Kodungallur

Kodungallur (Malayalam: കൊടുങ്ങല്ലൂര്‍, anglicised name: Cranganore) is a municipality in the Thrissur district of Kerala, India. Kodungallur is 29 km northwest of Kochi and 38 km southwest of Thrissur, by National Highway 66.

Until recently the location of one of the greatest seaports of ancient eastern world, Muziris (ca. 100 BCE – 1341 CE), was usually identified in Kodungallur. However, some recent archaeological studies and evidences from excavations suggest that the location of the disappeared port could have been at Pattanam, a small town 9 km south of Kodungallur. Kodungallur was an integral part of Mahodayapuram, the capital city of the kingdom of Second Cheras. In the post-Chera period, the area was a feudal principality ruled by a royal family, Kodungallur Kovilakam, subordinated at early stages to the kingdom of Zamorin, and on later stages to the kingdom of Kochi, till the independence of India.

It is postulated that the city was devastated by natural calamities—a flood or an earth quake—in 1341, and consequently lost its commercial importance thereafter. Further, it came under military attacks on various occasions: in 1504 by the Portuguese-Kochi allied forces during their movement against Zamorin, in 1524 by the Mappilas during their attack against the Portuguese, and in 1565 again by the Portuguese.

Although situated in Thrissur district, Corporation of Cochin has drafted a master plan that aims to develop Kodungallur as a satellite township to Kochi city.