Kodungallur (IPA: [koɖuŋːɐlːuːr]; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thrissur district of Kerala, India.

This is steeped in the folklore of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which is evident in the temple festivals, and has it roots in Dharma, which the Pandya ruler failed to follow, and incurs the wrath of the chaste Kannagi.

This is also the story of the classical Tamil epic Chilappatikaram, written by royal born, but later turned ascetic Ilango Adigal, brother of the Chera King Sengottuvan.

[7][page needed] Scholars believe that Muziris, an ancient harbour located on the mouth of Periyar, coincides with modern-day Kodungallur.

Central Kerala and western Tamil Nadu in early historic south India was ruled by the Chera line of rulers.

Along with spices (black pepper), commodities including pearls, muslin, ivory, diamonds, silk and perfumes were acquired by the sailors from central Kerala.

[18] Sometime between the fourth and eighth century, the Knanaya Community is believed to have arrived from the Middle East under the leadership of the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana.

The community settled on the southern side of Cranganore and eventually established three churches in the names of St. Thomas, St. Kuriakose, and St. Mary.

[19] According to one tradition, a Cochin Jew colony in Malabar Coast, probably established before the sixth century BCE, attracted the Apostle to this region.

[27] Kodungallur, being a port city at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, was a strategic entry point for Zamorin's army and fleet into the Kerala backwaters.

Reading this movement as a preparation for a renewed attack on Kochi, the Portuguese commander, Lopo Soares, ordered a preemptive strike.

The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchored at Palliport (Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin island), while the smaller frigates progressed to the destination.

[28] The assault troops captured and sacked the city of Kodungallur, and was set on fire by the squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and Diogo Fernandes Correa.

(At the time the community was in a tenuous position: though thriving in the spice trade and protected by their own militia, the local political sphere was volatile and the Saint Thomas Christians had found themselves under pressure from the rajas of Calicut, Cochin and other small kingdoms in the area.

It is recorded that the military of Calicut, which was led by Zamorin in person, was defeated on their way to Kodungallur by a sizeable Portuguese army with the assistance of the Tanur ruler.

The battle set the scene for Portuguese to expand their colonial authority over a significant area of the Malabar coast.

[31] The Dutch took the control of Kodungallur fort in 1663 and it eventually protected southern Kerala, especially Travancore, from the Mysorean invasion in 1776.