- ThekkumKoor
Thekkumkoor (or Thekkumkur)or (Thekkumcore) was an old independent small kingdom that existed before 1749 in the southern part of
Kerala inIndia and ruled by a royal household known as Thekkumkoor Kovilakam, from a location called Thaliyilkotta near Thazhathangadi in the present dayKottayam town. Thaliyilkotta was actually the name of a fort that existed there at that time, (the word translates to Thaliyil fort) and later destroyed in the invasion byMarthanda Varma ofTravancore . The name kottayam is said to be derived from kotta + akam, meaning 'inside the fort'.History
From the beginning of the ninth Century A.D., the history of Thekkumkoor is very nearly the history of
Kottayam itself. Kottayam then was a part of Vempolinad, a territory in theKulasekhara Empire(1090 - 1102 A.D.) By about 1100 A.D., the Kingdom of Vempolinad was split into the Kingdoms of Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur. Later, the Portuguese and the Dutch established trade relations with both these kingdoms, with black pepper and other spices being the main attractions. The two kingdoms were annexed by Marthanda Varma between 1749 and 1754 to his kingdom of Travancore.The present Thekkumcore Palace can be seen in the following pictures# [http://www.ktm.kerala.gov.in/history.htm Official website of Kottayam]
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Kottayam
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