Sources of ancient Tamil history
Encyclopedia
There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the Sangam literature
, generally dated to the last centuries BCE to early centuries CE. The poems in Sangam literature contain vivid descriptions of the different aspects of life and society in Tamilakam
during this age; scholars agree that, for the most part, these are reliable accounts. Greek and Roman literature, around the dawn of the Christian era, give details of the maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Roman empire
, including the names and locations of many ports on both coasts of the Tamil country.
Archaeological excavations of several sites in Tamil Nadu
and Kerala
have yielded remnants from the Sangam era, such as different kinds of pottery, pottery with inscriptions, imported ceramic ware, industrial objects, brick structures and spinning whorls. Techniques such as stratigraphy
and paleography have helped establish the date of these items to the Sangam era. The excavated artifacts have provided evidence for existence of different economic activities mentioned in Sangam literature such as agriculture, weaving, smithy, gem cutting, building construction, pearl fishing and painting.
Inscriptions found on caves and pottery are another source for studying the history of Tamilakam. Writings in Tamil-Brahmi
script have been found in many locations in Kerala
, Tamil Nadu
, Sri Lanka
and also in Egypt and Thailand. mostly recording grants made by the kings and chieftains. References are also made to other aspects of the Sangam society. Coins issued by the Tamil kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most of the coins carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty on their reverse, such as the bow and arrow of the Cheras
; some of them contain portraits and written legends helping numismatists assign them to a certain period.
, generally dated from the last centuries of the pre-Christian era to the early centuries of the Christian era. It consists of 2,381 known poems, with a total of over 50,000 lines, written by 473 poets. Each poem belongs to one of two types: Akam (inside) and Puram (outside). The akam poems deal with inner human emotions such as love and the puram poems deal with outer experiences such as society, culture and warfare. They contain descriptions of various aspects of life in the ancient Tamil country. The Maduraikkanci by Mankudi Maruthanaar contains a full-length description of Madurai
and the Pandyan country under the rule of Nedunj Cheliyan III. The Netunalvatai
by Nakkirar contains a description of the king’s palace. The Purananuru
and Akanaṉūṟu
collections contain poems sung in praise of various kings and also poems that were composed by the kings themselves. The Sangam age anthology Pathirruppaththu
provides the genealogy of two collateral lines for three or four generations of the Cheras, along with describing the Chera country, in general. The poems in Ainkurnuru
, written by numerous authors, were compiled by Kudalur Kizhar at the instance of Chera King Yanaikkatcey Mantaran Ceral Irumporai.The Chera kings are also mentioned in other works such as Akanaṉūṟu, Kuruntokai
, Naṟṟiṇai
and Purananuru. The Pattinappaalai
describes the Chola
port city of Kaveripumpattinam in great detail. It mentions Eelattu-unavu – food from Eelam
– arriving at the port. One of the prominent Sangam Tamil poets is known as Eelattu Poothanthevanar
meaning Poothan-thevan (proper name) hailing from Eelam mentioned in Akanaṉūṟu: 88, 231, 307; Kurunthokai
: 189, 360, 343 and Naṟṟiṇai: 88, 366.
The historical value of the Sangam poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Sivaraja Pillay, a 20th century historian, while constructing the genealogy of ancient Tamil kings from Sangam literature, insists that the Sangam poems show no similarities with ancient Puranic literature and medieval Tamil literature, both of which contain, according to him, fanciful myths and impossible legends. He feels that the Sangam literature is, for the most part, a plain unvarnished tale of the happenings of a by-gone age. Scholars like Dr. Venkata Subramanian, Dr. N. Subrahmanian, Dr. Sundararajan and J.K. Pillay concur with this view. Noted historian K.A.N. Sastri dates the presently available Sangam corpus to the early centuries of the Christian Era. He asserts that the picture drawn by the poets is in obedience to literary tradition and must have been based on solid foundation in the facts of contemporary life; he proceeds to use the Sangam literature to describe the government, culture and society of the early Pandyan kingdom. Kanakalatha Mukund, while describing the mercantile history of Tamilakam, points out that the heroic poetry in Sangam literature often described an ideal world rather than reality, but the basic facts are reliable and an important source of Tamil history. Her reasoning is that they have been supported by archaeological and numismatic evidence and the fact that similar vivid descriptions are found in works by different poets. Dr. Husaini relies on Sangam literature to describe the early Pandyan society and justifies his source by saying that some of the poetical works contain really trustworthy accounts of early Pandyan kings and present facts as they occurred, though they never throw much light about the chronology of their rule.
Among the critics of using Sangam literature for historical studies is Herman Tieken, who maintains that the Sangam poems were composed in the 8th or 9th century CE and that they attempt to describe a period much earlier than when they were written.
Tieken's methodology of dating Sangam works has been criticized by Hart, Ferro-Luzzi, and Monius. Robert Caldwell, a 19th century liguist, dates the Sangam works to a period that he calls the Jaina cycle which was not earlier than the 8th century CE; he does not offer an opinion on the historical value of the poems. Kamil Zvelebil, a Czech indologist, considers this date quite impossible and says that Caldwell's choice of works are whimsical. Champakalakshmi states that since the Sangam period is often stretched from 300 BCE to 300 CE and beyond, it would be hazardous to use the Sangam works as a single corpus of source for the entire period.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the Sangam poems were created between 1st century and 4th century CE and many of them are free from literary conceits. The Macropaedia mentions that the historical authenticity of sections of Sangam literature has been confirmed by archaeological evidence.
, mentions the “easy to travel” trade route to the South and the products of the Pandya kingdom, including some special varieties of pearls. He refers to the city of Madurai and the river Tamraparani in the Pandya kingdom. The Sinhalese
chronicle Mahawamsa claims that King Vijaya (c. 543 BCE) married a daughter of the Pandyan king Kulasekaran, to whom he was sending rich presents every year. Using the references to king Gajabahu I in the Mahawamsa and the Uraiperu katturai of the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram
, historians have arrived at a literary chronological device referred to as the Gajabahu synchronism
to date the events mentioned in the Tamil epic to the 2nd century CE. The famous Greek traveler Megasthenes
(c. 302 BCE) mentions the “Pandae” kingdom and refers to it as “that portion of India which lies to the southward and extends to the sea”. The Roman historian Strabo
(c. 1st century BCE) mentions the embassies sent by the Pandyas to the court of Augustus
, along with a description of the ambassadors from Dramira. He also gives various details about the trading relationship between the Tamil kingdoms and Rome. Pliny the Elder
(c. 77 CE) refers to many Tamil ports in his work The Natural History. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
(c. 60–100 CE) gives an elaborate description of the Tamil country and describes the riches of a 'Pandian Kingdom':
The Peutingerian tables which speak of a temple of Augustus in the west coast of Tamilakam were composed in 222 CE. The Roman emperor Julian
received an embassy from a Pandya about 361. A Roman trading centre was located on the Pandyan coast (Alagankulam—at the mouth of the Vaigai river, southeast of Madurai). The Pandyas also had trade contacts with Ptolemaic Egypt
and, through Egypt, with Rome
by the 1st century, and with China
by the 3rd century. The 1st century Greek historian Nicolaus of Damascus
met, at Damascus, the ambassador sent by an Indian King "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE (Strabo XV.1–4, and Strabo XV.1–73).
The Buddhist Jataka story
known as Akiti Jataka refers to the Damila-rattha (Tamil country) including the region of Kaveripattinam
. In the Petavatthu
commentary, the Damila country
encompasses the Dakhinapátha
.
