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Alakesvara
Alagakkonara (, ), also known as Alakeshwara, were a prominent feudal family that provided powerful ministers and military rulers during the medieval period in Sri Lanka. Although some historian say that the family was of Tamil origin originated from Madurai or Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India.de Silva, A ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.138 They arrived in Sri Lanka around the 13th century and naturalized themselves in Sri Lanka. One member of the family is noted for founding the current capital of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as a fort from which he waged a war against encroaching tax collectors from the Jaffna kingdom in the north. The family lost most of its influence after its leader was taken captive by the Ming Dynasty (Chinese) Admiral Zheng He in 1411.de Silva, A ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.137 Origin of the family The first member of the family to arrive in Sri Lanka was named ''Nissanka Alagakonara'', who migrated to Sri Lanka from a place called ''Vanchipura''de Silv ...
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Vira Alakesvara Of Gampola
Vira Alakesvara, also known as Vijayabahu VI, was the last King of Gampola who ruled from 1397 to 1411. He was the last prominent member of the Alagakkonara family. Biography His father was a minister of the local king Vikramabahu III of Gampola fortified a marshy region around present day Colombo region, on the marshes to the south of the Kelani River. His death is established as between 1382 and 1392. At his father's death, there was disunity in his family with family members fighting each other for power and procession. Kumara Alakesvara, half-brother of king Buwanekabahu V controlled the region from 1386–87 and was followed by Vira Alakesvara from 1387 onwards until 1391, when he was ousted by the rival claimants relative. He came back to power with the help of foreign mercenaries in 1399. He ruled until 1411 when he confronted the visiting Chinese Admiral Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and cour ...
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Ming–Kotte War
The Ming–Kotte War () was a military conflict between the expeditionary forces of Ming dynasty, Ming China and the Sinhalese Kotte Kingdom in the southern territories of Sri Lanka. The conflict happened when Ming China's Ming treasure voyages, treasure fleet returned to Sri Lanka in 1410 or 1411 and resulted in the overthrow of King Alakeshvara of the Alagakkonara feudatory, who was replaced by Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, Parakramabahu VI of the previous royal family. Background In Sri Lanka, the Alagakkonara dynasty from South India, which gained dominance in Kotte, had waged a war against the Jaffna Kingdom. In that war, Vira Alakesvara of Gampola, Vira Alakeshvara gained military prestige. He soon came to power, ruled Kotte with a puppet king of the previous royal dynasty, and eventually usurped the throne of the kingdom. During the Ming treasure voyages, a large Chinese fleet, led by Admiral Zheng He, arrived into local waters to establish Chinese control and stability of ...
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ...
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Sinhalese Kings
The Sinhalese monarch -- anachronistically referred to as the Kings of Sri Lanka—featured the heads of state of the Sinhala Kingdoms, in what is today Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese monarchy originates in the settlement of North Indian Indo-Aryan speaking immigrants to the island of Sri Lanka. The Landing of Vijay (as described in the traditional early chronicles of the island, the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) recounts the date of the establishment of the first Sinhala Kingdom in 543 BC when Indian prince Prince Vijaya (543–505 BC) and 700 of his followers arrived in Sri Lanka, establishing the Kingdom of Tambapanni.Mittal (2006) p 405 In Sinhalese mythology, Prince Vijaya and followers are told to be the progenitors of the Sinhalese people. However, according to the story in the Divyavadana, the immigrants were probably not led by a scion of a royal house in India, as told in the romantic legend, but rather may have been groups of adventurous and pioneering merchants exploring n ...
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House Of Siri Sanga Bo
House of Siri Sanga Bo was a powerful dynasty which ruled parts of Sri Lanka from Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya (1220–1224) until Rajasinha I of Sitawaka (1581–1591). Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya routed Kalinga Magha's armies from Maya Rata and established his fortress at Dambadeniya. This dynasty was able to protect their independence by facing so many foreign invasions thereafter. They had to change their capital city to Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunagala because of continuous invasions from southern India. Rise of Dambadeniya In the reign of Kalinga Magha, native Sinhala people moved to south and Maya Rata because of his remorseless governance in Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Meanwhile, this reign, a descendant of King Sirisangabo called " Vijayabahu III", fought against Kalinga Magha's armies and became the king of Dambadeniya. He obtained Lord Buddha's tooth relic and alms chalice to Dambadeniya from the place which Magha's people had buried them in Kotmale. He helped t ...
