Kottayam district () is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. Situated in the central part of Kerala, Kottayam shares its borders with Ernakulam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha districts. It is the only district in Kerala that does not border either the Arabian Sea or another Indian state.

The district is bordered by hills in the east, and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. The area's geographic features include paddy fields, highlands, and hills. As of the 2011 census, 28.6% of the district's residents live in urban areas, and it reports a 97.2% literacy rate. In 2008, the district became the first tobacco-free district in India. Kottayam registered the lowest Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of zero among all districts of India, indicating no deprivation as per the report published by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UNDP for districts across India. The district's headquarters are based in the city of Kottayam.

Hindustan Newsprint Limited and Rubber Board are two central government organizations located in the district. The headquarters of two religious communities in Kerala are also in the Kottayam District: Nair Service Society and the Indian Orthodox Church.

Etymology The name Kottayam is a combination of the words "kotta" and "akam" in the local language of Malayalam, meaning "interior of a fort".

History

Prehistoric period

A substantial portion of Kottayam district may have been under the Arabian Sea during prehistoric times. Marine fossils have been found in an area near Changanassery, thus supporting the hypothesis.

However, there are archaeological evidences of the early human inhabitation period of this district, including ancient fossils, stone inscriptions and monuments, in the archeological sites like the excavation sites, the caves, the temples, etc. The literary works of the Sangam period also help to take a look into the ancient period of the district.

Classical Antiquity

Chera dynasty and the Keralaputras of ancient Tamilakam (up to 5th century CE)

Early members of the Chera dynasty (first few centuries of the Common Era) had their original headquarters in a region called Kuzhamur at Kuttanad in the ancient Tamilakam and were sometimes known as the Kuttuvans. The Chera dynasty is mentioned as Keralaputras in the inscriptions of the emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire (322 BCE – 184 BCE).

The province Kuttanad of the ancient kingdom of Keralaputras included the modern-day districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, and parts of Alappuzha, which can be defined as the region between the rivers Periyar and Pamba. It was bounded by the Ay kingdom to the south, which included the regions between Pamba River and Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), and the province of Kudanad, which lies between the rivers Periyar and Chaliyar (modern-day districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, and Malappuram), to the north.

It was during the reign of Uthiyan Cheralathan (105–130 CE) that the Chera dynasty began to expand towards the northern and the eastern regions of Kuttanad by conquering the provinces of Kudanadu and Kongu Nadu. Afterwards the dynasty got split into three branches and fixed their capitals at Muziris, Tyndis, and Caroura, respectively, as seen in the ancient Greco-Roman travelogues as well as the Old Tamil literary works of the Sangam period. During the reign of Narmudi Cheral, the regions included in the Kingdom of Ezhimala was also added to the Chera empire.

Invasions and social transformation from 6th century CE to 800 CE

The ancient Chera empire collapsed due to the continuous invasions carried out by the Kalabhras, the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Pandyas, and the Rashtrakutas during the period between 500 CE and 800 CE for nearly three centuries. This era marked the migration of Nambudiri Brahmins into the district, which later led to a transformation in the social structure of the region after the 10th century CE. The ancient prominent religions in the district like Buddhism began to vanish after the 10th century CE. Sri Mulavasam was a prominent centre of Buddhism in the Indian peninsula until the early medieval period, prior to the Chera-Chola wars of the 11th century CE.

Medieval history The regions included in the modern-day district of Kottayam is described well in the medieval Kerala literature which includes works written in both Malayalam and Sanskrit. The 14th century Sanskrit work Sukasandesam describes about Kaduthuruthy. Similarly the 17th century Sanskrit work Bhramara Sandesam contains details about Kumaranalloor and Vaikom. The 18th century Sanskrit literary work Chathaka Sandesam also contains references to Vaikom.

Unnuneeli Sandesam, a work which belongs to the Malayalam literature written during early decades of the 14th century CE, contains a short geographical and political description of the regions and the medieval feudal states that lied between Kaduthuruthy and Thiruvananthapuram. It contains details about the medieval kingdoms of Thekkumkur (1102–1749) and Vadakkumkur (1102–1750) those together constitute the modern district of Kottayam.

The writings and the records of the Portuguese as well as the Dutch, who visited and interfered in the political affairs of the district after the Age of Discovery (1498 CE), such as the Hortus Malabaricus, contain significant information about the geographical and the political conditions of the region during the late medieval period.

The Chera Perumals of Mahodayapuram (800 – 1102 CE)

The area included in the modern-day district of Kottayam was part of three Nadus (provinces) during the period of the Chera Perumals of Mahodayapuram (800–1102 CE) for nearly three centuries. The region around the city of Kottayam was known as Munjunadu, while the Vaikom-Meenachil region, which lies to the north of Munjunadu was included in a province called Vempolinadu (known as Bimbali Desam in Sanskrit). The third province was the Nantuzhainadu which constitutes the modern-day Taluks of Changanassery and Thiruvalla. This period saw the decline of Buddhism and Jainism, which were once prominent in the region, along with the growth of Hinduism characterised by a large-scale migration of the Nambudiri Brahmins into the region.

