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Kingdom of Kotte

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Kingdom of Kotte
කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය
1412–1597
Flag of Kotte
Flag of Kotte
  The Kotte Kingdom at its greatest extent
  Kingdom of Kotte after the death of Parakramabahu VIII of Kotte in 1518
  The Kingdom of Kotte (under Dharmapala of Kotte) in 1587
CapitalKotte
Official languagesSinhalese, Tamil
Religion
Theravada Buddhism
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• 1412–1467
Parakramabahu VI
• 1472–1480
Bhuvanaikabahu VI
• 1484–1518
Parakramabahu VIII
• 1551–1597
Dharmapala
Historical eraTransitional period
• Capital moved from Gampola
1412
• Disestablishment
27 May 1597
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Gampola
Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Sitawaka
Portuguese Ceylon
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Historical states of Sri Lanka
Sinhala kingdom
543–437 BCE
437 BCE–1017 CE
1017–1055
1055–1232
1232–1341
1341–1371
1371–1597
Transitional period
1232–1620
1521–1594
Kandyan period
1469–1815
1597–1658
1658–1796
British Ceylon period
1815–1948
Sri Lanka since 1948
1948–1972
1972–present

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Map of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (1557–1565)

The Kingdom of Kotte (Sinhala: කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, romanized: Kōṭṭē Rajadhaniya, Tamil: கோட்டை அரசு), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century.

Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming,[a] the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna kingdom and the Vanni principalities, and bring the country under one flag. It led to a punitive invasion against the Vijayanagar dynasty and captured a port.

The Kotte Kingdom was largely dissolved during the Sinhalese-Portuguese War, as it faced attacks from rival Sinhalese kingdoms, the Kingdom of Sitawaka and Kingdom of Kandy. Dom João Dharmapala handed it over to the Portuguese, thus leading to the formation of Portuguese Ceylon. Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan and his two son's also returned from Madurai with mercenaries and managed to conquer Jaffna.[1][2] The remainder was annexed into Sitawaka and Kandy.

Etymology

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The term Kotte is said to have derived from the Sinhalese word kōṭṭa (කෝට්ට) meaning “fortress,” which itself is thought to have originated from the Malayalam word kōṭṭai.[3] The word Kotte was introduced by Nissankamalla Alagakkonara, who was the founder of the fortress. They were believed to be from the city of Vanchi, identified with Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu.[4] The Alagakkonara family have also been identified to be of Tamil ancestry of Vallanattu Chettiar.[5][6]

History

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Kotte was originally founded as a fortress by Minister Alakesvara (1370–1385) of the Alagakkonara clan in the Kingdom of Gampola during the reign of Vikramabahu III of Gampola. It was built to counter invasions from South India along the western coast. In 1412, Parakramabahu VI established Kotte as his capital city. The site was naturally well protected by the extensive swamp that surrounded it.[7]

Parakramabahu VI first became the king of Gampola in 1412, and in 1415, he established Kotte as his capital. He expanded and fortified the existing citadel and built a new royal palace. Parakramabahu VI waited until ties between the Vijayanagara Empire and Jaffna Kingdom were severed. First, he captured the Vanni and made its leaders loyal to him. Prince Sapumal was the commander of the Kotte army at the time. However, Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan and his two sons soon returned from Madurai with mercenaries and regained control of the Jaffna Kingdom, bringing it out of Kotte’s overlordship and reestablishing its independence.[1][2]During this period, Tamil was used as one of the court languages of the Kotte Kingdom.[8]

Rise

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In 1450, through his conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka, Parakramabahu VI succeeded in unifying the entire island under his rule. At its height, the Kingdom oversaw one of the greatest eras of Sinhalese literature. Notable poets at the time were Buddhist monks such as Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula thero, Weedagama Maithree thero, and Karagala Wanarathana thero. By 1477, a decade after the death of Parakramabahu VI, regional kingdoms had grown in strength. Most notably a new Kingdom was founded in the central hill country of the island by Senasammata Vikramabahu who successfully led a rebellion against the Kotte Kingdom in 1469.

