Eranad
Eranad
Main page
932338

Eranad

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Eranad

Eranad (Malayalam: [eːrɐnaːɖə̆]) also known as Ernad refers to the erstwhile province in the midland area of Malabar, consisting of Malappuram and nearby regions such as Anakkayam, Manjeri, Kondotty, Nilambur, etc. Currently Eranad Taluk is a Taluk in Malappuram district. Eranad was ruled by a Samanthan Nair clan known as Eradis, similar to the Vellodis of neighbouring Valluvanad and Nedungadis of Nedunganad. The rulers of Eranad were known by the title Eralppad/Eradi. They also used the title Thirumulpad.[citation needed]

Ernad had two capitals during various times, Nediyiruppu, in Kondotty under Chera rule, and Kottappadi, in Malappuram under Zamorin rule. Present-day Ernad taluk headquarters is at Manjeri. The Ernad Taluk under British Malabar District was the land between two rivers, Chaliyar and Kadalundi River. On west it was bound by the Nilgiri Mountains. It was the largest Taluk in Malabar District. It had included the whole of present-day Eranad Taluk, Nilambur Taluk, Kondotty Taluk, Tirurangadi Taluk, and two villages in Tirur Taluk (Kottakkal and Ponmala), and three villages in present-day Kozhikode Taluk, (Feroke, Ramanattukara, and Kadalundi).

The Zamorin was actually known as Eradi (Ruler of Eranadu) before he shifted his headquarters from Nediyiruppu to Kozhikode.

The ancient port of Tyndis which was located on the northern side of Muziris, as mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, was somewhere around Eranadu. Its exact location is a matter of dispute. The suggested locations are Ponnani, Tanur, Beypore-Chaliyam-Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu, and Koyilandy. Note that all the above regions excluding Koyilandy are located in or around Eranadu. Tyndis was a major center of trade, next 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 the Ptolemy mentions only Tyndis as the 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 by pirates. The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the Limyrike was a source of peppers.

Chaliyam in the northwestern end of Eranadu is also home to one of the oldest mosques in India. 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 converted to Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 570–632). According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the Masjids at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town.

Eranad (from "Erala-nadu", the Land of the Cattle, according to William Logan), was originally a province in the Chera Kingdom (9th-12th century CE) ruled by a clan known as the Eradis. Their provincial capital was at Nediyiruppu, near present-day Kondotty. The ruler of the Eralanadu was known as the Eralanadu Utaiyavar, Elar-thiri or Nediyiruppu Mooppan or Mooppil Nayar. Manavepala Manaviyan, a governor of the Eralanadu, signs himself in the famous Jewish Copper Plate (1000 CE). The Viraraghava Copper Plate (1225 CE) is also signed by the Eralanadu ruler.

After the fall of the Cheras, the region became an independent political entity. Later, the Eradis expanded their kingdom to the west and moved their capital to Calicut while setting up a regional capital at Kottappadi, Malappuram with Paranambi as the chieftain. The Eradis came to be known as the "Kings of the Oceans" (Samoothiri/Zamorin) in later times.

The Ernad taluk existed during British Colonial rule in India was under Malappuram Revenue Division, along with the neighbouring Valluvanad Taluk, a part of Malabar District within the Madras Presidency. The oldest teak plantation of the world at Nilambur, and the first tile-manufacturing industry of India at Feroke, were in Eranad.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.