Tyndis

Tondis on Peutinger Table (north of "Templ Augusti" and "Lacus Muziris")

Tyndis (Ancient Greek: Τύνδις^[1], Tamil: Thondi^[2]) was an ancient south Indian seaport/harbor-town mentioned in the Graeco-Roman writings. It was located north of port Muziris (Muchiri) — by around 500 stadia — in the country of the Chera rulers.^[3]^[2] No archaeological evidence has been found for Tyndis.^[2]

Chera rulers of early historic south India (c. second century BCE - c. third century CE^[4]) had their headquarters at Karur (Karuvur) in the interior Tamil Nadu and harbors at Muziris (Muchiri) and Tyndis (Thondi) on the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala).^[4] There are several references to a port with the name Thondi, on the Kerala coast, in the Chera country, in early historic Tamil texts.^[2]^[4]

Thondi, a town with same name in the Pandya country, on the eastern coast of the peninsula, is also mentioned in early Tamil literature.^[5]^[2] This town still exists with the same name.^[2]

Different variations of the name

The term "Thondi" in Tamil refers to either "a small bay-like landscape" or the "navel".^[3]^[2] Thondi, like Virai or Arikamedu-Virampattinam, is sometimes referred to as "Munthurai" or "the port in front [of the town] in the sources. ^[2] It is also called "Kanalam Thondi" or "the coastal town with backwater lakes" or backwaters with flowers.^[2] It is also described as "valam kezhu", signifying its riches, much like Muziris (Muchiri), in the Tamil poems.^[2]

The Thondi port also had a goddess ("Ananku").^[2]

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea - Tyndis^[3]
Pliny the Elder (Natural History) - Tyndis^[3]
Peutinger Table - Tondis^[3]
Claudius Ptolemy (Geography) - Tyndis^[3]

Sources

Graeco-Roman descriptions

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 1st century CE^[3]), 54-56, mentions Tyndis as a "village by plain sight from the sea".^[2]
- "Naura and Tyndis, the first ports of trade of Limyrike"
- "Tyndis, a well known village on the coast, is in the kingdom of Keprobotos..."
- Tyndis is situated 500 stadia (92 km) north to Muziris "by river and sea" (that is, the distance covered river-travel also).^[3]^[6]
Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) - "the Caelobothras ruled a kingdom extending to Tyndis (on the north-west)".^[3]
By the time Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century) wrote, Tyndis had grown large enough for him to call it (Geography 7.1.8) a "town" ("polis").^[7]

Tabula Peutingeriana locates "Tondis" north of Muziris (north of "Templ Augusti" and "Lacus Muziris").^[3]

Early Tamil texts

There are several references to a port with the name Thondi, on the Kerala coast, in the early Tamil texts. It was under the control of the Chera rulers (probably under the Irumporai collateral branch).^[2] It was perhaps associated with the hinterland trade from the Malabar Coast to interior Tamil country via the Palghat Gap.^[2]

The Chera ruler of Thondi was usually called "Poraiyan".^[2] One ruler, notably called "Thin Ther Poraiyan" or "the Poraiyan Chera with the Strong Chariot", finds repeated mention in the early Tamil literature.^[2] In some occasions, Chera ruler of Thondi is directly named as "Chenkol Kuttuvan" or Cheraman Ko Kothai Marpan.^[2]

There are mentions of a "palace" of the Chera ruler in Thondi.^[2] The Chera ruler, according to early Tamil poems, fixed the tooth of his enemy chieftain "muvan" on the gate of this palace.^[2] Ruler of Thondi seems to have had a contingent of Marava people among his fighters and was in possession of several elephants.^[2] He also handed out coins to bards or poets and, in once instance, gifted varudai (mountain) goats from the Deccan region (?) to the Brahmin priests.^[2]

There are mention of extensive rice or paddy cultivation in the fields in and around Thondi ("the coastal town with backwater lakes" or backwaters with flowers). Early Tamil poems also hint at coconut trees, and some hills "around" Thondi.^[2]

Thondi was also famous for its fishing and "neythal" flowers.^[2] It also had a fishing community of Paratavar people.^[2]

Location

The location of Muziris provides clues for the location Tyndis, which was 500 stadia (92 km) north of it ("by river and sea").^[3] The exact location of the port is still unknown.

Possible candidates include the following modern locations:

Kadalundi^[3]
- About 117 km north of Kodungallur^[3]
- Mouth of Chaliyar as well as Kadalundi River^[3]
- Kadalundi = Kadal (sea)+ Thundi (navel)^[3]
- An open harbour entrance through a channel around 12 meter deep (that does not need dredging)^[3]
Ponnani^[3]
- About 74 km north of Kodungallur^[3]
- Mouth of Bharathappuzha^[3]
- Opposite to the Palakkad Gap^[3]
Panthalayini Kollam (Quilandy)^[2]

References

^ Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 53 and 54
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Selvakumar, V. (2016). "Ancient Ports of Kerala: An Overview". In Mathew, K. S. (ed.). Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris: New Perspectives on Maritime Trade. Taylor & Francis. pp. 271 and 274–80 and 411. ISBN 978-1-351-99752-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Gurukkal, Rajan; Whittaker, Dick (2001). "In Search of Muziris". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 14: 334–350. doi:10.1017/S1047759400019978. ISSN 1047-7594.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gurukkal, Rajan (2013). "Classical Indo-Roman Trade: A Misnomer in Political Economy". Economic and Political Weekly. 48 (26–27).
^ "Excavations: Thondi". Tamil Nadu State Department of Archeology. Government of Tamil Nadu.
^ Sharma, Yogesh, ed. (2010). Coastal Histories: Society and Ecology in pre-Modern India. Primus Books.
^ Casson, Lionel (1989). The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press. p. 213. ISBN 1-4008-4320-0.

Bibliography

Lionel Casson (2012) [1989]. The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4320-6.
Gurukkal, Rajan (2015). "Classical Indo-Roman Trade: A Misnomer in Political Economy". Economic and Political Weekly. 48 (26–27).

External links

[1] Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 53 and 54

[:3-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Selvakumar, V. (2016). "Ancient Ports of Kerala: An Overview". In Mathew, K. S. (ed.). Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean Regions and Muziris: New Perspectives on Maritime Trade. Taylor & Francis. pp. 271 and 274–80 and 411. ISBN 978-1-351-99752-2.

[:0-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Gurukkal, Rajan; Whittaker, Dick (2001). "In Search of Muziris". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 14: 334–350. doi:10.1017/S1047759400019978. ISSN 1047-7594.

[:11-4] Gurukkal, Rajan (2013). "Classical Indo-Roman Trade: A Misnomer in Political Economy". Economic and Political Weekly. 48 (26–27).

[5] "Excavations: Thondi". Tamil Nadu State Department of Archeology. Government of Tamil Nadu.

[6] Sharma, Yogesh, ed. (2010). Coastal Histories: Society and Ecology in pre-Modern India. Primus Books.

[7] Casson, Lionel (1989). The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press. p. 213. ISBN 1-4008-4320-0.

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