ABOUT PAYYANUR
Payyanur is situated in the Kannur district of Kerala. Sprawling in the valley of the lofty Ezhimala Hills, Payyanur has a distinguished place in the history and culture of the country.
This north end town of Kerala claims a rich and glorious heritage . The archeological remaining excavated from Payyanur and nearby places prove the existence of a civilized city in this area centuries ago.
The famous travelers, who visited here, have described about this area in high words. The famous traveler Ibn Bathutha visited Ezhimala in AD 1342 and wrote about the big seaport and the Chinese ships anchored here. 1n AD 1273 Abul Fida and in AD 1293 the world famous traveler Marco Polo, and in 15th century the Italian traveler Nicholo Kondi also visited this place and had given a very good impression about Ezhimala port which was called by the name “Heli”. The Portuguese Scholar and traveler Barbosa who made lot of researches and studies on Kerala and its People had described a lot about this place Centuries back Payyanur was a part of the Ezhimala Rajya. King Nandan who ruled this Ezhimala Rajya was very famous and mighty. The books written during Sang Time describe about this country and this king with much importance. Later Ezhimala became under the regime of the Chera Dynasty and thereafter the Mooshaka Dynasty. Ramanthali was the headquarters of the Mooshaka Dynasty.
This north end town of Kerala claims a rich and glorious heritage . The archeological remaining excavated from Payyanur and nearby places prove the existence of a civilized city in this area centuries ago.
The famous travelers, who visited here, have described about this area in high words. The famous traveler Ibn Bathutha visited Ezhimala in AD 1342 and wrote about the big seaport and the Chinese ships anchored here. 1n AD 1273 Abul Fida and in AD 1293 the world famous traveler Marco Polo, and in 15th century the Italian traveler Nicholo Kondi also visited this place and had given a very good impression about Ezhimala port which was called by the name “Heli”. The Portuguese Scholar and traveler Barbosa who made lot of researches and studies on Kerala and its People had described a lot about this place Centuries back Payyanur was a part of the Ezhimala Rajya. King Nandan who ruled this Ezhimala Rajya was very famous and mighty. The books written during Sang Time describe about this country and this king with much importance. Later Ezhimala became under the regime of the Chera Dynasty and thereafter the Mooshaka Dynasty. Ramanthali was the headquarters of the Mooshaka Dynasty.
There is a graveyard in the courtyard of Juma Masjid at Ramanthali, on the valley of Ezhimala. There lay the 17 martyrs in eternal peace, who sacrificed their lives fighting against the Portuguese invaders. Portugese army became a dominant force in Malabar after the arrival or Vasao da Gama in 1498 at Kohikode. This has resulted invasion of Portugese towards the local community and their culture in Malabar especially Muslim community. When the aggression of Porugese crossed all its limits, Muslim community under the leadership of Sheikh Zainudeen Maqdoom Thangal decided to fight against this invasion to protect their cultural and social identity and even their survival. Various warriors like Kunhali Marakkar of Kottakkal, Kuttippokkar of Ponnani, Mammail of Kannur , Pokkal Moopan of Ramanthali also lead the war against the foreign army.
