Zamorin

(1901), Calicut The title zamorin first appears in the writings of Ibn Battuta in 1342. In the Portuguese Book of Duarte Barbosa (), the title of the ruler of Calicut is given as çamidre or zomodri, derived from the local Malayalam sāmūtiri. In Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen written by Zainuddin Makhdoom II in the 16th century CE, the word is pronounced as Sāmuri. which Krishna Iyer glosses as "emperor". He gives the complete title as Svami Tiri Tirumulapad ("august emperor"). == Seats of power ==

Thrikkavil Kovilakam in Ponnani served as a second home for the Zamorins of Calicut. Other secondary seats of the Zamorin of Calicut, all established at a much later time, were Trichur (Thrissur) and Cranganore (Kodungallur). The chief Kerala ports under control of the Zamorins in the late 15th century were Panthalayini Kollam, and Calicut. The Zamorin of Calicut derived a greater part of his revenues by taxing the spice trade through his ports. Smaller ports in the kingdom were Puthuppattanam (Kottakkal), Parappanangadi, Tanur (Tanore), Ponnani (Ponani), Chetuva (Chetwai) and Kodungallur (Cranganore). The port of Beypore served as a ship building center. • In the Middle Ages, Calicut was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of Asian spices. The Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests in Malabar, the political ambition of the newly emergent rulers, i.e., the Zamorins, and the decline of port Kodungallur (c. 1341 • Trade at port Calicut was managed by the Muslim port commissioner known as the Shah Bandar Koya. The port commissioner supervised the customs on the behalf of the king, fixed the prices of the commodities and collected the share to the Calicut treasury. • Located north of Calicut, close to a bay. The geographical location is ideal for the wintering of ships during the annual monsoon rains. • Presence of Chetti, Arab and Jewish merchants among others. ==Caste and line of succession==

According to K. V. Krishna Iyer, the court historian in Calicut, the members of the royal house of Zamorin belonged to the Eradi subcaste of the Samanthan section of Nair aristocracy. The Samantas claimed a status higher than the rest of the Nairs. In the royal family, thalis of the princesses were usually tied by Kshatriyas from Kodungallur chief's family, which the Zamorin recognised as more ancient and therefore higher rank. The women's sambandham partners were Nambudiri Brahmins or Kshatriyas. Royal men married Samantan or other Nair women. Zamorin's consort was dignified by the title "Naittiyar". The family of chieftains that ruled the polities in premodern Kerala was known as the swaroopam. The rulers of Calicut belonged to "Nediyirippu swaroopam" and followed matriliny system of inheritance. The eldest male member of Nediyirippu swaroopam became the Zamorin of Calicut. There was a set pattern of succession, indicated by sthanams in the royal line. Five sthanams were defined in Calicut. These positions were based on the chronological seniority of the incumbent in the different thavazhis of the swaroopam and constituted what is called in the records as "kuruvazhcha". Unlike in the case of Cochin (Kochi), there was no rotation of position among the thavazhis. Thus no particular thavazhi enjoyed any privilege or precedence in the matter of succession, as the only criterion for succession was seniority of age. Five sthanams existed in Calicut, each with its own separate property enjoyed in succession by the senior members of the three kovilakams of the family: • 1st sthanam: the Zamorin of Calicut • 2nd sthanam: Eranadu Ilamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpadu (the Eralppadu). Second in line successor to the throne. Eralppadu's seat was in Karimpuzha (in the northeastern region of the present-day Palakkad district). This area of Malabar was annexed from Valluvanadu in the leadership of the then Eralppadu. • 3rd sthanam: Eranadu Moonnamkur Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad (the Munalpadu) • 4th sthanam: Edattaranadu Nambiyathiri Thirumulpadu (the Etatralpadu) – mentioned in the Manjeri Pulapatta inscription as the overlord of the "Three Hundred" Nairs. The Etatralpadu used to reside in a palace at Edattara near Manjeri. • 5th sthanam: Nediyiruppu Mootta Eradi Thirumulpadu (the Naduralpadu). Naduralpadu was the former head of the house (Eranadu chief under the Cheras of Kodungallur''''''). The three thavazhis were: • Kizhakke Kovilakam (Eastern Branch) • Padinhare Kovilakam (Western Branch) • Puthiya Kovilakam (New Branch) The senior female member of the whole Zamorin family, the Valiya Thamburatti, also enjoyed a sthanam with separate property known as the Ambadi Kovilakam. Women were not allowed to be the ruler of Calicut. And so the oldest male member traced became the next Zamorin. == Historical overview ==