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Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred by the Yongle Emperor. Commissioned by the Yongle Emperor and later the Xuande Emperor, Zheng commanded seven expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. According to legend, his larger ships carried hundreds of sailors on four decks and were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded. As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whom Zheng assisted in the overthrow of the Jianwen Emperor, he rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing. Early life and family Zheng He was born Ma He () to a Muslim family of Kunyang, Kunming, Yunnan, during the Ming dynasty of China. He had an older brother and four sisters. Zheng He' ...
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Kingdom Of Gampola
Gampola is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. King Buwanekabahu IV (son of King Vijayabahu V) ascended to the throne after his father and shifted the capital from Kurunegala to Gampola, with the support of General Senalankadhikara. After his death, his brother, King Parakramabahu V (1353 AD - 1359 AD), who used to reign from Dedigama ascended the throne and moved to Gampola. He was dethroned by King Buwanekabahu IV's son, King Vikramabahu III (1359 AD - 1374 AD) and sent to Malaya. King Vikramabahu III conveyed the tooth relic to Gampola and held a festival in honour of this sacred relic. He built a shrine at Niyamgampaya in Gampola. The rock temple "Gadaladeniya Viharaya" was constructed by king Vikramabahu III. Meanwhile, a general called "Alagakkonara" became more power ...
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Feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although it is derived from the Latin word ''feodum'' or ''feudum'' (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term ''feudalism'' and the system which it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people who lived during the Middle Ages. The classic definition, by François Louis Ganshof (1944),François Louis Ganshof (1944). ''Qu'est-ce que la féodalité''. Translated into English by Philip Grierson as ''Feudalism'', with a foreword by F. M. Stenton, 1st ed.: New York and London, 1952; 2nd ed: 1961; 3rd ed.: 1976. describes a set of reciprocal legal and Medieval warfare, military ...
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Negombo
Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and the administrative centre of Negombo Division. Negombo has about 142,136 population within its divisional secretariat division. Negombo municipal boundary is fully extended throughout its Divisional Secretariat area. Negombo is known for its long sandy beaches and centuries old fishing industry. Negombo has a large bilingual (Sinhala/Tamil) population with a clear Roman Catholic majority. = Etymology = The name "Negombo" is the Portuguese corrupted name of its Tamil name ''Neerkolombu''. The Sinhala name means from Old-Tamil Naval terminology Meegaman Pattinam. Meegaman denotes Naval Captain, where the local Karava population’s long association of Naval and Fishing connections. Later, "Village of the honeycomb", gaining its name fro ...
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Monarchs Of Gampola
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the Sovereign state, state, or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Usually a monarch either personally inheritance, inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as ''the throne'' or ''the Crown, the crown'') or is elective monarchy, selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may self-proclaimed monarchy, proclaim themself monarch, which may be backed and Legitimacy (political), legitimated through acclamation, right of conquest or a combination of means. If a young child is crowned the monarch, then a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult a ...
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Kotagama Inscription
The Kotagama inscription found in Kegalle District in Sri Lanka is a record of victory left by the Aryacakravarti kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in western Sri Lanka.Rasanayagm, ''Ancient Jaffna'', p.364 The inscription reads; Some historians attribute the inscriptions to Martanda Cinkaiariyan (died 1348) whereas others date it to the 15th century based on language usage.Peebles, ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.31-32 The inscription is written in Tamil script. See also * Annaicoddai seal * Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription Tissamaharama inscription No. 53 refers to a fragment of black and red ware flat dish inscribed in Brahmi script excavated at the earliest layer in southern town of Tissamaharama in Sri Lanka. It is dated to approximately 200 BC by German scholars w ... Notes References * * * * {{Jaffna kingdom Jaffna kingdom Tamil inscriptions in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka inscriptions ...
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