Roman coinage
T. SATYAMURTHY
LATE ROMAN COPPER COINS FROM SOUTH INDIA — Karur, Madurai and Tirukkoilur:
R. Krishnamurthy; Garnet Publishers, T-7/1, Cauvery Salai, Besant Nagar, Chennai-600090. Rs. 300.
Historians, archaeologists and numismatists interested in Roman trade with India are now familiar with the details of the Roman imperial silver and gold coins found in several places in India. The publication of the data related to them is responsible for this. Unfortunately, it is not the case with the late Roman copper coins. Even though R.H.C. Tufnell and Robert Sewell have made passing reference to them, they have not paid the close attention it deserved. Hence, credit should go to the author for collecting hundreds of this type of tiny, dirty and worn out coins from Karur, Madurai and Tirukkoilur, identifying the Roman emperor who issued them and also the names of the mints from which these coins were issued. It is a Herculean effort indeed. But, R. Krishnamurthy seems to have succeeded in this difficult endeavour.
Indo-Roman trade
The book begins with an introduction to the late Roman emperors (307-498 A.D.), followed by a brief note on the Sangam period, numismatic and literary evidences for Indo-Roman trade during the Roman imperial period (31 B.C.- 218 A.D.). It is generally assumed that Roman trade with South India came to an end with the death of the Roman emperor Caracalla (circa 217 A.D.). But according to the author, the discovery of late Roman copper coins, assignable to fourth and fifth century A.D., from Karur, Madurai and Tirukkoilur indicates that the Roman trade with India was revived around fourth century A.D. He also adds that this period coincided with the so called Kalabhra interregnum in Tamil Nadu.
Lack of details led historians to label the Kalabhra occupation as the dark period in the history of Tamil Nadu. Krishnamurthy argues that the discovery of a large quantity of late Roman copper coins, which seem to have been in circulation during Kalabhra rule, signals revival of trade with the late Roman Empire and hence the earlier views about Kalabhras need revision. Since the coins are badly worn out, the author is led to believe that these coins “were used for making payments in the internal trade…” However, Andrew Burnett of the British Museum has expressed the view, elsewhere, that these types of coins were sent to India as scrap metal since there was a demand for them. We are aware that local coins assignable to this period are not reported so far. Hence, the question may arise why the imported scrap metal was not used to strike coins of the local rulers.
The value of this book is enhanced by the inclusion of previous studies on similar coins from India and Sri Lanka, an appendix on the composition of metals in such coins from Karur and presentation of all the details about the coins in a user-friendly format. This aesthetically produced and reasonably priced book is bound to remain as a standard work for researchers and coin collectors in the coming years.
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