Barygaza, the busiest western port in Greek and Roman accounts of India, is identified with which modern town?
- A.Bharuch
- B.Surat
- C.Mumbai
- D.Kochi
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Bharuch, which stands on the Narmada in Gujarat and appears as Barygaza in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and as Bhrigukachchha in Indian texts. It drained the trade of the Satavahana and Kshatrapa lands through the Narmada and Tapti valleys and sent out cotton cloth, long pepper, spikenard and gems. Option B is wrong because Surat grew into a great port only in the Mughal centuries, when it handled the Haj traffic and the English and Dutch factories. Option C is wrong because the group of islands that became Mumbai carried only small Konkan harbours in ancient times, the important ones nearby being Sopara and Kalyan. Option D is wrong because Kochi rose after the Periyar floods of the fourteenth century silted up Muziris. Pair Barygaza with Bharuch and Sopara with Surparaka near Vasai.
Read the full article: Ancient Ports of India and Maritime Trade: Exam Notes
Practice Questions
View allThe Harappan site of Lothal, known for the earliest dockyard in the subcontinent, is located in which present day state?
- A.Rajasthan
- B.Gujarat
- C.Maharashtra
- D.Haryana
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Lothal lies in the Bhal region of Gujarat, near the head of the Gulf of Khambhat, and was excavated by S. R. Rao.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Muziris, the chief pepper market of the Indo-Roman trade, lay on the coast of which present day state?
- A.Tamil Nadu
- B.Karnataka
- C.Kerala
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Muziris, called Muchiri in Tamil sources, stood near Kodungallur on the Periyar, and the excavations at Pattanam in Ernakulam district have yielded Roman amphora sherds, glass beads and brick structures that fit its description in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Read the full explanation →The site of Arikamedu, where Roman amphorae and rouletted ware were excavated, appears in the Periplus under which name?
- A.Poduke
- B.Nelcynda
- C.Tyndis
- D.Maisolia
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Arikamedu, on the Ariyankuppam river near Puducherry, is identified with the Poduke of the Periplus and the Poduke emporion of Ptolemy.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Tamralipti, from which Fa-Hien sailed for Sri Lanka, is in which present day state?
- A.Odisha
- B.West Bengal
- C.Bihar
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Tamralipti is modern Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district, on the Rupnarayan river near its meeting with the Hooghly.
Read the full explanation →Which Greek pilot is credited with using the south west monsoon winds to sail directly across the Arabian Sea to India?
- A.Megasthenes
- B.Hippalus
- C.Ptolemy
- D.Nearchus
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Around the middle of the first century of the Christian era this pilot is said to have worked out the rhythm of the south west monsoon, after which ships ran straight from the mouth of the Red Sea to the Malabar coast instead of hugging the shore, cutting the voyage…
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