Rule from Kelaniya

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Parakramabahu IX of Kotte moved the capital to Kelaniya in 1509 and it stayed there until 1528.

Arrival of the Portuguese

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The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505,[9][10] landing in Galle Harbour. Once they learnt that they had arrived in Sri Lanka, they sailed to Colombo.[9] From there, they were escorted to the capital, Kotte, by a deliberately winding and lengthy route, designed to create the illusion that the city was far inland and thus difficult to invade from the coast. However, this ruse was undermined when the Portuguese sailors who had remained with the ship repeatedly fired its cannons, and the sound carried to the Portuguese party en route to Kotte, revealing how close the capital truly was.[11]

This incident gave rise to the well-known local saying “parangiya Kotte giya vage” (පරන්ගියා කෝට්ටේ ගියා වගේ) — meaning “like the Portuguese went to Kotte” — which is used to describe doing something in a roundabout way instead of directly.[11] Despite the episode, the Portuguese successfully secured a trade agreement with the King of Kotte during this first meeting.[12]

Demise

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Political map of Sri Lanka following the "Spoiling of Vijayabahu"

The downfall of the Kotte Kingdom began in 1521 with the event known as the Vijayaba Kollaya. The three sons of King Vijayabahu VII mutinied and killed their father, dividing the kingdom among themselves.[13] This led to the creation of three smaller realms: Kotte, Sitawaka, and the Principality of Raigama.[14] Among these, the Kingdom of Sitawaka grew increasingly powerful, enjoying strong local support, while the Kotte Kingdom became reliant on Portuguese assistance.

Following the Vijayaba Kollaya, King Buvenekabahu VII of Kotte sought Portuguese help to defeat his brother, Mayadunne. He also permitted his daughter’s son, Prince Dharmapala, to be baptized as a Catholic by the Portuguese. After naming Dharmapala as his heir, Buvenekabahu VII was reportedly shot—allegedly by accident—by a Portuguese soldier.

In 1565, the capital of Kotte was abandoned by King Dharmapala due to repeated attacks from the Kingdom of Sitawaka, led by Mayadunne and his son Rajasinghe I.[15] Dharmapala was taken to Colombo under Portuguese protection.[16] Most of the areas of Kotte Kingdom were annexed to the Kingdom of Sitawaka.[17] but after the downfall of Sitawaka in 1594, these areas were re-annexed to the Kotte kingdom.[18] In 1597, Dharmapala formally ceded the Kotte Kingdom to the Portuguese crown, marking the official end of the Kotte era.

Military

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The military of the Kotte kingdom was closely associated with both its rise and demise. Poems written in this era give vivid accounts of the contemporary military. Before the arrival of the Portuguese, firearms had not been widely adopted but it is believed that firearms had been introduced to Sinhalese by Arab traders due to the similarity of the design of Sinhala firearms to Arab guns and by Portuguese accounts in 1519 noting their unfamiliarity with local weaponry. However, the use of heavy armour and firearms by Europeans would also result in locals rapidly adopting firearms.[19][20]

The military consisted of four main departments, namely

  • Æth – elephant regiments
  • Aśwa – horse regiments
  • Riya – chariot regiments
  • Pābala – infantry regiments.

Notable commanders of Kotte army

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In the final periods of the kingdom, the Portuguese were often in charge of the military.

