Arakkal Beevi refers to the female ruler of

Arakkal Kingdom Arakkal Kingdom was a Muslim kingdom in Kannur town in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, South India. The king was called Ali Raja and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi. Arakkal kingdom included little more than the Cannanore ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

.Logan, William (2006). Malabar Manual, Mathrubhumi Books, Calicut. The Arakkal family followed a matriarchal system of descent: the eldest member of the family, whether male or female, became its head and ruler. While male rulers were called Ali Rajah, female rulers were known as Arakkal Beevis. Sultana Aysha Aliraja was the ruler until her death on the morning of 27 September 2006.

Cultural depictions

* Ayesha Ali Raja (played by Genelia D'Souza) appears as a character in a Malayalam film titled ''

Urumi Urumi (Malayalam: ''uṟumi''; Sinhalese: ''ethunu kaduwa''; Hindi: ''āra'') is a sword with a flexible, whip-like blade, originating in modern-day Kerala in the Indian subcontinent. It is thought to have existed from as early as the Sangam per ...

''. The film is based on a fictional story about a young Indian who tries to assassinate Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama. The movie was released on 31 March 2011. But the Arakkal Ayesha played by Genelia D'Souza is different from Aysha Aliraja.

References

{{Reflist History of Kerala