Annius Plocamus was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
tax collector from the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
, who facilitated direct trade and the first contacts between the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
and
Ancient Sri Lanka, present day
Sri Lanka.
The Romans had already heard about the island of Sri Lanka, which the Greeks had described under the name of
Taprobane. However, according to
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
, as described in his ''
Natural History'', it was during the reign of the Emperor
Claudius (AD 41–54) that the two civilizations first met.
A freedman of Annius Plocamus having farmed the customs of the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
on behalf of his state's treasury, while sailing along the coast of
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
, was driven by northern monsoon winds, passed Carmania and on the fifteenth day into Hippuros, a port of
Ceylon. The freedman was entertained with hospitality by the
Sinhalese monarch, where in six months time he acquired a thorough knowledge of
Sinhala.
With the freedman's description of the Romans and Caesar, as well as the impressive quality of Roman coins in his possession, the Sinhalese king sent an embassy to learn more about these people.
According to Pliny, the decision to send an embassy was made by the king's perception of Roman honesty when the captured
denarii
The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...
turned out to be of the same weight. These coins were seized as rights dictated.
The embassy of four envoys were sent to Rome, including ambassador-in-chief Rasaiah/Rachias.
Lysas graffiti
Two graffiti on the ancient Coptas-Berenice road belonging to Lysas, a freedman of Annius Plocamus have been found and dated from July, 6 - 54 CE, in both Greek and Latin.
[Meredith, D. 1953. “Annius Plocamus: Two Inscriptions from the Berenice Road.” ‘’The Journal of Roman Studies’’ 43:38-40. Article DOI: 10.2307/297778]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plocamus, Annius
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Ancient Roman merchants
Annii