, their customs, etc. No such account by Indians is forthcoming. Why so?

May be Indians were so full of their own greatness, and arrogance that they are the best in the world, prevented them from taking an active interest in the countries around them! When they are the best, then where is the need to learn from the others! Within their own country, as Marco Polo observed, Indians will not pass on their knowledge to the others belonging to other castes, let alone to the foreigners. No exchange of knowledge took place. 

Well, at least they had hoarded pots of gold and silver coins, which we still keep surfacing! Wish the people who do unearth such hoards are lucky enough to keep it and not surrender it to the government. Ahh, how sad, we live in democratic republic! All exotic things belong to the government. Very unfair, of course.

First Experiment in Imperial Government in India

The first Empire in India, extending from Sind River to Ganges was established by the Mauryans. Chandragupta Maurya managed to win his Empire from the remnants of Nanda kingdom in 321 BC and established his throne securely in the Gangetic plain first. Gradually he turned his attention to north-west of India, where Seleucid kings were ruling.

In a fight against the Greek Seleucus Nicator in 305 BC, Chandragupta Maurya seemed to have won and a favorable treaty was signed in 303 BC. Areas of present East Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Makran were ceded to Maurya from Nicator’s domain, in return of 500 elephants, highly useful in wars in those days.

A marriage alliance was negotiated and the daughter of Nicator was given in marriage to Chandragupta. She came to live in Pataliputra, the capital of Maurya kingdom and along with her came many Greek maiden as her companions. Envoys were exchanged and Megasthenes from the court of Nicator came to live in Pataliputra, and left his impressions of India in a write up called Indica.

Chandragupta was of Shudra caste and not a kshatrya. His Prime Minister Kautilya, a Brahman, was the one who skillfully managed to win the throne of Nandas to Chandragupta. It was an interesting combination – a shrewd Brahman adviser and a Shudra man with muscles. Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, still stands in India for shrewdness or ‘Chanakya tantra.’ The book he wrote, Arthasastra bears witness to this fact.

At the end, Chandragupta became an ardent Jaina, abdicated in favor of his son Bindusara and retired to Sharavanabelgola in today’s Karnataka. He became an ascetic and in the orthodox traditions of Jain religion, he ended his life by regulated slow starvation - self euthanasia? Well, Jain religion permits the same.

Interestingly, the next ruler, Bindusara, asked and received as gifts from Greek King Antiochus I, sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist! On his death in 276 BC, after a period of scuffle with his brothers over the throne, Ashoka succeeded in enthroning himself as an Emperor in 272 BC. His empire extended from north-western India to the east and up to Karnataka in the south. Kalinga was outside his empire and he waged a war and won it.

In the southern peninsula, the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings were ruling and Ashoka seemed to have had friendly relations with them and also with the Sri Lankan king. He had contacts with Antiochus II Theos of Syria, (260-246 BC); Ptolomy II Philadelphus of Egypt (285-247 BC); Antigonus Gonatus of Macedonia (276-239 BC); Magas of Cyrene and Alexander of Epirus.

There were a lot of Greek influences on the Mauryan kings and the people and vice versa. Capitals of the Ashokan pillars are remarkably similar to those at Persepolis and the very idea of engraving on rocks by Ahoka could have come to him on hearing those of the King Darius. He made many Major and Minor Rock Edicts and later engraved on polished sandstone monolithic pillars with animals depicted as capitals, called Pillar Edicts.

Ashoka campaigned against Kalinga kingdom in 260 BC and won. But the destruction caused by the war filled him with deep remorse. 150,000 people were deported; 100,000 soldiers died fighting; and many more perished. The misery caused to the families and the survivors touched his heart. “This participation is all men in suffering weighs heavily on my mind,” he engraved in his Major Rock Edict XIII.

Gradually Ashoka became an ardent Buddhist and adopted non-violence as his principle. The Third Buddhist Council was held during his time at Pataliputra. Decision to spread Buddhism actively was taken during this council and proselytizing was taken up all over India and Asia. His own son Mahinda went to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism.

It is of interest to note that Ashoka gifted a branch of the original Bodhi tree under which Buddha obtained enlightenment to Sri Lankan Prince and that had survived till today, whereas unfortunately the original tree in India itself was vandalized by anti-Buddhist elements and got destroyed completely.

Emperor Ashoka died in 232 BC and the empire broke up soon afterwards and it ended when the last Mauryan ruler was assassinated by his Commander-in- Chief, Pushyamitra, a Brahman. The usurper founded the Shunga dynasty; thus ended the first experiment in imperial government in India.

Many historians have blamed Ashoka’s non-violence policy, his emphasis on social ethics and his taking active part in propagating Buddhism which went against the grain of Vedic Brahmanism, as the causes for the Empire’s decline and demise. Not necessarily. The real causes may have to be looked at elsewhere.

Vast resources were required to maintain a great standing army, the payment of salary to the higher bureaucracy, the highly centralized administration, and such other costs of maintaining the Empire would have been a great strain on the treasury. The main tax revenue was land revenue, as it was very much an agrarian economy, through trade also flourished. Towards the end there seemed to have been a drought and decline in the fortunes of the empire.