Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

'' was first epigraphically recorded as ''Cheras'' ( Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

with all major

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

ports as well those of

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and

Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...

. In the 8th century,

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and h ...

was born in

Kalady Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th ce ...

in central Kerala. He travelled extensively across the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

founding institutions of the widely influential philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. The Cheras regained control over Kerala in the 9th century until the kingdom was dissolved in the 12th century, after which small autonomous chiefdoms, most notably the Kingdom of Kozhikode, arose. The ports of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

and

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

acted as major gateways to the western coast of medieval

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

for several foreign entities. These entities included the Chinese, the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

s, the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

, various groups from Eastern Africa, various kingdoms from

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

including the

Malacca Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...

, and later on, the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

ans. In the 14th century, the

Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics or the Kerala school was a school of Indian mathematics, mathematics and Indian astronomy, astronomy founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Kingdom of Tanur, Tirur, Malappuram district, Malappuram, K ...

was founded by

Madhava of Sangamagrama Mādhava of Sangamagrāma (Mādhavan) Availabl/ref> () was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who is considered to be the founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics in the Late Middle Ages. Madhava made pioneering contributio ...

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

. Some of the contributions of the school included the discovery of the

infinite series In mathematics, a series is, roughly speaking, an addition of infinitely many terms, one after the other. The study of series is a major part of calculus and its generalization, mathematical analysis. Series are used in most areas of mathemati ...

and taylor series of some trigonometry functions. In 1498, with the help of Gujarati merchants, Portuguese traveler

Vasco Da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

established a sea route to

by sailing around the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, located in the southernmost region of Africa. His navy raised Portuguese forts and even minor settlements, which marked the beginning of European influences in India. European trading interests of the Dutch, French and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

took center stage in Kerala. In 1741, the Dutch were defeated by

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

king Marthanda Varma. After this humiliating defeat, Dutch military commanders were taken hostage by Marthanda Varma, and they were forced to train the Travancore military with modern European weaponry. This resulted in Travancore being able to defend itself from further European aggression. By the late 18th century, most of the influence in Kerala came from the British. The British crown gained control over Northern Kerala through the creation of the

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

. The British also allied with the princely states of Travancore and

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

in the southern part of the state. When India declared

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947, Travancore originally sought to establish itself as a fully sovereign nation. However, an agreement was made by the then King of Travancore Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma to have Travancore join India, albeit after many rounds of negotiation. The

and the

Kingdom of Cochin The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

were peacefully annexed into India without much hassle. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 from the former state of Travancore-Cochin, the

Malabar district Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

and the Kasaragod taluk of

South Canara South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the mos ...

District of

Madras state Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

. The state is called ''Keralam'' in Malayalam, due to its grammatical addition of

Anusvara Anusvara ( ; , , ), also known as Bindu ( ; ), is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated or in standards like ISO 15919 and IAST. Depending on its location in a word and the language for ...

Other names

The term ''Malabar'' has historically been used in foreign trade circles as a general name for

. In earlier times, the term ''Malabar'' had also been used to denote

Tulu Nadu Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and Proposed states and union territories of India, proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (pl. 'Tuluver') are speakers of Tulu language, Tulu, a Dravidian langu ...

and Kanyakumari which lie contiguous to Kerala on the southwestern coast of India, in addition to the modern state of Kerala. The people of Malabar were known as ''

Malabars Malabars () is a term used for Indian people, Indians originating from the Malabar region. The region includes the northern part of present state of Kerala in India, i.e. the Malabar Coast, southwestern coast of the country. Captain João Ribe ...

''. From the time of Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century CE) itself, the Roman sailors used to call Kerala as ''Male''. The first element of the name, however, is attested already in the ''Topography'' written by Cosmas Indicopleustes. This mentions a pepper emporium called ''Male'', which clearly gave its name to Malabar ('the country of Male'). The name ''Male'' is thought to come from the Dravidian word ''Mala'' ('hill').

Al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

(AD 973–1048) must have been the first writer to call this state ''Malabar''. Author such as

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al ...

mention Malabar ports in their works. The Arab writers had called this place ''Malibar'', ''Manibar'', ''Mulibar'', and ''Munibar''. ''Malabar'' is reminiscent of the word ''Malanad'' which means ''the land of hills''. According to William Logan, the word ''Malabar'' comes from a combination of the Dravidian word ''Mala'' (hill) and the Persian/

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''Barr'' (country/continent).

Traditional sources

Mahabali

Perhaps the most famous festival of Kerala,

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

, is deeply rooted in Kerala traditions. Onam is associated with the legendary king

Mahabali Mahabali (IAST: Mahābalī), also known as Bali, Indrasenan, or Māveli, is a daitya king featured in Hinduism. He is the grandson of Prahlada, and a descendant of the sage Kashyapa. There are many versions of his legend in ancient texts suc ...

(Maveli), who according to tradition and Puranas, ruled the Earth and several other planetary systems from Kerala. His entire kingdom was then a land of immense prosperity and happiness. However, Mahabali was tricked into giving up his rule, and was thus overthrown by

Vamana Vamana (, ) also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (, ), and Balibandhana (), is an Dashavatara, avatar of the Hinduism, Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the first Dashavatara in the Treta ...

(Thrikkakkarayappan), the fifth ''Avatar'' (earthly incarnation) of Lord ''

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

''. He was banished from the Earth to rule over one of the netherworld ( Patala) planets called Sutala by Vamana. Mahabali comes back to visit Kerala every year on the occasion of Onam.

Other texts

The oldest of all the Puranas, the Matsya Purana, sets the story of the Matsya Avatar (fish incarnation) of Lord

, in the Western Ghats. The earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala by name as ''Cherapadah'' is the

Aitareya Aranyaka The ''Aranyakas'' (; ; IAST: ') are a part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice, composed in about 700 BC. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of Vedic text ...

