Kottayam is situated at an average elevation of 3 meters (9.8 ft) above sea level in the Meenachil River basin, and has a moderate climate. The city is known for its natural rubber trade, and the city is headquartered by the national Rubber Board, as is the Kerala Plantation Corporation. Kottayam Port is the first multi-modal, inland container depot in India. Catholicate Aramana is the headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
History: From the beginning of the ninth century AD, the history of Thekkumkur and of Kottayam are virtually indistinguishable. Kottayam was then a part of Vempolinad, an area in the Kulashekara Empire (800–1102 AD). By around 1100 the Vempolinad Kingdom had fragmented into the Kingdoms of Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur, and the latter had become a Cochin vassal. Originally the royal house had beeb in Vennimala, in Kottayam. It was defended by a fort known as Thaliyilkotta and the locality came to be identified with the same name as the fort as a result. Thekkumkur kings subsequently moved their capital from the outskirts of Kottayam to Nattassery near Kumaranallore. It is assumed that the Thazhathangadi Kottayam was ruled by the Thekkumkur family.
The Portuguese and the Netherlands formed trade relations with these two kingdoms, trading in black pepper and other spices. After the Dutch East India Company was subjugated by the Kingdom of Travancore in 1742, Marthanda Varma's military operations advanced towards the neighboring kingdoms of the North, including Thekkumkur.
History: From the beginning of the ninth century AD, the history of Thekkumkur and of Kottayam are virtually indistinguishable. Kottayam was then a part of Vempolinad, an area in the Kulashekara Empire (800–1102 AD). By around 1100 the Vempolinad Kingdom had fragmented into the Kingdoms of Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur, and the latter had become a Cochin vassal. Originally the royal house had beeb in Vennimala, in Kottayam. It was defended by a fort known as Thaliyilkotta and the locality came to be identified with the same name as the fort as a result. Thekkumkur kings subsequently moved their capital from the outskirts of Kottayam to Nattassery near Kumaranallore. It is assumed that the Thazhathangadi Kottayam was ruled by the Thekkumkur family.
The Portuguese and the Netherlands formed trade relations with these two kingdoms, trading in black pepper and other spices. After the Dutch East India Company was subjugated by the Kingdom of Travancore in 1742, Marthanda Varma's military operations advanced towards the neighboring kingdoms of the North, including Thekkumkur.