The Chinese writer Pan Kou, who lived before 1st century CE, refers to the city of Kanchipuram in his work Tsien han chou. The Chinese historian Yu Huan in his 3rd century text, the Weilüe
, mentions The Kingdom of Panyue:
and Kerala
, many of them in the second half of the 20th century. One of the most important archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu is Arikamedu, located 3 km south of Pondicherry. According to Wheeler, it was an Indo-Roman trading
station that flourished during the first two centuries CE. It has been suggested that Arikamedu
was first established as a settlement ca. 250 BCE and lasted until 200 CE. Kodumanal
and Perur
, villages on the banks of the Noyyal river
in Coimbatore district
, were situated on the ancient trade route between Karur
and the west coast, across the Palghat gap on the Western Ghats
. Both sites have yielded remains belonging to the Sangam age. Kaveripumpattinam, also known as Puhar or Poompuhar, is located near the Kaveri
delta and played a vital role in the brisk maritime history of ancient Tamilakam. Excavations have been carried out both on-shore and off-shore at Puhar and the findings have brought to light the historicity of the region. The artefacts excavated date between 300 BCE and early centuries CE. Some of the off-shore findings indicate that parts of the ancient city may have submerged under the advancing sea, as alluded to by the Sangam literature. Korkai
, a port of the early Pandyas
at the Tamraparani basin, is now located 7 km inland due to the retreating shoreline caused by sediment deposition. Alagankulam, near the Vaigai delta, was another port city of the Pandyas and an archaeological site that has been excavated in the recent years. Both the Pandyan ports have provided clues about local occupations, such as pearl
fishing. Other sites that have yielded remnants from the Sangam age include Kanchipuram
, Kunnattur, Malayampattu and Vasavasamudram along the Palar river; Sengamedu and Karaikadu along the Pennar river
; Perur
, Tirukkampuliyur, Alagarai and Urayur
along the Kaveri river
.
These excavations have yielded different varieties of ceramics such as black and red ware, rouletted ware and Russet coated ware, both locally made and imported kinds. Many of the pottery
sherds contain Tamil-Brahmi
inscriptions on them, which have provided additional evidence for the archaeologist to date them. Other artifacts such as brick walls, ring wells, pits, industrial items, remains of seeds and shells provide clues about the nature of the settlements and the other aspects of life during the Sangam age. Archaeologists agree that activities best illustrated in the material records of Tamilakam are trade, hunting, agriculture and crafts.
Archeological evidence for agriculture in the Sangam age has been retrieved from sites such as Mangudi
, Kodumanal
and Perur
, which have yielded charred remains of seeds of crops like rice, millets including pearl millets, pulses and cotton. It has been deduced that agriculture most likely involved dry farming, with additional irrigation for cotton and rice; mixed cropping seems to have been undertaken to replenish the nitrogen in the soil—this also suggests a spread of labour and knowledge of different sowing and harvesting techniques. The presence of cotton seeds indicates the production of a crop aimed at craft production, which is also attested by finds of cotton and spindle whorls at Kodumanal. Remains of structures that resemble an artificial water reservoir have been located at different sites. In Arikamedu
, a few terracotta ring-wells were found at the bottom of the reservoir; it has been suggested that the ring wells were to assure the supply of water during the dry season.
A research survey at Kodumanal has unearthed the remains of an ancient blast furnace, its circular base distinguishable by its white colour, probably the result of high temperature. Around the base, many iron slags, some with embedded burnt clay, vitrified brick-bats, many terracotta pipes with vitrified mouths and a granite slab, which may have been the anvil, have been recovered. Absence of potsherds and other antiquities has suggested that the smelting place was located outside the boundary of habitation. More furnaces were discovered at the same site with burnt clay pieces with rectangular holes. The pieces were part of the furnace wall, the holes designed to allow a natural draught of air to pass through evenly into the furnace. Many vitrified crucibles were also recovered from this site; one of them notable because it was found in an in situ position. Evidence of steel making is also found in the crucibles excavated at this site. In addition to iron and steel, the metallurgy seems to have possibly extended to copper, bronze, lead, silver and gold objects. At Arikamedu, there were indications of small-scale workshops containing the remains of working in metal, glass, semiprecious stones, ivory and shell. Kodumanal has yielded evidence for the practice of weaving, in the form of a number of intact terracotta spindle whorls pierced at the centre by means of an iron rod, indicating the knowledge of cotton spinning and weaving. To further strengthen this theory, a well preserved piece of woven cotton cloth was also recovered from this site. Dyeing vats were spotted at Arikamedu.
Many brick structures have been located at Kaveripumpattinam during on-shore, near shore and off-shore explorations; these provide proof for building construction during Sangam age. The on-shore structure include an I-shaped wharf and a structure that looks like a reservoir. The wharf has a number of wooden poles planted in its structure to enable anchorage of boats and to facilitate the handling of cargo. Among other structures, there is a Buddhist vihara with parts of it decorated using moulded bricks and stucco. Near shore excavations yielded a brick structure and a few terracotta ring wells. Off-shore explorations located a fifteen course brick structure, three courses of dressed stone blocks, brick bats and pottery. At Arikamedu, there were indications of a structure built substantially of timber, possibly a wharf. Conical jars that could have been used for storing wine and oil have been found near structures that could have been shops or storage areas. Evidence of continued building activity are present at this site, with the most distinctive structures being those of a possible warehouse, dyeing tanks and lined pits.
Kodumanal was popular for the gem-cutting industry and manufacture of jewels. Sites bearing natural reserves of semi-precious stones such as beryls, sapphire and quartz are located in the vicinity of Kodumanal. Beads of sapphire, beryl, agate, carnelian, amethyst, lapis lazulli, jasper, garnet, soapstone and quartz were unearthed from here. The samples were in different manufacturing stages – finished, semi-finished, drilled and undrilled, polished and unpolished and in the form of raw material. Chips and stone slabs, one with a few grooved beads, clearly demonstrate that these were manufactured locally at Kodumanal. Excavations at Korkai
have yielded a large number of pearl oyesters at different levels, indicating the practice of the trade in this region. Some of the objects excavated from Kodumanal show a lot of artistic features such as paintings on the pottery, engravings on the beads, hexagonal designs on beads, inlay work in a tiger figurine and engraved shell bangles. More than ten designs are noticed in the paintings and bead etchings.
There are remnants of many of the items imported from and exported to the Roman empire, at Arikamedu
. Imported items recovered from here include ceramics such as amphorae and sherds of Arretine ware, glass bowls, Roman lamps, a crystal gem and an object resembling a stylus. Artifacts that may have been meant for export include jewellery, worked ivory, textiles and perhaps leather or leather-related products. Similar looking ornaments have been recovered from Arikamedu and Palatine Hill in Rome, further confirming that this site was a leading trade center. The Pandyan port city Alagankulam has yielded a rouletted pottery ware that bears the figure of a ship on the shoulder portion. This figure is very similar to a finding reported from Ostia
, an ancient port of the Romans. Wharf-like structures found at many port cities indicate that they might have been used as docks. Based on marine explorations of various port-sites, it has been suggested that stone anchors may have been used since as early as 3rd century BCE.
The earliest epigraphic records of the Tamil country in Tamil Nadu were found in Mangulam village near Madurai. The cave inscriptions, deciphered in 1966, have been dated to 2nd century BC and record the gift of a monastery by Pandyan king Nedunj Cheliyan to a Jain monk. These inscriptions are also the oldest Jain inscriptions in South India and among the oldest in all of India. References to Sangam age Chera dynasty are found in Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions of 3rd century CE found on rocks in Edakal hill
in Wynad district of Kerala. The ancient port city of Tondi
is mentioned in inscriptions found in Kilavalavu village near Madurai. The early part of the 20th century saw the discovery of about 39 inscriptions in a dozen locations, all near Madurai. The most significant of these were the ones at Alagarmalai and Sittannavasal. The Alagarmalai inscriptions, dated to the 1st century BCE, record the endowments made by a group of merchants from Madurai. Another set of inscriptions from 2nd century CE, found at Pugalur village near Karur, document the construction of a rock shelter by a Chera king of the Irumporai line for a Jain monk, Cenkayapan. Cave inscriptions at Arachalur, dated to the 4th century CE, provide evidence for the cultivation of music and dance in the Tamil country. One of the earliest inscriptional evidence of the chieftains of the Sangam age was found at Jambai, a village near the town of Tirukkoyilur in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. These inscriptions belonging to the 1st century CE record the grants made by the chieftain Atiyaman Netuman Anci who ruled from Takatur. According to epigraphist I. Mahadevan, there were some reservations initially, about the linguistic details in the inscriptions, but further investigations have confirmed their authenticity. Inscriptions from 2nd century CE found at Mannarkoil village in Tirunelveli district contain a reference to a katikai, which could mean an assembly of learned persons or an institution of higher learning. An inscription belonging to the early Cholas has been discovered near Tiruchirappalli and has been dated between the 2nd and 4th century CE.
