Kozhikode (pronounced [koːɻikːoːɖɨ̆] ⓘ), also known as Calicut, is a historic city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. The city is also known as the City of Spices. It was among the most important ports in the world during medieval times and have received visitors from Marco Polo to Ibn Batuta to Zheng He to Vasco da Gama.
It is the nineteenth-largest urban agglomeration in the country and the second-largest one in Kerala. Calicut city is the second-largest city proper in the state with a population of 609,224 within its municipal boundaries. Calicut is classified as a Tier-2 city by the Government of India.
It is the largest city on the Malabar Coast and was the capital of the British-era Malabar district. It was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the Samoothiris (Zamorins). The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to the medieval South Indian coast for the Chinese, the Persians, the Arabs, and finally the Europeans. In 2023, Kozhikode was recognised by UNESCO as India's first City of Literature.
Etymology
The exact origin of the name Kozhikode is uncertain. According to many sources, the name Kozhikode is derived from Koyil-kota, meaning "fortified palace". Koil or Koyil or Kovil is the Malayalam/Tamil term for a Hindu temple. In the context of Kozhikide, it may refer to the Tali Shiva Temple. Both the terms kōyil and kōvil are used interchangeably. The Tamil name of the city is Kaḷḷikkōṭṭai.
The name evolved into Kolikod, or its Arabic form Qāliqūṭ (pronounced [qˠaːliqˠːuːtˤ]) and later its anglicised version Calicut. Chinese merchants called it Kūlifo.
The word calico, a fine hand-woven cotton fabric that was exported from the port of Kozhikode, is believed to be derived from Calicut.
History
The ancient port of Tyndis, located north of Muziris as mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, is believed to have been near Kozhikode. Its exact location is a matter of dispute. The suggested locations are Ponnani, Tanur, Beypore-Chaliyam-Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu, and Koyilandy. Tyndis was a major center of trade, second only to Muziris, between the Cheras and the Roman Empire. Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos (Chera dynasty). The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at Tyndis, was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during Sangam period. According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a region known as Limyrike began at Naura and Tyndis. However Ptolemy mentions only Tyndis as Limyrike's starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000 sesterces. Pliny the Elder mentioned that Limyrike was prone to piracy. The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the Limyrike was a source of peppers.
In the 14th century, Kozhikode conquered large parts of central Kerala after the seizure of the Tirunavaya region from Valluvanad, which was under the control of the king of Perumbadappu Swaroopam (Cochin). The ruler of Perumpadappu was forced to shift his capital (c. CE 1405) further south from Kodungallur to Kochi. In the 15th century, the status of Cochin was reduced to a vassal state of Kozhikode, thus leading to the emergence of Kozhikode as the most powerful kingdom in medieval Malabar Coast. During the 15th century, Kalaripayattu played a significant role in Malabar's history. Notable warriors included Puthooram Veettil Aromal Chekavar and his sister Unniyarcha.
The port at Kozhikode held a superior economic and political position along the medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi were commercially important secondary ports where traders from various parts of the world gathered. In the 15th century, Kozhikode was visited several times by ships from China, which became known as Ming treasure voyages.
Kozhikode was the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the samoothiris (Zamorins) in the Middle Ages and later of the erstwhile Malabar District under British rule. Arab merchants traded with the region as early as 7th century, and Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, opening a trade route between Europe and India. A Portuguese factory and a fort existed in Kozhikode for a short period (1511–1525, until the Fall of Calicut). The English landed in 1615 (constructing a trading post in 1665), followed by the French (1698) and the Dutch (1752). In 1765, Mysore captured Kozhikode as part of its occupation of the Malabar Coast.
Early Kozhikode in foreign accounts
Accounts of the city and the conditions prevailing then can be gleaned from the chronicles of travellers who visited the port city.
Ibn Battuta (1342–1347), who visited six times, gives the earliest glimpses of life in the city. He describes Kozhikode as "one of the great ports of the district of Malabar" where "merchants of all parts of the world are found here". The king of this place, he says, "is an infidel, who shaves his chin just as the Haidari Fakeers of Room do... The greater part of the Muslim merchants of this place are so wealthy that one of them can purchase the whole freightage of such vessels put here and fit out others like them".
Ma Huan (1403), a Chinese sailor who was part of the Imperial Chinese fleet under Cheng Ho (Zheng He) lauds the city as a great emporium of trade frequented by merchants from around the world. He makes note of the 20 or 30 mosques built to cater to the religious needs of the Muslims, the unique system of calculation by the merchants using their fingers and toes (followed to this day) and the matrilineal system of succession.
Abdur Razzak (1442–1443), the ambassador of Persian Emperor Shah Rukh found the city's harbour perfectly secured and notices precious articles from several maritime countries, especially from Abyssinia, Zirbad and Zanzibar.
The Italian Niccolò de' Conti (1445), one of the earliest known Christian travellers to document Kozhikode, describes the city as abounding in pepper, lac, ginger, a larger kind of cinnamon, myrobalans and zedoary. He calls it a noble emporium for all India, with a circumference of 13 km (8 miles).
The Russian traveller Athanasius Nikitin or Afanasy Nikitin (1468–1474) calls 'Calecut' a port for the whole Indian sea and describes it as having a "big bazaar."
