the Arabs had commercial intercourse with the early Tamils. Their ships came to South India with gold, wine and lamps and bartered them with the Tamils for pepper, pearl, peacock-leathers and agil as the following quotations will show:
யவனர் தந்த வினை மாணன் கலம்
பொன் னொடுவந்து கறியொடு பெயரும். —Akam.
(The stately vessel of the Yavanas (Ionians) will come with gold and go with pepper.)
யவன ரியற்றிய வினை மாண் பாவை
கையேந்த கனிறைய நெய்சொரிந்து.—Ned.
(Poured oil in the lamp held by the statue made by the Yavanas.)
யவனர் நன்கலம் தந்த தண்கமழ் தேறல்.-Pur.
(The cool sweet-scented wine brought by the fine ship of the Yavanas.)
When their acquaintance with the Tamils had become closer the Romans began to settle in some of the principal Tamil cities. A Pandya king in return sent an embassy to Augustus Cæsar in B. C. 20. He might have been Mudu-kudumi-Peruvaludi whose name occurs both in Tamil literature and inscriptions. The Roman settlement in Madura probably continued till about 450 A. D. There was also a Greek colony at Kaveripatam in the second century A. D.
The words used in ancient Tamil literature to denote the 'ship’ are navay (நாவாய்), Gr. Naus, Lat. Navis, Skt. Nav, and kalam or kalan (கலம்), Ion.