, which is related to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals. .Brahmanic legends such as the Keralolpathi (compiled in its final form c. 17th – 18 century) and the Calicut Granthavari recount the events leading to the establishment of the state of Calicut.'' They distinguished themselves in the battles against the foreigners. However, during the partition of Chera kingdom, the Chera monarch failed to allocate any land to Nediyiruppu. Filled with guilt, the king later gave an unwanted piece of marshy tract of land called Kozhikode to the younger brother Vikraman (the elder brother died in the battle). The king also gifted his personal sword and his favourite prayer conch – both broken – to him and told him to occupy as much as land as he could with all his might. So the Eradis conquered neighbouring kingdoms and created a large state for themselves. As a token of their respect to the Chera king, they adopted the logo of two crossed swords, with a broken conch in the middle and a lighted lamp above it. The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama visited Quilandy (Koyilandy) in 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe to South Asia. The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to medieval South Indian coast for the Arabs, the Chinese, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and finally the British. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Calicut in a battle located in Purakkad in 1755. In 1766, Haider Ali of Mysore defeated the Zamorin of Calicut and absorbed Calicut to his state. After the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792), Malabar District including Zamorin's former territories were placed under the control of the East India Company. Eventually, the status of the Zamorin was reduced to that of a pensioner of the company by 1806. == Origins and early history ==

Rulers of Eranadu Historical records regarding the origin of the Zamorin of Calicut are obscure. However, it is generally agreed among historians the Eradis were originally the autonomous rulers of the Eranadu region of the Kodungallur Chera kingdom. Some land and Hindu temple rights were transferred to Calicut during a visit to Kollam by a ruler of the Calicut. ==Vijayanagara conquests==

Deva Raya II (1424–1446), king of the Vijayanagara Empire, conquered the whole of present-day Kerala state in the 15th century. He defeated (1443) rulers of Venadu (Kollam, Quilon), as well as Calicut. Fernão Nunes says that the Zamorin and even the kings of Burma ruling at Pegu and Tenasserim paid tribute to the king of Vijayanagara Empire. Later Calicut and Venadu seems to have rebelled against their Vijayanagara overlords, but Deva Raya II quelled the rebellion. As the Vijayanagara power diminished over the next fifty years, Zamorin of Calicut again rose to prominence in Kerala. Zamorin built a fort at Ponnani in 1498. == Relations with Yuan and Ming China ==

It is known that the Tang Chinese ships frequently visited the then major Kerala ports such as Kollam for spices (in the 9th–10th centuries). According historians, the "Nanpiraj" mentioned in the Ling daida can be identified with Calicut. Zheng He (Cheng Ho), the renowned Ming Chinese admiral, visited Calicut several times in the early 15th century. Ma Huan visited Calicut several times, and describes the trade in the region. Fei-Hsin also notices the brisk trade at Calicut. The few remnants of the Chinese trade can be seen in and around the present city of Calicut. This include a Silk Street, Chinese Fort ("Chinakotta"), Chinese Settlement ("Chinachery" in Kappad), and Chinese Mosque ("Chinapalli" in Panthalayini Kollam). == Relations with the Portuguese ==