An analysis of the geographical sites of these cave inscriptions points to the possibility of the Tamil-Brahmi script having been created at Madurai around the 3rd century BCE and its disseminations to other parts of Tamil country thereafter.
and Sri Lanka
, similar inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found outside the ancient Tamil country in Thailand
and the Red Sea
coast in Egypt
.
Arikamedu
, the ancient port city of the Cholas
, and Urayur
and Puhar
, their early capitals
, have yielded several fragmentary pottery inscriptions, all dated to the Sangam age. Kodumanal
, a major industrial center known for the manufacture of gems during this period, had remains of pottery with inscriptions in Tamil, Prakrit
and Sinhala-Prakrit. Alagankulam, a thriving sea port of the early Pandyas
, has yielded pottery inscriptions that mention several personal names including the name of a Chera
prince. One of the pottery sherds contained the depiction of a large Roman
ship. Many other ancient sites such as Kanchipuram
, Karur
, Korkai
and Puhar
have all yielded pottery with inscriptions on them. Outside of Tamil Nadu and Kerala
, inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found in Srikakulam
district in Andhra Pradesh, Jaffna
in modern Sri Lanka, ancient Roman ports of Qusier al-Qadim and Berenike in Egypt. The 2nd century BCE potsherds found in excavations in Poonagari, Jaffna
, bear Tamil inscriptions of a clan name - vēḷāṉ, related to velirs
of the ancient Tamil country
. The inscriptions at Berenike refer to a Tamil chieftain Korran.
inscription found near Madurai
in Tamil Nadu
and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam
(Eela-kudumpikan). It reads: erukatur eelakutumpikan polalaiyan - "Polalaiyan, (resident of) Erukatur, the husbandman (householder) from Eelam. Apart from caverns and pottery, Tamil-Brahmi writings are also found in coins, seals and rings of the Sangam age. Many of them have been picked up from the Amaravathi river bed near Karur. A smaller number of inscribed objects have been picked up from the beds of other rivers like South Pennar and Vaigai. An oblong piece of polished stone with Tamil-Brahmi inscription has been located in a museum in the ancient port city of Khuan Luk Pat in southern Thailand. Based on the inscription, the object has been identified as a touchstone (uraikal) used for testing the fitness of gold. The inscription is dated to 3rd or 4th century CE.
, Adiyaman, Pittan and Korrantai. References to administration includes the chiefs, superintendents, titles of ministers, palace of merchants and the village assembly. Religious references to Buddhist and Jain monks are found frequently, which have provided valuable information explaining the spread of those religions in Tamilakam. Brief mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities, occupations, the social stratification, flora, fauna, music and dance, names of cities and names of individuals are also found in the inscriptions.
are generally classified into three categories. The first category consists of punch-marked coins from Magadha
(400 BCE–187 BCE) and the Satavahanas (200 BCE–200 CE
). The second category is made up of coins from the Roman Empire
dated from 31 BCE to 217 CE
, coins of Phoenicians and Seleucids and coins from the Mediterranean region (c. 300 BCE). The third category of Sangam age Tamil coins are the punch-marked silver, copper and lead coins dated 200 BCE–200 CE and assigned to the Sangam age Tamil kings. The coins belonging to the first two categories mostly attest to the trading relationships that the Tamil people had with the kingdoms of northern India and the outside world. But they do not offer much information regarding the Sangam age Tamil polity. The third category of coins, however, have provided direct testimony to the existence of ancient Tamil kingdoms and have been used to establish their period to coincide with that of the Sangam literature.
, which is considered the royal emblem of the Pandyas. On the obverse of these coins are a variety symbols such as the sun, the sadarachakra, the trishul, a dog, stupa etc. The first group of silver coins was found at Bodinayakanur, in a hoard containing 1124 coins all belonging to the same type. The remaining coins in the five silver group and the copper group were all found in the Vaigai river bed near Madurai
. Four of the six silver groups have been assigned a date close to the end of the Mauryan rule, c. 187 BCE. Since Tamilakam
was deficient in metallic silver and since Roman silver did not become available in abundance until later, around 44 BCE, it has been postulated that the Pandyan kings melted silver from the coins brought in by trade with Magadha
or some foreign location other than Rome
. The names of the Pandyan kings who issued this series of coins is not clear. Another series of coins, all made of copper and found near Madurai, have the fish symbol on the reverse and among other symbols on the obverse, have the legend Peruvaluthi written in the Tamil-Brahmi
script. They have been assigned a date of around 200 BCE and are considered to have been issued by the Pandyan king Peruvaluthi. These coins are represent some of the few instances where the names of Sangam kings appear in non-literary sources. Sangam literature mentions the importance attached to Vedic sacrifices by Tamil kings including the Pandyan Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi. This fact is also corroborated by the discovery of several Pandyan coins that are referred to as the Vedic sacrifice series. These coins have symbols on their obverse that depict the sacrifices, such as a horse tied to the yuba-stambha, a yagna kunta and a nandhipada. More coins with animal symbols such as the tortoise, the elephant and the bull have been found and assigned to the Pandyan kings. Some of them even have a human portrait, possibly of the king who issued those coins, on their obverse. There are also Pandyan coins belonging to the 1st century BCE that have symbols depicting pearls, signifying the importance of pearl fishery to the Pandyan kingdom. The excavations at Algankulam, near Madurai, recovered two copper coins of the early Pandyas along with Northern Black Polished Ware. These coins have been assigned a broad time period ranging from 200 BCE to 200 CE.
Another series of Chera coins depicts various animals along with symbols on its obverse and the Cheran emblem on its reverse. Elephant, horse, bull, tortoise and lion are the animals depicted in this series, along with snake and fish. Symbols of inanimate objects include arched hills, battle axe, conch, river, swastika, trident, flowers and the sun.
A few other coins that contain a portrait and a legend have been unearthed; a coin assigned to Kuttuvan Kotai with his portrait and the legend ‘’Kuttuvan Kotai’’ is notable for the occurrence of the pulli in the legend. Based on paleography of the script, it has been assigned a date of late 1st century to early 2nd century CE. A coin belonging to 100 CE with the legend ‘’Kollipurai’’ and a full-body portrait of a warrior has been assigned to the king Kopperum Cheral Irumporai, as he was known as the victor of Kolli in literature. Another coin of roughly the same period of 100 CE with the legend ‘’Kolirumporaiy’’ and a warrior portrait has been found; it has not been assigned to a single king, but based on the legend, there are at least six Chera kings who could be associated with it.
and Arikamedu
, and also beds of rivers Amaravathi near Karur and South Pennar near Tirukkoilur. An early Chola coin has also been found in Thailand. The Chola coins do not contain a portrait or a legend and all of them depict symbols of animals and other inanimate objects like the animal series of the Cheras
. But, all of them carry the symbol of a tiger, the Chola emblem, on their reverse. One of the coins has been assigned a date earlier than 200 BCE and some others to about the time of Roman influence, which is around the dawn of the Christian era.
in southern Sri Lanka have unearthed locally issued coins produced between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, some of which carry Tamil personal names written in early Tamil characters, which suggest that Tamil merchants were present and actively involved in trade along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Sangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
, generally dated to the last centuries BCE to early centuries CE. The poems in Sangam literature contain vivid descriptions of the different aspects of life and society in Tamilakam
Ancient Tamil country
The Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
during this age; scholars agree that, for the most part, these are reliable accounts. Greek and Roman literature, around the dawn of the Christian era, give details of the maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, including the names and locations of many ports on both coasts of the Tamil country.
