Historic Alleys

And his importance in Medieval Calicut

As we peruse the many accounts of foreigners trading at or visiting Calicut, we come across the mention of a Kozhikottu Koya who became a very close ally of the ruling Zamorins. In fact, he had a very special relationship with the ruling elite of Calicut over time. But the accounts, like they did on many an occasion, tend to conflict with each other. In early accounts, the title was held by an Arab and some later accounts place the title on a Moplah of non-Arabic extract. Perhaps it would be a good idea to do a little digging to see what this bloke and title was all about. Was it just one person or one of many, was it a harbormaster, a port officer, or a consul? Let’s find out.