Venadu kingdom

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Venadu
12th century CE [1] –18th century CE
India Kerala location map.svg
VENADU (KOLLAM)
Capital Kollam (Quilon)
Common languages
Religion
History 
• Fall of the Chera state [1]
12th century CE [1]
• Raids of Ravi Varma Kulasekhara
c. 1312–1316 CE
• Vijayanagara supremacy
Early 16th century CE
• Tributes to the Madurai Nayaks
17th century CE
• Formation of Travancore
18th century CE

Venadu (Vēṇāṭŭ; Malayalam: വേണാട് [2] , Tamil: வேணாடு), also romanised as Venad, was a medieval state located between the Western Ghat Mountains and the Arabian Sea, at the south-western tip of India, with its traditional capital at the port city of Kollam (Quilon). [3] [1] It was one of the major principalities of present-day Kerala, along with states of Kannur (Kolathunadu), Kozhikode (the Samoothiri), and Kochi (Perumpadappu) during the medieval and early modern periods. [3] [2]

Venadu, originally a chiefly territory within the medieval Chera state in Kerala, gradually developed into an independent principality ruled by the Kulasekhara dynasty (often referred to as the Chera kingdom). [4] [3] Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, the most ambitious ruler of Venadu, conducted a successful military expedition into the Pandya and Chola lands (the Tamil country) in the early 14th century CE. [5]

Records state that the 16th-century rulers of Venadu acknowledged the supremacy of the Vijayanagara rulers. [6] In the 17th century, the rulers of Venadu paid an annual tribute to the Nayaks of Madurai. [7] The English East India Company established a factory at Vizhinjam in 1664, and a fort was built at Anjengo in 1695. [6] Venadu later evolved into the modern state of Travancore in the 18th century CE, as feudal relations and medieval political authority were dismantled under Marthanda Varma (1729–1758), who is often credited as "the Maker of Travancore". [8]

Etymology

According to Da San Bartolomeo, a famous Austrian historian who resided in Kerala during the 17th century, the name 'Venadu' was derived from Venattu or Venadu, a Malayalam word for 'white,' which he associated with the white sand found in the regions near Venadu or Travancore, referring to a land with white sand. [9]

Some early Tamil literature (the Sangam Literature) mentioned, the term "Venad" is a compound word consisting of "Vel" and "Nadu". [10] The origin of the term can be traced back to "Velnad", where it referred to the settlement of the Vel people or kinship group, who were related to the Ay chieftains. [11] [10]

Ancestry

The early rulers of Venadu trace their ancestry to the Vel chieftains related to the Ay lineage of the early historic south India (c. 1st – 4th century CE). [12] [13]

The later Venadu – ruled by hereditary "Venadu Adikal" of Kulashekara lineage of Chera line – appears as an autonomous chiefdom in the kingdom of the Chera Perumals of Kodungallur from around 8th – 9th century CE. [12] It came to occupy a position of pre-eminent importance in the structuring of the Perumal kingdom. [14] The country was intermittently and partially subject to the Pandya kingdom in the medieval period. [1] [15]

The rulers of Venadu, known in the medieval period as Venadu Cheras [4] or the Kulasekharas, claimed their ancestry from the Chera Perumals. [14]

As early as the 10th century, the powerful chiefs of Venadu used the surname suffix "Varma", denoting the Kshatriya status of the ruling line. [13] [16] [2] Panankavil Palace, whose location remains a mystery, was the royal residence of the Venadu rulers at Kollam. [14]

Venadu had a kind of chiefly rule with principles of succession, indicated by the term kuru, that is, the rights of the chief and the order of succession within the chief's household. [12] Rulers of the extended Venadu royal family lived at different locations in the kingdom. Migrations and setting up new palaces continued into the early modern period. Political authority of a complex nature was followed by the Kerala joint families. Trippappur, Desinganad, Chiravay and Elayadam branches of the family were called "swaroopams". [16] The swaroopams were further divided into matrilineal descent groups (the thavazhis). [8] [17]

