Muziris

Muchiri (Malayalam: മുച്ചിറി, IPA: [mutːʃiɾi]), commonly anglicized as Muziris (Ancient Greek: Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: Muciri (മുച്ചിറി) or Muciripattanam (മുച്ചിറിപ്പട്ടണം) possibly identical with the medieval Muyirikode (മുയിരിക്കോട്)) was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, the bardic Tamil poems and a number of classical sources. It was the major ancient port city of Cheras. Core of the city situated in the present day North Paravoor area. The exact location of Muziris has been a matter of dispute among historians and archaeologists. However, excavations since 2004 at Pattanam, near North Paravur, have led some experts to suggesting the hypothesis that the city was located just there. It was an important trading port for Christian and Muslim merchants arriving from other countries.

Muziris was a key to the interactions between South India and Persia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the (Greek and Roman) Mediterranean region. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, hailed Muziris as "the first emporium of India". The important known commodities exported from Muziris were spices (such as black pepper and malabathron), semi-precious stones (such as beryl), pearls, diamonds, sapphires, ivory, Chinese silk, Gangetic spikenard and tortoise shells. The Roman navigators brought gold coins, peridots, thin clothing, figured linens, multicoloured textiles, sulfide of antimony, copper, tin, lead, coral, raw glass, wine, realgar and orpiment. The locations of unearthed coin-hoards from Pattanam suggest an inland trade link from Muziris via the Palghat Gap and along the Kaveri Valley to the east coast of India. Though the Roman trade declined from the 5th century AD, the former Muziris attracted the attention of other nationalities, particularly the Persians, the Chinese and the Arabs, presumably until the devastating floods of Periyar in 1341.

Earlier Muziris was identified with the region around Mangalore in southwestern Karnataka. Later hypothesis was that it was situated around present day Kodungallur, a town in Thrissur district. Kodungallur in central Kerala figures prominently in the ancient history of southern India from the second Chola period as a hub of the Chera rulers. But later, a series of excavations were conducted at the village of Pattanam near North Paravoor by Kerala Council for Historical Research (an autonomous institution outsourced by the Kerala State Department of Archaeology) in 2006-07 and it was announced that the lost "port" of Muziris was found and started the new hypothesis. This identification of Pattanam as the ancient Muziris also sparked controversy among historians. As per texts, Kerala is known to have traded spices since the Sangam era; it is based on this trade that some historians have implied that only foreign countries needed spices (pepper). Some historians and archaeologists criticized this view starting a debate among historians of South India.