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Raja Rata
Rajarata ( (); ; meaning "King's country") was one of three historical regions of the island of Sri Lanka for about 1,700 years from the 6th century BCE to the early 13th century CE. Several ancient cities, including Tambapanni, Upatissa Nuwara, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, were established as capitals within the area by successive rulers. Rajarata was under the direct administration of the King (raja/king, rata/country). Two other areas, Mayarata and Ruhunurata, were ruled by the king's brothers "Mapa" and "Epa" . The Magha invasion in the 13th century brought about the end of the Rajarata kingdom. History and kingdoms The first kingdom in Rajarata was established by Prince Vijaya in 543 BCE. He settled near the delta of the Malvathu River between Chilaw and Mannar. According o a local myth, Prince Vijaya married a local princess, Kuveni, to gain control of Rajarata. With her help, he betrayed and killed all of the regional leaders. After his death, the administrative center wa ...
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Ancient Trisinhalaya-locator-map
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCAD 500, ending with the Early Muslim conquests, expansion of Islam in late antiquity. The three-age system periodises ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages vary between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others. During the time period of ancient history, the world population was Exponential growth, e ...
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Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the current capital of Colombo in the North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malwathu Oya. The city is now a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhala Kingdom, Sinhalese civilisation. While ''Mahāvaṃsa'' places the founding of the city in 437 BCE, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. It is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilisation, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving List of capitals in Sri Lanka, ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. Moreover, it was the first capi ...
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Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom (, ; 1215–1619 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally thought to have been established after the invasion of Kalinga Magha from Kalinga in India.Nadarajan, V. ''History of Ceylon Tamils'', p. 72Indrapala, K. ''Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon'', p. 16 Established as a powerful force in the north, northeast and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute-paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence when the last Pandyan ruler of Madurai was defeated and expelled in 1323 by Malik Kafur, the army general of the Delhi Sultanate. For a brief period in the early to mid-14th century it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka, to which all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was overpowered by the rival Kot ...
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Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.Delhi Sultanate
Encyclopædia Britannica
The sultanate was established around in the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in India. The sultanate's history is generally divided into five periods: Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk (1206–1290), Khalji dynasty, Khalji (1290–1320), Tughlaq dynasty, Tughlaq (1320–1414), Sayyid dynasty, Sayyid (1414–1451), and Lodi dynasty, Lodi (1451–1526). It covered large swaths of territory in modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, as well as some parts of southern Nepal. The foundation of the Sultanate was established by the Ghurid conqueror Muhammad of Ghor, Muhammad ...
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Malik Kafur
Malik Kafur (died February 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, Nusrat Khan during the Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Gujarat, 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to prominence in the 1300s. As a commander of Alauddin's forces, Kafur defeated the Mongol invasion of India, 1306, Mongol invaders in 1306. Subsequently, he led a series of expeditions in the southern part of India, against the Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Devagiri, Yadavas (1308), the Siege of Warangal, 1310, Kakatiyas (1310), the Siege of Dwarasamudra, Hoysalas (1311), and the Malik Kafur's invasion of the Pandya kingdom, Pandyas (1311). From these campaigns, he brought back many treasures, and many elephants and horses for the Delhi Sultanate. From 1313 to 1315, Kafur served as Alauddin's governor of Devagiri. When Alauddin fell seriously ill in 1315, Kafur was recalled to Delhi, ...
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Jaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula (, or ) is a region in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna Kingdom. The peninsula was historically divided into the three regions of Vadamarachchi, Thenmarachchi and Valikamam, which today make up three regions of the Jaffna District. History Naga Nadu The Naga people were one of the ancient tribes of Sri Lanka, who were mainly concentrated in the Jaffna Peninsula. The peninsula was also known in pre-mediaeval era as ''Naga Nadu'', which means "''Land of the Nagas''" as mentioned in the twin epics of ancient Tamilakam, the Silappatikaram and Manimekalai. The Pali chronicle Mahavamsa also refers to the peninsula with the corresponding name as ''Nagadipa'', meaning "''island of Nagas''", where it is described as a Chiefdom with rulers named as ''Diparaja'', meaning "''King of Island''". Ptolemy, the Greek writer from 100 AD ref ...
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Pandyan
The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world. The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the " three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled ...
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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 hundred meters above the surrounding lowlands. In 1272, King Bhuvenakabahu transferred the capital from Polonnaruwa to Yapahuwa in the face of Dravidian invasions from South India, bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic with him. Following the death of King Bhuvenakabahu in 1284, the Pandyans of South India invaded Sri Lanka once again, and succeeded in capturing Sacred Tooth Relic. Following its capture, Yapahuwa was largely abandoned and inhabited by Buddhist monks and religious ascetics. Location and Name The rock fortress complex of Yapahuwa is situated in the North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is located approximately between southeast of Mahawa midway Kurunegala and Anuradhapura. The original name of this Buddhist Heritage was Yapaww ...
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Kingdom Of Dambadeniya
The Kingdom of Dambadeniya was a medieval kingdom in what is present-day Sri Lanka. The kingdom's rulers reigned from 1220–1345. States and territories disestablished in 1345 History Founding The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabahu III. He was able to bring about the unity among the Sangha that had fled in various directions due to the hostile activities of the invader Kalinga Magha and succeeded in holding a Buddhist convention in 1226 to bring about peace among the Buddhist clergy. King Parakramabahu II was the king who inherited the throne after King Vijayabahu. He was considered a genius, who was a great poet and a prolific writer. Among the books he wrote are ''Kausilumina'', which is considered a great piece of literature. King Bosath Vijayabahu, as the eldest son of King Parakramabahu the second, 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 rei ...
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Kalinga Magha
Kalinga Magha or Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu (, , ) was an invader from the Kingdom of Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga who usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa in 1215. A massive migration followed of Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, as they attempted to escape his power. Magha was the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive was his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata existed primarily in the south of the island. Several theories exist about Magha, these theories range from defining him as an eastern Ganga king to a member of the Sinhalese Kalinga dynasty established by Nissanka Malla, Kalinga Lokeshvara. Some historians identify him as the Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan mentioned in the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, Jaffna Tamil chronicles, stating that Kulanka is ac ...
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Mullaitivu District
Mullaitivu District (, ; , ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Mullaitivu. History Parts of present-day Mullaitivu District were ruled by the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom. The district then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The district, which was then part of Vanni District, was part of the Tamil administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided ...
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