Foreign sources Pandyan dynasty

temple between hill symbols , elephant coin of pandyas sri lanka 1st century ce.



muziris, shown in tabula peutingeriana, templum augusti .

megasthenes knew of pandyan kingdom around 300 bce. described in indika occupying portion of india lies southward , extends sea. according account, had 365 villages, each of expected meet needs of royal household 1 day in year. described pandyan queen @ time, pandaia daughter of heracles.

the periplus of erythraean sea (c. 60 – c. 100 ce) describes riches of pandian kingdom :

...nelcynda distant muziris river , sea 5 hundred stadia, , of kingdom, pandian. place situated on river, 1 hundred , twenty stadia sea....

the chinese historian yu huan in 3rd-century text, weilüe, mentions panyue kingdom: ...the kingdom of panyue called hanyuewang. several thousand li southeast of tianzhu (northern india)...the inhabitants small; same height chinese.... john e. hill identified panyue pandya kingdom. however, others have identified ancient state located in modern burma or assam.

the roman emperor julian received embassy pandya 361. roman trading centre located on pandyan coast @ mouth of vaigai river, southeast of madurai.

pandyas had trade contacts ptolemaic egypt and, through egypt, rome 1st century, , china 3rd century. 1st-century greek historian nicolaus of damascus met, @ antioch, ambassador sent king india named pandion or, according others, porus caesar augustus around 13 ce (strabo xv.4 , 73).

according xuanzang, pandya country depot sea pearls, people harsh , of different religions. @ trade.

in later part of 13th century venetian traveller marco polo visited pandyan kingdom , left vivid description of land , people. polo exclaimed that:

the darkest man here highly esteemed , considered better others not dark. let me add in truth these people portray , depict gods , idols black , devils white snow. god , saints black , devils white. why portray them have described.




^ india john keay
^ periplus 54. original greek: Ἡ δὲ Νέλκυνδα σταδίους μὲν ἀπὸ Μουζιρέως ἀπέχει σχεδὸν πεντακοσίους, ὁμοίως διά τε ποταμοῦ (καὶ πεζῇ) καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης, βασιλείας δέ ἐστιν ἑτέρας, τῆς Πανδίονος· κεῖται δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ παρὰ ποταμὸν, ὡσεὶ ἀπὸ σταδίων ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τῆς θαλάσσης.
^ hill, john
^ bin yang (2009). between winds , clouds: making of yunnan (second century bce twentieth century ce). columbia university press. isbn 978-0-231-14254-0. 
^ yukteshwar kumar (2005). history of sino-indian relations. aph publishing. p. 12. isbn 978-81-7648-798-6. 
^ strabo, geography, book xv., chapter i., section 73. perseus.tufts.edu. retrieved on 12 july 2013.
^ keay, p121
^ cite error: named reference ancient indian history , civilization invoked never defined (see page).
^ travel , ethnology in renaissance: south india through european eyes, joan-pau rubiés
^ muslim identity, print culture, , dravidian factor in tamil nadu, j. b. prashant more
^ layers of blackness: colourism in african diaspora, deborah gabriel