Мelizeigara
Publication date: 10.07.2025
- Alternative name:
- Sigerus, Milizigeris (?)
- Region:
- South Asia
- Timespan:
- I‒II вв. н. э.
МELIZEIGARA — a port of uncertain location along the coast of Western India. It is mentioned in sources of the 1st–2nd centuries AD.
МELIZEIGARA (Ancient Greek: Μελιζειγάρα, Μιλιζιγηρίς; Latin: Sigerus) — a port of uncertain location along the coast of Western India. It is mentioned in sources of the 1st–2nd centuries AD.
Fig. 1. Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Cod. Pal. graec. 398). A Fragment Mentioning Melizeigara (PME 53: 17. 23). © Heidelberg University Library
Fig. 2. A Map Showing the Proposed Locations of Melizeigara
Main Sources
This trade centre is described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (PME 53: 17. 23) as Μελιζειγάρα (Fig. 1), by Pliny as Sigerus (Plin. HN. VI, 101), and by Ptolemy as Μιλιζιγηρίς (Ptol. Geog. VII, 1, 95).
A convincing location for Melizeigara has yet to be proposed (Fig. 2). The data in the Periplus is relatively specific: Melizeigara is listed among a chain of coastal settlements, some of which (Kalliena, Semylla, Mandagora) can be identified quite reliably. However, Ptolemy’s account differs significantly from that of the Periplus. The Geography states that Milizigeris was located in the Gulf of Kolkhoi (the Kolkhic Gulf), i. e. Korakai (Tamil: korKai), one of the capitals of the ancient Pandya kingdom, which has been identified at modern Maramangalam. The difference between location of Melizeigara in the Periplus and Milizigeris in Ptolemy’s Geography is quite significant, and it is entirely possible that they refer to two different places.
Scholarship has suggested that Melizeigara can be identified with modern Jaigarh, situated on the river of the same name [Lassen 1857: 4; McCrindle 1885: 188; Berthelot 1930: 326, 355; Huntingford 1980: 114], as well as with modern Rajapur [Schoff 1912: 201]. E. H. Warmington believed that both viewpoints could be possible [Warmington 1928: 45].
It has also been suggested that Melizeigara can be identified with Janjira, located 35–40 km south of the town of Chaul [Shinde et al. 2002: 78. Fig. 1].
Historical Meaning
Attempts to locate Melizeigara have led to some interesting observations. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions three maritime routes leading from East Africa (i. e. from the Spice Market) and South Arabia (from Kane) to India and up to Scythia, Barygaza, and Limyrike (PME 57: 19. 8‒9). Pliny the Elder also lists three routes, one to Patala (i. e. to Scythia), one to Muziris (i. e. to Limyrike, the first port of which is identified as Naura (PME 53: 17. 27)), and one to Sigerus, i.e. to Melizeigara (Plin. HN. VI, 100‒101. 104).
Finally, in his description of the transoceanic branch of the Incense Route, the author of the Periplus recorded the existence of a route to Kalliena, a port located in the kingdom of Āndhra, but not operational due to a blockade organised by the Indo-Scythians. Ships attempting to sail to Kalliena under escort were diverted to Barygaza, i. e. to the domain of king Nahapana (PME 52: 17, 20‒21). Therefore, if the route to Sigerus was not the route to Barygaza, it may have indeed been the very route blocked by the Indo-Scythians. Subsequently, Melizeigara may have been located in the immediate vicinity of Kalliena, which, in turn, suggests the identification of Melizeigara as Janjira.
Bibliography
Berthelot 1930 — Berthelot A. L’Asie ancienne, centrale et sud-orientale, d’après Ptolémée. Avec 23 cartes et 1 en couleur. Paris: Payot, 1930. Huntingford 1980 — Huntingford G. W. B. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea by an unknown author. With some traces from Agatharkhides “On the Erythraean Sea”. London: The Hakluyt Society, 1980. (Works Issued by the Hakluyt Society. Second Series. 151. Issued for 1976). Lassen 1857 — Lassen Ch. Indische Altertumskunde. Bd. III. Leipzig: L. A. Kittler; London: Williams & Norgate, 1857. McCrindle 1885 — Ancient India as described by Ptolemy; being a translation of the chapters which describe India and Central and Eastern Asia in the Treatise on Geography written by Klaudios Ptolemaios, the celebrated astronomer, with Introduction, Commentary, map of India according to Ptolemy, and a very copious Index by J. W. McCrindle. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.; Bombay: B. E. S. Press; London: Trübner & Co., 1885. Schoff 1912 — Schoff W. H. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Travel and trade in the Indian Ocean, by a merchant of the first century. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1912. Shinde, Gupta, Rajgor 2002 — Shinde V. S., Gupta S., Rajgor D. An archaeological reconnaissance of the Konkan Coast: from Bharuch to Janira // Man and environment. Journal of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies. 2002. Vol. 27. No. 1. Special Volume. Indian Ocean in Antiquity. P. 73‒82. Warmington 1928 — Warmington E. H. The commerce between the Roman Empire and India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928.