Ezhimala kingdom was once the headquarters of a powerful ancient kingdom. The ancient port of
Naura, which is mentioned in the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as a port somewhere north of
Muziris is identified with Kannur.
Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of
Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of
Keprobotos (
Chera dynasty). The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at
Tyndis, was ruled by the kingdom of
Ezhimala during
Sangam period. According to the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a region known as
Limyrike began at
Naura and
Tyndis. However the
Ptolemy mentions only
Tyndis as the
Limyrike's starting point. The region probably ended at
Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day
Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000
sesterces.
Pliny the Elder mentioned that
Limyrike was prone by pirates. The
Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the
Limyrike was a source of peppers. The Ezhimala dynasty had jurisdiction over two
Nadus - The coastal
Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern
Karkanadu. According to the works of
Sangam literature,
Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between
Mangalore and
Kozhikode.
Karkanadu consisted of
Wayanad-
Gudalur hilly region with parts of
Kodagu (Coorg). It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to
Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the
Sangam works. North Malabar was a hub of
Indian Ocean trade during the era. According to
Kerala Muslim tradition, the kingdom of Ezhimala was home to several
oldest mosques in the
Indian subcontinent. According to the
Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 AD at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of
Chera dynasty, who left from
Dharmadom to
Mecca and converted to
Islam during the lifetime of
Muhammad (c. 570–632). According to
Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the
Masjids at Kodungallur,
Kollam,
Madayi,
Barkur,
Mangalore,
Kasaragod,
Kannur,
Dharmadam,
Panthalayani, and
Chaliyam, were built during the era of
Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest
Masjids in the
Indian subcontinent. It is believed that
Malik Dinar died at
Thalangara in
Kasaragod town. Most of them lies in the erstwhile region of Ezhimala kingdom. The Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque contains an
Old Malayalam inscription written in a mixture of
Vatteluttu and
Grantha scripts which dates back to the 10th century CE. It is a rare surviving document recording patronage by a
Hindu king (Bhaskara Ravi) to the
Muslims of Kerala. The
Chola references to several kings in medieval Kerala confirms that the power of the
Chera/Perumal was restricted to the country around capital
Kodungallur. The Perumal kingship remained nominal compared with the power that local rulers (such as that of the Mushika in the north and Venatu in the south) exercised politically and militarily. Medieval Kolla-desam stretched on the banks of Kavvai, Koppam and Valappattanam rivers. An
Old Malayalam inscription (
Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of
Alupa dynasty of
Mangalore, can be found at
Ezhimala (the former headquarters of
Mushika dynasty) near
Cannanore, Kerala. In his book on travels (
Il Milione),
Marco Polo recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included
Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and
Ibn Batuta, writer and historian of
Tangiers. The
Mushika-vamsha Mahakavya, written by
Athula in the 11th century, throws light on the recorded past of the
Mushika royal family up until that point. • Kantan Karivarman
alias Iramakuta Muvar (c. 1020 AD) • Ramakuta Muvar (as a donor to the
Tiruvalla temple in
Tiruvalla Copper Plates/Huzur Treasury Plates). • Utaiya-varma
alias Ramakuta Muvar (early 12th century AD) - mentioned in the Kannapuram inscription.
