Book Review

Calicut’s ascendancy as a bustling emporium in the Malabar Coast is deeply rooted in its historical port hierarchy. The study traces the evolution of this intricate system, where Calicut served as the central hub in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries due to its strategic geographical location and climatic patterns. The investigation then focuses on maritime networks, highlighting the pivotal role played by foreign Muslim merchants in the Indian Ocean maritime rim during the medieval period. The extensive patronage of the Zamorins and their aspirations for a stable economy based on maritime trade provided a significant impetus to Calicut’s growth as a towering center of Arab trade, establishing trade contacts with overseas entrepôts stretching from West Asia to the Red Sea region.

Review of Chapters :

The initial segment of this review provides a perceptive overview of the first chapter, delving into the intricate historical backdrop that laid the foundation for the emergence of Calicut and Kayalpatnam as pivotal port cities. The narrative adeptly navigates the political landscape of the thirteenth century, marked by the fragmentation of the Kulashekara Empire and Cheras, leading to the ascent of matrilineal Swarupams. The emphasis on the Zamorins’ rise in Calicut and their strategic approach to power politics, intertwined with the economic prosperity linked to agriculture and the port area, enhances our understanding of the region’s developmental trajectory. The extension of the study to other ports in Malabar provides a broader context, shedding light on the intricate political dynamics at play.

The subsequent section transitions to the Coromandel Coast, focusing on Kayalpatnam. The chapter explores the region’s distinct geographical features and its political history shaped by various kingdoms. The examination of efforts by rulers of Travancore to capture Kayalpatnam adds depth to the narrative, highlighting the geopolitical significance of the region. The focus on Kayal as a thriving emporium for Arab Muslims involved in the trade of war horses offers valuable insights into the economic dynamics of the Pandyan kingdom. The chapter’s conclusion, extending the analysis to neighboring ports and satellite ports, contributes to a comprehensive understanding of Kayalpatnam’s prominence.

The second chapter shifts the focus to the medieval period, examining the maritime trade contacts of Arab Muslims with Calicut and Kayalpatnam. The narrative expertly unfolds the surge of Arab seafaring across the Indian Ocean, positioning Calicut as a pivotal point in East-West maritime trade. The Zamorins’ patronage towards expatriate Arab merchants is a key highlight, underscoring the stability and balanced economy built on maritime trade. The inclusion of indigenous trading communities, such as Chettis, Gujaratis, and Mappila Muslims, further enriches the narrative by shedding light on the commodities involved in trade. The exploration of Kayalpatnam highlights the attraction of Arab Muslims due to the region’s demand for war horses and their subsequent settlement.

The third chapter delves into the eastward commercial connections of Calicut and Kayalpatnam with the Chinese. The narrative skillfully details the brisk Chinese trade contacts with Calicut, showcasing the city’s transformation into an entrepôt. The exploration of the maritime policies of the Chinese Yuan and Ming Empires, along with Cheng-Ho’s maritime expedition, adds depth to the understanding of Chinese-Indian trade dynamics. The chapter underscores the Chinese interest in pepper exports from Calicut and their chief import of porcelain. The decline of Chinese maritime relations with Calicut by the middle of the fifteenth century is a noteworthy observation. Shifting to Kayalpatnam, the chapter explores the intensive trade links during the later Chola Empire and the diplomatic tributary-trade system under the Yuan ruler Kublai Khan.v

The fourth chapter marks a significant transition with the arrival of the Portuguese in Indian waters, impacting both Calicut and Kayalpatnam. The sixteenth century becomes a pivotal period as the Portuguese established a monopoly, leading to the decline of Arab-Muslim dominance in Calicut. The sophisticated military technology and policies of the Portuguese, along with their impact on the Zamorins, are meticulously detailed. The resistance against the Portuguese under Kunjali Marakkars is a fascinating aspect that adds a layer of complexity to the narrative. In Kayalpatnam, the struggles between the Portuguese and Marakkayar Muslims, leading to mass conversions to Christianity and the decline of trade networks, are explored in depth.

The final chapter delves into the process of urbanization in Calicut and Kayalpatnam, offering a holistic view of the impact of intensified maritime trade connections with the East and West. The focus on Islamic communities, particularly the Mappila Muslim community in Calicut, provides a nuanced understanding of the socio-cultural fabric. The exploration of Sufi tombs, hospices, and the emergence of a new dialect, Arabi-Malayalam, further enriches the narrative. In Kayalpatnam, the rise of the Marakkayar Muslim community, their distinct characteristics, and the role of Sufism in Islamization and urbanization are intricately examined. The chapter’s conclusion, which analyzes the town planning of Kayalpatnam and the significance of merchant bodies in connecting the port town with hinterlands, offers a comprehensive perspective.

