The Sinhala Kingdom or Sinhalese Kingdom refers to the successive
Sinhalese kingdoms that existed in what is today
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
The Sinhalese kingdoms are kingdoms known by the city at which its administrative centre was located. These are in chronological order: the kingdoms of
Tambapanni,
Upatissa Nuwara,
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
,
Polonnaruwa
Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...
,
Dambadeniya,
Gampola,
Kotte,
Sitawaka and
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
.
The Sinhala kingdom ceased to exist by 1815,
following the British takeover. While the Sinhala kingdom existed from 543 BCE to 1815 CE, other political entities co-existed in Sri Lanka spanning certain partial periods, including the
Jaffna kingdom
The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...
(which existed 1215–1624 CE),
(which existed from 12th century –1803 CE) and the
Portuguese and
Dutch colonies (Which existed 1597–1658 CE and 1640–1796 respectively).
During these partial periods of time, these political entities were not part of the Sinhala Kingdom, except
Jaffna and the
Vanni cheiftaincies following the
invasion by Parakramabahu VI, until his death.
Records by
Faxian thero and the Mahavamsa suggests it may have extended to
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
and parts of India as well.
Epochs
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Kingdom of Tambapanni (543 BC–505 BC)
*
Kingdom of Upatissa Nuwara (505–377 BC)
*
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 43 ...
(377 BC – 1017 AD)
*
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa ( si, පොළොන්නරුව රාජධානිය, Polonnaruwa Rājādhaniya) was the Sinhalese kingdom that expanded across the island of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංක� ...
(1056–1236)
*
Kingdom of Dambadeniya (1236–1272)
*
Kingdom of Gampola
Gampola is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. King Buwanekabahu ...
(1345–1408)
*
Kingdom of Kotte (1408–1598)
*
Kingdom of Sitawaka (1521–1593)
*
Kingdom of Kandy
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom of the Ki ...
(1590–1815)
References
*
Names of Sri Lanka
History of Sri Lanka
Former monarchies of South Asia
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