Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/55

Rh addresses the Pandyan Prince Nan-rn aran in the following words: “0 Mara, whose sword is ever victorious! Spend thou thy days in peace and joy, drinking daily out of golden cups, presented by thy handmaids, the cool and fragrant wine brought by the Yavanas in their good ships.” The Yavanas alluded to by these poets were undoubtedly the Egyptian Greeks, because as stated in the Periplus, it was Greek merchants from Egypt who brought wine, brass, lead, glass, etc., for sale to Muchiri (Muziris) and Vaikkarai (Bakare) and who purchased from these ports pepper, betel, ivory, pearls and fine muslins. The Greeks sailed from Egypt in the month of July and arrived at Muchiri in about forty days. They stayed on the Malabar coast for about three months and commenced their return voyage from Muchiri in December or January. During their sojourn in Malabar, they would have naturally imparted much of their civilization to the Tamils. As the Indian seas were infested by pirates, the Greek merchants brought with them cohorts of archers on board their ships. Egypt being at this period subject to Rome, the archers who accompanied the Greek merchants must have been Roman soldiers. The superior arms and discipline of the Roman soldiers could not have failed to inspire in the Tamils a desire to become better acquainted with the Romans and to share their civilization. The Pandyan King was the first to realise the benefits of an alliance with the Romans. He sent two embassies to Cœsar, desiring to become his friend and ally. One of these reached Augustus when he was at Terracona in the eighteenth year after the death of Julius Cœsar (B. c. 26) and another six years afterwards (B. C. 20) when that Prince was at Samos. Roman soldiers were enlisted in the service of the Pandyas and other Tamil Kings. During the reign of the Pandya Aryap-padai-kadantha-Nedunj-cheliyan, Roman soldiers were employed to guard the gate of the fort of Madura. A poet of this period describes a Tamil King’s tent on a battle field as follows :—“ In a tent with double walls of canvas firmly