Coins In Lucknow Mus. Vol 01 [56 MB - IndianCoins.org

ROMAN COINS. 25foreign people, and the glorious prospect of an undivided command ofthe Eastern trade added an unusual degree of vigour to their subsequentproceedings." Although the occupation of Egypt by the Eomans offered thema far greater facility of communicating with India, yet their progressin this respect appears to have been slow and gradual, Augustus probablybeing more desirous of firmly establishing his authority in thatcountry than extending his views to the conquest of remoter lands.No expedition to the countries bordering on the Red Sea appears tohave been meditated till some seventy or eighty years after theEgyptian conquest. Duringall this time the trade had been carriedon by Greek or Egyptian vessels. Without venturing far to sea, thecommanders of these ships, starting from the port of Berenice (whichstill retains its ancient name), were in the habit of creeping slowly alongthe Arabian coast up the Persian Gulf, and never, perhaps, reachingfarther than the mouths of the Indus, till at last a certain commander,more venturesome ihan his predecessors, boldly pushed across the ocean,and, favored by the monsoon, safely reached the port of Musiris on theMalabar coast. 33 This successful voyage was but the prelude to othermore fortunate enterprises, and so rapid became the increase of communicationthat not long afterwards a fleet of one-hundred and twentysail was annually wafted by the assistance of the monsoon from theRed Sea to the coast of Malabar, from which time a regular trade wasestablished between the ports of Egypt and the Red Sea and thoseof the western coast of India."From the death of Augustus to the elevation of Trajan to theimperial throne, no important additions had been made to the limitsof the empire with the exception of Britain. Trajan soon began toentertain the idea of carrying the Roman arms to the East, and, circumnavigatingthe coast of Arabia, vainly hoped at length to reach theshores of India ;but the expedition was so far unsuccessful, and, thedeath of that emperor soon after taking place, the project wasabandoned entirelyby his successor Hadrian." The attempt of Trajan, who died 117 A.D., was never repeated byhis successors, nor does there appear to have been any fresh acquisitionmade to the knowledge hitherto obtained of the western part of Indiauntil the reign of Justinian, when, owing to the increase of the silktrade, the rival power of the Persians sprang up. The empire was eventhen in its decline, and the traffic, and, consequently, the dominion overthese seas being successfully disputed by a maritime people, the Romanswere soon compelled to share, and finally to abandon, the profits of theircommercial dealings with India, which had hitherto been crowned withsuch advantage and success."Even the information which the most celebrated writers of thefirst and second centuries had obtained of India was most inaccurate33 It is not exactly known where the present position of Musiris lies, or even of Barace,another port which was not far from it. Robertson adopting the opinion of Major fiennellia inclined to fix them both between the modern towns of Gk>a and Tellichmy, rely ing ona remark of Pliny that " they were not far distant from Cottonara, a country where pepperis produced in great abundance." In this case Barace might be Barcoor, as generallysupposed, and Musiris in all probability Mangalorc.4