, a late Vedic work on philosophy. It is also mentioned in both the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

Parasurama and Cenkuttuvan

There are legends dealing with the origins of Kerala geographically and culturally. One such legend is the retrieval of Kerala from the sea, by Parasurama, a warrior sage. It proclaims that Parasurama, an

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

of Mahavishnu, threw His battle axe into the sea. As a result, the land of Kerala arose, and thus was reclaimed from the waters. This legend shares parallels with an earlier legend where Chera King Vel Kezhu Kuttavan, who when enraged, threw his axe into the sea and caused it to retreat.

Ophir

Ophir, a region mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, famous for its

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

, is often identified with some coastal areas of Kerala. According to legend, the

King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

received a cargo from Ophir every three years ( 1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, apes, and

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

s. ''A Dictionary of the Bible'' by

Sir William Smith Sir William Smith (20 May 1813 – 7 October 1893) was an English lexicographer. He became known for his advances in the teaching of Greek and Latin in schools. Early life Smith was born in Enfield in 1813 to Nonconformist parents. He attende ...

, published in 1863, notes the Hebrew word for parrot ''Thukki'', derived from the Classical Tamil for peacock ''Thogkai'' and Cingalese ''Tokei'', joins other Classical Tamil words for ivory, cotton-cloth and apes preserved in the Hebrew Bible. This theory of Ophir's location in

Tamilakam Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, La ...

is further supported by other historians. The most likely location on the coast of Kerala conjectured to be Ophir is Poovar in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

District (though some Indian scholars also suggest Beypore as possible location). The

Books of Kings The Book of Kings (, ''Sefer (Hebrew), Sēfer Malik, Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Is ...

and Chronicles tell of a joint expedition to Ophir by King Solomon and the Tyrian king

Hiram I Hiram I ( Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤌 ''Ḥirōm'' "my brother is exalted"; Hebrew: חירם ''Ḥīrām''; also called ''Hirom'' or ''Huram'')Ezion-Geber, a port on the

, that brought back large amounts of gold, precious stones and ' algum wood' and of a later failed expedition by king

Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; ; ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father. His children included Jehoram, who ...

of Judah. The famous 'gold of Ophir' is referenced in several other books of the Hebrew Bible.

Cheraman Perumal

The legend of Cheraman Perumals is the medieval tradition associated with the ''Cheraman Perumal'' (literally the Chera kings) of Kerala. The Cheraman Perumals mentioned in the legend can be identified with the

Chera Perumal Cheraman Perumal dynasty, also known as the Perumal dynasty of Kerala, or the Chera Perumals of Makotai or MahodayapuramNoburu Karashima (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 20 ...

rulers of medieval Kerala (–12th century CE). The validity of the legend as a source of history once generated much debate among South Indian historians. The legend was used by Kerala chiefdoms for the legitimation of their rule (most of the major chiefly houses in medieval Kerala traced its origin back to the legendary allocation by the Perumal). According to the legend, ''Rayar'', the overlord of the Cheraman Perumal in a country east of the Ghats, invaded Kerala during the rule of the last Perumal. To drive back the invading forces the Perumal summoned the militia of his chieftains (like ''Udaya Varman Kolathiri'', ''Manichchan'', and ''Vikkiran'' of Eranad). The ''Cheraman Perumal'' was assured by the ''Eradis'' (chief of Eranad) that they would take a fort established by the ''Rayar''. The battle lasted for three days and the Rayar eventually evacuated his fort (and it was seized by the Perumal's troops). Then the last ''Cheraman Perumal'' divided Kerala or Chera kingdom among his chieftains and disappeared mysteriously. The Kerala people never more heard any tidings of him. The ''Eradis'' of Nediyiruppu, who later came to be known as the Zamorins of Kozhikode, who were left out in cold during allocation of the land, was granted the Cheraman Perumal's sword (with the permission to "die, and kill, and seize"). Cheraman juma masjid Old

According to the Cheraman Juma Mosque and some other narratives, "Once a Cheraman Perumal probably named Ravi Varma was walking with his queen in the palace, when he witnessed the Splitting of the Moon. Shocked by this, he asked his astronomers to note down the exact time of the splitting. Then, when some

merchants visited his palace, he asked them about this incident. Their answers led the King to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, where he met the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Muhammad named him Tajuddin or Thajuddin or Thiya-aj-Addan meaning "crown of faith". The king then wrote letters to his kingdom to accept Islam and follow the teachings of Malik bin Deenar". It is assumed that the first recorded version of this legend is an

manuscript of anonymous authorship known as '' Qissat Shakarwati Farmad''. The 16th century

work '' Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen'' authored by Zainuddin Makhdoom II of

Ponnani Ponnani () is a Nagar Palika (Municipality), municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the est ...

, as well as the medieval

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

work '' Keralolpathi'', also mention about the departure of last ''Cheraman Perumal'' of Kerala into

Prehistory

A substantial portion of Kerala including the western coastal lowland and the plains of midland may have been under the sea in ancient times. Marine fossils have been found in an area near

Changanassery Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

, thus supporting the hypothesis. Archaeological studies have identified many

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

, Neolithic and

Megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

sites in the eastern highlands of Kerala mainly centred around the eastern mountain ranges of Western Ghats. Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves, in

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

date back to the Neolithic era around 6000 BCE. These findings have been classified into Laterite rock-cut caves (''Chenkallara''), Hood stones (''Kudakkallu''), Hat stones (''Toppikallu''), Dolmenoid cists (''Kalvrtham''), Urn burials (''Nannangadi'') and Menhirs (''Pulachikallu''). The studies point to the indigenous development of the ancient Kerala society and its culture beginning from the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

age, and its continuity through Mesolithic, Neolithic and Megalithic ages. However, foreign cultural contacts have assisted this cultural formation. The studies suggest possible relationship with

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

during the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Archaeological findings include

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s of the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

era in the Marayur area. They are locally known as "muniyara", derived from ''muni'' (

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

or sage) and ''ara'' (dolmen). Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves in

are thought to date from the early to late Neolithic eras around 5000 BCE. Historian M. R. Raghava Varier of the Kerala state archaeology department identified a sign of "a man with jar cup" in the engravings, which is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilisation.

