Kolathunadu

Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the three most powerful feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival Portuguese Armadas to India, the others being Zamorin's Calicut and Quilon. Kolattunādu had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by Kolattiri Royal Family and roughly comprised the whole northern districts of Kerala state and parts of Karnataka in India. Traditionally, Kolattunādu is described as the land lying between Perumba river in the north and Putupattanam river in the south.

The ruling house of Kolathunādu, also known as the Kolathiris, were descendants of the Mushaka Royal Family, and rose to become one of the major political powers in the Kerala region, after the disappearance of the Cheras of Mahodayapuram and the Pandyan Dynasty in the 12th century AD. The Kolathiris trace their ancestry back to the ancient Mushika kingdom (Ezhimala kingdom, Eli-nadu) of the Tamil Sangam Age. After King Nannan of Mushika dynasty was killed in a battle against the Cheras, the chronicled history of the dynasty is obscure, except for a few indirect references here and there. However, it is generally agreed among conventional scholars that the Kolathiris are descendents of King Nannan, and later literary works point towards kings such as Vikramaraman, Jayamani, Valabhan and Srikandan from the Mushika Dynasty. Kolathunad was the northernmost province of the Later Chera kingdom and had considerable autonomy during 12th century. The more famous Travancore Royal Family are a branch and a close cousin dynasty of the Kolathiri Family.