# Kingdoms of Kerala

Kerala is one of the southernmost states of India. During the classical times, the Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of Eastern Africa and the Far East. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas. The Cheras regained control over Kerala in the 9th century CE until the kingdom was dissolved in the 12th century, after which smaller kingdoms, most notably the Kingdom of Calicut, arose.
In 1498 CE, Portuguese traveler Vasco Da Gama established a sea route to Kozhikode by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, located in the southernmost region of Africa. The Portuguese were soon followed by the Dutch, the French and finally by the British. By the late 18th century, most of the influence in Kerala came from the British. The British crown gained control over Northern Kerala (including the Kingdom of Kingdom of Kolathunadu and the Kingdom of Calicut) and through the creation of the Malabar District. The British also allied with the Kingdom of Travancore and the Kingdom of Cochin in the southern part of the state, until India won its independence in 1947.

## Early history

Kerala's dominant rulers of the early historic period were the Cheras, a Tamil dynasty with its headquarters located in Vanchi, generally considered near the ancient port city of Muziris in Kerala. Chera kingdom consisted of a major part of modern Kerala and Kongunadu which comprises western districts of modern Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore and Salem. The Cheras were mentioned as Ketalaputo (Keralaputra) on an inscribed edict of emperor Ashoka of the Magadha Empire in the 3rd century BCE, as Cerobothra by the Greek Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and as Celebothras in the Roman encyclopedia Natural History by Pliny the Elder. The Mushika kingdom existed in northern Kerala, while the Ay kingdom ruled south of the Chera kingdom.

## Medieval history

After the fall of the second Chera dynasty, a lot of independent feudal small kingdoms rose up. The kingdoms of Venad, Kolathunadu, Calicut and Cochin dominated them politically, financially and also in terms of military strength. The other kingdoms and their kings were subordinates to these main kingdoms and were usually under their control. The kingdoms of Kochi and Kolathunadu became dependent on the Kingdom of Calicut due to political pressures over time
The emergence of a lot of feudal kingdoms started happening when the Nair and Nambudiri lords started breaking up the kingdoms into more smaller kingdoms under their own rule. The Edapally royal family is one of the Brahmin royal families of Kerala. Namboodiris who had some roles in governing but stayed out of the ruing family started governing the provinces directly. Some lords who were not in the control of the kings even used to murder the common people. During this era of Nambudiri and Nair leadership, the culture and political condition of Kerala went on a rapid change. This period witnessed an unstable, chaotic political condition and also saw the rise of rigid social systems. However, literature, art forms, temples, mathematics, astronomy, external trade etc. flourished during this period.

## Modern history

These small kingdoms due to their rivalry and political plays, had stagnated by 1498 CE, when the Portuguese East India Company landed in Kerala. The kingdoms of Calicut and Cochin had been the two major kingdoms in Kerala during this time, however their predominance decreased in the next century with the increasing Portuguese control and later, the Dutch control. The Dutch succeeded in expelling the Portuguese and brought about the fall of the kingdom of Cochin in 1663 CE.
After the British came into the picture in 1600s, the Portuguese and the Dutch slowly started losing the monopoly they had. By 1750s, almost all of the Indian Ocean trade monopoly from Kerala had come to British hands, with some in the control of the French. By this time, the Kingdoms of Calicut and Kolathunadu had declined and during Tipu Sultan's invasion of Malabar, most of the kingdoms in Northern Kerala were annexed to him, including these kingdoms, with some members of their royal families escaping to the Kingdom of Travancore. Only parts of the Kingdom of Cochin and the Kingdom of Travancore along with their vassals remained. After Tipu's death, the British took control of the entirety of Northern Kerala and only the Kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore remained standing. All the kingdoms in Northern Kerala had been were annexed into British control, while the ones in southern Kerala were subsumed into either the Kingdom of Cochin or the Kingdom of Travancore. These two kingdoms retained semi-independence status by accepting British suzerainty which they retained until the independence of India.

## Religion

Most of the kingdoms were Hindu kingdoms, with instances of a few Brahmin royal families headed by Brahmin kings, for example, the Kingdom of Edapally. However, The Arakkal kingdom under the domain of the Kingdom of Calicut was Muslim, and the putative Kingdom of Villarvattom under the domain of the Kingdom of Cochin was Syrian Christian. Even if the kings belonged to one religion, they employed people from other religions. The Muslims were a major financial power to be reckoned with in the old kingdoms of Kerala and had great political influence in the Hindu royal courts.
There are a lot of instances of religious tolerance shown by the kings. During the time of the second Chera empire, the Quilon Syrian copper plates record the gift of a plot of land to the Terisapalli (Teresa church) at Kurakkeni Kollam along with several rights and privileges in 9th century CE. Muslims of Kerala are also referred in this plate. The Paliyam Copper Plate of the Ay King, Vikramaditya Varaguna shows that the Buddhists benefited from royal patronage in the 10th century CE. The Jewish copper plates of Cochin of Bhaskara Ravi Varman in 1000 CE records the royal gift of rights and privileges to the Jewish Chief of Anjuvannam Joseph Rabban The Viraraghava copper plates dated 1225 CE describe the concession made by the King Viraraghava of Perumbadappu Swaroopam to Syrian Christian merchant Iravikorttan, the chief of Manikkiramam (Manigiramam) in Makotaiyar Pattinam (modern Kodungallur) Several records of Bhutala Vira Udaya Marthanda Varma (1516-1535 A.D.) discovered from Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts show his solicitude for other religionists like the Jains and the Christians.

