The Transitional period of Sri Lanka spans from the end of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, in 1232, to the start of the

Kandyan period The Kandyan period covers the history of Sri Lanka from 1597–1815. After the fall of the Kingdom of Kotte, the Kandyan Kingdom was the last Independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. The Kingdom played a major role throughout the history of Sri Lanka. ...

in 1597. The period is characterised by the succession of capitals that followed the fall of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom and the creation of the Jaffna kingdom and

Crisis of the Sixteenth Century The Crisis of the Sixteenth Century was the later part of the Transitional period of Sri Lanka, that began with the decline of the Kingdom of Kotte, with the Vijayabā Kollaya (the spoiling of Vijayabahu) in 1521, culminated in the collapse of ...

Overview

Periodization of Sri Lanka history:

Jaffna kingdom

The Jaffna kingdom, also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti came into existence after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in South India. It was a tribute-paying feudatory region of the Pandyan Empire in modern

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

in 1250, but it later became independent with the fragmentation of the Pandyan control. For a brief period, in the early and middle 14th century, it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka when all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was eventually overpowered by the rival Kotte Kingdom in around 1450. It was freed of Kotte control in 1467. Its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s and

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

exports and land revenue. It was less feudal than most of other regional kingdoms in the island of Sri Lanka of the same period. During this period, important local Tamil literature was produced and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temples were built, including an academy for language advancement. The arrival of the Portuguese colonial power to the island of Sri Lanka in 1505, along with its strategic location in the Palk Strait of connecting all interior Sinhalese kingdoms to

, created political problems. Many of its kings confronted and ultimately made peace with the Portuguese colonials. In 1617,

Cankili II Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent Ara ...

, a usurper to the throne, confronted the Portuguese but was defeated, bringing the kingdom’s independent existence to an end in 1619.

Kingdom of Dambadeniya

Dambadeniya Dambadeniya ''(DMBD)'' is a ruined ancient city situated in the North Western Province (Wayamba), Sri Lanka on the Kurunegala–Negombo main road. It served as the capital of Sri Lanka in the mid 13th century. Much of Dambadeniya still lies burie ...

is an ancient capital of Sri Lanka. Four kings ruled from there, Vijayabâhu III (1220–1236), Parâkkamabâhu II (1236–1270), Vijayabâhu IV (1270–1272), and Bhuvanaikabâhu I (1272–1283). The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabâhu III. He was able to bring about unity among the

sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

who had scattered due to the hostile invasion of the Kalinga magha. He also succeeded in holding a Buddhist convention in 1226 to bring about peace among the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

clergy. King Parâkkamabâhu II inherited the throne from Vijayabâhu III. He was considered a genius who was a great poet and prolific writer. Among the books he wrote are Kausilumina, which is considered a great piece of literature. Unifying the three kingdoms that existed within Sri Lanka at that point in time is regarded as his greatest achievement. King Bosath Vijayabâhu, as the eldest son of king Parâkkamabâhu II, was crowned in 1270. He was well known for his modest behaviour and for his religious activities. He was killed in the second year of his reign by a minister called Miththa. After the demise of his elder brother Vijayabâhu, king Bhuvanaikabâhu I, as the next in line to the throne, shifted the capital to

Yapahuwa Yapahuwa (Sinhalese language : යාපහුව) was one of the ephemeral capitals of medieval Sri Lanka. The citadel of Yapahuwa lying midway between Kurunagala and Anuradhapura was built around a huge granite rock rising abruptly almost a ...

for reasons of security. He followed his father's footsteps as a writer and continued with the religious activities started by his brother Vijayabâhu.

Kingdom of Gampola

Kingdom of Kotte

References