Page 32 - history_Classical

Kannur Formerly known in English as cannanore Arabic as kannanur and Portuguese as
cananor is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the
administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated 274 kilometres (170 mi) north
of the major port city & commercial hub Kochi & 137 kilometres (85 mi) south of the major port
city & a commercial hub, Mangalore. During the period of British colonial rule in India, when
Kannur was a part of the Malabar District (Madras Presidency), the city was known as
Cannanore. Kannur is 6th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. As of 2011 census, Kannur
Municipal Corporation, the local body which administers mainland area of city

Kannur was the headquarters of one
of the four most important dynasties
on Malabar
Coast namely Kolathunadu, along with
the Zamorin of Calicut, Kingdom of
Cochin, and Kingdom of Quilon.
The Arakkal kingdom had right over
the city of Kannur and Laccadive

Islands in the late medieval
period. Kannur municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10
of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850) of the British Indian Empire,
along with the municipalities of Thalassery, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Fort Kochi, making them
the first modern municipalities in the state. It was upgraded into a municipal corporation in the
year 2015.

Kannur Cantonment is the only Cantonment Board in the state of Kerala. Indian Naval

Academy at Ezhimala is the Asia's largest, and the world's third-largest, naval
academy. Muzhappilangad beach is the longest Drive-In Beach in Asia and is featured among
the top 6 best beaches for driving in the world in BBC article for Autos. During British rule,
Kannur's chief importance laid in producing Thalassery pepper.

➢ Pre-history and Ancient era

The earliest evidence of human habitation in the region are rock-cut caves and megalithic burial
sites of the Neolithic age. The Taliparamba-Kannur-Thalassery area abounds in rock-cut
caves, dolmens, burial stone circles and menhirs, all of megalith. Kannur District was the seat of