Classical period

Early ruling dynasties

Kerala's dominant rulers of the early historic period were the Cheras, a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

dynasty with its headquarters located in Vanchi. The location of Vanchi is generally considered near the ancient port city of

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

in Kerala. However,

Karur Karur () is a municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur district and is administered by the Karur Municipal Cor ...

in modern Tamil Nadu is also pointed out as the location of the capital city of Cheras. Another view suggests the reign of Cheras from multiple capitals. The Chera kingdom consisted of a major part of modern Kerala and Kongunadu which comprises western districts of modern

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

and Salem. The region around

was ruled by the Cheras during

Sangam period The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...

between c. 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the

Palakkad Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the ...

, the principal trade route between the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

and

Old Tamil Old Tamil is the period of the Tamil language spanning from the 3rd century BCE to the seventh century CE. Prior to Old Tamil, the period of Tamil linguistic development is termed as Proto-Tamil. After the Old Tamil period, Tamil becomes Middl ...

works such as '' Patiṟṟuppattu, Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku'' and ''

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely ''akaval'' (''acir ...

'' are important sources that describe the Cheras from the early centuries CE. Together with the Cholas and Pandyas the Cheras formed the Tamil triumvirate of the ''mūvēntar'' ( Three Crowned Kings). The Cheras ruled the western

, the Cholas ruled in the eastern

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

and the Pandyas in the south-central peninsula. The Cheras were mentioned as ''Ketalaputo'' (Keralaputra) on an inscribed edict of emperor

of the Magadha Empire in the 3rd century BCE, as ''Cerobothra'' by the Greek ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and Roman commerce, trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports lik ...

'' and as ''Celebothras'' in the Roman encyclopedia ''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

'' by Pliny the Elder. The Mushika kingdom existed in northern Kerala, while the Ays ruled south of the Chera kingdom.

Trade relations

The region of Kerala was possibly engaged in trading activities from the 3rd millennium BCE with

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ians and

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

ns.

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...

, Romans, and Chinese were attracted by a variety of commodities, especially

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s and cotton fabrics.

s and

were the first to enter

to trade

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s. The Arabs on the coasts of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, and the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, must have made the first long voyage to Kerala and other eastern countries. They must have brought the

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

of Kerala to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The Greek historian

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

(5th century BCE) records that in his time the cinnamon spice industry was monopolized by the Egyptians and the Phoenicians.

, Tyndis, Naura, Berkarai, and Nelcynda were among the principal trading port centres of the Chera kingdom. Megasthanes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Magadhan king

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...

(4th century BCE) mentions Muziris and a

Pandyan The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

trade centre. Pliny mentions Muziris as India's first port of importance. According to him, Muziris could be reached in 40 days from the

ports of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

purely depending on the South west monsoon winds. Later, the unknown author of the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' notes that "both Muziris and Nelcynda are now busy places". There were harbours of Naura near

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

, Tyndis near

, and Barace near Alappuzha, which were also trading with Rome and Palakkad pass (churam) facilitated migration and trade. Tyndis was a major center of trade, next only to

, between the Cheras and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Roman establishments in the port cities of the region, such as a temple of ''

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

'' and barracks for garrisoned Roman soldiers, are marked in the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

; the only surviving map of the Roman ''

cursus publicus The ''cursus publicus'' (Latin language, Latin: "the public way"; , ''dēmósios drómos'') was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, the use of which continued into the Eastern Roman Empi ...

''.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(1st century CE) states that the port of '' Tyndis'' was located at the northwestern border of ''Keprobotos'' (

Chera dynasty The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

). The

North Malabar North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala State, Kerala's present day Kasaragod district, Kasaragod and Kannur district, Kannur districts, Mananthavady taluk of the Wayanad District, Wayanad distr ...

region, which lies north of the port at '' Tyndis'', was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during

. The port of Tyndis which was on the northern side of

, as mentioned in Greco-Roman writings, was somewhere near

. Its exact location is a matter of dispute. The suggested locations are

, Tanur, Beypore- Chaliyam- Kadalundi- Vallikkunnu, and

Koyilandy Koyilandy (;A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon)is a major town Nagar Palika, municipality and a Tehsil, taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Koz ...

. According to the ''

'', a region known as ''

Limyrike Limyrikê is a historical region of present-day India, mentioned in the ancient Greco-Roman texts. It generally corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast of Kerala. Extent According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (53:17:15-27) ...

'' began at '' Naura'' and '' Tyndis''. However the

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

mentions only '' Tyndis'' as the ''

''s starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day

. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000 sesterces. He also mentions that the region was prone to pirates. Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that it was also a source of Malabar peppers. Contemporary

Tamil literature Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the T ...

, '' Puṟanāṉūṟu'' and ''

Akanaṉūṟu The ''Akananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the akam genre"), sometimes called ''Nedunthokai'' (''lit.'' "anthology of long poems"), is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam li ...

,'' speak of the Roman vessels and the Roman gold that used to come to the Kerala ports in search of Malabar pepper and other

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

, which had enormous demand in the West. The contact with

and Romans might have given rise to small colonies of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Syrian Christians and Mappila

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s in the chief harbour towns of Kerala. Silk route

Formation of a multicultural society

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

reached Kerala in this early period. As in other parts of

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

, Buddhism and Jainism co-existed with early Hindu beliefs during the first five centuries. Merchants from West Asia and Southern Europe established coastal posts and settlements in Kerala. Jews arrived in Kerala as early as 573 BCE. The

Cochin Jews Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim from ) are one of the oldest groups of History of the Jews in India, Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the King ...

believe that their ancestors came to the west coast of India as refugees following the destruction of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in the first century CE. Syrian Christians claim to be the descendants of the converts of Saint

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Arabs also had trade links with Kerala, starting before the 4th century BCE, as

(484–413 BCE) noted that goods brought by Arabs from Kerala were sold to the Jews at Eden. They intermarried with local people, resulting in the formation of the Muslim Mappila community. In the 4th century, the Knanaya Christians migrated from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and settled in southern

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

. ''Mappila'' was an honorific title that had been assigned to respected visitors from abroad; and Jewish, Syrian Christian, and Muslim immigration might account for later names of the respective communities: Juda Mappilas, Muslim Mappilas, and Nasrani Mappilas. According to the legends of these

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

, the earliest Christian churches,

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

(CE 1568) in India were built in Kerala. The combined number of Jews, Muslims, and Christians was relatively small at this early stage. They co-existed harmoniously with each other and with local Hindu society, aided by the commercial benefit from such association.

