The city lies about 220 kilometres (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram and about 180 kilometres (112 mi) south of Kozhikode, the third largest city in Kerala.
In 1102 AD, Kochi became the seat of the Kingdom of Cochin, which traced its lineage to the Kulasekhara Empire. Heralded as the Queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.
Kochi is home for the Southern Naval Command, of the Indian Navy, state headquarters (DHQ4 and Air Squadron 747 of the Indian Coast Guard, maritime-related facilities including the Port of Kochi, an International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard, offshore SPM of the Kochi Refineries, and the Kochi Marina.