Archaeological excavations of several sites in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
have yielded remnants from the Sangam era, such as different kinds of pottery, pottery with inscriptions, imported ceramic ware, industrial objects, brick structures and spinning whorls. Techniques such as stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
and paleography have helped establish the date of these items to the Sangam era. The excavated artifacts have provided evidence for existence of different economic activities mentioned in Sangam literature such as agriculture, weaving, smithy, gem cutting, building construction, pearl fishing and painting.
Inscriptions found on caves and pottery are another source for studying the history of Tamilakam. Writings in Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi, or Damili is an early phonetic script used to write Tamil characters. It is a variant of many Brahmi scripts used throughout South Asia, namely Ashokan Brahmi, Southern Brahmi, Bhattiprolu script and the Sri Lankan based Sinhala-Brahmi. It is known from surviving inscribed cave beds,...
script have been found in many locations in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and also in Egypt and Thailand. mostly recording grants made by the kings and chieftains. References are also made to other aspects of the Sangam society. Coins issued by the Tamil kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most of the coins carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty on their reverse, such as the bow and arrow of the Cheras
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
; some of them contain portraits and written legends helping numismatists assign them to a certain period.
Literary sources in Tamil
By far, the most important source of ancient Tamil history is the corpus of Tamil poems, referred to as Sangam literatureSangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
, generally dated from the last centuries of the pre-Christian era to the early centuries of the Christian era. It consists of 2,381 known poems, with a total of over 50,000 lines, written by 473 poets. Each poem belongs to one of two types: Akam (inside) and Puram (outside). The akam poems deal with inner human emotions such as love and the puram poems deal with outer experiences such as society, culture and warfare. They contain descriptions of various aspects of life in the ancient Tamil country. The Maduraikkanci by Mankudi Maruthanaar contains a full-length description of Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
and the Pandyan country under the rule of Nedunj Cheliyan III. The Netunalvatai
Netunalvatai
Netunalvatai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. "Netunalvatai" is part of the Pattupattu collection, which is the oldest available collection of long poems in Tamil literature....
by Nakkirar contains a description of the king’s palace. The Purananuru
Purananuru
Purananuru is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 200 BCE – 100 CE. Purananuru is part of the Ettuthokai anthology which is the oldest available collection of poems of Sangam literature in Tamil....
and Akanaṉūṟu
Akananuru
Akananuru , a classical Tamil poetic work, is the seventh book in the Sangam literature anthology Ettuthokai. It contains 400 Akam poems dealing with matters of love and separation...
collections contain poems sung in praise of various kings and also poems that were composed by the kings themselves. The Sangam age anthology Pathirruppaththu
Pathirruppaththu
Pathiṟṟuppaththu is a classical Tamil poetic work. It is the fourth book in the Ettuthokai, an anthology of Sangam literature. The name Pathiṟṟuppaththu means 'ten tens', referring to the ten sets of ten poems the book contains. The first and the last ten poems have been lost beyond recovery...
provides the genealogy of two collateral lines for three or four generations of the Cheras, along with describing the Chera country, in general. The poems in Ainkurnuru
Ainkurnuru
Ainkurunooru a classical Tamil poetic work, containing five hundred short poems and is part of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. The poems in this book were written by numerous authors and were compiled by Kudalur Kizhar at the instance of Chera King Yanaikkatcey Mantaran Ceral...
, written by numerous authors, were compiled by Kudalur Kizhar at the instance of Chera King Yanaikkatcey Mantaran Ceral Irumporai.The Chera kings are also mentioned in other works such as Akanaṉūṟu, Kuruntokai
Kuruntokai
Kuruntokai ,a classical Tamil poetic work, is the second book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. Kuruntokai contains poems dealing with matters of love and separation content matter and were written by numerous authors. Nachinarkiniyar, a Tamil scholar living during the sixth or the ...
, Naṟṟiṇai
Natrinai
Narrinai ,a classical Tamil poetic work, is a book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. Natrinai contains 400 poems dealing with the five landscapes of Sangam poetry – kurinchi, mullai, marutham, neithal and paalai. This belongs to some of the oldest extant Tamil literature and is dated...
and Purananuru. The Pattinappaalai
Pattinappaalai
Paṭṭiṉappālai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Pattinappaalai is part of the Pattupattu collection, which is the oldest available collection of long poems in Tamil literature....
describes the Chola
Early Cholas
The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Their early capitals were Urayur and Kaveripattinam...
port city of Kaveripumpattinam in great detail. It mentions Eelattu-unavu – food from Eelam
Eelam
Eelam also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Eelam is also a name for the spurge , toddy and gold. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly known, although there are number of...
– arriving at the port. One of the prominent Sangam Tamil poets is known as Eelattu Poothanthevanar
Eelattu Poothanthevanar
Eelattu Poothanthevanar was one of the earliest known classical Tamil poets. His poems were included in the Tamil sangam or Cankam poetry anthologies compiled in Tamilakam before 250 AD...
meaning Poothan-thevan (proper name) hailing from Eelam mentioned in Akanaṉūṟu: 88, 231, 307; Kurunthokai
Kuruntokai
Kuruntokai ,a classical Tamil poetic work, is the second book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. Kuruntokai contains poems dealing with matters of love and separation content matter and were written by numerous authors. Nachinarkiniyar, a Tamil scholar living during the sixth or the ...
: 189, 360, 343 and Naṟṟiṇai: 88, 366.
The historical value of the Sangam poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Sivaraja Pillay, a 20th century historian, while constructing the genealogy of ancient Tamil kings from Sangam literature, insists that the Sangam poems show no similarities with ancient Puranic literature and medieval Tamil literature, both of which contain, according to him, fanciful myths and impossible legends. He feels that the Sangam literature is, for the most part, a plain unvarnished tale of the happenings of a by-gone age. Scholars like Dr. Venkata Subramanian, Dr. N. Subrahmanian, Dr. Sundararajan and J.K. Pillay concur with this view. Noted historian K.A.N. Sastri dates the presently available Sangam corpus to the early centuries of the Christian Era. He asserts that the picture drawn by the poets is in obedience to literary tradition and must have been based on solid foundation in the facts of contemporary life; he proceeds to use the Sangam literature to describe the government, culture and society of the early Pandyan kingdom. Kanakalatha Mukund, while describing the mercantile history of Tamilakam, points out that the heroic poetry in Sangam literature often described an ideal world rather than reality, but the basic facts are reliable and an important source of Tamil history. Her reasoning is that they have been supported by archaeological and numismatic evidence and the fact that similar vivid descriptions are found in works by different poets. Dr. Husaini relies on Sangam literature to describe the early Pandyan society and justifies his source by saying that some of the poetical works contain really trustworthy accounts of early Pandyan kings and present facts as they occurred, though they never throw much light about the chronology of their rule.
Among the critics of using Sangam literature for historical studies is Herman Tieken, who maintains that the Sangam poems were composed in the 8th or 9th century CE and that they attempt to describe a period much earlier than when they were written.
Tieken's methodology of dating Sangam works has been criticized by Hart, Ferro-Luzzi, and Monius. Robert Caldwell, a 19th century liguist, dates the Sangam works to a period that he calls the Jaina cycle which was not earlier than the 8th century CE; he does not offer an opinion on the historical value of the poems. Kamil Zvelebil, a Czech indologist, considers this date quite impossible and says that Caldwell's choice of works are whimsical. Champakalakshmi states that since the Sangam period is often stretched from 300 BCE to 300 CE and beyond, it would be hazardous to use the Sangam works as a single corpus of source for the entire period.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the Sangam poems were created between 1st century and 4th century CE and many of them are free from literary conceits. The Macropaedia mentions that the historical authenticity of sections of Sangam literature has been confirmed by archaeological evidence.
