Malappuram, literally meaning a terraced place atop hills, has long been a centre for Hindu-Vedic learning and teaching. Within the district of the same name, Ponnani enjoys a similar status as an important centre for education in the philosophy of Islam.

Malappuram district is bounded by Kozhikode district in the north, the Nilgiris mountains on the east, the Arabian Sea on the west and Thrissur and Palakkad districts on the south. Malappuram figures prominently in history as the place which frequently questioned British Colonial Authority. Most of the famous Mappilla revolts of Malabar, which took place between 1792 and 1921, occurred in areas now under Malappuram district.

Malappuram has always enjoyed the status of a military headquarters. The Zamorin of Calicut, for instance, consolidated his conquests and built a palace in the then important Malabar Sea port of Ponnani in Malappuram. . Another interesting relic is the house of the Valluvanad dynasty of chieftains who ruled over the  area in in ancient and medieval times.