Venad kingdom
Vēṇāṭu | |||||||||
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| c. 8/9th CE & 12th CE–1729 | |||||||||
| Capital | Kollam (Quilon) | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Formation of Venad | c. 8/9th CE & 12th CE | ||||||||
• Dissolution of the Kodungullur Chera Kingdom | c. 1124 CE | ||||||||
• Raids of Ravi Varma Kulasekhara | c. 1312–1316 CE | ||||||||
• Formation of Travancore | 1729 | ||||||||
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| Part of a series on the |
| History of Kerala |
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Venad was a medieval kingdom between the Western Ghat mountains of India with its capital at city of Quilon. It was one of the major principalities of Kerala, along with kingdoms of Kolathunadu, Zamorin, and Kochi in medieval and early modern period.
Venad outlasted the Chera Perumal kingdom, gradually developed as an independent principality, known as the Chera kingdom, and grew later into modern Travancore (18th century CE). Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, most ambitious ruler of Venad, carried out a successful military expedition to Pandya and Chola lands in the early 14th century CE.
The Venad ruler Vira Udaya Marthanda Varma (1516–1535) acknowledged the supremacy of the Vijayanagara rulers. Minor battles with Vijayanagara forces in the subsequent period are also recorded. In the 17th century, the rulers of Venad paid an annual tribute to the Nayaks of Madurai.
The medieval feudal relations and political authority were dismantled Marthanda Varma (1729–1758), often credited as "the Maker of Travancore". Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad in 1755.