Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer
Aswathy Moni
“With its streets,its houses,its covered fishing boats,where they sell fish,where they pile up rice-with the shifting and mingling crowd of a boisterous river-bank where the sacks of pepper are heaped up-with its gold deliveries,carried by the ocean-going ships and brought to the river bank by local boats,the city that bestows much wealth to its visitors,and the merchants of the mountains,and the merchants of the sea,the city where liquor abounds,yes,this Muziris,where the rumbling ocean roar, is given to me lies a marvel, a treasure.”This is the description of the historical port city of Muzirisas mentioned in Purananuru,the ancient Tamil Sangam poem.
Muziris,now located in Kodungallur,Thrissur district of Kerala,still honors the pride as mentioned by Roman author Pliny in his Natural History where he mentioned Muziris as “the first emporium of India”. The city also makes its appearance in Tabula Peutingeriana,the fifth-century map of the world as seen from Rome.Muziris is also mentioned in another poem as “the city where liquor abounds” which “bestows wealth to its visitors indiscriminately” with “gold deliveries,carried by the ocean-going ships and brought to the river bank by local boats”.The Peutinger maprecords a city called Muziris in south India where the Romans had to build a temple for Augustus and even maintained two army cohorts to protect their trade.
The story of Muziris begins even before 3000 BC when Babylonians,Assyrians, and Egyptians view the Malabar coast in search of the spices.Later Arabs and Phoenicians were added to the group. Sangam literature also mentions Roman ships coming to Muziris laden with gold to be exchanged for pepper in the port.According to Pliny and the author of Periplus of Erythren Sea,Muziris could be reached 14 days from the Red Sea port on the Egyptian coast depending on monsoon winds. Muziris was subjected to attacks from the pirates of Nitrias. Tamil literature Agom 2 says that Utian Cheral was the first Chera king whose territory is said to have extended up to the Western Sea. Purananooru 57 poem mentions that a Pandyan Vantan besieged the port of Muchiri/Muziris. Purananooru 343 graphically describes the backwater scenario around Muchiris. Patirrupattu 554 mentions the Bantar where the ornaments that came through the sea are stored. Muziris port is excavated in a place believed to be known as Chendamangalam.In ‘Kokilasandesa’ of Uddanda Sastrigal,the place is referred to as ‘Jayantamangalam’,which may be seen as the Sanskrit version of Chendamangalam. Evidenceof a papyrus in the Vienna Museum,speaks off-trade agreement between Muziris and Alexandria,followinga trade agreement between two traders from here.
There is not much known about the political history of Muziris. According to Periplus and Pliny. Kerala during 1 century AD was under the control of Kerala Putras who is none other than Chera rulers.As Eastern Cheras were made vassals of Karnataka,the region of Muziris was lost and Thondi faded into oblivion.
The Muziris Heritage Project is one of the biggest conservation projects in India. Pattanam and Kottapuram are the two sites where excavations are on full throng now. Muziris has recently yielded a complete human skeleton for the first time in India.Some other things excavated from here include Chinese coins,Chinese inscriptions,pieces of decorated porcelain,West Arabian pottery pieces,iron nails,stone beads,17 century Ditch Coins, and tiles. It’s a hope now that the excavations at Muziris shower new light upon the grand trade rout India enjoyed with the western world.
REFERENCES
- muzirisheritage.org
- com, Make History fun again:Muziris the fabulous ancient Indian port
- Gurukkal,Rajan and Whittaker,Dick,In Search of Muziris,2001