Sources refer to the ruler of Venadu as controlling parts of Thiruvananthapuram district, Kollam and presumably parts of Alappuzha and Kottayam districts (and Kanyakumari district in later times). [8] The autonomous chiefdom ("nadu") of Venadu came to occupy pre-eminent importance in the structuring of the Chera/Perumal kingdom. [12] The rulers of Venadu owed their importance to exchange of spices and other products with the Middle Eastern and Chinese merchants. [18] [15] [14] [19] Venetian adventurer Marco Polo claimed to have visited Venadu capital Kollam, a major centre of commerce and trade with East and West Asia. European colonisers arrived at Kollam the late fifteenth century, primarily in pursuit of the Indian spices and textiles. [19] [7] [20]

Political history

Antecedents

Mampalli copper plate (10th century AD) Mampalli copper plate (10th century AD).jpg
Mampalli copper plate (10th century AD)

It appears that the whole region of medieval Venadu was part of the Ay country in early historic south India (c. 1st – 4th century CE). [3] [14] [1] Veliyans belonging to the Ay family were the hill chiefs of the "Vel country". Towards the close of the early historic period the Pandya supremacy might have extended to Kanyakumari in Ay territory (through it is likely that the Ays retained their lost lands from the Pandyas during the so-called Kalabhra period). [14]

The ancient political and cultural history of Venadu was almost entirely independent from that of the rest of Kerala. The Chera dynasty governed the area of Malabar Coast between Kanyakumari in the south to Kasaragod in the north. This included Palakkad Gap, Coimbatore, Salem, and Kolli Hills. The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between c. 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu. [21] [22]

In the middle of the 8th century CE, the Pandya sacked port Vizhinjam, and took possession the Ay country. This foray brought the Chera-Perumal kings of Kodungallur (Makotai) into the conflict and a prolonged Pandya-Ay/Chera struggle followed. [14] [23] By the middle of the 9th century CE, as a result of the encroachment of the Pandyas and Cheras, the ancient Ay country was partitioned into two portions. [1] [14] [13] Venadu with its base at Kollam came under influence of the Cheras while the Ay country, or what was left of it, came under the influence of the Pandyas. [14] [1] [23]

A new calendar was known as the "Kollam Era", was established in 825 CE at port Kollam. The exact events that lead to the foundation of the era is still matter of scholarly debate. [24] According to historians, it commemorated the foundation of Kollam harbour city after the liberation of Venadu from the Pandya rule (and hence beginning of Chera influence). [25] The Kollam Syrian plates (c. 849 CE and c. 883 CE) of Venadu chieftain Ayyan Adikal, does mention the then Chera king Sthanu Ravi. [14] The chief was providing land and other provisions to the Christian merchant Mar Sapir Iso at the port of Kollam. [12] [1] [14] The rulers of Venadu, known as "Venadu Adikal", owed their importance to exchange of spices and other products with the Middle Eastern and Chinese merchants. [18] [15] [14] [19] Sulaiman al-Tajir, a Persian merchant who visited Kerala during the reign of Sthanu Ravi Varma (9th century CE), records that there was extensive trade between Kerala and China at that time, based at the port of Kollam. [26]

The chiefs of Venadu were always determined to extend their sway into the Ay territory. There is a possibility that chieftains captured the whole region down to Kottar (Kanyakumari) by 10th century CE. [14] [27] In general, the influence of the Kerala rulers spread into the ancient Ay territory in the 10th century CE. [23]

The region to the south of present-day Thiruvananthapuram – former Ay country – came under the control of the Cholas of Tanjore (under king Raja Raja I) during early 11th century CE. There is a possibility that the Venadu chieftains tried to recapture the old Ay region after the raids by Rajaraja I. Chola prince Rajadhiraja claims to have "confined the undaunted king of Venadu [back] to the Chera kingdom [from the Ay country]...and liberated the [Ay] king of Kupaka" presently Keezhperoor (this event is dated c. 1018-19 CE). [14] [23] Eventually the Chera-Perumal kingdom also submitted to the Chola rule (early 11th century CE). [14]

