Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of 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 ...

and was a usurper who came to throne with a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of the royal prince and the regent Arasa-kesari in 1617. His regency was rejected by the Portuguese colonials in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, Sri Lanka. His reign was secured with military forces from the Thanjavur Nayaks and

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...

captains. He was defeated by the Portuguese in 1619 and was taken to Goa and beheaded. With his death the Aryacakravarti line of Kings who had ruled the kingdom for over 300 years came to an end.

Usurping the throne

With the death of Ethirimana Cinkam in 1617, there were three claimants to the throne. One was Cankili II, a nephew of the king. The other two claimants were the king's brother ''Arasakesari'' and a powerful chieftain ''Periye Pillai Arachchi''. Ethirimana Cinkam's son, a minor was proclaimed as king with Arasakesari as regent. Cankili II killed the claimants to the throne and other princes of royal blood and usurped the throne. Cankili II was, under the Portuguese, made the governor of Jaffna in 1617 and paid tribute to them on the promise that he had no contact with the

captains.

Local uprising

The palace massacre created unrest among the people of the Jaffna kingdom. Migapulle Arachchi, the son of Periye Pillai Arachchi, with the aid of the Portuguese drove Cankili to Kayts in August–September 1618. Cankili had to seek aid from

Raghunatha Nayak Raghunatha Nayak was the most powerful king of the Thanjavur Nayak Dynasty. He was the third ruler of Thanjavur, southern India, from the Nayak dynasty. He ruled from 1600 to 1634 and is noted for the attainments of Thanjavur in literature, art, ...

, the king of Thanjavur Nayak kingdom, who sent an army of 5000 men under the command of Khem Nayak (also known as ''Varunakulattan'') to put down the uprising.

Downfall

By June 1619, there were two Portuguese military expeditions to the Jaffna kingdom: a naval expedition which was repulsed by Khem Nayak and his troops, and a land expedition by

Filipe de Oliveira Phillippe de Oliveira or Filipe de Oliveira (died 1627) was the conqueror of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern modern day Sri Lanka on behalf of the Portuguese Empire in 1619. He stayed behind as the captain-major of the conquered kingdom until his d ...

and his army of 5,000, which was eventually able to defeat Cankili. Cankili's remaining soldiers were beheaded by Portuguese without trial. Cankili himself was taken to Goa and was sentenced to death. Before his decapitation in 1623, he was converted and baptised as ''Dom Felipe''. The surviving members of the royal family were also taken to Goa and asked to become monks or nuns in the holy orders. Most obliged, and their celibacy avoided the production of further claimants to the Jaffna throne.Gnanaprakasar, S ''A critical history of Jaffna'', pp. 153–172

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cankili 02 1619 deaths Kings of Jaffna Hindu martyrs Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil royalty Year of birth unknown 17th-century monarchs in Asia

Usurping the throne

Local uprising

Downfall

See also

Notes

References