Tanur (English: Tanore) is a coastal town, a municipality, and a block located in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India.

[5] Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos (Chera dynasty).

Tanur was a major port town in the Malabar Coast during the medieval period.

The Veṭṭathunāṭu rulers owed their allegiance to the kings (Zamorin) of Calicut, a regional power on the Malabar coast.

[16] It is also known that during the Battle at Chaliyam Fort in 1571 carried out by the naval force of Zamorin with the support of native Mappilas, which ousted the Portuguese from the region of Zamorin of Calicut, Chaliyam was the northern border of Kingdom of Tanur.

Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of modern Malayalam language, and many of the members of the medieval Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics were natives of Tirur in Vettathunadu.

[16] Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, another prominent figure of 16th century Kerala, was also born at Kurumbathur near Athavanad.

[16] The ruler of the Kingdom of Tanur, who was a vassal to the Zamorin of Calicut, sided with the Portuguese, against his overlord at Kozhikode.

[18] Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, who is considered as the father of modern Malayalam literature, was born at Tirur (Vettathunadu) during Portuguese period.

In attempting to solve astronomical problems, the Kerala school independently created a number of important mathematics concepts, including series expansion for trigonometric functions.

The naval chiefs of Zamorin, commonly known as Kunjali Marakkars, had close relationship with the medieval port town of Tanur.

[21] In 1523, when the Portuguese Viceroy Menezes sailed with all the available ships to Hormuz, an Arab merchant, one Kutti Ali of Tanur, had the effrontery to bring a fleet of two hundred vessels to Calicut, to load eight ships with pepper, and to despatch them with a convoy of forty vessels to the Red Sea before the very eyes of the Portuguese.

[21] In 1532 with the help of the ruler of Tanur, a chapel was built at Chaliyam, together with a house for the commander, barracks for the soldiers, and store-houses for trade.

Diego de Pereira, who had negotiated the treaty with the Zamorin, was left in command of this new fortress, with a garrison of 250 men; and Manuel de Sousa had orders to secure its safety by sea, with a squadron of twenty-two vessels.

[22] The Zamorin soon repented of having allowed this fort to be built in his dominions, and used ineffectual endeavours to induce the ruler of Parappanangadi, Caramanlii (King of Beypore?)

During the arrival of British, according to William Logan, the kingdom ("nadu") was divided into 21 "Amsoms" as shown below[2] (A main bazaar in each Amsom is given in bracket): Anantavur (Cherulal), Chennara, Clari (Kuttippala), Iringavur, Kalpakanchēri (Kadungathukundu), Kanmanam (Thuvvakkad), Mangalam, Mēlmuri, Niramaruthūr, Ozhūr, Pachattiri, Pallippuram, Pariyāpuram, Ponmundam (Vailathoor), Purathur, Rayiramangalam, Thalakkad (Betteth Puthiya Angadi), Thanalur, Trikkandiyoor (Tirur), Triprangode, and Vettom.

For administrative purposes, the town is divided into 44 wards,[25] from which the members of the municipal council are elected for a term of five years.

[27] The station is located on Tanur-Parappanangadi public road about 100 yards west of Tanur junction.

[27] The station has the jurisdiction over the municipality of Tanur and the Gram panchayats of Tanalur, Ozhur, Niramaruthur, and Nannambra.

[31] The college has been an entrance to the world of higher education for the public, especially for the people from coastal area.