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Arakkal kingdom (Kingdom of Cannanore, Sultanate of Lakshadweep and Cannanore) was a former city-state on the Malabar Coast, ruled by a dynasty of the same name. The ruling King was called Ali Raja ("the Sea Ruler") and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi.〔Logan, William (2006). Malabar Manual, Mathrubhumi Books, Calicut. ISBN 978-81-8264-046-7〕 Arakkal kingdom included little more than the Cannanore town and the southern Laccadive Islands (Agatti, Kavaratti, Androth, Kalpeni and Minicoy), originally leased from the Kolattiri. The royal family is said to be originally a branch of the Kolattiri, descended from a princess of that family who converted to Islam. They owed allegiance to the Kolattiri rulers, whose ministers they had been at one time. The rulers followed the a particular law of inheritance general among the Hindus of Malabar under which the succession is always to the offspring of its female members only. As the only Muslim rulers in Malabar, they saw the rise of Hyder Ali as the opportunity to increase their own power at the expense of Chirakkal, and invited him to invade Malabar. Ali Raja Kunhi Amsa II and his successor, Arakkal Bibi Junumabe II, were among Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan's staunchest allies during the Mysore occupation. The Bibi received no special treatment after the treaties of Srirangapatam, and settlement negotiations were long and difficult but she finally signed an agreement in 1796 that guaranteed continued possession of the city of Cannanore and the Laccadive Islands, but deprived her of any claim to sovereignty. Yet, as late as 1864, the Bibi of Cannanore was included in an official list of "native sovereigns and chiefs" as being entitled to a seven-gun salute, the only Malabar prince so listed. Because of the outbreak of the war with France shortly after the 1796 agreement, as well as other considerations, the Laccadive Islands remained unnoticed and the Bibi continued to rule them with no restrictions. The islands were misgoverned throughout the 19th century, and the British Government had to assume their administration at least twice, in 1854-1861, and again (permanently as it turned out) in 1875. In 1905, in exchange for the remission of overdue tribute, the payment of an annual pension to the head of the family, and the title of Sultan, the Ali Raja at last agreed to cede all rights, whether as sovereign or tenant, to the Laccadive Islands, including Minicoy, which the family claimed as their private property. The king's palace, which he purchased from the Dutch in 1663, was named Arakkal Palace after the ruling dynasty. ==Origins== The last ruler of the Chera Empire, Rama Varma Kulashekhara Perumal, is believed to have been converted to Islam by Malik Bin Dinar,〔Malabar Manual, Volume 1, William Logan〕 an Afghan Islam missionary. Perumal along with Malik Deenar came from Mahodyapuram (Old name of Kodungallur -The capital of the Chera Empire) to Thalassery, to visit Perumal's sister and nephew residing there. Perumal's sister Sridevi and nephew Mabeli were residing in a place called Dharmadam north of Thalassery. The relics of their fort is located in the vicinity of Govt. Brennan College, Thalassery. Mabeli was converted to Islam and he accepted the name Muhammed Ali, who later became the first Arakkal Ali Raja.〔Kerala Muslim History – P A Syed Mohammed〕 It is believed that Cheraman Perumal went to Mecca from an erstwhile province named ''Poya Nadu''(Governed by feudal governors named ''Randuthara Achanmar''. The region comprices Edakkad, Anjarakkandy, Mavilayi e.t.c) now in Kannur district. Malik Deenar build a Mosque in Madayi north of Kannur, this is the third oldest mosque in Kerala.〔http://www.elatrip.com/categoryspot/spotdetails/8/498/2/Madayi-Mosque.html〕 Perumal's nephew Mabeli was an Arayankulangara Nair, hence Nair matriarchal system is adopted in the Arakkal royal family.〔''Kerala District Gazetteers: Malappuram'', A. Sreedhara Menon, Superintendent of Govt. Presses, 1972, p. 92〕 His wife was the daughter of Kolathiri, and they later came to be known as Arakkal Beevi.〔 Muhammad Ali continued in the service of the Kolathiris even after his conversion, and his successors known as the Mammali Kidavus were the hereditary ''Padanairs'' of the Kolathiri.〔 Around this time, many Muslim merchant families became financially influential in the Malabar region. When the Arakkal family took control of Laccadives, they achieved near-royal status. The British Military was very eager to make Dharmadam as their base and built a fort there. This small island village was strategically more secure than any surrounding places as it is a hilly island, however it was governed by Arakkal kingdom, being the first Ali Raja's home town. Arakkal kingdom was so powerful in that time as an ally of Sultanate of Mysore, even to defy the British. British East India Company was not allowed by the Arakkal kingdom to built military garrison in Dharmadam. So they were forced to build their base in Thalassery where there was strong presence of French forces stationed few kilometers away in Mahe.〔 Another legend is that the daughter of Chirakkal Raja began to drown while bathing in the Chirakkal kulam (pond). Her friends cried and shouted but were unable to rescue her. Muhammed Ali heard the shouting and came to find out what was wrong. He recognized the girl drowning in the pond as the princess, but was hesitant about saving her because of untouchability and if a lower-caste person touched an upper-caste person it was considered a sin, possibly punishable by death. However, he rescued her and gave her his dhoti to cover the princess. When the news reached the Chirakkal Raja, he called his daughter and the Muhammed Ali. At that time, if a man gave a ''pudava'' (a long cloth used for covering the body) to an unmarried woman, they were considered married. The scholars of the court told the Raja that since his daughter was touched by a Muslim, she was no longer allowed to enter the palace. However, the man had given her his pudava so she was married to him as well. As per the custom the Raja had no other choice but to give his daughter to the Muhammed Ali. The Raja was unhappy to give his daughter his servant, so he made the boy ruler of a part of his dominion. The area given to the boy was known as Arakkal and his family was called the Arakkal family. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Arakkal kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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