Medieval and Early Modern periods

Political changes

Much of history of the region from the 6th to the 8th century is obscure. From the

line of the Cheras rose the Kulasekhara dynasty, which was established by Kulasekhara Varman. At its zenith these Later Cheras ruled over a territory comprising the whole of modern Kerala and a smaller part of modern Tamil Nadu. During the early part of Kulasekhara period, the southern region from

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

was ruled by Ay kings, who lost their power in the 10th century and thus the region became a part of the Cheras. Kerala witnessed a flourishing period of art, literature, trade and the

Bhakti movement The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of Bhakti, devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6t ...

of Hinduism. A Keralite identity, distinct from the

Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...

, became linguistically separate during this period. The origin of

Malayalam calendar The Malayalam Calendar, or the Kollam Era (), is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, commemorating the establishment of Kollam. There are many theories regarding the origin of t ...

dates back to year 825 CE. For the local administration, the empire was divided into provinces under the rule of Nair Chieftains known as Naduvazhis, with each province comprising a number of ''Desams'' under the control of chieftains, called as ''Desavazhis''. The era witnessed also a shift in political power, as Namboothiri Brahmins gained political power. As a result, many temples were constructed across Kerala, which according to M. T. Narayanan "became cornerstones of the socio-economic society". Mamankam festival, which was the largest native festival, was held at Tirunavaya near Kuttippuram, on the bank of river Bharathappuzha. Athavanad, the headquarters of '' Azhvanchery Thamprakkal'', who were also considered as the supreme religious chief of the

Nambudiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri, Namboodri, Namboori, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s of Kerala, is also located near Tirunavaya. Sulaiman al-Tajir, a Persian merchant who visited Kerala during the reign of

Sthanu Ravi Varma Sthanu Ravi Varma ( Early Malayalam and Tamil: Ko Tanu Iravi), known as the Kulasekhara, was the Chera Perumal ruler of Kerala in southern India from 844/45 to ''c.'' 870/71 AD.Noburu Karashima (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and ...

(9th century CE), records that there was extensive trade between Kerala and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

at that time, based at the port of

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

. A number of foreign accounts have mentioned about the presence of considerable

population in the coastal towns. Arab writers such as

Al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

(896–956 CE),

Muhammad al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

(1100–1165 CE), Abulfeda (1273–1331 CE), and Al-Dimashqi (1256–1327 CE) mention the Muslim communities in Kerala. Some historians assume that the Mappilas can be considered as the first native, settled Muslim community in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. The inhibitions, caused by a series of Chera-Chola wars in the 11th century, resulted in the decline of foreign trade in Kerala ports. In addition, Portuguese invasions in the 15th century caused two major religions,

and

, to disappear from the land. It is known that the Menons in the Malabar region of Kerala were originally strong believers of

. The social system became fractured with divisions on

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

lines. The Kulasekhara dynasty was finally subjugated in 1102 by the combined attack of the Pandyas and Cholas. However, in the 14th century, Ravi Varma Kulashekhara (1299–1314) of the southern Venad kingdom was able to establish a short-lived supremacy over southern India. After his death, in the absence of strong central power, the state was fractured into about thirty small warring principalities under Nair Chieftains; the most powerful of them were the kingdom of Samuthiri in the north,

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom between the Western Ghat mountains of India with its capital at city of Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143 ...

in the south and Kochi in the middle. The port at

held the superior economic and political position in Kerala, while

(Quilon),

, and

(Cannanore) were commercially confined to secondary roles.

The Rise of Advaita

(CE 789), one of the greatest Indian philosophers, is believed to be born in Kaladi in

, and consolidated the doctrine of '' advaita vedānta''. Shankara travelled across the

to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four '' mathas'' ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship. His works in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of '' advaita'' (

nondualism Nondualism includes a number of philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize the absence of fundamental duality or separation in existence. This viewpoint questions the boundaries conventionally imposed between self and other, min ...

). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the ''

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

'', and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon ('' Brahma Sutra'', principal ''upanishads'' and ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'') in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like

Samkhya Samkhya or Sankhya (; ) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' Puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit) and '' Prakṛti'' (nature or matter, including the human mind a ...

and certain schools of

. His activities in Kerala was little and no evidence of his influence is noticed in the literature or other things in his lifetime in Kerala. Even though Sankara was against all caste systems, in later years his name was used extensively by the Brahmins of Kerala for establishing caste system in Kerala.

The Kingdom of Kozhikode

Historical records regarding the origin of the Samoothiri of

is obscure. However, its generally agreed that the Samoothiri were originally the

Nair The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

chieftains of Eralnadu region of the Later Chera Kingdom and were known as the Eradis. Eralnadu ( Eranad) province was situated in the northern parts of present-day

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

and was landlocked by the Valluvanad and Polanadu in the west. Legends such as '' Keralolpathi'' tell the establishment of a local ruling family at Nediyiruppu, near present-day Kondotty by two young brothers belonging to the Eradi clan. The brothers, Manikkan and Vikraman were the most trusted generals in the army of the Cheras. M.G.S. Narayanan, an Indian historian, in his book, ''Calicut: The City of Truth'' states that the Eradi was a favourite of the last Later Chera king and granted him, as a mark of favor, a small tract of land on the sea-coast in addition to his hereditary possessions (Eralnadu province). Eradis subsequently moved their capital to the coastal marshy lands and established the kingdom of KozhikodeTo corroborate his assertion that Eradi was in fact a favourite of the last Later Chera, M.G.S. cites a stone inscription discovered at

in southern

. It refers to ''"Nalu Taliyum, Ayiram, Arunurruvarum, Eranadu Vazhkai Manavikiraman, mutalayulla Samathararum" – "The four Councillors, The Thousand, The Six Hundred, along with Mana Vikrama-the Governor of Eralnadu and other Feudatories."'' M.G.S. indicates that

lay in fact beyond and not within the kingdom of Polanadu and there was no need of any kind of military movements for