Literary sources in other languages
Kautilya, in his Sanskrit work ArthashastraArthashastra
The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names Kautilya and , who are traditionally identified with The Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and...
, mentions the “easy to travel” trade route to the South and the products of the Pandya kingdom, including some special varieties of pearls. He refers to the city of Madurai and the river Tamraparani in the Pandya kingdom. The Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
chronicle Mahawamsa claims that King Vijaya (c. 543 BCE) married a daughter of the Pandyan king Kulasekaran, to whom he was sending rich presents every year. Using the references to king Gajabahu I in the Mahawamsa and the Uraiperu katturai of the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram
Cilappatikaram
Silappatikaram Silappatikaram has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of Christian era, although the author might have built upon a pre-existing folklore to spin this tale. The story involves the three Tamil kingdoms of the ancient era, the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera...
, historians have arrived at a literary chronological device referred to as the Gajabahu synchronism
Gajabahu synchronism
Gajabahu synchronism is the chronological device used by historians to help date early Tamil history. The synchronism, first propounded by Kanakasabhai Pillai in 1904 in his "The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago" was adopted by some scholars of the time to date Tamil literature...
to date the events mentioned in the Tamil epic to the 2nd century CE. The famous Greek traveler Megasthenes
Megasthenes
Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica.He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria possibly to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India. However the exact date of his embassy is uncertain...
(c. 302 BCE) mentions the “Pandae” kingdom and refers to it as “that portion of India which lies to the southward and extends to the sea”. The Roman historian Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
(c. 1st century BCE) mentions the embassies sent by the Pandyas to the court of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, along with a description of the ambassadors from Dramira. He also gives various details about the trading relationship between the Tamil kingdoms and Rome. Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(c. 77 CE) refers to many Tamil ports in his work The Natural History. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...
(c. 60–100 CE) gives an elaborate description of the Tamil country and describes the riches of a 'Pandian Kingdom':
- ""Then come Naura and TyndisTyndisTyndis is an ancient sea-port and harbor-town north to Muziris in the Chera Kingdom, modern day India on the Malabar Coast. The exact location of the port is still unknown, modern day Koyilandi is often identified as Tyndis located in the Sangam Tamil kingdom of the Cheras...
, the first markets of Damirica (Limyrike), and then MuzirisMuzirisMuziris is an ancient sea-port in Southwestern India on the Periyar River 3.2 km from its mouth. The derivation of the name Muziris is said to be from "Mucciripattanam," "mucciri" means "cleft palate" and "pattanam" means "city". Near Muziris, Periyar River was branched into two like a...
and Nelcynda, which are now of leading importance. Tyndisis of the Kingdom of CerobothraChera dynastyChera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
; it is a village in plain sight by the sea. Muziris, of the same Kingdom, 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...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia, and is of another Kingdom, the Pandian. This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea...."
The Peutingerian tables which speak of a temple of Augustus in the west coast of Tamilakam were composed in 222 CE. The Roman emperor Julian
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
received an embassy from a Pandya about 361. A Roman trading centre was located on the Pandyan coast (Alagankulam—at the mouth of the Vaigai river, southeast of Madurai). The Pandyas also had trade contacts with Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
and, through Egypt, with Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by the 1st century, and with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
by the 3rd century. The 1st century Greek historian Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He was born around 64 BC....
met, at Damascus, the ambassador sent by an Indian King "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE (Strabo XV.1–4, and Strabo XV.1–73).
The Buddhist Jataka story
Jataka
The Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
known as Akiti Jataka refers to the Damila-rattha (Tamil country) including the region of Kaveripattinam
Kaveripattinam
Kaveripattinam is a panchayat town in Krishnagiri district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is approximately 100 km from Bangalore. The town is very green because of the KRP Dam nearby. Kaveripattinam is famous for its cultivation of mangoes. There are lot of mango pulp industries, milk...
. In the Petavatthu
Petavatthu
The Petavatthu is a Theravada Buddhist scripture, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka. It is composed of 51 verse narratives describing specifically how the effects of bad acts can lead to rebirth into the unhappy world of petas in the doctrine of karma...
commentary, the Damila country
Ancient Tamil country
The Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
encompasses the Dakhinapátha
Dakshinapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use the term Dakshinapatha as a name for both the southern high road of the Indian subcontinent, and for the region lying south of Majjhimdesa or middle India. It is derived from the two Sanskrit roots dakshina for south, and patha for road.The first reference to...
.
The Chinese writer Pan Kou, who lived before 1st century CE, refers to the city of Kanchipuram in his work Tsien han chou. The Chinese historian Yu Huan in his 3rd century text, the Weilüe
Weilüe
The Weilüe written by Yu Huan between CE 239, the end of Emperor Ming’s reign, and 265 CE, the end of the Cao Wei . Although not an "official historian," Yu Huan has always been held in high regard amongst Chinese scholars....
, mentions The Kingdom of Panyue:
- "...The kingdom of Panyue is also called Hanyuewang. It is several thousand li to the southeast of TianzhuTianzhu-Locations in China:*Mount Tianzhu , in Anhui*Tianzhu County, Guizhou , in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou*Tenzhu Tibetan Autonomous County , or Tianzhu, of Wuwei, Gansu...
(Northern India)...The inhabitants are small; they are the same height as the Chinese..."
Archeological sources
According to Abraham, the Sangam era corresponds roughly to the period 300 BCE–300 CE, based on archaeology. Many historical sites have been excavated in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, many of them in the second half of the 20th century. One of the most important archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu is Arikamedu, located 3 km south of Pondicherry. According to Wheeler, it was an Indo-Roman trading
Roman trade with India
Roman trade with India through the overland caravan routes via Anatolia and Persia, though at a relative trickle compared to later times, antedated the southern trade route via the Red Sea and monsoons which started around the beginning of the Common Era following the reign of Augustus and his...
station that flourished during the first two centuries CE. It has been suggested that Arikamedu
Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders...
was first established as a settlement ca. 250 BCE and lasted until 200 CE. Kodumanal
Kodumanal
Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature. The place is a important Archaeological Site, under the control of State...
and Perur
Perur
Perur is located on western side of Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It has famous Siva Temple, Patteeswarar .- Geography :Perur is situated about 7 km from Coimbatore Railway station. The area is mostly agricultural. Predominantly Cash crops like coconut, banana are grown in Perur .-...
, villages on the banks of the Noyyal river
Noyyal River
The Noyyal River rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, southeastern India and drains into the Kaveri River. The river's basin is long and wide and covers a total area of . Cultivated land in the basin amounts to while the population density is 120 people per km² ...
in Coimbatore district
Coimbatore District
Coimbatore District is one of the more affluent and industrially advanced districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is known as the Manchester of South India. It one of the most industrialized towns of Tamil Nadu. It has the highest GDP among the districts of Tamil Nadu, even ahead...
, were situated on the ancient trade route between Karur
Karur
Karur is a large town and a municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long...
and the west coast, across the Palghat gap on the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
. Both sites have yielded remains belonging to the Sangam age. Kaveripumpattinam, also known as Puhar or Poompuhar, is located near the Kaveri
Kaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
delta and played a vital role in the brisk maritime history of ancient Tamilakam. Excavations have been carried out both on-shore and off-shore at Puhar and the findings have brought to light the historicity of the region. The artefacts excavated date between 300 BCE and early centuries CE. Some of the off-shore findings indicate that parts of the ancient city may have submerged under the advancing sea, as alluded to by the Sangam literature. Korkai
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 km from the shore of Bay of Bengal. Korkai was the capital, principal center of trade and important port of the Early Pandyan...
