Zamorin

The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: Sāmūtiri, [saːmuːd̪iɾi], Arabic: Sāmuri, Portuguese: Samorim, Dutch: Samorijn, Chinese: Shamitihsi) was the title of the erstwhile ruler and monarch of the Calicut kingdom in the South Malabar region of India. Originating from the former feudal kingdom of Nediyiruppu Swaroopam, the Samoothiris and their vassal kings from Nilambur Kovilakam established Calicut as one of the most important trading ports on the southwest coast of India. At the peak of their reign, they ruled over a region extending from Kozhikode Kollam to the forested borders of Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy). The Samoothiris belonged to the Eradi subcaste of the Samantan community of colonial Kerala, and were originally the ruling chiefs of Eranad. The final Zamorin of Calicut committed suicide by setting fire to his palace and burning himself alive inside it, upon learning that Hyder Ali had captured the neighboring country of Chirakkal in Kannur.

The title zamorin first appears in the writings of Ibn Battuta in 1342. In the Portuguese Book of Duarte Barbosa (c. 1516), the title of the ruler of Calicut is given as çamidre or zomodri, derived from the local Malayalam sāmūtiri. In Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen written by Zainuddin Makhdoom II in the 16th century CE, the word is pronounced as Sāmuri. This was once thought to be derived from Sanskrit samudra ("sea") and have the meaning "lord of the sea". In fact, the term derives from Sanskrit svami and sri (which in combined form becomes tiri), which Krishna Iyer glosses as "emperor". He gives the complete title as Svami Tiri Tirumulapad ("august emperor").

The Zamorins used the title Punturakkon or Punthurakon (Victor/Lord of Punthura?) in inscriptions from c. 1100, in palace records known as the Granthavaris, and in official treaties with the English and the Dutch. No records indicate the actual personal name of the ruler. Punthura may be the place of their origin, or a battle-field, or a port of great fame. The title "Kunnalakkon" ("Lord of Hills and Waves") and its Sanskrit form "Shailabdhishvara" are mostly found in later literary works (such as Manipravalam and Sanskrit poems).

Thrikkavil Kovilakam in Ponnani served as a second home for the Zamorins of Calicut. Other secondary seats of the Zamorin of Calicut, all established at a much later time, were Trichur (Thrissur) and Cranganore (Kodungallur). The 147th Samoothiri Raja, Sree Manavedan Raja, who was married to Bharathy Thamburatty from Nilambur Kovilakam, became the last Zamorin in the dynasty's 682 year history to hold power over the Guruvayur Temple.

The chief Kerala ports under control of the Zamorins in the late 15th century were Panthalayini Kollam, and Calicut. The Zamorin of Calicut derived a greater part of his revenues by taxing the spice trade through his ports. Smaller ports in the kingdom were Puthuppattanam (Kottakkal), Parappanangadi, Tanur (Tanore), Ponnani (Ponani), Chetuva (Chetwai) and Kodungallur (Cranganore). The port of Beypore served as a ship building center.

According to K. V. Krishna Iyer, the court historian in Calicut, the members of the royal house of Zamorin belonged to the Eradi subcaste of the Samanthan section of Nair aristocracy. The Samantas claimed a status higher than the rest of the Nairs. The Hindu theological formula that the rulers must be of Kshatriya varna may have been a complication for the Samantas of the Kodungallur Chera monarch. So the Samantas – already crystallized as a distinctive social group, something of a "sub-caste" – began to style themselves as "Samantha Kshatriyas". The Samantas have birth, marriage and death customs identical to other Nair communities.

The Zamorin follows a matriarchal system where the present king's sister's son becomes the next king. The direct sisters of the Zamorin are always married to Nambudiri Brahmin men. Consequently, the Zamorin's King’s lineage was always half Zamorin and half Nambudiri Brahmin.

In the royal family, thalis of the princesses were usually tied by Kshatriyas from Kodungallur chief's family, which the Zamorin recognised as more ancient and therefore higher rank. The women's sambandham partners were Nambudiri Brahmins or Kshatriyas. Royal men married Samantan or other Nair women. Zamorin's consort was dignified by the title "Naittiyar".