In conclusion, the chapters presented in this study offer a meticulously crafted and comprehensive exploration of the historical, commercial, and socio-cultural dimensions of Calicut and Kayalpatnam. The narrative adeptly intertwines various elements, providing a nuanced and insightful understanding of the subject matter. These chapters make a substantial contribution to enhancing our broader comprehension of the emergence, trade connections, and urbanization processes of these pivotal port cities in the Indian Ocean world.

Methods and Methodology

The research on Calicut and Kayalpatnam employs a multidisciplinary approach to historiography. Reviewing antecedent historical literature, the study builds upon the groundwork laid by modern historians, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of these port cities. While previous scholars have separately examined Calicut and Kayalpatnam, a comparative study integrating trade, connections, merchant diaspora, and urbanization processes is a novel contribution. The historiographical landscape reveals three main strands: studies on Calicut, studies on Kayalpatnam, and the broader field of Indian Ocean studies. Early historical works, such as William Logan’s “Malabar Manual” and Herman Gundert’s “Keralappazhama,” provide foundational insights into the history of Calicut, forming the basis for subsequent research.

Turning to the sources used, the study incorporates both primary and secondary materials. Primary sources encompass diverse travel accounts in Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and European languages, shedding light on economic aspects, trade networks, and the cosmopolitan nature of Calicut and Kayalpatnam. While the study mainly relies on English translations due to language limitations, these travelogues, including those of Ibn Battuta, Wang Dayuan, and Duarte Barbosa, serve as crucial windows into the maritime activities and economic prosperity of these port cities during different periods. Indigenous textual accounts, such as Manipravalam literature and Granthavari chronicles, along with recently discovered Yemeni chronicles, add depth to the narrative, offering perspectives on trade networks and cultural exchanges. Epigraphy and inscriptions, particularly in Kayalpatnam, contribute valuable historical evidence, and scientific reports on pearl fishery by James Hornel complement the primary sources, providing a comprehensive understanding of the region’s economic activities. The methodology integrates these diverse sources to present a holistic historiographical exploration of Calicut and Kayalpatnam.

Sources

This investigation relies on a diverse range of primary and secondary sources to unravel the intricacies of urbanization in Calicut and Kayalpatnam. Primary sources encompass an array of travel accounts, spanning Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and European languages. Translated works by Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Duarte Barbosa, and others provide crucial insights into the economic, trade, and urban dimensions of both cities. The study also utilizes epigraphy and archaeology, with a specific focus on Kayalpatnam’s inscriptions, such as the Muccunti Palli inscription in Calicut and local graveyard inscriptions in Kayalpatnam, shedding light on mercantile activities and trading guilds. Merchants’ letters play a pivotal role in elucidating economic intricacies, trade connections, and the diaspora’s role in both Calicut and Kayalpatnam. Indigenous texts, including Manipravalam literature and Granthavari chronicles like Calicut Granthavari, provide nuanced insights into historical and political contexts.

Secondary sources provide essential context, drawing on foundational historical works like William Logan’s “Malabar Manual” and Herman Gundert’s “Keralappazhama.” Additional contributions from Madras District Gazetteer and the History of Kerala by C.A. Innes, F.B. Evans, and K.P. Padmanabha Menon contribute to the historiography of Malabar and Calicut. Scholarly studies by figures like Stanley K. Schults, Ranabir Chakravarty, and Pius Malekandathil provide a theoretical foundation, especially focusing on urbanization dynamics. This comprehensive set of sources, spanning travelogues, inscriptions, letters, and scholarly works, forms the bedrock for a thorough exploration of the urbanization processes in Calicut and Kayalpatnam.