, a port of the early Pandyas
Early Pandyan Kingdom
The Early Pandyas of the Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country, the other two being the Cholas and the Cheras. As with many other kingdoms around this period , most of the information about the Early Pandyas come to us mainly through literary sources and...
at the Tamraparani basin, is now located 7 km inland due to the retreating shoreline caused by sediment deposition. Alagankulam, near the Vaigai delta, was another port city of the Pandyas and an archaeological site that has been excavated in the recent years. Both the Pandyan ports have provided clues about local occupations, such as pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
fishing. Other sites that have yielded remnants from the Sangam age include Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
, Kunnattur, Malayampattu and Vasavasamudram along the Palar river; Sengamedu and Karaikadu along the Pennar river
Penner River
The Penner is a river of southern India. The Penner rises on the hill of Nandi Hills in Chikballapur District of Karnataka state, and runs north and east through the state of Andhra Pradesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal...
; Perur
Perur
Perur is located on western side of Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It has famous Siva Temple, Patteeswarar .- Geography :Perur is situated about 7 km from Coimbatore Railway station. The area is mostly agricultural. Predominantly Cash crops like coconut, banana are grown in Perur .-...
, Tirukkampuliyur, Alagarai and Urayur
Urayur
Urayur , located near the city of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India, was the capital of the early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Sometimes spelled as Uraiyur, this location is also known as Thirukkozhi, Nikalaapuri, Uranthai, and Kozhiyur. It has a...
along the Kaveri river
Kaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
.
These excavations have yielded different varieties of ceramics such as black and red ware, rouletted ware and Russet coated ware, both locally made and imported kinds. Many of the pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
sherds contain Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi, or Damili is an early phonetic script used to write Tamil characters. It is a variant of many Brahmi scripts used throughout South Asia, namely Ashokan Brahmi, Southern Brahmi, Bhattiprolu script and the Sri Lankan based Sinhala-Brahmi. It is known from surviving inscribed cave beds,...
inscriptions on them, which have provided additional evidence for the archaeologist to date them. Other artifacts such as brick walls, ring wells, pits, industrial items, remains of seeds and shells provide clues about the nature of the settlements and the other aspects of life during the Sangam age. Archaeologists agree that activities best illustrated in the material records of Tamilakam are trade, hunting, agriculture and crafts.
Evidence for economic activities
Mangudi
Mangudi is a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India.- Demographics :As per the 2001 census, Mangudi had a total population of 1946 with 965 males and 981 females. The sex ratio was 1017. The literacy rate was 75.12...
, Kodumanal
Kodumanal
Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature. The place is a important Archaeological Site, under the control of State...
and Perur
Perur
Perur is located on western side of Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It has famous Siva Temple, Patteeswarar .- Geography :Perur is situated about 7 km from Coimbatore Railway station. The area is mostly agricultural. Predominantly Cash crops like coconut, banana are grown in Perur .-...
, which have yielded charred remains of seeds of crops like rice, millets including pearl millets, pulses and cotton. It has been deduced that agriculture most likely involved dry farming, with additional irrigation for cotton and rice; mixed cropping seems to have been undertaken to replenish the nitrogen in the soil—this also suggests a spread of labour and knowledge of different sowing and harvesting techniques. The presence of cotton seeds indicates the production of a crop aimed at craft production, which is also attested by finds of cotton and spindle whorls at Kodumanal. Remains of structures that resemble an artificial water reservoir have been located at different sites. In Arikamedu
Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders...
, a few terracotta ring-wells were found at the bottom of the reservoir; it has been suggested that the ring wells were to assure the supply of water during the dry season.
A research survey at Kodumanal has unearthed the remains of an ancient blast furnace, its circular base distinguishable by its white colour, probably the result of high temperature. Around the base, many iron slags, some with embedded burnt clay, vitrified brick-bats, many terracotta pipes with vitrified mouths and a granite slab, which may have been the anvil, have been recovered. Absence of potsherds and other antiquities has suggested that the smelting place was located outside the boundary of habitation. More furnaces were discovered at the same site with burnt clay pieces with rectangular holes. The pieces were part of the furnace wall, the holes designed to allow a natural draught of air to pass through evenly into the furnace. Many vitrified crucibles were also recovered from this site; one of them notable because it was found in an in situ position. Evidence of steel making is also found in the crucibles excavated at this site. In addition to iron and steel, the metallurgy seems to have possibly extended to copper, bronze, lead, silver and gold objects. At Arikamedu, there were indications of small-scale workshops containing the remains of working in metal, glass, semiprecious stones, ivory and shell. Kodumanal has yielded evidence for the practice of weaving, in the form of a number of intact terracotta spindle whorls pierced at the centre by means of an iron rod, indicating the knowledge of cotton spinning and weaving. To further strengthen this theory, a well preserved piece of woven cotton cloth was also recovered from this site. Dyeing vats were spotted at Arikamedu.
Many brick structures have been located at Kaveripumpattinam during on-shore, near shore and off-shore explorations; these provide proof for building construction during Sangam age. The on-shore structure include an I-shaped wharf and a structure that looks like a reservoir. The wharf has a number of wooden poles planted in its structure to enable anchorage of boats and to facilitate the handling of cargo. Among other structures, there is a Buddhist vihara with parts of it decorated using moulded bricks and stucco. Near shore excavations yielded a brick structure and a few terracotta ring wells. Off-shore explorations located a fifteen course brick structure, three courses of dressed stone blocks, brick bats and pottery. At Arikamedu, there were indications of a structure built substantially of timber, possibly a wharf. Conical jars that could have been used for storing wine and oil have been found near structures that could have been shops or storage areas. Evidence of continued building activity are present at this site, with the most distinctive structures being those of a possible warehouse, dyeing tanks and lined pits.
Kodumanal was popular for the gem-cutting industry and manufacture of jewels. Sites bearing natural reserves of semi-precious stones such as beryls, sapphire and quartz are located in the vicinity of Kodumanal. Beads of sapphire, beryl, agate, carnelian, amethyst, lapis lazulli, jasper, garnet, soapstone and quartz were unearthed from here. The samples were in different manufacturing stages – finished, semi-finished, drilled and undrilled, polished and unpolished and in the form of raw material. Chips and stone slabs, one with a few grooved beads, clearly demonstrate that these were manufactured locally at Kodumanal. Excavations at Korkai
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 km from the shore of Bay of Bengal. Korkai was the capital, principal center of trade and important port of the Early Pandyan...
have yielded a large number of pearl oyesters at different levels, indicating the practice of the trade in this region. Some of the objects excavated from Kodumanal show a lot of artistic features such as paintings on the pottery, engravings on the beads, hexagonal designs on beads, inlay work in a tiger figurine and engraved shell bangles. More than ten designs are noticed in the paintings and bead etchings.
There are remnants of many of the items imported from and exported to the Roman empire, at Arikamedu
Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders...
. Imported items recovered from here include ceramics such as amphorae and sherds of Arretine ware, glass bowls, Roman lamps, a crystal gem and an object resembling a stylus. Artifacts that may have been meant for export include jewellery, worked ivory, textiles and perhaps leather or leather-related products. Similar looking ornaments have been recovered from Arikamedu and Palatine Hill in Rome, further confirming that this site was a leading trade center. The Pandyan port city Alagankulam has yielded a rouletted pottery ware that bears the figure of a ship on the shoulder portion. This figure is very similar to a finding reported from Ostia
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica is a large archeological site, close to the modern suburb of Ostia , that was the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, which is approximately 30 km to the northeast. "Ostia" in Latin means "mouth". At the mouth of the River Tiber, Ostia was Rome's seaport, but, due to...
, an ancient port of the Romans. Wharf-like structures found at many port cities indicate that they might have been used as docks. Based on marine explorations of various port-sites, it has been suggested that stone anchors may have been used since as early as 3rd century BCE.
