c. 1280-90.—"Royaumes de Ma-pa-'rh. Parmi tous les royaumes étrangers d'au-de-là des mers, il n'y eut que Ma-pa-'rh et Kiu-lan ([Mabar] and Quilon) sur lesquels on ait pu parvenir à établir une certaine sujétion; mais surtout Kiu-lan ... (Année 1282). Cette année ... Kiu-lan a envoyé un ambassadeur à la cour (mongole) pour présenter en tribut des marchandises precieuses et un singe noir."—Chinese Annals, quoted by Pauthier, Marc Pol, ii. 603, 643.
1298.—"When you quit Maabar and go 500 miles towards the S.W. you come to the Kingdom of Coilum. The people are idolators, but there are also some Christians and some Jews," &c.—Marco Polo, Bk. iii. ch. 22.
c. 1300.—"Beyond Guzerat are Kankan and Tána; beyond them the country of Malibár, which from the boundary of Karoha to Kúlam, is 300 parasangs in length.... The people are all Samánis, and worship idols...."—Rashíduddín, in Elliot, i. 68.
c. 1310.—"Ma'bar extends in length from Kúlam to Níláwar ([Nellore]) nearly 300 parasangs along the sea-coast...."—Wassáf, in Elliot, iii. 32.
c. 1322.—"... as I went by the sea ... towards a certain city called Polumbum (where groweth the pepper in great store)...."—Friar Odoric, in Cathay, p. 71.
c. 1322.—"Poi venni a Colonbio, ch'è la migliore terra d'India per mercatanti. Quivi è il gengiovo in grande copia e del bueno del mondo. Quivi vanno tutti ignudi salvo che portano un panno innanzi alla vergogna, ... e legalosi di dietro."—Palatine MS. of Odoric, in Cathay, App., p. xlvii.
c. 1328.—"In India, whilst I was at Columbum, were found two cats having wings like the wings of bats...."—Friar Jordanus, p. 29.
1330.—"Joannes, &c., nobili viro domino Nascarenorum et universis sub eo Christianis Nascarenis de Columbo gratiam in praesenti, quae ducat ad gloriam in futuro ... quatenus venerabilem Fratrem nostrum Jordanum Catalani episcopum Columbensem ... quem nuper ad episcopalis dignatatis apicem auctoritate apostolica diximus promovendum...."—Letter of Pope John XXII. to the Christians of Coilon, in Odorici Raynaldi Ann. Eccles. v. 495.
c. 1343.—"The 10th day (from Calicut) we arrived at the city of Kaulam, which is one of the finest of Malībār. Its markets are splendid, and its merchants are known under the name of Ṣūlī (see [CHOOLIA]). They are rich; one of them will buy a ship with all its fittings and load it with goods from his own store."—Ibn Batuta, iv. 10.
c. 1348.—"And sailing on the feast of St. Stephen, we navigated the Indian Sea until Palm Sunday, and then arrived at a very noble city of India called Columbum, where the whole world's pepper is produced.... There is a church of St. George there, of the Latin communion, at which I dwelt. And I adorned it with fine paintings, and taught there the holy Law."—John Marignolli, in Cathay, &c., pp. 342-344.