Paper Details

Maritime trade played a crucial role in shaping the economic, social, and cultural landscape of ancient Tamilakam. Located along the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, the Tamil region possessed natural harbours and access to major sea routes of the Indian Ocean, enabling sustained maritime interactions with distant regions. This paper examines the nature and extent of maritime trade in ancient Tamilakam by analysing literary evidence from Sangam literature alongside archaeological findings from coastal and inland trade centres. Sangam poems such as Pattinappaalai, Akananuru, and Perumpanarruppadai provide vivid descriptions of bustling ports, merchant communities, commodities, and overseas contacts, reflecting a thriving maritime economy. These literary accounts are corroborated by archaeological discoveries at sites such as Arikamedu, Kaveripattinam, and Korkai, where Roman coins, amphorae, beads, and structural remains have been unearthed. The work explores the geographical advantages of Tamilakam, the organisation of maritime trade, the role of ports and merchants, and the nature of overseas trade networks connecting South India with the Roman world, West Asia, and Southeast Asia. It also analyses the socio-economic impact of maritime trade, including urban growth, monetisation, and cultural exchange. By integrating literary and material sources, the paper highlights Tamilakam’s active participation in early transoceanic trade systems. The findings challenge the notion of ancient South India as a peripheral region and instead emphasise its role as a dynamic centre of commercial and cultural interaction in the Indian Ocean world.

Maritime trade, Tamilakam, Sangam literature, Arikamedu, Indo-Roman trade