Significant military victories of Kingdom of Kotte

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  • Capture of Jaffna in 1450
  • Capture of Vanni, making its chieftains tribute-paying subordinates
  • Successfully subsidising a rebellion in central hills started by Jothiya Situ.
  • Invading a port of the Vijayanagar Empire as retaliation to looting a ship belonging to Kotte by the rayan of Adhiramapattanam. Rajavaliya states that the king caused several villages and a town in the Soli country to be pillaged and made tributaries, called Makudam-kotta. The Alakeshwara Yuddaya does not mention an annual tribute but refers to a levy from seven villages called Makulan-kotta, indicating a one-time levy as compensation.⁣ [22] However, South Indian sources contradict this: the Tenkasi inscription of Arikesari Parakrama Pandya of Tinnevelly records, "Arikesari Parakrama Pandya who saw the backs of kings at Singai, Anura," referring to this war, dated between A.D. 1449–50 and 1453–54. Anurai is said to be the capital of the Sinhalese.[23] This is considered unreliable by Rasanayagam as no such battle is mentioned in any local chronicles; he regards it as an empty boast.[24] G. P. V. Somaratna also considers it unreliable, noting that the identification of Anurai with Anuradhapura is unlikely, as the city had not been the capital of the Sinhalese for five centuries.[22]
  • During Parakramabahu VI's reign, Puttalam was invaded by the Karavas from Tamil Nadu. At that period, Puttalam was inhabited by Mukkuvar who had migrated centuries earlier from the Malabar coast.[25] They had established a local polity in Puttalam.[26] Parakramabahu VI invited Karava mercenaries from Kanchipuram, Kaveripattinam and Kilakarai of Tamil Nadu to fight the Mukkuvars. Mukkara Hatana records the Karava leader Mānikka Thalaivan besieging the fortress at Puttalam before moving to Nagapattinum to destroy the Mukkuvar fortress there as well. Mānikka Thalaivan was killed in the final battle but achieved victory. In return, the King of Kotte rewarded them with lands and heraldry.[27][28][22]

Trade

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The kingdom was situated near Colombo, a very important port at the time. Moorish merchants from India and Arabia dominated the trade of the kingdom until the arrival of the Portuguese. The kingdom’s exports were largely driven by the spice trade—cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper—while gemstones were also significant. Following the conquest of Jaffna, Kotte gained control of the pearl trade, bringing enormous wealth to the kingdom. Portuguese who arrived there as traders were able to secure a trading deal with the kingdom on their first visit.

Literature

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One of the greatest fields that flourished were literature and art since the king himself was very fond of them. Royal patronage was given to literature paving way to a golden age of literature in the island.

Great poet monks of Kotte era

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Notable art works of the era

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A flag of the Catholic Karava Sinhalese who became Catholics during Kotte era

Sandesha poems

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  • Kokila Sandesha
  • Paravi Sandesha
  • Gira Sandesha
  • Salalihini Sandesha
  • Hansa Sandesha
  • Nilakobo Sandesha

Poems and other anthology

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  • Lowada Sangarawa
  • Buduguna Alankaraya
  • Gutthila Kavya
  • Kavyashekaraya
  • Parakumba Siritha
  • Saddharmarathnakaraya

Buddhist education institutions started in the era

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These institutions paved way not only to the enhancement of Buddhist literature but also to the development of Ayurvedic medicine.

  • Padmawthi Piriwena, Karagala
  • Vijayaba Piriwena,Thotagamuwa
  • Sunethradevi Piriwena, Papiliyana
  • Siri Perakumba Pirivena, Ethul Kotte

Ayurvedic medical books written in Kotte era

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  • Waidya Chinthamani
  • Yoga Rathnakaraya

Religion

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Kelani Viharaya

Buddhism was the state religion for most of the kingdom’s existence. Parakramabahu VI built a shrine for the Sacred Tooth Relic near the royal palace. He also established the Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya to host the Esala Perahera pageant in honor of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Additionally, he also repaired Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara which along with the Sri Perakumba Pirivena and Sunethra Devi Pirivena became the most famous monasteries in the country.

