Periplus of Erythran Sea in Greek Travelogue of the first century AD. It is assumed that Periplus was composed in 90 AD. The author of this work is anonymous. The term Periplus means voyage and the term Erythrean Sea means Red Sea. In short Periplus of Erythrean Sea means a voyage on the Red Sea. Pereplus’s of Red sea actually consisted of Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It seems that the author of Periplus was a Greek sailor who had visited India. He seems to have lived in Egypt. He started his voyage from Mussal port in Egypt. Then he sailed across north eastern part of Africa, and in to Persian Gulf and through the Western Ghats, touched Kanyakumari and sailed up to Ganges. He calls Tamilakam as Dimerikam. He provided lots of information about the port cities of Tamilakam.
Periplus on Muziris from Nilakanda Sastri;s “Foreign notices of south In­dia”.
“In the kingdom under the domina­tion of the Ceprobotras (Ceprobotras-The land of Cheras), an important village Tyndis situated near the sea. From Tyndis at a distance of 500 stadia (stadia-A Roman measurement, 500 stadia is equal to 92 km) a city called Muziris is situated. It is a city at the height of prosperity. Muziris is visited by the ships from Ariake (Arika-The lo­cation of the port Arika is not identified) and Greek ships from Egypt Muziris lies near a river. The distance of Muziris to Nelcynda is nearly 500 stadia. The river near the Muziris is not suited for naviga­tion. The ships which visited this port including Muziris are of a large size. They are attracted by large amount of pepper and betel.

“In the kingdom under the domina­tion of the Ceprobotras (Ceprobotras-The land of Cheras), an important village Tyndis situated near the sea. From Tyndis at a distance of 500 stadia (stadia-A Roman measurement, 500 stadia is equal to 92 km) a city called Muziris is situated. It is a city at the height of prosperity. Muziris is visited by the ships from Ariake (Arika-The lo­cation of the port Arika is not identified) and Greek ships from Egypt Muziris lies near a river. The distance of Muziris to Nelcynda is nearly 500 stadia. The river near the Muziris is not suited for naviga­tion. The ships which visited this port including Muziris are of a large size. They are attracted by large amount of pepper and betel.
The chief export from Muziris include spices, Gold stone, clothes of different colours, corals, white glass, copper glass, tin and lead.
The export items include
Pepper-in great quantity. The pep­per of the region is known as the pep­per of Cottonara (Cottonara-Identified as Kuttanad). Besides pepper, ivory, pearls, fine silks, precious stones, dia­monds etc are also exported.
The best season to sail from Egypt to this point of the world is the month of July. The voyages are used to be performed in small boats. The course of the winds was discovered by a pilot, Hippalus. There after the wind is called Hippalus winds.
Historical Explanation
Periplus on the port cities of Tami­lakam According to Periplus Muziris Tindis and Nelcynda were the im­portant port cities of Tamilakam. The location of Tindis and Nelcynda are not well identified. Some scholars identified Kadalundi as Tyndis.
Periplus states that Muziris was a port city of Tamilakam. The city is at the height of prosperity. It was an interna­tional port city, visited by traders from foreign regions. The Greek and Roman ships came to Muziris to collect pepper and spices. Large numbers of articles are exchanged at Muziris. The city of Muziris was under the domination of Cheras.
Native Sources
Tamil songs refer Muziris as Muchiri. According to Tamil songs Muchiri is a pattinam of Tamilakam. (The term pat­tinam is used to indicate a permanent trade centre). It seems that Muchiri originated as a result of foreign contacts. According to Akananuru and Puranan­uru Muchuri was frequently visited by Yavana ships or the Roman ships.
Periplus on Pepper trade
Accoridng to Periplus and other classical accounts pepper was the most favourite item of the Yavanas or Romans. This statement is supported by both foreign and native sources
ITEMS OR OBJECTS OF TRADE
According to Periplus the objects of trade mainly include luxury articles, pepper and spices. Luxury articles col­lected from Muziris or from Tamilakham were extremely popular among the Ro­man elite. Pliny states that the wealth of Rome is drained to Tamilakham as a result of the foreign contacts. Both Pliny and Periplus consider Muziris as a Chera territory.
LIMITATIONS OF MUZIRIS
Pliny makes a statement about the limitation of Muziris which is sup­ported by Periplus. Pliny points out that Muziris was not so big enough for the big ships to enter the port. Periplus statest htat the river near the Muziris is not suited for navigation.
Conclusion
On the basis of the accounts of Periplus, classical accounts and Tamil songs it is accepted that Muziris was an international trade center where Romans, Egyptians and Greeks came for trading activities. The port Muziris or Muchiri is famous for pepper trade and under the domination of the Cheras, Muziris was a flourishing port city of early centuries of the Christian era, located on the western coast of Indian sub continent and developed as a result of Indo-Roman trade.
For a long time historians and schol­ars believed that Kodungallur in central Kerala was the location of Ancient Muz­iris. But this assumption was not based on any archeological evidences.
Excavations at Pattanam
The present excavations under­taken by Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) centre for Heritage studies (Tripunithara), School of Ma­rine Science, Cochin University etc has yielded number of materials and objects. These excavations have attracted the attention of scholars all over the world. The excavated materials indicate that Pattanam was a flourishing urban centre of the early centuries of the Christian era. The Roman objects of the site also indicate that Pattanam could be the location of ancient Muziris.

Vasisht