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ON THE ANCIENT 



crystal (candra-kanta) for three cowries ; surely their neigh- 

 bours, the Hindus, who have a thorough appreciation of the 

 value of gold, would not have let it pass so easily into the 

 possession of strangers. It is therefore probable that the 

 Phoenicians got the gold elsewhere, very likely from Malacca, 

 the golden Chersonesus, and that these voyages were called 

 after Ophir, the first place in India where they landed. 

 That the Phoenicians came to Southern India is certain; the 

 peacocks which are mentioned to have been brought from India 

 are called in the Bible Tukkiyim, a plural form of Tukki, 

 in which word scholars have long ago recognized the Tamil 

 " togei," as can be seen in old Hebrew dictionaries, especially 

 in that of G-esenius. 4 By degrees the Phoenicians lost their 

 supremacy on the sea, and they disappear from the field of 

 action and with them also perished for a while the great 

 maritime knowledge they had obtained. 



When the Persian empire arises in history, commerce no 

 longer flourishes as before. The Persians were no traders, 

 they preferred military fortifications to commercial pursuits. 

 Fancying it possible to be attacked from the seaside, they, 

 obstructed the bed of the Euphrates and Tigris throwing at 

 certain distances embankments across the river, to prevent its 

 being used for navigation purposes. These abortive measures 

 induced the Chaldsean merchants who lived near the Pasiti- 

 gris to emigrate to the opposite Arabian shore, to Grerrha from 

 whence they continued their commerce with India. Against 

 this country Darius Hystaspes undertook an expedition. It 

 was this which brought on the exploits of Skylax of Karyanda, 

 who in 509 starting from Peukelaotis sailed down the Indus 

 and reached in 3 months the mouth of the Ped Sea. Skylax 

 induced the Indian nations who lived along the rivers to 

 acknowledge the Persian supremacy, and in the Persian 



(4) Compare with, tukki the common Telugu word " toka " tail, used also 

 for the tail of the peacock. 