Epigraphical sources
During the later half of the 20th century, several inscriptions of the Sangam age have been discovered in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Most of them are written in Tamil-Brahmi script and are found in rocks or on pottery. The information obtained from such inscriptions have been used to corroborate some of the details provided by the Sangam literature.Cave inscriptions
The 2nd and 13th rock edicts of Asoka (273–232 BCE) refers to the Pandyas, Cholas, Cheras and the Satiyaputras. According to the edicts, these kingdoms lay outside the southern boundary of the Mauryan Empire. The Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga King, Kharavela, (c. 150 BCE) refers to the arrival of a tribute of jewels and elephants from the Pandyan king. It also talks about a league of Tamil kingdoms that had been in existence 113 years before then.The earliest epigraphic records of the Tamil country in Tamil Nadu were found in Mangulam village near Madurai. The cave inscriptions, deciphered in 1966, have been dated to 2nd century BC and record the gift of a monastery by Pandyan king Nedunj Cheliyan to a Jain monk. These inscriptions are also the oldest Jain inscriptions in South India and among the oldest in all of India. References to Sangam age Chera dynasty are found in Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions of 3rd century CE found on rocks in Edakal hill
Edakkal Caves
Edakkal Caves are two natural caves at a remote location at Edakkal, 25 km from Kalpetta in the Wayanad district of Kerala in India's Western Ghats. They lie 1,200 metres above sea level on Ambukutty Mala, beside an ancient trade route connecting the high mountains of Mysore to the ports of...
in Wynad district of Kerala. The ancient port city of Tondi
Tyndis
Tyndis is an ancient sea-port and harbor-town north to Muziris in the Chera Kingdom, modern day India on the Malabar Coast. The exact location of the port is still unknown, modern day Koyilandi is often identified as Tyndis located in the Sangam Tamil kingdom of the Cheras...
is mentioned in inscriptions found in Kilavalavu village near Madurai. The early part of the 20th century saw the discovery of about 39 inscriptions in a dozen locations, all near Madurai. The most significant of these were the ones at Alagarmalai and Sittannavasal. The Alagarmalai inscriptions, dated to the 1st century BCE, record the endowments made by a group of merchants from Madurai. Another set of inscriptions from 2nd century CE, found at Pugalur village near Karur, document the construction of a rock shelter by a Chera king of the Irumporai line for a Jain monk, Cenkayapan. Cave inscriptions at Arachalur, dated to the 4th century CE, provide evidence for the cultivation of music and dance in the Tamil country. One of the earliest inscriptional evidence of the chieftains of the Sangam age was found at Jambai, a village near the town of Tirukkoyilur in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. These inscriptions belonging to the 1st century CE record the grants made by the chieftain Atiyaman Netuman Anci who ruled from Takatur. According to epigraphist I. Mahadevan, there were some reservations initially, about the linguistic details in the inscriptions, but further investigations have confirmed their authenticity. Inscriptions from 2nd century CE found at Mannarkoil village in Tirunelveli district contain a reference to a katikai, which could mean an assembly of learned persons or an institution of higher learning. An inscription belonging to the early Cholas has been discovered near Tiruchirappalli and has been dated between the 2nd and 4th century CE.
An analysis of the geographical sites of these cave inscriptions points to the possibility of the Tamil-Brahmi script having been created at Madurai around the 3rd century BCE and its disseminations to other parts of Tamil country thereafter.
Pottery inscriptions
Inscriptions on pottery, written in Tamil-Brahmi, have been found from about 20 archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu. Using methods such as stratigraphy and palaeography, these have been dated between 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE. Also found in present day Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, similar inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found outside the ancient Tamil country in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
coast in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Arikamedu
Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders...
, the ancient port city of the Cholas
Chola Dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
, and Urayur
Urayur
Urayur , located near the city of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India, was the capital of the early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Sometimes spelled as Uraiyur, this location is also known as Thirukkozhi, Nikalaapuri, Uranthai, and Kozhiyur. It has a...
and Puhar
Puhar
Puhar is a town in the Nagapattinam district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri puhum pattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the early Chola kings in Tamilakkam.It is located near the end point of the Kaveri river,...
, their early capitals
Early Cholas
The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Their early capitals were Urayur and Kaveripattinam...
, have yielded several fragmentary pottery inscriptions, all dated to the Sangam age. Kodumanal
Kodumanal
Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature. The place is a important Archaeological Site, under the control of State...
, a major industrial center known for the manufacture of gems during this period, had remains of pottery with inscriptions in Tamil, Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
and Sinhala-Prakrit. Alagankulam, a thriving sea port of the early Pandyas
Pandyan Kingdom
The Pandyan dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty. The Pandyas were one of the four Tamil dynasties , which ruled South India until the 15th century CE. They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from Korkai, a seaport on the Southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, and in later times moved...
, has yielded pottery inscriptions that mention several personal names including the name of a Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
prince. One of the pottery sherds contained the depiction of a large Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
ship. Many other ancient sites such as Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
, Karur
Karur
Karur is a large town and a municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long...
, Korkai
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 km from the shore of Bay of Bengal. Korkai was the capital, principal center of trade and important port of the Early Pandyan...
and Puhar
Puhar
Puhar is a town in the Nagapattinam district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri puhum pattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the early Chola kings in Tamilakkam.It is located near the end point of the Kaveri river,...
have all yielded pottery with inscriptions on them. Outside of Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found in Srikakulam
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...
district in Andhra Pradesh, Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
in modern Sri Lanka, ancient Roman ports of Qusier al-Qadim and Berenike in Egypt. The 2nd century BCE potsherds found in excavations in Poonagari, Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, bear Tamil inscriptions of a clan name - vēḷāṉ, related to velirs
Velirs
Velirs were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakkam in the early historic period of South India. Extolled in Sangam literature for their charity and truthfulness, they were the ancestors and head of the modern Tamil Vellalar caste...
of the ancient Tamil country
Ancient Tamil country
The Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
. The inscriptions at Berenike refer to a Tamil chieftain Korran.
Other inscriptions
The ThiruparankundramThiruparankundram
Thiruparankundram is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This Panchayat has been added to the Madurai Corporation and the first local body election for Corporation was held on 18th Oct 2011.-Demographics:...
inscription found near Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam
Eelam
Eelam also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Eelam is also a name for the spurge , toddy and gold. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly known, although there are number of...
(Eela-kudumpikan). It reads: erukatur eelakutumpikan polalaiyan - "Polalaiyan, (resident of) Erukatur, the husbandman (householder) from Eelam. Apart from caverns and pottery, Tamil-Brahmi writings are also found in coins, seals and rings of the Sangam age. Many of them have been picked up from the Amaravathi river bed near Karur. A smaller number of inscribed objects have been picked up from the beds of other rivers like South Pennar and Vaigai. An oblong piece of polished stone with Tamil-Brahmi inscription has been located in a museum in the ancient port city of Khuan Luk Pat in southern Thailand. Based on the inscription, the object has been identified as a touchstone (uraikal) used for testing the fitness of gold. The inscription is dated to 3rd or 4th century CE.
Polity from inscriptions
Epigraphy provides an account of various aspects of Sangam polity and has been used to verify some of the information provided by sources such as literature and numismatics. The names of various kings and chieftains occurring in the inscriptions include Nedunj Cheliyan, Peruvaluthi, Cheras of the Irumporai family, Tittan, NedunkilliNedunkilli
Nedunkilli was a Tamil king of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. Nedunkilli is mentioned in context with a civil war between him and another Chola Nalankilli. We have no definite details about this Chola or his reign...
, Adiyaman, Pittan and Korrantai. References to administration includes the chiefs, superintendents, titles of ministers, palace of merchants and the village assembly. Religious references to Buddhist and Jain monks are found frequently, which have provided valuable information explaining the spread of those religions in Tamilakam. Brief mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities, occupations, the social stratification, flora, fauna, music and dance, names of cities and names of individuals are also found in the inscriptions.
Numismatic sources
Another important source of studying ancient Tamil history are the coins that have been found in recent years in the excavations, megaliths, hoards and surface. The coins belonging to the Sangam age, found in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
are generally classified into three categories. The first category consists of punch-marked coins from Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
(400 BCE–187 BCE) and the Satavahanas (200 BCE–200 CE
200
Year 200 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus...
). The second category is made up of coins from the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
dated from 31 BCE to 217 CE
217
Year 217 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Praesens and Extricatus...
