Question

India’ overseas trade with Rome is mentioned in …………………………….
A.Ptolemy’s geography
B.Sangam literature
C.Both A and B
D.Rig vedic texts

Answer 1

Hint: Sangam means a group of knowledgeable people. The documents collected in such gatherings are called "Sangam Literature". This is the oldest literature in Tamil. The entire period is called the Sangam era. Claudius Ptolemy was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer and astrologer. He wrote several scientific papers, three of which were important to the later Byzantine, Islamic and Western European science.

Complete answer:
Indo-Roman trade relations are trades between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire in Europe and the Mediterranean. Trade through the land caravan routes of Asia and the Middle East, although relatively slow compared to later times, it passed through the Red Sea and the monsoon predated the southern trade routes, which began around 30 BC in the Era (CE) Augustus the Great and his experience of conquering Egypt.

In sangam literature:
After the decline in bilateral trade, Christian and Jewish settlers from Rome continued to live in India. A large number of Roman coins have been found throughout India, especially in the busy maritime trade center in the south. King Tamilakkam reissued the Roman coin under his own name after destroying the coin as a sign of sovereignty. Mentions of traders are recorded in the Tamil Sangam literature in India. One of them mentioned: "The exquisite ships Yavanas built were made of gold and pepper, while Muziris was sounded by the noise." (Excerpted from Sangam Literature 'Akananuru' 149 poems).

In ptolemy’s geography:
Classical geographers such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder are usually slow to incorporate new information into their work, and from the position of their respected scholars, it seems that they have a low profile of merchants and their topographic descriptions. bias. Ptolemy's "Geography" made a breakthrough in this regard, because he showed openness to their accounts. Without the input of traders, he would not be able to map the Bay of Bengal so accurately.

Hence, the correct answer is option (c).

Note: In ancient times, including the civilizations of Saraswati and the valley of the Indus, the trade between India and Rome was very active, and it did not begin to decline sharply until the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. Since the end of the second century AD, the volume of trade has begun to decrease.