Ancient Greek and Phoenician Coins from Karur, Tamil Nadu, India
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Tamil literature has profuse quotes about the presence of Romans. All referred to them as Yavanas.
The famous Pattu-pattu and Ettu-thokai; Silappadhikaram and Manimekhalai; and the Jivaka-Cintamani and Perum-kathai give several references to the Roman trade, their gifts and articles to the local kings.
Tamil Nadu’s trade and culture is as old as its 3000-year old history. The spot that attracted the Romans is Karur which is in the Tiruchi district of Tamil Nadu.
The astonishing number of coins and inscribed objects unearthed from the Amaravathi River bed, and their study by scholars like Iravatham Mahadevan, R. Nagaswamy and R. Krishnamurthy, (Editor, Dinamalar), prove beyond doubt that the Greeks, Roman and Phoenicians were here to trade.
According to Dr. Nagaswamy, Tamil scholar Francois Gros of the Ecole Francais Extreme Orient, Pondicherry, suggested the study of all the Karur finds and assessment of their archaeological significance, along with the role of Karur in the history of Tamil civilisation. The studies clearly proved that the presence of these foreigners had left a far deeper impact on the economy, defence, arts and architecture than imagined earlier.
The Tamil literature makes it abundantly clear that the Tamils admired the work and products of the Romans for their quality and in a number of cases started imitating them. The issue of portrait coins with the legend and head of the local Kings (Makkothai) is clearly a point in this direction.
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