. They later assumed the title of ''Samudrāthiri'' ("one who has the sea for his border") and continued to rule from Kozhikode. Samoothiri allied with Muslim Arab and Chinese merchants and used most of the wealth from Kozhikode to develop his military power. They became the most powerful king in the Malayalam speaking regions during the

Middle Age Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

s. In the 14th century, Kozhikode conquered large parts of central Kerala following the seize of Tirunavaya from Valluvanad, which was under the control of the king of ''Perumbadappu Swaroopam''. He was forced to shift his capital (c. CE 1405) further south from

. In the 15th century, Cochin was reduced in to a vassal state of Kozhikode. The ruler of

Kolathunadu Kolattunādu () (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along w ...

(

) had also came under the influence of Zamorin by the end of the 15th century. At the peak of their reign, the Zamorins of Kozhikode ruled over a region from Kollam ( Quilon) in the south to Panthalayini Kollam (

) in the north.

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

(1342–1347), who visited the city of

six times, gives the earliest glimpses of life in the city. He describes Kozhikode as "one of the great ports of the district of Malabar" where "merchants of all parts of the world are found". The king of this place, he says, "shaves his chin just as the Haidari Fakeers of Rome do... The greater part of the Muslim merchants of this place are so wealthy that one of them can purchase the whole freightage of such vessels put here and fit-out others like them". Ma Huan (1403 AD), the Chinese sailor part of the Imperial Chinese fleet under Cheng Ho (

Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...

) states the city as a great emporium of trade frequented by merchants from around the world. He makes note of the 20 or 30 mosques built to cater to the religious needs of the Muslims, the unique system of calculation by the merchants using their fingers and toes (followed to this day), and the matrilineal system of succession. Abdur Razzak (1442–43),

Niccolò de' Conti Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole (name), ...

(1445), Afanasy Nikitin (1468–74),

Ludovico di Varthema Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a Hajj, pilgrim. Nearly everything that is ...

(1503–1508), and Duarte Barbosa witnessed the city as one of the major trading centres in the

where traders from different parts of the world could be seen.

Vijayanagara Empire Influences

The king

Deva Raya II Deva Raya II (reigned 10 February 1423 – 24 May 1446) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. He is considered by many as the greatest of the Sangama dynasty rulers, he was an able administrator, warrior, and scholar. He authored well-k ...

(1424–1446) of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

tried to conquer the present-day state of Kerala in the 15th century but was not able to logistically do so. He however accepted the rule of the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

, as well as the ruler of

around 1443. Fernão Nunes says that the Zamorin had to pay tribute to the king of Vijayanagara Empire. As the Vijayanagara power diminished over the next fifty years, the Zamorin of Kozhikode again rose to prominence in Kerala. He built a fort at

in 1498.

The Kingdom of Venad

was a kingdom in the south west tip of Kerala, which acted as a buffer between Cheras and Pandyas. Until the end of the 11th century, it was a small principality in the Ay Kingdom. The ''Ays'' were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith, ruled over a region from

in the south to

in the north. Their capital was at

. A series of attacks by the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

s between the 7th and 8th centuries caused the decline of Ays although the dynasty remained powerful until the beginning of the 10th century. When Ay power diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the Second Chera Kingdom Invasion of Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096. However, the Chera capital,

Mahodayapuram Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

, fell in the subsequent attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam. Thus, Rama Varma Kulasekara, the last king of Chera dynasty, is probably the founder of the Venad royal house, and the title of Chera kings, ''Kulasekara'', was thenceforth adopted by the rulers of Venad. The end of Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of the Venad. The Venadu King then also was known as Venadu Mooppil Nayar. In the second half of the 12th century, two branches of the Ay Dynasty: Thrippappur and Chirava, merged into the Venad family and established the tradition of designating the ruler of Venad as Chirava Moopan and the heir-apparent as ''Thrippappur Moopan''. While Chrirava Moopan had his residence at

, the Thrippappur Moopan resided at his palace in Thrippappur, north of Thiruvananthapuram, and was vested with the authority over the temples of Venad kingdom, especially the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.

The Legacy of Venad

The most powerful kingdom of Kerala during the era of European influences,

, was developed through the expansion of Venad by Mahahrajah Marthanda Varma, a member of the Thrippappur branch of the Ay Dynasty who ascended to the throne in the early 18th century.

The Kingdom of Kolathunadu

The ancient kingdom of Ezhimala had jurisdiction over the

which consisted of two ''Nadu''s (regions)- The coastal ''Poozhinadu'' and the hilly eastern ''Karkanadu''. According to the works of

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

, ''Poozhinadu'' consisted much of the coastal belt between

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

and

. ''Karkanadu'' consisted of

- Gudalur hilly region with parts of

Kodagu Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...

(Coorg). It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at

hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the Sangam works. Ezhimala kingdom was succeeded by Mushika dynasty in the early medieval period, most possibly due to the migration of Tuluva Brahmins from

. 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. The Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunt community of

was called ''Kola Bari'' and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan. The kingdom of

, who were the descendants of Mushika dynasty, at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Netravati River (

) in the north to Korapuzha (

) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and

hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...

in Arabian Sea. An

Old Malayalam Old Malayalam, or Early Malayalam, the inscriptional variety found in Kerala from ''c.'' mid-9th to ''c.'' 13th century CE, is the earliest attested form of Malayalam language. The language was employed in several administrative records and tran ...

inscription ( Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of

, can be found at Ezhimala near Kannur. The

inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE. In his book on travels ('' Il Milione''),

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included

Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...

, the Buddhist pilgrim and

Ibn Batuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebis, Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his ...