The territory of the Chera Perumals of Mahodayapuram disintegrated into several small feudal states by early 12th century CE as a result of the continuous war that occurred between the Chera Perumals and the Medieval Cholas throughout the 11th century CE.

The Vazhappally copper plate (c. 882/83 CE) is a copper plate inscription written in Old Malayalam language that dates back to the 9th century CE found at Vazhappally in Kottayam district.Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 435.Veluthat, Kesavan. "The Temple and the State in Medieval South India." Studies in People's History, vol. 4, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 15–23. Recent scholarship puts the date of the plate in c. 882/83 CE.'Changes in Land Relations during the Decline of the Cera State,' In Kesavan Veluthat and Donald R. Davis Jr. (eds), Irreverent History:- Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan, Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014. 58. The inscription is engraved on a single copper plate (with five lines on both sides) in an early form of the Old Malayalam language in Vatteluttu script with some Grantha characters. The contents of the plate are incomplete. The inscription was discovered by V. Srinivasa Sastri from Thalamana Illam near Changanassery.Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. Travancore Archaeological Series (Volume II, Part II). 8–14. The plate is owned by Muvidathu Madom, Thiruvalla. The record is dated to the twelfth regnal year of Chera Perumal king Rama Rajasekhara (882/83 CE).

Inscriptions related to Rama Kulasekhara (1089–1123 CE) of Chera Perumal dynasty can be found at Perunna near Changanassery. The Perunna inscription dates back to the year 1099 CE (the 10th regional year of Rama Kulasekhara).

Thekkumkur dynasty (1102–1749 CE)

The province Vempolinadu (Bimbali Desam) of the Chera Perumals of Mahodayapuram attained political autonomy in 1102 CE following the Chera-Chola wars of the 11th century CE. The Vempolinadu royal family got evolved into two independent branches by the 12th century CE – the southern branch among them later came to be known as the kingdom of Thekkumkur. It included the modern-day Taluks of Changanassery, Kanjirappally, Kottayam, and Thiruvalla. The kings of the Thekkumkur dynasty are described by the titles Bimbaleeshas and Manikandas in the Sanskrit literary works. Vennimala and Manikandapuram were the early headquarters of the Thekkumkur dynasty. Later it was transferred to Thazhathangady near the town of Kottayam. Thazhathangady is one of the places in Kerala where a church, a mosque, and a Hindu temple co-exist together, which points out the religious harmony that existed under the Thekkumkur Rajas. At times, the town of Changanassery acted as headquarters of the Thekkumkur dynasty.

The Thekkumkur Rajas were vassals to the Kingdom of Cochin until the mid-18th century CE. Thekkumkur Rajas also allied with the Kingdom of Cochin and the Kingdom of Odanad (Kayamkulam) against the military invasions of the kingdom of Travancore into its northern kingdoms that occurred during the 1740s. As a result, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the architect of the modern Travancore, attacked and annexed the kingdom of Thekkumkur into Travancore in 1749 during the Battle of Changanassery, after his annexation of Kayamkulam in 1746. The Thekkumkur king took refuge in the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut following his defeat in the battle.

Vadakkumkur dynasty (1102–1750 CE)

Vadakkumkur was the northern branch of the erstwhile province of Vempolinadu which attained political autonomy in 1102 CE after the collapse of the Chera Perumals of Mahodayapuram. The rulers of this dynasty were also known by the titles Bimbaleeshas and Manikandas in the contemporary Sanskrit works just like their Thekkumkur counterparts. The kingdom of Vadakkumkur included the modern-day Taluks of Ettumanoor and Vaikom along with a portion of the Meenachil Taluk. Kaduthuruthy was the earlier headquarters of the Vadakkumkur dynasty which was later transferred into Vaikom. Vadakkumkur was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Cochin until 1750.

The Portuguese explorers described Vadakkumkur as "The Pepper country" due to the availability and high scale production of good quality pepper there during the 16th century CE. The Dutch Malabar who became an influential power in the territory of Vadakkumkur during the 17th century CE and the first half of the 18th century CE had a trade centre at Vechoor (in Vaikom taluk) in Vadakkumkur. The Kingdom of Kizhmalanadu (1102–1600), which had included the modern-day Taluks of Muvattupuzha and Thodupuzha with its headquarters at Karikode near Thodupuzha, merged with the kingdom of Vadakkumkur around 1600 CE.

Vadakkumkur Raja was also a part of the combined military alliance formed by the kingdoms of Odanad (Kayamkulam), Thekkumkur, and Cochin against the expansion of Travancore into the northern territories. As a result, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the architect of the modern Travancore, attacked and annexed Vadakkumkur in 1750. The Vadakkumkur Raja sought asylum in the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut. Later he returned back into Travancore.

Poonjar dynasty (1160–1750 CE)