Zamorins’ Kozhikode

Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, was a significant port city in medieval times and played a crucial role in the trade network of the Indian Ocean. Merchants from various parts of the world, including Arabs, Chinese, and Europeans, came to Calicut for trade, making it a cosmopolitan city with a diverse population.

Arabs’ arrival was a festival for Zamorins’ Calicut; Image Source: Magic India

Santhosh Goerge Kulangara, the owner of the famous Safari Channel, narrates in his travel diary of South Africa. “I was in The Bartolomeu Dias Museum of Mossel Bay. There was a map used for navigation drafted by people like Bartolomeu (the first European navigator to round the southern tip). Many famous cities of the world were marked on that map – one was Lisbon, and another was Calicut or our own Kozhikode.”

Barbarossa, the famous Portuguese officer of India says, “They are great merchants and possess in this place wives and children, and ships for sailing to all parts with all kinds of goods. They have among them a Moorish governor who rules over and chastises them, without the king meddling with them.”The traveller reported that the Moors were finely dressed and equipped and lived in luxury when it came to their eating and sleeping arrangements. The king assigned a Nair (a Brahmin caste member) to each of them as a guard and servant.

Calicut or Kozhikode was one of the most famous ports of the medieval period and it is still one of the top ten fastest-growing urban habitats in the world. During its thousand years old history, it had welcomed thousands of travellers, explorers, traders, and visitors. Arabs, Portuguese, Persians, British, and several others were its guests.

The founders of Calicut were Zamorins. In fact, the word ‘Zamorins’ means the Kings, therefore, here they were called Zamorins of Calicut. There were many kings that controlled the Malabar provinces but what makes Zamorins stand out is their progressive attitude towards the development of the territory and the welfare of their province. The Zamorins were based on the Nediyiruppu of Malappuram at first. Later, they made the city of Calicut and shifted their capital into it. Even after a thousand years, there still is a place in Malappuram with the name of Nediyiruppu.

History marks different kings for different things. Likewise, if history marks the Zamorins it would be for their diplomatic hospitality. Zamorins welcomed everybody irrespective of their religious and ethnic backgrounds. They assured their safety and provided shelter for every trader and traveller who came from far to visit this country.

Apart from the accommodation and the food, they provided all other sorts of things the visitors wanted. They were even allowed to marry from this territory and to build their religious structures here in their land. One of the first mentions of the Zamorins was in the travelogue of Ibn Batutta. He also enjoyed the hospitality of Zamorins during his travels.

The major attraction of Kerala for Arabs was its pepper and cinnamon. The spices were essential to dry the meat. Both Arabs and Europeans used to dry the meat and preserve it with pepper and other spices to keep it for months. This was the custom that was followed by millions until the invention of the refrigerator.

It was not only the Arabs who made expeditions to Kerala. When Turkey levied a heavy tax on crossing its territory, Europeans also tried the sea route and exported the tree trunks along with the spices. This helped to expand the economy of the Southern coast of India. The Zamorins, who were well-versed in their benefits in the economy, arranged all kinds of support for the Arabs.

When we investigate the historical records, we can see that the Arab Muslims enjoyed a special privilege in the court of Zamorins that none of their counterparts did. In the early sixteenth century, Tomé Pires commented that “all the merchants and sailors of Malabar, who traded on the seas are Muslims”. Due to this inextricable relationship that Arabs had kept with Kerala, the sea bordering Kerala is still called the Arabian Sea.