The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c35.s2.8

c35.s2.8

Its commercial business was transferred to the new port, which was founded at Kāyal,³ 3 miles lower down the river, and continued for many centuries to be one of the greatest marts of the east. Here Marco Polo landed late in the thirteenth century, probably more than once, and was much impressed by the wealth and magnificence of both prince and people.¹ But the same process which had ruined Korkai caused the abandonment of Kāyal, and compelled the Portuguese to remove their trade to Tuticorin, where a sheltered roadstead, free from deposits of silt, offered superior convenience. The site of Kāyal is now occupied by the miserable huts of a few Muhammadan and native Christian fishermen.²