Cherar ruler Rama Kulasekhara, a contemporary of Chola Kulothunga (1070 -1120 CE), is seen organising the defence against the Cholas at Kollam in early 12th century CE. [23]

Venadu in late medieval period

It is speculated that the threat of attacks from the imperial Cholas compelled the last medieval Chera ruler of Kerala, Rama Kulasekhara, to reside for an extended period at the port of Kollam (Quilon). [28] According to tradition, Vira Kerala, the first ruler of Venadu, was his son. [29] After the dissolution of the medieval Chera state of Kerala around the 12th century, Venadu survived and gradually emerged as a powerful principality in southern Malabar. [13] [1] Venadu then came to be known as the kingdom of the Cheras or the Kulasekharas. [30] [4]

Possibly following the decline of Chola power after the reign of Kulothunga I (early 12th century), the rulers of Venadu gradually extended their control over the Nanjanad region (present-day Kanyakumari district). [8] In the latter half of the 13th century, Venadu occasionally came under the control of the Pandyas of Madurai, when rulers such as Jatavarman Sundara Pandya and Maravarman Kulasekhara asserted their dominance over the region. [30] In the early 14th century, the Venadu ruler "Sangramadhira" Ravi Varma led military raids to the northern frontiers of south India (1312–1316). His inscriptions have been found as far north as Poonamallee, a suburb of Chennai. [31] [13]

In the Venadu royal family, as in most other royal houses of Kerala, succession followed the matrilineal system of inheritance. Under this system, the throne passed not to the king's own son, but to the eldest son of his sister. [13] [3] [2]

Venadu ruler Aditya Varma (1376–1383), before his accession to the throne, is believed to have resisted "invasions by Muslim forces" along the borders of Venadu. [6] His successor, Chera Udaya Marthanda Varma (1383–1444), is credited with extending Venadu's influence into the interior regions of Tirunelveli. Vira Udaya Marthanda Varma (1516–1535), a tolerant ruler who granted lands to the Jains and exempted the Christian Paravas from certain oppressive taxes, acknowledged the supremacy of the Vijayanagara rulers (after minor clashes with their forces on the banks of the river Thamirabarani). [6] The conflict with Vijayanagara continued, as commanders such as Rama Raya Vithala defeated the Venadu forces during the reign of king Vira Kerala Varma (1544–1545). [6]

In Colonial period

Kollam, capital of the Venadu, in 17th century CE Quilon 1670 verbessert.jpg
Kollam, capital of the Venadu, in 17th century CE

In 1498, during the Age of Discovery, the Portuguese expedition to India reached Kozhikode (Calicut), the capital of the Zamorin's kingdom, thereby opening a direct sea route between Europe and Asia. [30] In 1502, they became the first Europeans to establish a trading centre at Thangassery, Kollam (Quilon), which served as the hub of their spice trade, especially in pepper, marking the beginning of Portuguese influence in southern Malabar. [32]

Legacy

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Padmnabh Temple-Tiruvanantpuram-Kerala-HAN001.jpg
Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Marthanda Varma (r. 1729–1758) of the Trippappoor lineage is widely regarded by historians as "the Maker of Travancore". [6] By the close of his reign, Travancore (Tiruvitamkur or Tiruvitamcode) had emerged as one of the earliest modernised states in southern India. [8] [27]

Marthanda Varma is widely credited with several major achievements. [8] He successfully developed the centralised state of Travancore, primarily by dismantling the existing feudal relations. [8] He subdued the powerful Nair nobles and other "hostile elements" in Travancore, organized a standing army, and defeated most of the chiefdoms in central and southern Kerala. [8] He also entered into strategic alliances with European powers and promoted Kerala merchants—particularly the Syrian Christians—in place of European traders. [8]

