Tamil History From Sangam Literature - Age of Sangam

Age of Sangam

Sangam was the ancient academy, which enabled Tamil poets and authors to gather periodically to publish their work. The Sangam met periodically in the city of Madurai in South India under the patronage of the Pandya kings. The current estimate is that the Sangam period lasted between 100 BCE until 300 CE. The earliest mention of the Sangam is to be found in the 8th century commentary on the Irayanar Agapporul. It mentions three Sangams lasting, at long intervals, for a total of 9990 years.

Sangam literature comprises some of the oldest extant Tamil literature, and deals with love, war, governance, trade and bereavement. Unfortunately much of the Tamil literature belonging to the Sangam period had been lost. The literature currently available from this period is perhaps just a fraction of the wealth of material produced during this golden age of Tamil civilisation.

In the Sangam literature, the Tamil language had reached a level of maturity and began to serve as a powerful and elegant medium of literary expression. It had already developed an elaborate code of conventions governing the portrayal of social life in literature. This must clearly have been the result of evolution and development spread over some generations.

Recent researches examining Chera inscriptions found in southwestern Tamil Nadu have revealed names of three generations of rulers from the Chera clan. These names are also found in some of the Sangam anthology Pathirruppaththu. Palaeographic analysis of the inscriptions has revealed its age to be within the first two centuries of the Common Era.

Evidence from ancient Greek and Alexandrian travellers such as Strabo, Ptolemy and Pliny give details of the trade and other relations between the Tamil states and the ancient Greece and Rome. Archaeology has given proof supporting these accounts. Numerous Roman gold and silver coins and pottery have been found from all over Tamil Nadu.