{{Quote box |quote="He was taken to a place [in Kozhikkode] where there were two Moors [Muslims] from Tunis, who knew how to speak Castilian and Genoese. "What the Devil! What brought you here?" "We came in search of Christians and of spices!" The landing of Vasco da Gama in Calicut in 1498 has often been considered as the beginning of a new phase in Asian history during which the control of the Indian Ocean spice trade passed into the hands of the Europeans from Middle Eastern Muslims. The strong colony of foreign merchants settled in Calicut was hostile, but Zamorin welcomed the Portuguese and allowed them to take spices on board. In Portugal, the goods brought by da Gama from India were computed at "sixty times the cost of the entire Asia expedition". The Portuguese initially entered into hostile conflicts with the Zamorin of Calicut and the Middle Eastern (Paradesi) merchants in Calicut. Within the next few decades, the Estado da Índia also found themselves fighting with several leading Mappila trading families of Kerala (esp. the Kannur Mappilas, led by Mammali and the Marakkars of the Pearl Fishery Coast). Kingdom of Calicut, whose shipping was increasingly looted by the Portuguese, evolved into a centre of resistance. The Portuguese maintained patrolling squadrons off the Kerala ports and continued their raids on departing native fleets. Mappila and Marakkar traders actively worked in the kingdoms of Malabar Coast and Ceylon to oppose the Portuguese. Naval battles broke out across Konkan, Malabar Coast, southern Tamil Nadu, and western Sri Lanka. Marakkars transformed as the admirals of Calicut and organised an effective collection of vessels to fight the Portuguese. The Kunjali Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast. Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen written by Zainuddin Makhdoom II (born around 1532) of Ponnani in 16th-century is the first-ever known book fully based on the history of Kerala to be authored by a Keralite. It is written in Arabic and contains pieces of information about the resistance put up by the navy of Kunjali Marakkar alongside the Zamorin of Calicut from 1498 to 1583 against Portuguese attempts to colonize Malabar coast. It was first printed and published in Lisbon. A copy of this edition has been preserved in the library of Al-Azhar University, Cairo. Francisco de Almeida (1505–1509) and Afonso de Albuquerque (1509–1515), who followed da Gama to India, were instrumental in establishing the Império Colonial Português in Asia. Ponnani Muhammed Kunjali Marakkar was eventually executed by the combined effects of the Kingdom of Calicut and the Portuguese state in 1600. == Relations with the Dutch and English ==

In 1602, the Zamorin sent messages to Aceh, where the Verenigde Zeeuwsche Compagnie had a factory, promising the Dutch a fort at Calicut if they would come and trade there. Two factors, Hans de Wolff and Lafer, were sent on an Asian ship from Aceh, but the two were captured by the chief of Tanur, and handed over to the Portuguese. These men were later hanged in Goa. It was in these ships that Sir Thomas Roe went to visit Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, as British envoy. The British concluded a treaty of trade (1616) under which, among others, the English were to assist Calicut in expelling the Portuguese from Fort Kochi and Fort Cranganore. The English set up a factory at Calicut, and a factor, George Woolman, is sent there with a stock of presents. But the Zamorin soon found the English as unreliable as the Dutch where military aid was concerned. The factory was wound up in March, 1617. Later in 1661, Calicut joined a coalition led by the Dutch to defeat the Portuguese and Kochi and conducted a number of successful campaigns. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad in 1755. As a result of the Kew Letters, the Dutch settlements on the Malabar Coast were surrendered to the British in 1795 in order to prevent them being overrun by the French. Dutch Malabar remained with the British after the conclusion of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, which traded the colony with Bangka Island. == Mysore occupation and the decline of the Zamorin ==

