Rulers and Personalities in the early history of Thiruvanthapuram

Ashoka

1. The Cholas, The Pandyas, The Keralaputrasand (or the Cheras) and the Satiyaputras were ruling South India from 300 BC. They had good relation with Great Mouryan Empire of Ashoka.

2. During the initial centuries of Christian era, or the sangam age, the Ays were the political power till the beginning of the 10th century A.D. Cheras in midlle kerala & Ezhimala to the North.

Atiyan

3. Antiran, Titiyam and Atiyan were the most prominent of the Ay rulers.

4. After Sangam Age, 4 centuries of dark ages, known as Kalabhra Interregnum.

Shankaracharya

5. Shankaracharya – The Great Theologian

Shankaracharya, the great theologian, with birth place at Kalady, travelled the length and breadth of India spread Hinduism by propagating the advaita (monism) philosophy during the eight century

6. Just after the eclipse of the Kalbhras, the Second Chera Empire made its appearance.

Kulasekhara Alvar

7. Kulasekhara Alvar (A.D. 800-820) was one of the prominent rulers among Second Chera Empire. He was as a scholar and a great patron of the arts. He composed five dramas – the Perumal Tirumozhi in Tamil, and Mukundamala, Tapatisamvarna, Subhadradhamala and Vichchinnabhiseka – all in Sanskrit, which testify to his scholarship. Mahodyapuram (modern Kodangallur) was its capital and it was founded by Kulasekhara Alvar.

Rajasekhara Varman Rul

8. Rajasekhara Varman Rul (a.d. 820-44) succeeded Kulasekhara Alvar. He founded the ‘Kollam Era’ of Kerala, which began in a.d. 825. He is also reputed to have issued the Vazhappali Inscription, the first epigraphical record of the Chera Kingdom.

9. Rajasekhara Varma was followed by Sthanu Ravi Varman (a.d. 844-55), a contemporary of the Chola King, Aditya I (a.d. 870-906)

10. Chera Chola War after Rajasekhara Varma

11. Rama Varma Kulasekhara (a.d. 1090-1102) was the last of the Chera Kings.

Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314).

12. After the fall of the Kulasekharas, Venad emerged as an independent power. The kingdom reached its zenith under Udaya Marthanda Varma (1175-1195) and Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314).

13. When Venad Empire got disintegrated after Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, Zamorins in the northern kerala emerged. They had trade with Arabs and Chineese.

Vasco da Gama

14. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese, came at Calicut in 1498. The Portuguese were intent on stopping the Arabs from trading with India.

15. Lured by the possibility of trade with India, the Dutch landed on the western coast. Various treaties signed in 1608 and 1610 ensured trading facilities for the Dutch. With the treaty of 1619, the Dutch joined hands with the British to eliminate competition from the Portuguese.

16. The Dutch were able to fortify and monopolise trade in the regions of Purakkad, Kayakulum, Quilon and Travancore by 1662. One of the most singular achievements of the Dutch contingent in India was the conquest of Cochin in 1663.

The Dutch surrendering before Marthanda Varma

17. The decline of the Dutch became inevitable with the unprecedented rise of Travancore under Marthanda Varma (1729-58) and the Mysore invasion. The Zamorin also succeeded in depriving the Dutch of Cochin, Cranganore, Parur and Trichur at one go. By 1759, curtains fell on the Dutch power in India.

18. Travancore or Venad rise to its zenith under the rule of Marthanda Varma (1729-58) and Rama Varma, popularly known as Dharma Raja (1758-98).

Dharma Raja

Velu Thampi

Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai (1810-15)

Gouri Parvati Bai

Swati Tirunal (1829-47)

Ayilyam Tirunal (1860-80)

Sri Mulam Tirunal

19. Travancore was fortunate enough to be governed by many enlightened administrators like Velu Thampi, Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai (1810-15), Gouri Parvati Bai (1815-29), Swati Tirunal (1829-47), Ayilyam Tirunal (1860-80), Sri Mulam Tirunal (1885-1924) who did much to see science, art and culture flourish in Travancore.

Haider Ali

20. Haider Ali, the ruler of Mysore, conquered northern kerala. Haider’s son, Tipu Sultan, who ascended the throne in 1782, continuing in the footsteps of his illustrious father and annexed many regions in northern Kerala.

Tipu Sulthan

21. Later, Tipu had to hand over Malabar to the British, on the terms of treaty.

22. The British Accession. (a) By 1634-35, they had managed to gain permission to use all the Portuguese ports in Kerala from the Zamorin (b) the British were successful in ousting other European powers such as the French and the Dutch, from their turf (c) The British fortified Calicut in 1664.In the years to follow, Travancore and Tellicherry also came under purview of the British.(d) In Travancore, Paliath Achan & Velu Thampi questioned the British Authority. The British had an ally with Paliath Achan & the revolt by Velu Thampi was crushed mercilessly.

23. Malabar, being under the reign of the British, had contributed many to National Movement for Independence.

24. Travancore was later annexed to Democratic India.