Niranam is a village in central Travancore region in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.
It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala

Manimala

Manimala is an area in the Kottayam district of Kerala in India. The population is about 10,000, of whom the majority are farmers whose main income comes from rubber plantations. The people are from several religions and castes. Manimala and nearby areas are thickly populated by Syrian Catholics...

 and Achankovil River

Achankovil River

The Achankovil Aar is a river in Kerala, India, formed towards the southern tip of the peninsula from the streams of the Rishimala River, Pasukidamettu River, and the Ramakkalteri River. This river enriches the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala state. It joins with the Pamba River at Veeyapuram,...

. It is almost 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Tiruvalla

Tiruvalla

Tiruvalla , is a city and a Taluk headquarters located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala in South India, spread over an area of 27.94 km2...

 in Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...

 District of Kerala. It can be identified with Nelcynda in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...

.

History

Niranam is mentioned in the writings of Pliny

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

 and Cosmos Indicopleustes as a trade centre. Geologists suggest that the sea retracted from this area due to some major geographical changes.

Saint Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...

is believed to have landed here and founded the Christian church.
Perhaps the importance of Niranam as a port was the reason for his arrival.
The Christian community in Niranam is therefore is the oldest in India and among the oldest in the world. Niranam Cathedral has been the seat of the various Malankara metropolitans.

The great flood of 1341 AD helped to shift the sea westwards from silt filling in the direct sea route from Niranam.

Geography

As a result of the flood of 1341, the soil of nearby areas of Niranam is still sandy and resembles beaches, though not close to the Arabian sea.