It was in 1732, at the invitation of the chief of Palakkad, that Mysore forces marched to Kerala for the first time. They appeared again in 1735, and in 1737 they raided the Zamorin's frontier outposts. In 1745, the Mysore forces fought three battles with the Calicut warriors. The Mysore army conquered northern Kerala up to Kochi with relative ease. Hyder Ali inflicted a major setback on the Calicut warriors at Perinkolam Ferry on the Kotta River. In 1768 the Zamorin prince was restored in Calicut, agreeing to pay an annual tribute to Mysore. For nearly six years till 1774 nothing was heard about Hyder Ali. In 1774, Mysore forces under Srinivasa Rao occupied the city of Calicut. The prince retired to Travancore in a native vessel. The baton of resistance now passed to his nephew Ravi Varma. Ravi Varma helped the Company occupy Calicut in 1782. By the Treaty of Mangalore, concluded in 1784, Malabar was restored to Mysore. In 1785 the oppression of revenue officers led to a rebellion by the Mappilas of Manjeri. As a reward for aiding to put down the rebels, and partly as an incentive, Tipu Sultan settled upon Ravi Varma a pension and a jaghir in 1786. The peace was soon broken and Tipu sent 6,000 troops under Mon. Lally to Kerala. Lord Cornwallis invited the Kerala chiefs to join him in 1790, promising to render them in future entirely independent of Mysore and to retain them upon reasonable terms under the protection of the company. Prince Ravi Varma met General Meadows at Trichinopoly and settled with him the terms of the Calicut's cooperation. After the Third Mysore War (1790–1792), Malabar was placed under the control of the company by the Treaty of Seringapatam. In the settlement negotiations with the Joint Commission in 1792, the Zamorin proved recalcitrant. To pressure him, a portion of his former territories (Payyanadu, Payyormala, Kizhakkumpuram, Vadakkampuram and Pulavayi) was leased to the ruler of Kurumburanadu as manager for the East India Company. Finally, after prolonged negotiations, the hereditary territory of the Zamorin, together with the coin mint and the sea customs, was leased back to him. He was also temporarily given jurisdiction over the petty rulers and, as a mark of the Zamorin's exceptional position in Malabar, the revenue fixed for Beypore, Parappanadu and Vettattunadu was to be paid through him. As previously noted, these tax-payment and jurisdictional arrangements were terminated later and the Zamorin of Calicut became a mere pensioned landlord receiving the "malikhana". On 1 July 1800, Malabar was transferred to the Madras Presidency. On 15 November 1806 the agreement upon which rested the future political relations between the Zamorin of Calicut and the English was executed. ==Governance==

According to historian M. G. Raghava Varier, at the peak of their reign, the Zamorin's ruled over a region from Kollam to Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy). Trade at the port of Calicut was controlled by this Muslim merchant-cum-port commissioner. He supervised customs on the behalf of the king, fixed the prices of the commodities, and collected the share to the treasury. As the farmer of customs he also had right collect brokerage and poll tax at the port. Trade – both coastal and overseas – was dominated the Muslims, though Jews, Chettis from Coromandel Coast, and Vanias from Gujarat all traded in and from Calicut. The Muslim traders included natives (Mappilas and Marakkars) as well as Muslims from the Middle East. The foreigners dominated the lucrative Indian Ocean spice trade. The coins minted in Calicut included Panam (made of gold), Taram (made of silver) and Kasu (made of copper). The officer in-charge of the mint was called the "Goldsmith of Manavikraman". The royal mint was destroyed in 1766. • 16 Tarams = 1 Panam ;Ma Haun's Table (1409) :* 1 Kochi Panam = 15 Tarams ;Holzschuher's Table (1503) :Gold coins: :*Calicut/Kannur/Kochi Panam (15 carats gold) :**19 Panams = 1 cruzado (Portuguese) or ducat (European) :* Kollam Panam (19 carats gold) :**12 Panams = 1 cruzado (Portuguese) or ducat (European) :Silver coins: :* [All Malabar Coast] Taram :**16 Tarams = 1 Panam :Copper coins: :* Kollam Kasu :**15 Kasus = 1 Panam Coins in circulation in the pre-Portuguese kingdom of Calicut included gold coins called Pagoda/Pratapa, silver Tangas of Gujarat, of Bijapur, of Vijayanagara and the Larines of Persia, Xerafins of Cairo, the Venetian and the Genoan ducats. Other coins in circulation in the kingdom of Calicut – in sometime or other – included Riyal ("Irayal"), Dirhma ("Drama"), Rupee ("Uruppika"), Rasi ("Rachi"), and Venadu Chakram. Venadu coins – it seems – came to circulation after the Mysorean interlude. Rasi later gave way to the Kaliyuga Rayan Panam. Of Kaliyuga Rayan Panam there were two varieties. One of these (issued by Kannur) was afterwards imitated by the Zamorin called Virarayan Putiya Panam, to distinguish it from the coin of Kannur, which then became Pazhaya Panam. The four Pazhaya Panams made a Rupee while three and half Putiya Panams equalled a Rupee. ==Military==

