The Five Dravidians were five

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Chiefs apparently from the

Pandyan Dynasty 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 sinc ...

who ruled the Anuradhapura Kingdom for 14 years from 103 BC to 88 BC.

Background

Before the Five Dravidians invaded the island, the Anuradhapura Kingdom was ruled by Valagamba (104–103 BC, 89–76 BC) also known as Vatthagamani Abhaya. In 103 BC Valagamba was overthrown by these five conquerors from

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, who ruled until 89 BC when they were defeated by Valagamba, who was then able to rule his kingdom once more.

Rulers

Pulahatta

Pulahatta was the first of the Five Dravidians. He was a

chief from the

, in

, who defeated the reigning monarch Valagamba, who had only come to the throne five months before. He appointed Bahiya as his Chief Minister and reigned for three years until he was murdered in 100 BC by Bahiya.

Bahiya

Bahiya was the second of the Five Dravidians, he ruled from 100 BC to 98 BC. Chief Minister of Pulahatha, during Pulahatha's reign, he murdered him and ruled as king. Bahiya's reign came to an end when his Prime Minister, Panya Mara, killed him after only two years on the throne.

Panya Mara

Panya Mara, the third of the Five Dravidians reigned from 98 BC to 91 BC, the longest of any of the Five Dravidians. Before ascending the throne he held the office of Prime Minister under Bahiya, whom Panya Mara then killed taking the throne while appointing Pilaya Mara as his Chief Minister.

Pilaya Mara

Pilaya Mara was King of Anuradhapura from 91 BC to 90 BC. Assuming the throne like his predecessors, by murdering Panya Mara, while he was his Chief Minister. Pilaya Mara had the shortest of all the reigns of the Five Dravidians only lasting seven months, being killed by his own Chief Minister, Dathika.

Dathika

Dathika was the last of the Five Dravidians, who ruled for two years from 90 BC to 88 BC. Dathika came to the throne after murdering his king Pilaya Mara, for whom he was Chief Minister. In 88 BC he was killed, losing the throne, by Valagamba restoring his reign and the dynasty of the

House of Vijaya The House of Vijaya (also known as the Vijayan dynasty and sometimes referred to as the "Great Dynasty") was the first recorded Sinhalese royal dynasty that ruled over the island, Sri Lanka. According to Sri Lankan historical literature Prince ...

who had reigned since the start of the monarchy. Valagamba went on to rule the Anuradhapura Kingdom for the next 12 years.

References

External links

Discover Sri Lanka - List of kings & kingdoms in Sri Lanka

The Mahavamsa History of Sri Lanka
The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka

{{DEFAULTSORT:Five Dravidians, The

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Usurpers of the Sinhalese throne

Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...

Monarchs of Anuradhapura Tamil monarchs 2nd-century BC Sinhalese monarchs 1st-century BC Sinhalese monarchs Pandyan people