Rulers of Venadu (till 16th century)

Jewish copper plates of Cochin (early 11th century CE) Jewish copper plates of Cochin - (plate I, side I) (early 11th century AD).jpg
Jewish copper plates of Cochin (early 11th century CE)

Members from the Vel kinship group, who were related to the Ay chieftains, are mentioned in the early historic Tamil literature. These include, among others, Veliyan Venmal Nallini, the queen of the Chera ruler Uthiyan Cheralathan, and Veliyan Venman Ay Eyinan, who famously helped the Chera ruler Perum Cheral Irumporai to defeat the ruler of Ezhimala (both dated to the 2nd century CE). [34]

The earliest medieval Vel ruler mentioned in the epigraphical sources is the Vel Mannan ("the Vel chieftain"), the ruler of Vizhinjam, who was defeated by Pandya king Jatila Paranthaka/Nedum "Maran" Chadayan Varaguna I (r. 765–815 CE). [27] Another ruler of the Vel country, Venattadikal the Nayanar – the author of Venattadikal Thiruvichaippa – is dated the early 9th century AD. [35] The first known Venadu ruler under the medieval Chera authority is Ayyan Adikal Tiruvadikal, the donor of Quilon Syrian copper plates (mid-9th century CE). [14] Along with him is mentioned Rama Tiruvadikal, the junior ruler of Venadu. [14] Subsequently, Kandiyur Vel Kula Sundara, a member of the Vel ruling family, appears as a warrior in the imperial Chola army under Kerala commander Vellan Kumaran (mid-10th century CE). [14] The Venadu ruler Sri Vallava Goda Varma, the donor of Mamapalli copper plates, and his successor Govardhana Marthanda, mentioned in the Jewish copper plates of Cochin, can be dated to the late 10th century CE. [14] The Venad royal Kumara Udaya Varma is mentioned in an inscription of the last medieval Chera ruler of Kerala, Rama Kulasekhara (c. 1102 CE). [14] Vira Kerala, probably the son of Rama Kulasekhara, is recorded in a Cholapuram inscription (c. 1126). [14]

