History

The earliest evidence of
human habitation in the district
are rock-cut caves and megalithic
burial sites of the Neolithic age.
The Taliparamba -Kannur-
Thalassery area abounds in rock-
cut caves, dolmens , burial stone
circles and menhirs , all of
megalithic burial order [ citation
needed ] . The district was part of
the Chera kingdom, which ruled
most of Kerala during the first
several centuries CE. Later Kannur
was the capital of the Kolattiri
Rajas , whose kingdom had trading
relations with Arabia and Persia in
the 12 th century and 13 th
centuries. In his book on travels ( Il
Milione ), Marco Polo recounts his
visit to the area in mid 1290 s.
Other visitors included Faxian , the
Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta ,
writer and historian of Tangiers .It is also said that the ships of Solomon had anchored along the coasts of Kannur to collect timber for building the Temple of the Lord . Kannur also finds mention as Naura in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , a Greek work of great antiquity. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama visited Kannur in 1498 , and shortly thereafter it became a Portuguese settlement. The Portuguese led by Don Francisco de Almeda , the