Page:The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.djvu/237

 chemical composition, being of the corundum group, was found in the same place as the sapphire of Ceylon, and was probably classified by Pliny under the carbunculus (XXXVII, 25). Both rubies and sapphires are found in much greater quantities in Burma and Siam, but at the time of the Periplus these deposits were probably unknown to western commerce.

56. Tortoise-shell from Chryse.—Fabricius objects to this reading, and alters it to "that found along the coast;" but it is probable that the text gives a correct reference to the active trade of Eastern shipping in South Indian ports; which is, indeed, specifically mentioned in §§60 and 63. Marco Polo notes particularly the ships "from the great province of Manzi," and says (III, xxv) that the ships from Malabar to Aden and Egypt "are not one to ten of those that go to the eastward; a very notable fact."

To assume that conditions were the same at the time of the Periplus would be to go beyond the evidence; yet the records of the Chinese themselves point strongly to the existence of an active sea-trade at that time, certainly to Malacca, and less frequently, perhaps, to India and beyond.

With this item ends the list of articles traded in by the author of the Periplus. It is interesting to compare it with the letter from the Zamorin of Calicut to the King of Portugal, carreid by Vasco da Gama on his return from India fourteen centuries later: "In my kingdom there is abundance of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. What I seek from thy country is gold, silver, coral, and scarlet."

57. Hippalus first discovered.—The discovery of Hippalus, which may be placed at about 45 A.D. (see p.8), opened a new ocean to Roman shipping; but it is probable that Arabian and Dravidian craft had frequented that ocean for many centuries, and inconceivable that they should not have made use of the periodic changes of the monsoons, by far the most notable feature of their climate. The evidence of both countries indicates, on the contrary, that they steered boldly out of sight of land, before records were written to tell of it.

Mr. Kennedy in an article in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1898, (pp.248–287) also thinks that the monsoons were understood before the time of Hippalus, but doubts the beginning of any regular sea-trade before the beginning of the 7th century B.C., ascribing all such trade to the activities of Nabonidus, in whose time ships were known to have come to Babylon from India and even from China. Following this reign he thinks sea-trade between India and