Southern India and Sri Lanka as depicted on the Peutinger Table in their Historical Context

The so-called Peutinger Table, whose template is based on a road map from the Roman imperial period, depicts only a few localities for southern India. Nevertheless, this limitation certainly reflects crucial centres of the long-distance trade network between Rome and the south of the subcontinent. Parallel historical events of the 2nd century CE in Rome on the one side and South India with Sri Lanka on the other side have been considered in this study. Their relation to the few localities recorded is shown. In the analysis of the significance of these localities in the historical development of South India in the 2nd century CE, climatic changes and epidemics in particular become visible as two extreme triggers of social processes. It also becomes apparent that southern India experienced similar developments as its large trading partner, the Roman empire on the other side of the ocean.