, writer and historian of Tangiers. The

in the late medieval period emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu ( Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad ( Dharmadom),

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

(

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu ( Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions. The Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as the

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

, in the early medieval period. The kingdom of Kumbla in the northernmost region of the modern state of Kerala, who had jurisdiction over the

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

s of Manjeshwar and

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...

, and parts of

in Southern

, were also vassals to the kingdom of

until the Carnatic conquests of the 15th century CE. According to Kerala Muslim tradition, the

region was also home to several oldest mosques in the

. According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of

, who left from Dharmadom near

and converted to

during the lifetime of

(c. 570–632). According to '' Qissat Shakarwati Farmad'', the ''Masjids'' at

, Madayi, Barkur,

, Kannur,

Dharmadam Dharmadom or Dharmadam is a census town, census village in Thalassery City in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India. This town is located in between Anjarakandi River and Ummanchira River, and Palayad town and Arabian Sea. It is known f ...

, Panthalayani, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest ''Masjid''s in the

. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in

town. The Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque in the erstwhile Kolathunadu contains an

inscription written in a mixture of ''

Vatteluttu ''Vatteluttu'' (, ' and , ', ), also transliterated as ''Vattezhuthu'', was an alphasyllabic or syllabic writing system of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka formerly employed for writing the Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam ...

'' and Grantha scripts which dates back to the 10th century CE. It is a rare surviving document recording patronage by a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

king (Bhaskara Ravi) to the

s of Kerala.

The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics

The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics was a school of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

founded by

Tirur Tirur is a major municipal town in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of . It is one of the major business centers in Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozh ...

in the 14th century. Among its members were Parameshvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati,

Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (Mēlpattūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student of Achyuta Pisharati, was a member of Madhava of Sangamagrama's Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. He was a mathematical linguist ...

and Achyuta Panikkar. Some of the contributions of the school included the discovery of the

and taylor series of some trigonometry functions. The school flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries.

European trade and influences

1652 Sanson Map of India - Geographicus - India-sanson-1652

The maritime

spice trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

monopoly in the Indian Ocean stayed with the Arabs during the High and

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. However, the dominance of Middle East traders was challenged in the European

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...

. After

's arrival in Kappad

in 1498, the Portuguese began to dominate eastern shipping, and the spice-trade in particular. Following the discovery of sea route from

to Malabar in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their influence between Ormus and the

and south to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Portuguese trade and influences

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

was sent by the King of Portugal Dom Manuel I and landed at Kozhikode in 1497–1499. The Samoothiri Maharaja of Kozhikode permitted the Portuguese to trade with his subjects. Their trade in Kozhikode prospered with the establishment of a factory and fort in his territory. However, Portuguese attacks on Arab properties in his jurisdiction provoked the Samoothiri and finally led to conflict. The ruler of the

Kingdom of Tanur The Kingdom of Tanur (also referred to as Vettathunadu, Vettam, Tanur Swaroopam, and Prakashabhu; or the Kingdom of Light) was a feudal List of feudal states of Kerala, principality on the Malabar Coast of the Indian subcontinent during the Mi ...

, who was a vassal to the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

, sided with the Portuguese, against his overlord at

. As a result, the

('' Vettathunadu'') became one of the earliest Portuguese Colonies in India. The ruler of Tanur also sided with

. Many of the members of the royal family of Cochin in 16th and 17th centuries were selected from Vettom. However, the Tanur forces under the king fought for the Zamorin of Calicut in the Battle of Cochin (1504). However, the allegiance of the Mappila merchants in Tanur region still stayed under the

The Portuguese took advantage of the rivalry between the Samoothiri and Rajah of

they allied with Kochi and when Francisco de Almeida was appointed Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, he established his headquarters at Kochi. During his reign, the Portuguese managed to dominate relations with Kochi and established a number of fortresses along the

. Nonetheless, the Portuguese suffered severe setbacks due to attacks by Samoothiri Maharaja's forces, especially naval attacks under the leadership of admirals of Kozhikode known as Kunjali Marakkars, which compelled them to seek a treaty. 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

in 16th-century CE is the first-ever known book fully based on the history of Kerala, written by a Keralite. It is written in

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 The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (, ) (Floruit, ''fl.'' 16th century) was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist. He was one of the prāchīna kavithrayam (old triad) of Malayalam literature, the other two being Kunchan Nambia ...

, who is considered as the father of modern

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary text ...

, was born at

('' Vettathunadu'') during Portuguese period. The medieval

that flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries, was also primarily based in ''Vettathunadu'' ( Tirur region) Bekal Fort Kasargod

The St. Angelo Fort at

was built by the Portuguese in 1505, which was later captured by Dutch and Arakkal kingdom. The Portuguese Cemetery, Kollam (after the invasion of Dutch, it became ''Dutch Cemetery'') of Tangasseri in

city was constructed in around 1519 as part of the Portuguese invasion in the city.

Buckingham Canal The Buckingham Canal is a -long fresh water navigation canal, that parallels the Coromandel Coast of South India from Kakinada of Andhra Pradesh to Parangipettai near Chidambaram of Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most of the natural backw ...

(a small canal between Tangasseri Lighthouse and the cemetery) is situated very close to the Portuguese Cemetery. A group of pirates known as the Pirates of Tangasseri formerly lived at the Cemetery. The remnants of St. Thomas Fort and Portuguese Cemetery still exist at Tangasseri. The Muslim line of Ali Rajas of Arakkal kingdom, near

, who were the vassals of the Kolathiri, ruled over the

islands. The Bekal Fort near

, which is also largest fort in the state, was built in 1650 by Shivappa Nayaka of Keladi.

French port in Kerala - Mahe

The French East India Company constructed a fort on the site of Mahé in 1724, in accordance with an accord concluded between André Mollandin and Raja Vazhunnavar of Badagara three years earlier. In 1741, Mahé de La Bourdonnais retook the town after a period of occupation by the Marathas. In 1761 the British captured Mahé, India, and the settlement was handed over to the Rajah of Kadathanadu. The British restored Mahé, India to the French as a part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. In 1779, the Anglo-French war broke out, resulting in the French loss of Mahé, India. In 1783, the British agreed to restore to the French their settlements in India, and Mahé, India was handed over to the French in 1785.

