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Why Kerala is called Malabar?
Malabar is reminiscent of the word Malanad which means the land of hills. According to William Logan, the word Malabar comes from a combination of the Malayalam word Mala (hill) and the Persian/Arabic word Barr (country/continent).
Who first called Kerala as Malabar?
Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni (AD 973–1048) must have been the first writer to call this state Malabar.
Where was Malabar located?
Malabar Coast, name long applied to the southern part of India’s western coast, approximately from the state of Goa southward, which is bordered on the east by the Western Ghats range. The name has sometimes encompassed the entire western coast of peninsular India.
Who came first to Kerala?
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a stronghold in Kerala. This was later followed by the Dutch and the British. A number of battles were fought between the provincial rulers against each other and against the Portuguese. In 1524 Vasco da Gama was appointed the Portuguese Viceroy of Kerala.
Who is known as Malabar?
The people of Malabar were known as Malabars. Still the term Malabar is often used to denote the entire southwestern coast of India. From the time of Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century CE) itself, the Arab sailors used to call Kerala as Male.
Is Malappuram part of Malabar?
Wedged between the Western ghats and the Arabian sea, Malabar covers the geographical area, north of the Bharathapuzha, stretching over parts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts of Kerala.
Where is Malabar in Kerala?
How did the British annexed Malabar?
The British got Malabar from Tippu Sultan in 1792. But Malabar was a province that was plagued by refraction, unrest and insurgency as early as 1766—when Hyder Ali occupied whole of Malabar.
Which part of Kerala is Malabar?
Why is Malabar famous?
Malabar Coast has been a major spice exporter since 3000 BCE, according to Sumerian records and it is still referred to as the “Garden of Spices” or as the “Spice Garden of India”.
Why is Kerala called Malabar?
Ever since the arrival of the Persians traders to Kerala or Malabar coast for pepper trade, the region came to be called Malabar, word Malabar believed to be an Arabic formation. Several historians attempted to determine the earliest use of the word ‘Malabar,’ used to demarcate the Kerala region.
What is the Malabar Coast famous for?
Ancient Kerala occupied a unique place in the commercial world. The teak found in the ruins of Ur must certainly have come from the Malabar Coast. This means trade flourished around 3000 BC. Cotton from this region was a favourite in Egypt, the Phoenicians visited the coast of Malabar around the same time to trade in ivory, sandalwood and spices.
Who were the first traders in Malabar Coast?
The region of Kerala was possibly engaged in trading activities from the 3rd millennium BCE with Arabs, Sumerians and Babylonians. Phoenicians, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Chinese were attracted by a variety of commodities, especially spices and cotton fabrics. Arabs and Phoenicians were the first to enter Malabar Coast to trade Spices.
What did the Phoenicians trade in Malabar?
Cotton from this region was a favourite in Egypt, the Phoenicians visited the coast of Malabar around the same time to trade in ivory, sandalwood and spices. King Solomon is said to have sent his commercial fleet to Ophir which is said to be somewhere in Southern Kerala.