Created by Ajay Kumar
Last edited March 2, 2026
Created a new article
 
m adjusted structure after review and updated info based on references
 
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==History==
==History==


Pliny the elder mentioned that this region was prone to pirates.<ref>Bostock, John (1855). "26 (Voyages to India)". Pliny the Elder, The Natural History. London: Taylor and Francis. </ref>  [[Cosmas Indicopleustes]] mentioned that it was a source of peppers.<ref>Indicopleustes, Cosmas (1897). Christian Topography. 11. United Kingdom: The Tertullian Project. pp. 358–373. </ref><ref>Das, Santosh Kumar (2006). The Economic History of Ancient India. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 301. </ref>
[[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned that this region was prone to pirates.<ref>Bostock, John (1855). "26 (Voyages to India)". Pliny the Elder, The Natural History. London: Taylor and Francis. </ref>  [[Cosmas Indicopleustes]] mentioned that it was a source of peppers.<ref>Indicopleustes, Cosmas (1897). Christian Topography. 11. United Kingdom: The Tertullian Project. pp. 358–373. </ref><ref>Das, Santosh Kumar (2006). The Economic History of Ancient India. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 301. </ref>


== Misidentification as Damirice ==
== Misidentification as Damirice ==
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[[Category:Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]
[[Category:Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]
[[Category:Historical Indian regions]]
[[Category:Historical regions in India]]
[[Category:Malabar Coast]]
[[Category:Malabar Coast]]
[[Category:Tamilakam]]
[[Category:Tamilakam]]

Latest revision as of 00:27, 2 March 2026


Map
Possible extreme points of Limyrike in present-day India

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[edit | edit source]

According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (53:17:15-27), Limyrike began at Naura and Tyndis; Ptolemy (7.1.8) mentions only Tyndis as its starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

Pliny the Elder mentioned that this region was prone to pirates.[2] Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that it was a source of peppers.[3][4]

Misidentification as Damirice[edit | edit source]

Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman map uses the name "Damirice" to describe an area between the Himalayas and the Ganges River, and uses the name "Dymirice" to describe a region somewhat close to the Malabar Coast.[1]

Assuming possible phonetic connection between the words "Damir-" and "Tamil" (the language of Limyrikê), some modern scholars have wrongly used the term "Damirice" (or "Damirica") to describe Limyrikê. Wilfred Harvey Schoff's 1912 translation of the Periplus wrongly uses the term "Damirica" instead of "Limyrikê", because of which the error has been reproduced by several scholars relying on this faulty translation. Actually, the "Damirice" of Tabula Peutingeriana is over a thousand miles from Limyrikê.[5]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lionel Casson 2012, p. 213.
  2. Bostock, John (1855). "26 (Voyages to India)". Pliny the Elder, The Natural History. London: Taylor and Francis.
  3. Indicopleustes, Cosmas (1897). Christian Topography. 11. United Kingdom: The Tertullian Project. pp. 358–373.
  4. Das, Santosh Kumar (2006). The Economic History of Ancient India. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 301.
  5. Lionel Casson 2012, p. 214.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

  • Lionel Casson (2012). The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4320-6.