Dutch trade and influences

In 1602, the

sent messages to

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

promising the Dutch a fort at

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. A Dutch fleet under Admiral Steven van der Hagen arrived at Kozhikode in November 1604. It marked the beginning of the Dutch presence in Kerala and they concluded a treaty with

on 11 November 1604, which was also the first treaty that the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

made with an Indian ruler. By this time the kingdom and the port of

was much reduced in importance. The treaty provided for a mutual alliance between the two to expel the Portuguese from Malabar. In return the

was given facilities for trade at Kozhikode and

, including spacious storehouses. The weakened Portuguese were ousted by the

, who took advantage of continuing conflicts between

and

to gain control of the trade. In 1664, the municipality of Fort Kochi was established by Dutch Malabar, making it the first municipality in the

, which got dissolved when the Dutch authority got weaker in the 18th century. The Dutch Malabar (1661–1795) in turn were weakened by their constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar. The Treaty of Mavelikkara was signed by the Dutch and Travancore in 1753, according to which the Dutch were compelled to detach from all political involvements in the region. In the meantime, Marthanda Varma annexed many smaller northern kingdoms through military conquests, resulting in the rise of Travancore to a position of pre-eminence in Kerala. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful

in the Battle of Purakkad in 1763. In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin, the

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1766, Haider Ali of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

defeated the Samoothiri of Kozhikode and absorbed Kozhikode to his state.

The Kingdom of Mysore and British influences

The arrival of

can be traced back to the year 1615, when a group under the leadership of Captain William Keeling arrived at

, using three ships. It was in these ships that Sir

Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empir ...

went to visit

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

, the fourth

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

, as British envoy. The island of Dharmadom near

, along with

, was ceded to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

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 smaller princely states in northern and north-central parts of Kerala ( Malabar region) including

, Kadathanadu,

, Tanur, Valluvanad, and

were unified under the rulers of Mysore and were made a part of the larger

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

in the latter half of the 18th century CE.

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

and his successor,

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

, came into conflict with the British, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars fought across southern India. Tipu Sultan ceded

to the British in 1792 as a result of the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

and the subsequent Treaty of Seringapatam, and South Kanara, which included present-day Kasargod District, in 1799. The British concluded treaties of subsidiary alliance with the rulers of Cochin (1791) and Travancore (1795), and these became princely states of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, maintaining local autonomy in return for a fixed annual tribute to the British. Malabar and South Kanara districts were part of British India's

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (Kerul Varma Pyche Rajah, Cotiote Rajah) (1753–1805) was the Prince Regent and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Kottayam in Malabar, India between 1774 and 1805. He led the Pychy Rebellion (Wynaad Insurrection, Coiote War) against the English East India Company. He is popularly known as ''Kerala Simham'' (Lion of Kerala). The municipalities of

, Fort Kochi,

, and

, were founded on 1 November 1866 of the

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, making them the first modern municipalities in the state of Kerala. Organised expressions of discontent with British rule were not uncommon in Kerala. Initially the British had to suffer local resistance against their rule under the leadership of

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805), also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the '' de facto'' head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the ...

, who had popular support in

region. Other uprisings of note include the rebellion by Velu Thampi Dalawa and the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946. The Malabar Special Police was formed by the colonial government in 1884 headquartered at

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

. There were major revolts in Kerala during the independence movement in the 20th century; most notable among them is the 1921

Malabar Rebellion The Malabar rebellion of 1921 (also called Moplah rebellion, and Mappila rebellion, Malayalam: ''malabār kalāpam'') started as a resistance against the British colonial rule in certain places in the southern part of old Malabar district of pr ...

and the social struggles in

. In the Malabar Rebellion, Mappila Muslims of Malabar rebelled against the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. The Battle of Pookkottur adorns an important role in the rebellion. Some social struggles against caste inequalities also erupted in the early decades of the 20th century, leading to the 1936 Temple Entry Proclamation that opened Hindu temples in Travancore to all castes. Kerala also witnessed several social reforms movements directed at the eradication of social evils such as

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

among the Hindus, pioneered by reformists like Sri

Narayana Guru Sree Narayana Guru () (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, Spiritual Leader, spiritual leader and Social Reformer, social reformer in India. He led a Kerala reformation movement, reform movement against the injustice in t ...

Ayyankali Mahatma Ayyankali (മഹാത്മ അയ്യൻകാളി; 28 August 1863 – 18 June 1941) was an Indian politician, prominent social reformer, educator, economist, lawmaker, and revolutionary leader. He worked for the advancement of ...

and Chattambiswami among others. The non-violent and largely peaceful

Vaikom Vaikom () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, V ...

Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

of 1924 was instrumental in securing entry to the public roads adjacent to the Vaikom temple for people belonging to untouchable castes.

The Kingdom of Travancore

The Kingdom of Travancore was a kingdom in Central and Southern Kerala that existed from ancient times until 1949. Until the reign of Marthanda Varma, the kingdom was known as Venad. In the 11th century, Venad became a vassal of the

Chola Empire The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

. In the 16th century, Venad became a vassal of the

. In the late 18th century, Travancore made an alliance with the British Empire and later became a

British Protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

Details of Chithira Thirunal's Rule and Reforms

The last ruling king of Travancore was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, who reigned from 1931 to 1949. "His reign marked revolutionary progress in the fields of education, defence, economy and society as a whole." He made the famous Temple Entry Proclamation on 12 November 1936, which opened all the

Kshetram Kshetram (Kshetra) literally means a region. In Hindu mythology, it is referred to as the physical holy location where a temple or a collection of temples, its Temple tank, tank and deities exist. Sacred geography There exist privileged regions ...

s (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to all

s, a privilege reserved to only upper-caste Hindus till then. This act won him praise from across India, most notably from

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. The first public transport system (Thiruvananthapuram–Mavelikkara) and telecommunication system (Thiruvananthapuram Palace–Mavelikkara Palace) were launched during the reign of Sree Chithira Thirunal. He also started the industrialisation of the state, enhancing the role of the public sector. He introduced heavy industry in the State and established giant public sector undertakings. As many as twenty industries were established, mostly for utilizing the local raw materials such as rubber, ceramics, and minerals. A majority of the premier industries running in Kerala even today, were established by Sree Chithira Thirunal. He patronized musicians, artists, dancers, and Vedic scholars. Sree Chithira Thirunal appointed, for the first time, an ''Art Advisor'' to the Government, G. H. Cousins. He also established a new form of University Training Corps, viz. ''Labour Corps'', preceding the N.C.C., in the educational institutions. The expenses of the university were to be met fully by the Government. Sree Chithira Thirunal also built a palace named ''Kowdiar Palace'', finished in 1934, which was previously an old ''Naluektu'', given by Sree Moolam Thirunal to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi in 1915.