References

PRIMARY SOURCE

I. FOREIGN LANGUAGES

I. A. ARABIC LANGUAGE

• Ahmad, S. M. (1989). Arabic Classical Accounts of India and China. Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
• Al-Khazraji, A. I. al-H. (1983). Al-‗Uqood al-lu‘lu‘iyya fi tarikh al-dawla al-rasooliya. (M. B. Asal & M. al-Hawali, Eds.). Markaz al-Dirasatwa-al-Buhoos al-Yamani.
• Battuta, I. (1929). Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354. (H.A.R. Gibb, Ed.).
• Battuta, I. (1953). The Rehla, of Ibn Battuta. (M. Hussain, Ed.). Oriental Institute.
• Battuta, I. (1993). The Travels of Ibn Battuta A.D. 1325-1354. (C. Defremery & B.R. Sanguinetti, Trans.). Munshiram Manoharlal.
• Ibn Mājid al-Najdi. (1971). Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean Before the Coming of the Portuguese. (G.R. Tibbetts, Ed. & Trans.). The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Jāzim, M. A. (2003-2005). Nūr al-ma‗āriffīnuẓumwa-qawānīnwa-a‗rāf al-yamanfī al-‗ahd al-muẓaffarī al-wārif. (2 Vols.). al-Ma‘had al-Faransi li al-Aasarwa-al-Uloom al-Ijtimaiya bi Sana‘a.
• Kooria, M. (2012). ‗Tahrid Ahlil Iman: An Indigenous Account Against Early Modern European Intervention in Indian Ocean World‘. In K.M. Muhammed (Trans.), Tahrid Ahlil Iman ‗ala Jihadi ‗Abdati Sulban. Other Books.
• Kooria, M., & Pearson, M. N. (2018). ‗Khutubat al-Jihādiyya: A Sixteenth Century Anti-Portuguese Sermon‘. In Malabar in the Indian Ocean: Cosmopolitanism in a Maritime Historical Region. Oxford University Press.
• Muhammad, Q. (2015). Fat‘h al-Mubīn: A contemporary of the Portuguese Invasion on Malabar in Arabic Verse; Edited and Translated into English. (E.S. Shameer, Ed.). Other Books.
• Nainar, S. M. H. (1942). Arab Geographer‘s Knowledge of Southern India. University of Madras.
• Zainuddin, S. (1833). Tohfut-ul-Mujahideen, an Historical Work in the Arabic Language. (M.J. Rowlandson, Trans.). Oriental Translation Fund.
• Zainuddin, S. (1942). Tuhfat-ul Mujahideen. (S.M.H. Nainar, Trans.). University of Madras.
• Cabral, P. A. (1959). The Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and India from Contemporary Documents and Narratives. (W.B. Greenlee, Ed. & Trans.). AES.
• Castaneda, H. L. (1811-1820). History of the Discovery and Conquest of India by the Portuguese, Between the Years 1407 and 1505. In A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels. (R. Kerr, Ed.).
• Coleridge, H. J. (1876). The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1556). Burns and Oates.
• Correa, G. (1869). Lendas Da India. (H. E. J. Stanley, Trans.). Hakluyt Society.
• Da Orta, G. (1895). Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India. (C. Markham, Ed. & Trans.). Henry Southern & Co.
• Indicopleustes, C. (1897). The Christian Topography of Cosmas. (J. W. McCrindle, Ed. & Trans.). Hakluyt Society.
• Linschoten, V. (1885). The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linshoten to the East Indies, from the Old Translation of 1598. (A. C. Burnell & P.A. Tiele, Eds.). Hakluyt Society.
• McCrindle. (1885). Ancient India as Described by Ptolomy. BES Press.
• Moule, A. C., & Pelliot, P. (1938). Marco Polo: The Description of the World. (2 Vols.). George Routledge & Sons.
• Pires, T. (1944). The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires, an Account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515. (Armando Cortesao, Ed. & Trans.). (2 Vols.). Hakluyt Society.
• Polo, M. (1993). The Book of Ser Marco Polo-The Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East. (H. Yule & H. Cordier, Eds. & Trans.). (2 Vols.). Munshiram Manoharlal.
• Pyrard, de Laval, F. (2000). The Voyage of Francois Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas and Brazil. (A. Gray & H.C.P. Bell, Eds. & Trans.). Asian Educational Service.
• Schoff, W. H. (1974). The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Oriental Reprint.
• Schurhammer, G. (1977). Francis Xavier-His Life, His Times, India 1541-1545. (M. J. Costellore S.J., Trans.). (2 Vols.). The Jesuit Historical Institute.
• Varthema, L. di. (1997). The Itinerary of Ludovico Di Varthema of Bologna from 1502 to 1508. (J.W. Jones, Ed. & Trans.). Asian Educational Service.
• Varthema, L. di. (1863). The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Desert and Arabia Felix in Persia, India and Ethiopia A.D. 1503-1508. (J.W. James, Trans., & G.P. Badger, Ed.). Hakluyt Society.
• Yule, H. (1913-16). Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China. (4 Vols.). (H. Cordier, Rev.). Hakluyt Society.