## Succession practices

All the kingdoms practised Marumakkathayam, a system of matrilineal inheritance. Through this system, descent and the inheritance of property were passed from the maternal uncle to nephews or nieces. The right of the child was with the maternal uncle or the mother's family rather than the father or the father's family. Through this bloodline, surnames, titles, properties, and everything of the child are inherited from his uncle or mother. Usually after one king, his younger brothers succeed to the throne, and after that, their eldest nephew through their sisters succeeds, with the cycle passing on to the next generation. The son of a king may receive a courtesy title but has no place in the line of succession. In the absence of nephews, nieces could also succeed to the kingdom, as in the case of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who was the queen regnant of Travancore from 1810 to 1813.
The Arakkal kingdom followed a similar matrilineal system of descent: the eldest member of the family, whether male or female, became its head and ruler; the male rulers were called Ali Raja and female rulers were called as Arakkal Beevi.

## List of Kingdoms
### Early history

The Chera dynasty was the prominent power during this time with the Ay dynasty in the south and Mushika dynasty in the north. After the fall of the second Chera kingdom, a lot of small feudal kingdoms emerged.
During the medieval times, the surviving Cheras, along with the Ay dynasty evolved into the Venad kingdom (and subsequently into the Kingdom of Travancore) while the Mushika dynasty evolved into the Kingdom of Kolathunadu.

### Medieval and Modern history

The list of the kingdoms during different times of the medieval and modern history are given below.
The four main kingdoms were -
* Travancore (successor to the Venad kingdom which was in fact a successor to the Cheras and the Ay dynasty)
* Kingdom of Cochin (Also called Perumbadappu Swaroopam)
* Calicut kingdom (Also called Nediyirippu Swaroopam)
* Kolathunadu (Also called Chirakkal kingdom; successors to the Mushika dynasty)
The minor kingdoms included -
* Arakkal kingdom, sole Muslim kingdom of Kerala; vassal to the Kingdom of Kolathunadu
* Villarvattom, sole but putative Christian kingdom of Kerala (ostensibly existed in 15th century); vassal to the Kingdom of Cochin
* Venad kingdom, which later evolved into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Ilayedathu Swaroopam, later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Deshinganad Swaroopam, later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Attingal Swaroopam, which was later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Karunagapalli Swaroopam, which was subsumed into the Kayamkulam Kingdom and subsequently, into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Karthikapalli Swaroopam, which was subsumed into the Kayamkulam Kingdom and subsequently, into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Kayamkulam kingdom, later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Purakkad dynasty (Also called Chembakasseri kingdom), later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Pandalam dynasty, later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Thekkumkur, later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Vadakkumkur, vassal of the Kingdom of Cochin, but later subsumed into the Kingdom of Travancore
* Poonjar dynasty, vassal of the Kingdom of Travancore
* Karappuram kingdom, vassal to the Kingdom of Travancore and the Kingdom of Cochin at different times
* Anjikkaimal kingdom, vassal of the Kingdom of Cochin
* Idappally Swaroopam, vassal to the Kingdom of Travancore and the Kingdom of Cochin at different times
* Paravoor Swaroopam, vassal to the Kingdom of Travancore
* Aalangad desham, vassal to the Kingdom of Travancore
* Kodungallur kingdom, vassal to the Kingdom of Cochin and the Kingdom of Calicut at different times
* Thalappilli
* Chengazhinad, vassal to the Kingdom of Cochin and the Kingdom of Calicut at different times
* Valluvanad
* Tharur Swaroopam
* Kollengode kingdom, vassal to the Kingdom of Calicut
* Kavalappara Swaroopam
* Vettathunadu, vassal to the Kingdom of Calicut
* Parappanad, vassal to the Kingdom of Calicut
* Kurumbranad
* Kadathanadu
* Kingdom of Kottayam, vassal to the Kingdom of Kolathunadu
* Kurangoth kingdom
* Randuthara
* Nilambur Kingdom, vassal to the Kingdom of Calicut
* Neeleswaram kingdom
* Kumbala desham
* Nedunganad, vassal to the Kingdom of Calicut
* Kodasseri Swaroopam