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Kozhikode (Malayalam: ), also known as ''Calicut'', is a city in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the third largest city in Kerala and the headquarters of Kozhikode district. Kozhikode has a long and illustrious historyone of resplendent trade, poignant invasions and liberation struggles. It was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices during the Middle ages and probably as early as Classical antiquity. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom by the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District. ==Foundation== During the Sangam period (3rd4thcenturyBCE), the land where Kozhikode now stands was an uninhabited region of the Chera Empire. This land, part of the larger Tamilakam partly fell within the ''Kudanad'' (Western land; west of Kongunad) to the south and partly within ''Puzhinad'' (marshy tract) to the north. The dominion of the Cheras extended as far as present day Vadakara, beyond which lay the kingdom of Eli (Ezhi). The ports of the Chera empire played an important role in fostering trade relations between Kerala and the outside world. According to scholars, Tyndis or Tondi (present day Kadalundi or Ponnani) to the south of Kozhikode was a flourishing seaport. During the 9th century, this region became a part of the Second Chera Empire. The Cheras (also known as Perumals) ruled the territory until 1102 CE. The rise of Calicut as a major trading centre and a port city does not seem to have happened before the 13th century. While the first reference to the Kingdom of Calicut and Saamoothiri is made by Ibn Battuta in his accounts (1342–1347), there is no reference to Calicut by Marco Polo, who visited Kerala towards the end of the 13th Century. He does however mention the kingdom of Eli. This provides a clue to a plausible date for the rise of Calicut as a major kingdom on the Kerala coast. Nevertheless, Prof. Krishna Ayyar has assigned 1034CE as the year of foundation of the city.〔Ayyar,K.V. Krishna, The Zamorins of Calicut- From the Earliest Times to A.D.1806(1938),Calicut.〕 According to the ''Keralolpathi'' (''Genesis of Kerala''), the last of the Chera kings, Cheraman Perumal, partitioned the kingdom among his feudatories and secretly left for Mecca with some Arab traders where he embraced Islam and lived the rest of his life in obscurity in Arabia. The date of this partition is a significant turning point in the history of Kerala. It is now clear that the Cheraman Perumals ruled in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries and that the last Cheraman Perumal was Rama Varma Kulasekhara (1089–1102). Although there is no basis for the last Perumal's conversion to Islam and pilgrimage to Mecca, it is now accepted that following his mysterious disappearance the land was partitioned and that the governors of different ''nadus'' (fiefdoms) gained independence, proclaiming it as their 'gift' from the last sovereign.〔M.G.S. Narayanan,Calicut: The City of Truth(2006) Calicut University Publications〕 There is some ambiguity regarding the exact course of events that led to the establishment of the zamorin's rule over Calicut. According to Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon (who entirely rejects the story of Cheraman Perumals disappearance, his conversion to Islam and the subsequent gifts to his feudatories), immediately following the 'fall' of the Rama Kulasekhara, Calicut and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad Kingdom ruled by the ''Porlatiri''.〔Sreedhara Menon.A,A Survey of Kerala History(1967),p.152. D.C.Books Kottayam〕 The Eradis of Nediyirippu in Ernad (somewhere around present Kondotty) where land-locked and sought an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with the distant lands.〔(Bhāratīya sthalanāma patrikā ) (page 44) published by Place Names Society of India〕 To accomplish this, the Eradis marched with their ''nairs'' towards Panniankara and besieged the ''Porlatiri'' in his headquarters, resulting in a 50-year war. The Eradis emerged victorious in their conquest of Polanad. After this, Menokkis were made as the ruler of ''Polanad'' and came to terms with the troops and people. After this, the town of Calicut was founded close to the palace at Tali. Then, the Eradis shifted their headquarters from Nediyirippu to Calicut. The Governor of Ernad built a fort at a place called Velapuram to safeguard his new interests. The fort most likely lent its name to ''Koyil Kotta'' the precursor to Calicut. However, M.G.S. Narayanan in his book, Calicut: The City of Truth states that the Governor of Eranad, Mana Vikrama (who became the Zamorin of Calicut later) was in fact a favourite of the last Ceraman Perumal, Rama Kulasekara as the former was at the forefront of the wars with the Chola-Pandya forces to the South and led the army to victory.〔 The King therefore granted him, as a mark of favour, a small tract of land on the sea-coast in addition to his hereditary possessions. This patch of wasteland is called ''Cullikkad'' in the ''Keralolpathi''. To corroborate his assertion that Mana Vikrama was in fact a favourite of the last Perumal, Narayanan cites a stone inscription of the last ruler (CE 1102) discovered at Kollam in South Kerala. It refers to ''Nalu taliyum ayiram arunurruvarum eranadu vazhkai Manavikiraman mutalayulla camantarum''-'The four Councillors, The Thousand, The Six Hundred, along with Mana Vikrama, the Governor of Eranad and other Feudatories'. However, the Eradis being land-locked lacked direct access to the coast line as the territory of Polanad (''Porakilanad'') lay between Eranad and Calicut. Having been given the royal sword and the injunction ''Cattum konnum adakki kolka'' (conquer by courting and conferring death) by the last Ceraman (according to Keralolpathi), the Ernad ''Utayavar'' (Governor) waged war against the Porlatiri (''Porakilar Adhikari'') and attacked Panniyankara. M.G.S seems to indicate that the land sought by the Ernadis, lay in fact beyond and not within the kingdom of Polanad. With the conquest of Polanad, the status of the ''Utayavar'' (Governor) increased and he became to be known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad and the Kingdom of Calicut also came to known as ''Nediyiruppu Swarupam'' after the original house of the Eradis at Nediyiruppu. The king's title gradually evolved into ''Samoothirippadu'' or Saamoothiri or ''Saamoori'' over the years. The Europeans called him Zamorin. The foundation of the city of Calicut was therefore laid during the initial years of the 12th century. The history of Kozhikode can the roughly divided into several periods marked by a few epoch-making events. These include the city's establishment, the arrival of the Portuguese, the arrival of the Dutch, the Mysorean Invasion, the rise of British Power, the beginning of the Indian Independence Movement and finally freedom from British rule in 1947 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「History of Kozhikode」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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