I. E. OTHER LANGUAGES

• Casale, G. (2005). His Majesty‘s Servant Lutfi: The Career of a Previously Unknown Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Envoy to Sumatra Based on an Account of His Travels from Topkapi Palace Archives. Turcica, 37(1).
• Goitein, S. D., & Friedman, A. M. (2008). India Traders of the Middle Ages: Documents from the Cairo Geniza ‘India Book’. Brill.
• Major, R. H. (1974). India in the Fifteenth Century. Hakluyt Society.
• Yule, H. (1870). An Endeavour to Elucidate Rashiduddin’s Geographical Notices of India. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 4(2).
• Sastri, K. A. N. (2001). Foreign Notices of South India—From Megasthenes to Mahuan. University of Madras.

II. INDIAN LANGUAGES

II. a. MANIPRAVĀLAM LITERATURE

• Kodungallur Kunjikkuttan Thampuran. (2014). Randu Sandesangal. Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• Krishna Kaimal Aymanan. (1984). Unnicirutevi Caritam. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society Kottayam.
• Kunjan Pillai Elamkulam. (1965). Koka Sandesam. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• Kunjan Pillai Elamkulam. (1983). Unnunilisandesam, From the Historical Perspective. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• Kunjan Pillai Elamkulam. (1985). Chandrotsavam. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• Kunjan Pillai, Suranad. (1953). Ananthapura Varanam. Manuscripts Library.
• Nair, P. V. K. (1976). Unniyaticaritam. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.
• Unni, N. P. (1972). Kokilasandesam of UddandaI. Thiruvananthapuram.

II. b. TAMIL LANGUAGE (SANGAM LITERATURE)

• Vaidehi (Translator). Aingurunuru. Accessed from https://sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com/ettuthokai-akananuru-301-400/
• Vaidehi (Translator). Akanānūru. Accessed from https://sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com/ettuthokai-akananuru-301-400/
• Vaidehi (Translator). Purananuru. Accessed from https://sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com/ettuthokai-akananuru-301-400/

II. c. OTHER LANGUAGES

• Namboothiri, N. M. (2005). Mamankam Rekhakal. Vallathol Vidya Peethom.
• Varier Raghava M. R. (1984). Keralolpathi Granthavari. Calicut University.
• Wye, J. W. (1817). Translation of a History of the Portuguese Landing in India, Written on Leaves of the Barb Tree, or Ola, in the Malabar Language. Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for the British Indian and Its Dependencies, 3.

III. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

III. A. EPIGRAPHICAL SOURCES

• Annual Report on Epigraphy. Department of Archaeology, Delhi.
• South Indian Inscriptions. Archaeological Survey of India, Government Press, Madras.
• Epigraphica Indica. Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi and Calcutta.
• Desai, Z. (1989). A Topographical List of Arabic, Persian and Urdu Inscriptions of South India. Indian Council of Historical Research.

III. B. EXCAVATION REPORTS

• Sivanantham, R., & Seran, M. (2019). Keeladi: An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of the River Vaigai. Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu.

IV. MANUALS, REPORTS AND GAZATTERS

• District Gazetteer, Kozhikode. (1962). Sreedhara Menon, Government of Kerala.
• Madras District Gazetteers, Malabar. (1933). C.A. Innes and F.B. Evans, Madras Government Press.
• Madras District Gazetteers, Malabar and Anjengo. (1908). C.A. Innes and F.B. Evans, Madras Government Press.
• Madras District Gazetteers, Tinnevelly. (1917). H.R. Pate, Government Press, Madras.
• Malabar Manual. (2009). William Logan, Low Price Publications.
• Manual of the Tinnevelly District in the Presidency of Madras. (1879). A.J. Stuart, Government Press, Madras.
• Report to the Government of Madras on the Pearl Fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar. (1905). James Hornell, Government Press, Madras.
• The Cochin State Manual. (1911). C. Achyutha Menon, Cochin Government Press.
• The Imperial Gazetteer of India. (1885). W.W. Hunter, Truber & Co., London (Vol. 4).
• The Imperial Gazetteer of India. (1908). W.W. Hunter, Truber & Co., Oxford (Vol. 15).
• The Indian Pearl Fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. (1922). James Hornell, Madras Fisheries Department Bulletin, vol. XVI.
• The Sacred Chank of India. (1914). James Hornell, Madras Fisheries Bureau, No.7, Government Press, Madras.