Controversial Policies of C.P. Ramaswami Iyer

However, his Prime Minister, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, was unpopular among the communists of Travancore. The tension between the Communists and Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer led to minor riots in various places of the country. In one such riot in Punnapra-Vayalar in 1946, the Communist rioters established their own government in the area. This was put down by the Travancore Army and Navy.

Attempted Independence of Travancore as a fully sovereign nation

The Prime Minister issued a statement in June 1947 that Travancore would remain as an independent country instead of joining the Indian Union; subsequently, an attempt was made on the life of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, following which he resigned and left for Madras, to be succeeded by Sri P.G.N. Unnithan. According to witnesses such as K. Aiyappan Pillai, constitutional adviser to the Maharaja and historians like A. Sreedhara Menon, the rioters and mob-attacks had no bearing on the decision of the Maharaja.

Annexation into the Republic of India

After several rounds of discussions and negotiations between Sree Chithira Thirunal and V.P. Menon, the King agreed that the Kingdom should accede to the Indian Union in 1949. On 1 July 1949 the Kingdom of Travancore was merged with the Kingdom of Cochin and the short-lived state of Travancore-Kochi was formed.

Republic of India era

Formation of the state of Kerala

The two kingdoms of

and

joined the Union of India after independence in 1947. On 1July 1949, the two states were merged to form Travancore-Cochin. On 1January 1950, Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. The

was reorganised to form

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

in 1947. On 1November 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...

merging the

(excluding the islands of

), Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern

taluks A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ce ...

, which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of

Kasargod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Ker ...

, South Kanara with

as the capital. In 1957, elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly were held, and a reformist,

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-led government came to power, under E. M. S. Namboodiripad. It was one of the earliest communist governments to be democratically elected to power, second only to

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. It initiated pioneering land reforms, aiming to lowering of rural poverty in Kerala. However, these reforms were largely non-effective to mark a greater change in the society as these changes were not effected to a large extent. Lakhs of farms were owned by large establishments, companies and estate owners. They were not affected by this move and this was considered as a treachery as these companies and estates were formed while Travancore was a vassal state of Britain. Two things were the real reason for the reduction of poverty in Kerala one was the policy for wide scale education and second was the overseas migration for labour to Middle East and other countries.

Liberation struggle

The

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

refused to nationalise the large estates but did provide reforms to protect manual labourers and farm workers, and invited capitalists to set up industry. Much more controversial was an effort to impose state control on private schools, such as those run by the Christians and the NSS, which enrolled 40% of the students. The Christians, NSS, Namputhiris, and the Congress Party protested, with demonstrations numbering in the tens and hundreds of thousands of people. The government controlled the police, which made 150,000 arrests (often the same people arrested time and again), and used 248 lathi charges to beat back the demonstrators, killing twenty. The opposition called on Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

to seize control of the state government. Nehru was reluctant but when his daughter

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, the national head of the Congress Party, joined in, he finally did so. New elections in 1959 cost the Communists most of their seats and Congress resumed control.

Coalition politics

Later in 1967–82 Kerala elected a series of leftist coalition governments; the most stable was that led by Achutha Menon from 1969 to 1977. From 1967 to 1970, Kunnikkal Narayanan led a

Naxalite Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...

movement in Kerala. The theoretical difference in the communist party, i.e. CPM is the part of the uprising of Naxalbari movement in Bengal which leads to the formation of CPI(ML) in India. Due to ideological differences the CPI-ML split into several groups. Some groups choose to participate peacefully in electoralism, while some choose to aim for violent revolution. The violence alienated public opinion. The political alliance have strongly stabilised in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the alliance. As a result, to this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between these two fronts without any change. Politics in Kerala is characterised by continually shifting alliances, party mergers and splits, factionalism within the coalitions and within political parties, and numerous splinter groups. Modern politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts: the

-led

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of Left-wing politics, left-wing political parties led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the current List of current Indian ruling and opposition parties, r ...

(LDF) and the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

-led United Democratic Front (UDF) since the late 1970s. These two parties have alternating in power since 1982. Most of the major political parties in Kerala, except for the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP), belong to one or the other of these two alliances, often shifting allegiances a number of time. As of the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, the LDF has a majority in the state assembly seats (99/140).

Other names

Traditional sources

Mahabali

Other texts

Parasurama and Cenkuttuvan

Ophir

Cheraman Perumal

Prehistory

Classical period

Early ruling dynasties

Trade relations

Formation of a multicultural society

Medieval and Early Modern periods

Political changes

The Rise of Advaita

The Kingdom of Kozhikode

Vijayanagara Empire Influences

The Kingdom of Venad

The Legacy of Venad

The Kingdom of Kolathunadu

The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics

European trade and influences

Portuguese trade and influences

French port in Kerala - Mahe

Dutch trade and influences

The Kingdom of Mysore and British influences

The Kingdom of Travancore

Details of Chithira Thirunal's Rule and Reforms

Controversial Policies of C.P. Ramaswami Iyer

Attempted Independence of Travancore as a fully sovereign nation

Annexation into the Republic of India

Republic of India era

Formation of the state of Kerala

Liberation struggle

Coalition politics

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

Historiography and memory

Primary sources

External links