Calicut's attitude towards the vanquished chiefs and European governors was generally marked by moderation. The whole conquered area was not ruled directly from Calicut but was ruled by a Calicut official (general, minister or Eradi prince). Sometimes, its former rulers allowed to rule as a vassal or feudatory. Some assume that the Marakkars, before the beginning of the hostilities with the Portuguese, were traders of rice from Konkan. The Marakkars also supplied food materials for the Portuguese settlements in Kerala. Mamale Marakkar of Cochin was the richest man in the country. After a series of naval battles, the once powerful Chinna Kutti Ali was forced to sue for peace with the Portuguese in 1540. The peace was soon broken, with the assassination of the Muslim judge of Kannur Abu Bakr Ali (1545), and the Portuguese again came down hard on the Mappilas. By the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were finally able to deal with the "Mappila challenge". Kunjali Marakkar IV was defeated and killed, with the help of the Zamorin, in c. 1600. Even after the execution of Marakkar IV, the title of the Kunjali Marakkar continued to exist for almost century. The four key Kunjali Marakkars were: • Kutti Ahmed Ali (Marakkar I) • Kutti Pokker Ali (Marakkar II) • Pattu Kunjali Marakkar (Marakkar III) • Ponnani Muhammed Kunjali (Marakkar IV) ==List of Calicut Zamorins==

(1932–1937) Historical documents rarely mentions the individual names of the Zamorins of Calicut. Mana Vikrama, Mana Veda and Vira Raya were the only names given to male members in the royal family, the Zamorin always being known as Manavikrama. Mana Veda might be a corruption of the Old Malayalam title "Mana Viyata". The following is a list of rulers of Calicut from "The Zamorins of Calicut" (1938) by K. V. Krishna Iyer. The first column (No.) gives the number of the Zamorin reckoned from the founder of the ruling family, based upon de Couto's assumption that there had been 98 Zamorins before the Zamorin reigning in 1610. First dynasty The original seat of the aristocratic clan was Nediyiruppu and the head of the house was known as Nediyiruppu Mutta Eradi, a title enjoyed by the fifth in rank from the Zamorin. Under the Kodungallur Chera rulers the Mutta Eradi governed Ernad with the title of "Ernad Utaiyar". Later the clan abandoned its ancestral house and transferred its residence to the present day Kozhikode. Note: Italic names only indicate the asterism under which the Zamorin is born Second dynasty It seems that the original ruling family came to an end with the 114th Zamorin of Calicut. The 115th Zamorin, the first of the second ruling family, was the oldest of the princes adopted from Nileshwaram in 1706. == Zamorin family today ==

The Zamorins of Calicut returned to Calicut from Travancore by 1800. During the British rule, Malabar's chief importance laid in producing pepper. The company reduced the Zamorins to the position of "pensioned" landlord by giving them an annual payment called mali khana. Payments (Mali khana) were taken over by the government of India after independence in 1947. The family has sought the government's help to preserve the artefacts in their private collection. This collection include palm leaf manuscripts, swords, shields and other valuables. Malabar Devaswom Board Commissioner recently proposed to the Kerala state government that the temples under the hereditary (private) trustees – such as the Zamorin – should be attached to the Board. ==See also==