PaNis on Lebanese Coast

[Peter Wyzlic]

On Fri, 10 Nov 2000, Samar Abbas wrote:

> On Fri, 10 Nov 2000, Narayan R. Joshi wrote:
> > I am inclined to identify RV PaNis with the ancient Phoenicians of
> > Lebanese coast.
>
>  Dr.A.L.Basham `The Wonder that was India' also identifies the
> RigVedic Panis as the Phoenicians.

It seems that Basham sees this in a different way.
Here a citation from Basham's The Wonder that was India:
        "Other enemies of the Aryans are the Panis, who are described
        as wealthy people who refuse to patronize the Vedic
        priests, and who steal the cattle of the Aryans. They were
        not so strongly hated as the Dasas, and their settlements
        seem often to have continued unmolested. It has been
        suggested that the Panis were Semitic traders, but the
        evidence is so slight that this conclusion cannot be
        accepted." (Basham: The Wonder that was India. Repr.
        London 1956, p. 32)

I do not see a mention of Phoenicians or Lebanese coast.

Peter Wyzlic

--
Peter Wyzlic
Indologisches Seminar, Universitaet Bonn
Regina-Pacis-Weg 7
D-53113 Bonn