Kolathunadu drawn in 1572, from
Georg Braun and
Frans Hogenberg's atlas
Civitates orbis terrarum, Volume I
Kolathunadu (Kingdom of
Kannur) was one of the 4 most powerful
kingdoms on the
Malabar Coast during the arrival of
Portuguese Armadas to
India, the others being
Zamorin,
Kingdom of Cochin and
Quilon. Kolattunādu had its capital at
Ezhimala and was ruled by
Kolattiri royal family and roughly comprised the North Malabar region of
Kerala state in
India. Traditionally, Kolattunādu is described as the land lying between
Perumba river in the north and Putupattanam river in the south. The ruling house of Kolathunādu, also known as the
Kolathiris, were descendants of the
Mushaka royal family, (which was an ancient dynasty of kerala)and rose to become one of the major political powers in the Kerala region, after the disappearance of the
Cheras of Mahodayapuram and the
Pandyan dynasty in the 12th century AD. The Kolathiris trace their ancestry back to the ancient
Mushika kingdom (Ezhimala kingdom, Eli-nadu) of the
Tamil Sangam Age. The Indian anthropologist
Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the
Bunt community of
Tulu Nadu was called
Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan. 's (the ruler of
Kannur) minister Kuruppu's
Arabic letter to
Vasco da Gama (1524)|235x235px Until the 16th century CE, Kasargod town was known by the name
Kanhirakode (may be by the meaning, 'The land of
Kanhira Trees') in
Malayalam. The
Kumbla dynasty, who swayed over the land of southern
Tulu Nadu wedged between
Chandragiri River and
Netravati River (including present-day Taluks of
Manjeshwar and
Kasaragod) from
Maipady Palace at
Kumbla, had also been vassals to the
Kolathunadu, before the
Carnatic conquests of
Vijayanagara Empire. The Kumbla dynasty had a mixed lineage of
Malayali Nairs and
Tuluva Brahmins. They also claimed their origin from
Cheraman Perumals of Kerala. The
Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of
Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both
Kolathunadu as well as
Zamorin of
Calicut, in the early medieval period. The Portuguese arrived at
Kappad Kozhikode in 1498 during the
Age of Discovery, thus opening a direct sea route from
Europe to
South Asia. The
St. Angelo Fort at Kannur was built in 1505 by Dom
Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of India. The Dutch captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1663. They modernized the fort and built the bastions Hollandia, Zeelandia, and Frieslandia that are the major features of the present structure. The original Portuguese fort was pulled down later. A painting of this fort and the fishing ferry behind it can be seen in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The Dutch sold the fort to king Ali Raja of Arakkal in 1772. During the 17th century, Kannur was the capital city of the only
Muslim Sultanate in Kerala, known as
Arakkal, who also ruled the
Laccadive Islands in addition to Kannur. The island of
Dharmadom near Kannur, along with
Thalassery, was ceded to the
East India Company as early as 1734, which were claimed by all of the
Kolattu Rajas,
Kottayam Rajas, and
Arakkal Bibi in the late medieval period, where the British initiated a factory and English settlement following the
cession. The northern parts of
Kerala was unified under
Tipu Sultan during the last decades of eighteenth century CE. When he was defeated by the
East India Company through
Third Anglo-Mysore War, the
Treaty of Seringapatam was agreed and the regions included in Tipu's kingdom was annexed with the East India Company. After the Anglo-Mysore wars, the parts of
Malabar Coast, those became British colonies, were organized into a district of
British India. They divided it into North Malabar and
South Malabar on 30 March 1793 for administrative convenience. Though the general administrative headquarters of Malabar was at
Calicut in South Malabar, the special headquarters of South Malabar was decided to be at
Cherpulassery, which was then replaced to
Ottapalam. South Malabar was the centre of the
Malabar Rebellion in 1921. On 1 November 1956, this region was annexed with the Indian state of
Kerala. The East India Company
captured the fort Kannur in 1790 and used it as one of their major military stations on the
Malabar Coast. Initially the Malabar was placed under
Bombay Presidency. Later in 1799-1800 year, Malabar along with
South Canara was transferred to
Madras Presidency. During the period of
British colonial rule, Kannur was part of the
Madras province in the
Malabar District. The municipalities of
Kannur and
Thalassery were formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850) of the
British Indian Empire, along with the municipalities of
Kozhikode,
Palakkad, and
Fort Kochi, making them the first modern municipalities in the modern state of Kerala. Initially the British had to suffer local resistance against their rule under the leadership of
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, who had popular support in
Thalassery-
Wayanad region. The guerrilla war launched by
Pazhassi Raja, the ruler of Kottayam province, against the East India Company had a huge impact on the history of Kannur. Changes in the socio-economic and political sectors in Kerala during the initial decades of the 20th century created conditions congenial for the growth of the Communist Party. Extension of English education initiated by Christian missionaries in 1906 and later carried forward by government, rebellion for wearing a cloth to cover upper parts of body, installing an idol at Aruvippuram in 1888, Malayali Memorial in 1891, establishment of SNDP Yogam in 1903, activities, struggles etc. became factors helpful to accelerate changes in Kerala society during a short time. These movements eventually coalesced into the
Indian independence movement. ==Culture and people==