Later Ports

The most important of these later are Quilon, Calicut and Cochin.  

Quilon

It is not clear as to when exactly the port of Quilon first came into the lime-light. According to some writers the Mahe referred to by Cosmas (6th century A.D) and the Mahlai of the Chinese records of the Tang Dynasty ( 618-907 A.D) may be identified with Quilon. At the time of Sulaiman's visit (851 A.D) Quilon was the chief centre of Chinese trade.  The Chinese trade had declined considerably as a result of keen competition from the Arabs at the time of Marco Polo's visit towards the close of the 13the century, but Chinese vessels continued to call at the port. Ibn Batuta, the famous Muslim traveller of the 14th century has recalled that the Chinese had still Quilon as their chief sea port.

Calicut

Calicut became an important port only from the 13th or 14th  century onwards. Marco Polo who visited the coast towards the end of hte 13th century does not mention Calicut. With the decline of Cranganore ( Muziris) following the floods in the Periyar river in A.D. 1341 the importance of Calicut increased consideraly.  Its peculiar geographical position coupled with its status as the headquarters of the Zamorins invested it with added importance. The tolerant policy of the Zamorins and the concessions granted by them to foreign traders made the Chinese and the Arabs gradually prefer Calicut to all other ports on the West Coast. Calicut had developed into one of the major ports of Kerala by the time of Vasco Da Gama's landing at the place in A.D.1498.

Cochin

Cochin was the last of the three ports to come into commercial prominence. The classical geographers like Pliny and Ptolemy or medieval travellers like Ibn Batuta and Marco Polo did not mention the place. It is believed that Cochin port was formed only as late as A.D.1341 when as a result of the heavy floods in the Periyar the mouth silted up and the Muziris of old lost its commercial importance.

Cochin before long became a serious rival to Cranganore. At the time of Ma Huan's visit in 1409 A.D. and Nicolo Conti's in 1440 A.D. Cochin was already a flourishing centre of trade in pepper and spices. The Chinese and the Arabs carried on brisk trade at the port. With the coming of the Portuguese towards the end of 15th century A.D. Cochin came into greater commercial and political prominence and the later history of the conflict between the European powers in Kerala came to be centered around this port.