From 12th century onwards

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Narayanan, M. G. S. (2002). "The State in the Era of the Ceraman Perumals of Kerala". In Champakalakshmi, R.; Veluthat, K.; Venugopalan, T. R. (eds.). State and Society in Premodern South India. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Menon, T. Madhava, ed. (2000). A Handbook of Kerala. Trivandrum: Dravidian Linguistics Association. pp. 109 and 143-47. ISBN   978-81-85692-27-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karashima, Noburu, ed. (2014). "States in the Deccan and Kerala". A Concise History of South India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 146–47. ISBN   978-0-19-809977-2.
  4. 1 2 3 Thapar, Romila (2003) [2002]. "The Politics of the Peninsula". The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (PDF). Penguin Books. pp. 368–69.
  5. ↑ Menon 2007, p. 118.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Menon, A. Sreedhara (2011) [1987]. Kerala History and its Makers. Kottayam (Kerala): DC Books. pp. 74–75. ISBN   9788126437825.
  7. 1 2 3 Singh, Anjana (2010). Fort Cochin in Kerala, 1750-1830: The Social Condition of a Dutch Community in an Indian Milieu. Leiden: Brill. p. 22. ISBN   978-90-04-19025-2.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ganesh, K. N. (1990). "The Process of State Formation in Travancore". Studies in History. 6 (1): 15–33. doi:10.1177/025764309000600102. ISSN   0257-6430.
  9. ↑ The Kulasekhara Perumals of Travancore history and state formation in Travancore from 1671 to 1758. Mark de Lannoy. p. 21. According to Da San Bartolomeo, the name Travancore was derived from Tiruvancodu, a place where the Venad princes had their residence. The same author added that Venad was derived from venattu or venad, the Malayalam word for "white", which he connected with the white sand surrounding Tiruvancodu.
  10. 1 2 Chackochan, P. L. (1979). Historical and Cultural Geography of Venadu (Travancore) c. AD 1124-1729. Deccan College Post Graduate And Research Institute. pp. 11–12. hdl:10603/563332.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ Ganesh, K. N. (2009). "Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala" . Indian Historical Review. 36 (1): 3–21. doi:10.1177/037698360903600102. ISSN   0376-9836. S2CID   145359607.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Ganesh, K. N. (2009). "Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala" . Indian Historical Review. 36 (1): 3–21. doi:10.1177/037698360903600102. ISSN   0376-9836. S2CID   145359607.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aiya, V. Nagam (1999) [1906]. The Travancore State Manual. Vol. 1. Kerala Gazetteers Department, Government of Kerala. ISBN   978-81-85499-32-1.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 191–193 and 435–437. ISBN   9788188765072.
  15. 1 2 3 "Travancore". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1998.
  16. 1 2 3 "Section A". Journal: Humanities. 33–36 (Section A). Madras: University of Madras. 1961.
  17. 1 2 Menon, V. K. R. (2006). Ramachandran, R.; Narayanan, G.; Ramachandran, A. (eds.). History of Medieval Kerala. Delhi: Pragati Publications. p. 81. ISBN   978-81-7307-091-4.
  18. 1 2 Gurukkal, Rajan (2013). "Classical Indo-Roman Trade: A Misnomer in Political Economy". Economic and Political Weekly. 48 (26–27).
  19. 1 2 3 Mailaparambil, Binu John (2011). Lords of the Sea: The Ali Rajas of Cannanore and the Political Economy of Malabar (1663-1723). Leiden: Brill. p. 225. ISBN   978-90-47-44471-8.
  20. ↑ Alexander, P. C. (1946). The Dutch in Malabar. Annamalai University Historical Series. Annamalainagar: Annamalai University.
  21. ↑ Subramanian, T. S. (28 January 2007). "Roman Connection in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu . Madras. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013.
  22. ↑ KA Nilakanta Sastri
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Ganesh, K. N. (1987). Champakalakshmi, R. (ed.). Agrarian Relations and Political Authority in Medieval Travancore (AD 1300-1750). New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University. pp. 22–25. hdl:10603/16385.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  24. ↑ Pillai, Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan (1961). Keralam Anchum Arum Nurrandukalil. Kottayam (Kerala): National Book Stall.
  25. ↑ Karashima, Noburu, ed. (2014). "States in the Deccan and Kerala". A Concise History of South India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 89. ISBN   978-0-19-809977-2.
  26. ↑ Menon, A. Sreedhara (2016). India Charitram (in Malayalam). Kottayam (Kerala): DC Books. p. 219. ISBN   9788126419395.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Ganesh, K. N. (1987). Champakalakshmi, R. (ed.). Agrarian Relations and Political Authority in Medieval Travancore (AD 1300-1750). New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University. pp. 21–25 and 291. hdl:10603/16385.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  28. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 154. ISBN   9788188765072.
  29. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 171. ISBN   9788188765072.
  30. 1 2 3 Menon, A. Sreedhara (2007) [1967]. A Survey of Kerala History. Kottayam (Kerala): DC Books. ISBN   978-81-264-1578-6.
  31. ↑ Menon, A. Sreedhara, ed. (1962). Kerala District Gazetteers: Trivandrum. Trivandrum (Kerala): Gazetteer Department, Government of Kerala. p. 146.
  32. ↑ "Thangassery, Kollam (Dutch Quilon)". Kerala Tourism. Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala.
  33. ↑ Balasubramanian, V. (7 April 2017). "On an Epic Journey". The Hindu.
  34. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 106. ISBN   9788188765072.
  35. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 383. ISBN   9788188765072.

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