Tyndis (,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: Thondi) was an ancient south Indian seaport/harbor-town mentioned in the

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

writings. It was located north of port Muziris (Muchiri) — by around 500 stadia — in the country of the Chera rulers. No archaeological evidence has been found for Tyndis. Chera rulers of early historic south India (c. second century BCE - c. third century CE) had their headquarters at Karur (Karuvur) in the interior Tamil Nadu and harbors at Muziris (Muchiri) and Tyndis (Thondi) on the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

(present-day

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

). There are several references to a port with the name Thondi, on the Kerala coast, in the Chera country, in early historic

texts.

Thondi Thondi is a town located in the Ramanathapuram district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is about 25 km from Tiruvadanai. During the Sangam period, it India, it was a port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or m ...

, a town with same name in the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

country, on the eastern coast of the peninsula, is also mentioned in early Tamil literature. This town still exists with the same name.

Different variations of the name

The term "Thondi" in Tamil refers to either "a small bay-like landscape" or the "

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

". Thondi, like Virai or Arikamedu-Virampattinam, is sometimes referred to as "Munthurai" or "the port in front f the townin the sources. It is also called "Kanalam Thondi" or "the coastal town with backwater lakes" or backwaters with flowers. It is also described as "valam kezhu", signifying its riches, much like Muziris (Muchiri), in the Tamil poems. The Thondi port also had a goddess ("Ananku"). * ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and Roman commerce, trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports lik ...

'' - Tyndis *

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

'') - Tyndis *

Peutinger Table ' (Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tables James Strong and John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. NY: Haper and Brothers ...

- Tondis *

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...

(''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'') - Tyndis

Sources

Graeco-Roman descriptions

(c. 1st century CE), 54-56, mentions Tyndis as a "village by plain sight from the sea". ** "Naura and Tyndis, the first ports of trade of ''

Limyrike Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala. Extent According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27) ...

''" ** "Tyndis, a well known village on the coast, is in the kingdom of Keprobotos..." ** Tyndis is situated 500 stadia (92 km) north to Muziris "by river and sea" (that is, the distance covered river-travel also). *

(1st century CE) - "the Caelobothras ruled a kingdom extending to Tyndis (on the north-west)". * By the time

(2nd century) wrote, Tyndis had grown large enough for him to call it (''Geography'' 7.1.8) a "town" ("polis"). *

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

locates "Tondis" north of Muziris (north of "Templ Augusti" and "Lacus Muziris").

Early Tamil texts

There are several references to a port with the name Thondi, on the Kerala coast, in the early

texts. It was under the control of the Chera rulers (probably under the Irumporai collateral branch). It was perhaps associated with the hinterland trade from the Malabar Coast to interior Tamil country via the

Palghat Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between th ...

. The Chera ruler of Thondi was usually called "Poraiyan". One ruler, notably called "Thin Ther Poraiyan" or "the Poraiyan Chera with the Strong Chariot", finds repeated mention in the early Tamil literature. In some occasions, Chera ruler of Thondi is directly named as "Chenkol Kuttuvan" or Cheraman Ko Kothai Marpan. There are mentions of a "palace" of the Chera ruler in Thondi. The Chera ruler, according to early Tamil poems, fixed the tooth of his enemy chieftain "muvan" on the gate of this palace. Ruler of Thondi seems to have had a contingent of Marava people among his fighters and was in possession of several elephants. He also handed out coins to bards or poets and, in once instance, gifted varudai (mountain) goats from the Deccan region (?) to the Brahmin priests. There are mention of extensive rice or paddy cultivation in the fields in and around Thondi ("the coastal town with backwater lakes" or backwaters with flowers). Early Tamil poems also hint at coconut trees, and some hills "around" Thondi. Thondi was also famous for its fishing and "neythal" flowers. It also had a fishing community of Paratavar people.

Location

The location of

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

provides clues for the location Tyndis, which was 500 stadia (92 km) north of it ("by river and sea"). The exact location of the port is still unknown. Possible candidates include the following modern locations: * Kadalundi **About 117 km north of Kodungallur **Mouth of

Chaliyar Chaliyar River () is the fourth longest river in Kerala at 169 km in length. The Chaliyar is also known as Chulika River, Nilambur River or Beypore River as it is near the sea. Pothukal, Chungathara, Nilambur, Mampad, Edavanna, Kavano ...

as well as Kadalundi River **Kadalundi = Kadal (sea)+ Thundi (navel) **An open harbour entrance through a channel around 12 meter deep (that does not need

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

) *

Ponnani Ponnani () is a Nagar Palika (Municipality), municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the est ...

**About 74 km north of Kodungallur **Mouth of

Bharathappuzha The Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila River, is a river in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flo ...

**Opposite to the

Palakkad Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the ...

*Panthalayini Kollam (

Quilandy Koyilandy (;A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon)is a major town municipality and a taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Kozhikode district, betwe ...

)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Muziris Heritage
* https://www.tyndisheritage.com/tyndis-the-port/ {{Kerala topics Ancient Indian cities Former populated places in India History of Kerala Lost ancient cities and towns