Hinduism was also given a prominent place in society. Many Buddhist temples included shrines dedicated to Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Murugan (God Kataragama), goddess Paththini, and Gambara, the provincial god. Prince Sapumal (later crowned Bhuvanekabahu VI) built a shrine near the ancient Bo tree of the Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya as a vow to defeat Arya Chakravarthi. He is also credited with building or renovating the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna.[30]

The Portuguese converted much of the population to Roman Catholicism. The last king of Kotte, Don Juan Dharmapala, was one of only two Catholic Sinhalese monarchs in Sri Lankan history (the other was Kusumasena Devi), although several other contemporary kings had also adopted Catholicism temporarily.[citation needed]

Baththotamulla

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Battaramulla was a village that provided rice to the king's palace. The royal flower gardens were also located in this village in an area called Rajamalwatta.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Ming-Kotte War#Aftermath

References

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  1. ^ a b Kunarasa K, The Jaffna Dynasty p.68-72
  2. ^ a b Nadarajan V, History of Ceylon Tamils p.81
  3. ^ Somaratne, G. P. V. (1984). The Sri Lanka Archives, Volume 2. Department of National Archives. p. 1.
  4. ^ de Silva, K.M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. Delhi: University of Ceylon. p. 86.
  5. ^ Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (15 July 1992). Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226789507.
  6. ^ Ray, H.C. (1960). History of Ceylon, Vol.1, Part II. University of Ceylon. pp. 691–702.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "The Kotte Dynasty and its Portuguese allies". Humphry Coddrington. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  8. ^ Aiyangar, S. Krishnaswami; de Silva, Simon; M. Senaveratna, John (1921). "The Overlordship of Ceylon in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries". The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 28 (74): 127. JSTOR 43483739.
  9. ^ a b S.G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p 8. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  10. ^ Declercq, Nico F. (2021). "Chapter 43: The appearance of the Portuguese and the Establishment of the Portuguese Kingdom of Kotte". The Desclergues of la Villa Ducal de Montblanc. Nico F. Declercq. pp. 723–746. ISBN 9789083176901.
  11. ^ a b Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 1. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. p 36. (Link). OCLC 12552979.
  12. ^ S.G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p 11 (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  13. ^ B. Gunasekara, The Rajavaliya. AES reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1995. p. 75–77. ISBN 81-206-1029-6
  14. ^ S. G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p. 17. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  15. ^ Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 1. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. p. 195. (Link). OCLC 12552979.
  16. ^ S. G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p. 48. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  17. ^ S. G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p. 49. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  18. ^ S. G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. p. 65. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
  19. ^ Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1942). "Sinhala Weapons and Armor". The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 35 (95): 97–142. ISSN 0304-2235. JSTOR 45385041.
  20. ^ Weerakkody, P.; Nanayakkara, A. (2005). "Sinhala Weapons and Armor: Adaptation in Response to European Style Warfare". Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Sri Lanka Studies.
  21. ^ A. Sebastian, A Complete Illustrated History of Sri Lanka. Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2012. p 397. ISBN 9789556651492
  22. ^ a b c Somaratna, Gintota Parana Vidanage (1 January 1969). Political history of the Kingdom of Kotte (c. A.D. 1400-1521) (Thesis). doi:10.25501/SOAS.00029736.
  23. ^ Humphrey William Codrington, A Short History of Ceylon Ayer Publishing, 1970;|Page =92|ISBN 0-8369-5596-X
  24. ^ Rasanayagam, Mudaliyar C. ANCIENT JAFFNA. ASIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. p. 367.
  25. ^ Nadaraja, Tambyah (1 January 1972). The Legal System of Ceylon in Its Historical Setting. Brill Archive. p. 35. ISBN 9004036377.
  26. ^ McGilvray, Dennis B. (2008). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0822341611.
  27. ^ Raghavan, M. D. (1961). The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture. pp. 16–19. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  28. ^ Kurukshetra, Volume 4. University of Michigan: Sri Lak-Indo Study Group. 1978. p. 86.
  29. ^ Himbutana, Gopitha Peiris (29 January 2006). "Ven. Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera Scholar monk par excellence" (PDF). Lake House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  30. ^ Paranavitana, Senarat (1966). Ceylon and Malaysia. Lake House Investments. p. 140. ISBN 9780842607919.
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