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Kodungallur (; formerly also known as Cranganore (anglicised name), Cranganor (Portuguese), Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of the river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. It is north of Kochi by National Highway 66 and from Thrissur. Kodungallur, being a port city at the northern end of the Kerala lagoons, was a strategic entry point for the naval fleets to the extensive Kerala backwaters.
As of the 2011 India Census, Kodungallur Municipality had a population of 33,935. It had an average literacy rate of 95.10%. Around 64% of the population follows Hinduism, 32% Islam and 4% Christianity. Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 7.8% while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 0.1% of total population in Kodungallur.
Kodungallur is the headquarters of the Kodungallur sub-district (tehsil) in Thrissur district. Kodungallur Kerala Legislative Assembly constituency is a part of Chalakudi Lok Sabha Constituency. Kodungallur is well connected to other towns in Kerala through the road network. Aluva Railway Station in Ernakulam district () is the major railway station near Kodungallur.
Cranganore Fort, known locally as Kottappuram Fort, was constructed in Kodungallur by Portuguese in 1523. The fort was enlarged in 1565, and passed into the hands of the Dutch in 1663. Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple, dedicated to the god Siva, is one of the major Siva temples in South India. Shiva in the Thiruvanchikulam Temple was the patron deity of the Chera Perumals of Kerala and remains the family deity of the Cochin Royal Family. Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple is a Hindu temple at Kodungallur dedicated to the goddess Bhadrakali, a form of Mahakali or simply Durga or Aadi Parashakthi worshipped and significantly revered in Kerala. The goddess is known also by the names "Sri Kurumba"" (The Mother of Kodungallur). This temple is the head of 64 Bhadrakali temples in Kerala and is one of the oldest functioning temples in India.
It was here that one of Jesus's disciples, St. Thomas, is traditionally thought to have reached during the 1st century AD to preach Christianity.
The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported at Kodungallur in a medical student who returned from Wuhan University.
Kodungallur was also known as Jangli, Gingaleh, Cyngilin, Shinkali, Chinkli, Jinkali, Shenkala, and Cynkali, which are all derived from the name of the River Changala (or the Chain River, i.e., Shrinkhala in Sanskrit), a tributary of the Periyar River. For a large number of such names for Kodungallir down the centuries arranged more or less chronologically cf. K. P. Padbhanabha Menon, History of Kerala Vol. I, quoted by George Menachery in Kodungallur, 1987, reprinted 2000.
A traditional belief among the Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala is that Thomas the Apostle landed in or around Kodungallur in the middle of the first century CE and founded Seven Churches: Kodungallur, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu, Palayoor and Kollam.
According to Mappila tradition, Kodungallur was home to the oldest mosque in the Indian subcontinent. According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 AD at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of Chera dynasty, who left from Dharmadom to Mecca and converted to Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 570–632). According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the Mosque at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Koyilandy, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids in the Indian subcontinent.Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town.Pg 58, Cultural heritage of Kerala: an introduction, A. Sreedhara Menon, East-West Publications, 1978Sometime between the fourth and eighth century, the Knanaya Community is believed to have arrived from the Middle East under the leadership of the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana. The community settled on the southern side of Cranganore and eventually established three churches in the names of St. Thomas, St. Kuriakose, and St. Mary. The Knanaya left their settlement after its destruction during a battle between the Kingdom of Cochin and Zamorin of Calicut in the 16th century.
According to one tradition, a Cochin Jew colony in Malabar Coast, probably established before the sixth century BCE, attracted the Apostle to this region.
empties into Arabian Sea. Chinese fishing nets in the beach, believed to be installed by the 14th-century Chinese explorer Zheng He, have also become a popular tourist attraction.]]
The port was sacked by the Chola dynasty rulers in the 11th century CE. After the dissolution of the Chera Perumal rule (early 12th century CE), Kodungallur emerged as a principality, named Padinjattedathu Swaroopam, under the control of the royal family of Kodungallur Kovilakam. The city state was "allied" either to the kingdom of Cochin (Kochi) or to Calicut (Kozhikode).
It is postulated that the harbour at Kodungallur was devastated by natural calamities—a flood or an earthquake—in 1341, and consequently lost its commercial/strategic importance thereafter.
Consequently, the trade got diverted to other ports of the Malabar Coast, such as Cochin (Kochi) and Calicut (Kozhikode). It is speculated that the floods split the left branch of the River Periyar into two, just before the town of Aluva. The flood silted the right branch (known as the River Changala) and the natural harbour at the mouth of the river to make it poorly navigable for large vessels.The Portuguese spice trade was challenged by the kings of Kozhikode in the Indian Ocean. The port of Kodungallur had a sizeable Jewish, native Christian and Muslim population at the time.
Portuguese Company extended their aggression on Calicut to allied coastal city-states, including Kodungallur. The port was almost completely destroyed by the Portuguese (Suarez de Menezes) on 1 September 1504.Kodungallur, being a port city at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, was a strategic entry point for Zamorin's army and fleet into the Kerala backwaters. Hence, in October 1504 Zamorin dispatched a force to fortify Kodungallur. Reading this movement as a preparation for a renewed attack on Kochi, the Portuguese commander, Lopo Soares, ordered a preemptive strike. A squadron of around ten fighting ships, accompanied by numerous fighting boats from Kochi, headed up to Kodungallur. The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchored at Palliport (Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin island), while the smaller frigates progressed to the destination.
Converging on Kodungallur, the Portuguese-Kochi fleet quickly dispersed the Calicut forces on the beach using cannons, and launched their composite army – some 1,000 Portuguese soldiers and 1,000 Nair warriors of Kochi – who took on the rest of the enemy force in Kodungallur.Castanheda, p.272 The assault troops captured and sacked the city of Kodungallur, and was set on fire by the squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and Diogo Fernandes Correa. Nonetheless, according to some records, Portuguese arsonists spared the Saint Thomas Christian quarters in the city. (At the time the community was in a tenuous position: though thriving in the spice trade and protected by their own militia, the local political sphere was volatile and the Saint Thomas Christians had found themselves under pressure from the of Calicut, Cochin and other small kingdoms in the area. Hence the community had sought an alliance with the Portuguese newcomers. Since they were one of the major suppliers of pepper in the region, the Portuguese also found the relationship reciprocating.Frykenberg, Eric (2008). Christianity in India: from Beginnings to the Present, 122–124. Oxford University Press. .)
The raid on Cranganore and the defection of the Tanur raja were serious setbacks to the Zamorin of Calicut, pushing the frontline north and effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Zamorin's reach. The battle set the scene for Portuguese to expand their colonial authority over a significant area of the Malabar coast. By 1510, their fluid power in the Malabar coast solidified into a perceptible territorial entity.
In 1662, the Dutch India entered the competition, sacked the Portuguese in a fortnightly war with the help of Zamorin, and occupied Kodungallur.
The Dutch took control of Kodungallur Fort in 1663 and it eventually protected southern Kerala, especially Travancore, from the Mysorean invasion in 1776. In 1786, Mysorean troops again marched to northern Kerala but failed to progress ahead of Kodungallur. On 31 July 1789, the Dutch handed over their establishments in Kodungallur and Azhikode to the Kingdom of Travancore for 300,000 Surat silver rupees.
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