Page 34 - history_Classical

Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayani, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they
are among the oldest Masjids in Indian subcontinent. It is believed that Malik Dinar was died

at Thalangara in Kasaragod town.

Ezhimala kingdom was succeeded by Mushika dynasty in the early medival period, most possibly due
to the migration of Tuluva Brahmins from Tulu Nadu. 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 Tulu Nadu was called Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a
descendant of this clan. The kingdom of Kolathunadu, who were the descendants of Mushika dynasty,
at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the
north] to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the
eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
An Old Malayalam inscription (Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda
Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore, can be found at Ezhimala near Kannur.
The Arabic 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 recounts his visit to the area in mid
1290s. Other visitors included Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta, writer and historian
of Tangiers. The Kolathunadu in the late medieval period emerged into independent 10 principalities
i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad
(Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), 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 Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.
Kannur was an important trading center in the 12th century, with active business
connections with Persia and Arabia. The port at Kozhikode held the superior economic and political
position in medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi, were commercially important
secondary ports, where the traders from various parts of the world would gather.[42]

Colonial era
Kannur served as the East India Company military headquarters on India's west coast until
1887. The modern town is referred to as Kannur Town. Kannur, as a district and surrounding areas, were
mostly ruled by the famous Kolathiri Rajas (Kings). When the state of Kerala was formed the district
took the name Kannur since the administrative offices were established here. Before that, Kannur was the
headquarters of Chirakkal taluk of Malabar District in the Madras Presidency. During the period
of Company rule in India, the East India Company preferred Madras and Cochin as their major stations
and Kannur started to lose its old glory. The people of Kannur are still waiting for their old glory to get
back and they feel they are being sidelined because the state administration is located the exact opposite
side of the state. Part of the original city of Kannur was under Kerala's only Muslim Royalty called the
Arakkal and this area is still known as city.
The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived at Kappad Kozhikode in 1498 during the Age of
Discovery, thus opening a direct sea route from Europe to South Asia. In 1501 a Portuguese factory was
planted here by Pedro Álvares Cabral, and in 1502 da Gama made a treaty with the Raja The St. Angelo