Valanchery is a major municipal town in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is one of the four municipalities in Tirur Taluk, besides Tirur, Kottakkal, and Tanur. It is situated about southeast to Karipur International Airport and southwards to the district headquarters, and forms a part of Malappuram metropolitan area. It is also one of the major commercial towns under the Malappuram urban agglomeration. Valanchery, which was a part of the erstwhile princely state of the Valluvanad in the early medieval period, had been under the direct control of the Zamorin of Calicut following the Tirunavaya war of 14th century CE. During British Raj, Valanchery was included in the Ponnani Taluk of erstwhile Malabar District. Vattapara accident zone is an accident zone near Valanchery. Valanchery is situated on National Highway 66. There is a huge demand to bifurcate the Tirur and Perinthalmanna taluks and form a new taluk, headquarters at Valanchery. It is under consideration by the state government.
History
Early medieval period
Valanchery was originally part of the Valluvanad Swaroopam dynasty in the early medieval period (12th century CE). Valluvanad was an erstwhile princely state in the present state of Kerala, that extended from the Bharathappuzha river in the South to the Panthaloor Mala in the North. On the west, it was bounded by the Arabian Sea at Ponnani and on the east by the Attappadi Hills during their zenith in the early Middle Ages. The capital of erstwhile Valluvanad was at the present-day town of Angadipuram. According to local legends, the last Cheraman Perumal ruler gave a vast extension of land in South Malabar during his journey to Mecca to one of their governors, Valluvakonathiri, and left for pilgrimage. Valluvanad was famous for the Mamankam festivals, held once in 12 years and the endless wars against the Samoothiri of Kozhikode.
Late medieval period
The region came under the direct control of the Kozhikode Samoothiris in 13th/14th century CE by the defeat of Valluvakonathiris in Tirunavaya War. Assisted by the warriors of their subordinate chiefs (Chaliyam, Beypore, Tanur and Kodungallur) and the Muslim naval fleet under the Koya of Kozhikode, the Samoothiri's fighters advanced by both land and sea. The main force under the command of Samoothiri himself attacked, encamping at Triprangode, an allied force of Valluvanadu and Perumpadappu from the north. Meanwhile, another force under the Eralppadu commanded a fleet across the sea and landed at Ponnani and later moved to Thirumanasseri, with the intention to descend on Tirunavaya from the south with the help of the warriors of the Thirumanasseri Brahmins. Eralppadu also prevented the warriors of Perumpadappu from joining Valluvanadu forces. The Muslim merchants and commanders at Ponnani supported the Kozhikode force with food, transport, and provisions. The warriors of the Eralppadu moved north and crossed the Bharathappuzha and took up position on the northern side of the river. The Koya marched at the head of a large column and stormed Tirunavaya. In spite of the fact that the warriors of Valluvanadu did not get the timely help of Perumpadappu, they fought vigorously and the battle dragged on. In the meantime, the Kozhikode minister Mangattachan was also successful in turning Kadannamanna Elavakayil Vellodi (junior branch of Kadannamanna) to their side. Finally, two Valluvanadu princes were killed in the battles, the Nairs abandoned the settlement and Kozhikode infested Thirunavaya.
The battles along the western borders of Valluvanadu were bitter, for they were marked by treachery and crime. Panthalur and Ten Kalams came under Kozhikode only after a protracted struggle. The assassination of a minister of Kozhikode by the chief minister of Valluvanadu while visiting Kottakkal in Valluvanadu sparked the battle, which dragged on for almost a decade. At last, the Valluvanadu minister was captured by Samoothiri's warriors and executed at Padapparambu, and his province (Ten Kalams, including Kottakkal and Panthalur) was occupied by the Samoothiri. The Kizhakke Kovilakam Munalappadu, who took a leading part in this campaign, received half of the newly captured province from Samoothiri as a gift. The loss of this fiercely loyal chief minister was the greatest blow to Valluvanadu after the loss of Tirunavaya and Ponnani.