Other travellers who visited Kozhikode include the Italian Ludovico di Varthema (1503–1508) and Duarte Barbosa.
Zamorins of Calicut
Kozhikode and its suburbs formed part of the Polanad kingdom, a vassal state of the Kolathunadu of North Malabar, ruled by the Porlathiri. The Eradis of Nediyiruppu, based in Kondotty (Eranad, Malappuram district), wanted an outlet to the sea to initiate trade and commerce with distant lands. After a prolonged conflict with the Polathiri lasting 48 years, they conquered the area around Panniankara. Following this, Menokki became the ruler of Polanad and came to terms with the local troops and people.
Subsequently, the town of Kozhikode was founded close to the palace at Tali. The Eradis then shifted their headquarters from Nediyiruppu to Kozhikode. The Governor of Ernad built a fort at Velapuram to safeguard their new territory. The fort most likely lent its name to Koyil Kotta, the precursor to Kozhikode. The city thus came into existence sometime in the 13th century.
As the status of the Udaiyavar (king) increased, he became known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, eventually assuming the title Samuri or Samoothiri. European traders referred to this title in a corrupted form as Zamorin.
At the peak of their power, the Zamorins ruled over a region from Kollam (Quilon) to Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy). Following the discovery of the sea route from Europe to Kozhikode in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their territories and ruled the seas between Ormus and the Malabar Coast, and as far south as Ceylon. Some prominent Jenmis in Kozhikode were engaged in sea trade and shipping as early as two centuries ago.
According to historian K. V. Krishna Iyer, Kozhikode's rise was both a cause and a consequence of Zamorin's ascendancy in Kerala. By the late 15th century, the Zamorin was at the zenith of his power, with all princes and chieftains of Kerala north of Kochi acknowledging his suzerainty. The Sweetmeat Street (Mittayi Theruvu) was an important trading street under Zamorin's rule.
The First Battle of Cannanore in January 1502, fought between the Third Portuguese Armada allied with the Kingdom of Cochin under João da Nova and Zamorin of Calicut's navy, marked the beginning of Portuguese conflicts in the Indian Ocean. The defeat of the joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat Mahmud Begada, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support from the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Diu in February 1509 marked the beginning of Portuguese dominance over the spice trade and the Indian Ocean.
Throughout the 16th century, continuous naval conflicts between the Zamorin's navy, led by Kunjali Marakkar (Fleet Admiral) and the Portuguese significantly reduced the importance of Kozhikode as a centre of trade. Kunjali Marakkar is credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast.
By the early 17th century, the Zamorin expelled the Portuguese with the help of the Dutch East India Company. In 1602, the Zamorin sent envoys to Aceh, promising the Dutch a fort at Kozhikode in exchange for their support in trade. Two factors, Hans de Wolff and Lafer, were sent from Aceh, but the two were captured by the chief of Tanur, and handed over to the Portuguese.
In November 1604, a Dutch fleet under Admiral Steven van der Hagen arrived in Kozhikode, marking the beginning of the Dutch presence in Kerala. On 11 November 1604, the Dutch East India Company signed its first treaty with an Indian ruler, forming an alliance with Kozhikode to expel the Portuguese from Malabar. In return, the Dutch were granted trading rights in Kozhikode and Ponnani, including spacious storehouses. By this time, however, the kingdom and port of Kozhikode had lost much of their former prominence.
British Rule
The arrival of the English in Kerala is documented in the year 1615, when a group under the leadership of Captain William Keeling arrived at Kozhikode, aboard three ships. It was in these ships that Sir Thomas Roe went to visit Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, as an English envoy. In 1755, Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad. In the late 18th century, Kozhikode came under British rule after the Mysorean conquest of Malabar. The British later formed the Thiyyar Regiment to fulfill their military commitments in Malabar.
Kozhikode was the administrative capital of the Malabar District, one of the two districts on the western coast (Malabar Coast) of the Madras presidency. During British rule, Malabar's importance lay in the production of pepper, coconut, tiles, and teak. Kozhikode municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850).
Post-Independence
Kozhikode Municipality was upgraded into Kozhikode Municipal Corporation in 1962, making it the second-oldest Municipal Corporation in the state.
Climate
Kozhikode has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). A brief spell of pre-monsoon mango showers occurs in April. The primary source of rainfall is the southwest monsoon which begins in early June and lasts until September. The city also receives significant precipitation from the northeast monsoon, which begins in mid-October and continues through November. Winters (December–February) are warmer than summers (June–August), with spring (March–May) being the hottest season.
Demographics
The total population within the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation limits is 550,440. Males account for 47.7% of the population, while females make up 52.3%.
Kozhikode has been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious town since the early medieval period. The Hindus form the largest religious group, followed by Muslims and Christians. Hindus form the majority at 57.37%(315,807 people), while Muslims form 37.66% (207,298 people).
Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has an average literacy rate of 96.8% (national average is 74.85%). The male literacy rate is 97.93% and female literacy rate is 95.78%.
Historically, Kozhikode has been home to diverse communities and regional groups. Many of these communities continued their traditional occupations and customs until the 20th century. Brahmins primarily resided near Hindu temples in the city. Regional groups such as Tamil Brahmins, Gujaratis, and Marwari Jains settled in the city, residing near their shrines.