, coins of Phoenicians and Seleucids and coins from the Mediterranean region (c. 300 BCE). The third category of Sangam age Tamil coins are the punch-marked silver, copper and lead coins dated 200 BCE–200 CE and assigned to the Sangam age Tamil kings. The coins belonging to the first two categories mostly attest to the trading relationships that the Tamil people had with the kingdoms of northern India and the outside world. But they do not offer much information regarding the Sangam age Tamil polity. The third category of coins, however, have provided direct testimony to the existence of ancient Tamil kingdoms and have been used to establish their period to coincide with that of the Sangam literature.
Pandyan coins
Among the many coins attributed to the early Pandyas, are a series of punch-marked coins made of silver and copper, that are considered to belong to the earliest period. Six groups of silver punch-marked coins and one group of copper coins have been analysed so far. All of these punch-marked coins have a stylised fish symbol on their reverseObverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
, which is considered the royal emblem of the Pandyas. On the obverse of these coins are a variety symbols such as the sun, the sadarachakra, the trishul, a dog, stupa etc. The first group of silver coins was found at Bodinayakanur, in a hoard containing 1124 coins all belonging to the same type. The remaining coins in the five silver group and the copper group were all found in the Vaigai river bed near Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
. Four of the six silver groups have been assigned a date close to the end of the Mauryan rule, c. 187 BCE. Since Tamilakam
Tamilakam
' refers to the classical era territory of old South Indian royalties covering modern Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tamil Eelam and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka.; In an academic context, Tamilakam is used to refer to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural...
was deficient in metallic silver and since Roman silver did not become available in abundance until later, around 44 BCE, it has been postulated that the Pandyan kings melted silver from the coins brought in by trade with Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
or some foreign location other than Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The names of the Pandyan kings who issued this series of coins is not clear. Another series of coins, all made of copper and found near Madurai, have the fish symbol on the reverse and among other symbols on the obverse, have the legend Peruvaluthi written in the Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi, or Damili is an early phonetic script used to write Tamil characters. It is a variant of many Brahmi scripts used throughout South Asia, namely Ashokan Brahmi, Southern Brahmi, Bhattiprolu script and the Sri Lankan based Sinhala-Brahmi. It is known from surviving inscribed cave beds,...
script. They have been assigned a date of around 200 BCE and are considered to have been issued by the Pandyan king Peruvaluthi. These coins are represent some of the few instances where the names of Sangam kings appear in non-literary sources. Sangam literature mentions the importance attached to Vedic sacrifices by Tamil kings including the Pandyan Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi. This fact is also corroborated by the discovery of several Pandyan coins that are referred to as the Vedic sacrifice series. These coins have symbols on their obverse that depict the sacrifices, such as a horse tied to the yuba-stambha, a yagna kunta and a nandhipada. More coins with animal symbols such as the tortoise, the elephant and the bull have been found and assigned to the Pandyan kings. Some of them even have a human portrait, possibly of the king who issued those coins, on their obverse. There are also Pandyan coins belonging to the 1st century BCE that have symbols depicting pearls, signifying the importance of pearl fishery to the Pandyan kingdom. The excavations at Algankulam, near Madurai, recovered two copper coins of the early Pandyas along with Northern Black Polished Ware. These coins have been assigned a broad time period ranging from 200 BCE to 200 CE.
Chera coins
Many of the coins assigned to the Chera kings of Sangam age have been found near the Amaravathi river bed in Karur and elsewhere in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu state. They depict the royal emblem of the Cheras, the bow and arrow symbol, on the reverse. Among the Chera coins, the Makkotai series bears a unique pattern not found in other Tamil coins of its age. They contain both the portrait of a king (facing right) and a written legend, in this case the word Makkotai written in Tamil-Brahmi script. They have tentatively been identified with the Chera king Cheraman Makkotai. These coins exhibit similarities with the Roman coins of emperors Augustus and Tiberius; like the Roman coins, the portraits on the Makkotai series do not show any jewellery on the king. They are thought to be made of two separate pieces joined by lead, a practice prevalent elsewhere in India at that time. Official seals of the king Makkotai have also been recovered from the river bed; these seals contain the portrait facing left and the legend Makkotai written backwards (right-to-left). The reverse of the seals is blank. The Makkotai coins and the seals have been assigned a date range of 100 BCE to end of 100 AD. Another aspect of the portraits on the Makkotai coins are that they do not have identical head sizes and some facial features also vary from one coin to another, even though they all have the same written legend. Such an observation has been made of coins assigned to the Western Kshatrapas of Gujarat, which are thought to be another inspiration for the Chera coins. Scholars who analyzed the varying portraiture on the Kshatrapa coins have advanced several theories to explain the phenomenon: that the coins all belong to one king with portraits depicting him at his different ages or that the coins could be of different kings who chose to keep the name of an ancestor on their coins. Based on such theories, the Chera coins could either belong to the single king Cheraman Makkotai or to a series of his successors.Another series of Chera coins depicts various animals along with symbols on its obverse and the Cheran emblem on its reverse. Elephant, horse, bull, tortoise and lion are the animals depicted in this series, along with snake and fish. Symbols of inanimate objects include arched hills, battle axe, conch, river, swastika, trident, flowers and the sun.
A few other coins that contain a portrait and a legend have been unearthed; a coin assigned to Kuttuvan Kotai with his portrait and the legend ‘’Kuttuvan Kotai’’ is notable for the occurrence of the pulli in the legend. Based on paleography of the script, it has been assigned a date of late 1st century to early 2nd century CE. A coin belonging to 100 CE with the legend ‘’Kollipurai’’ and a full-body portrait of a warrior has been assigned to the king Kopperum Cheral Irumporai, as he was known as the victor of Kolli in literature. Another coin of roughly the same period of 100 CE with the legend ‘’Kolirumporaiy’’ and a warrior portrait has been found; it has not been assigned to a single king, but based on the legend, there are at least six Chera kings who could be associated with it.
Chola coins
The number of Chola coins discovered so far are not as many as those of Pandyas; most of them have been found from archeological excavations at PuharPuhar
Puhar is a town in the Nagapattinam district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri puhum pattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the early Chola kings in Tamilakkam.It is located near the end point of the Kaveri river,...
and Arikamedu
Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Pondicherry, southern India, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders...
, and also beds of rivers Amaravathi near Karur and South Pennar near Tirukkoilur. An early Chola coin has also been found in Thailand. The Chola coins do not contain a portrait or a legend and all of them depict symbols of animals and other inanimate objects like the animal series of the Cheras
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
. But, all of them carry the symbol of a tiger, the Chola emblem, on their reverse. One of the coins has been assigned a date earlier than 200 BCE and some others to about the time of Roman influence, which is around the dawn of the Christian era.
Coins of Chieftains
Parts of the Sangam age Tamil country were ruled over by several independent chieftains, along side the three crowned monarchs. Among them, coins belonging to the chieftains of the Malayaman clan have been found in Tamil Nadu. Many of them contain a written legend on the obverse and all of them have the image of a flowing river on their obverse. Based on the legends some of these coins have been assigned to specific rulers such as Tirukkannan, also known as Malaiyan Choliya Enadi Tirukkannan, and Tirumudi Kari. A series of coins without a legend but with a horse as the principal motif on the obverse have been assigned to the Malayaman chieftains, because of the river symbol on the obverse. Numismatist R. Krishnamurthy, dates these coins to the period between 100 BCE and 100 CE.Eelam Tamil coins
Excavations in the area of TissamaharamaTissamaharama
Tissamaharama is a town in south-eastern Sri Lanka. It used to be the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Only few buildings from that period can still be seen today. The large artificial Tissa Wewa lake, which was a part of a sophisticated irrigation...
in southern Sri Lanka have unearthed locally issued coins produced between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, some of which carry Tamil personal names written in early Tamil characters, which suggest that Tamil merchants were present and actively involved in trade along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.