The Kingdom of Tambapaṇṇī ( si, තම්බපණ්ණිය රාජධානිය, Tambapaṇṇī Rājadhāniya) was the first

Sinhalese kingdom The Sinhala Kingdom or Sinhalese Kingdom refers to the successive Sinhalese kingdoms that existed in what is today Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese kingdoms are kingdoms known by the city at which its administrative centre was located. These are in chron ...

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 ...

. Its administrative centre was based at

Tambapaṇṇī Tambapanni is the district in Sri Lanka where Prince Vijaya According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'' chronicle, Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was the first Sinhalese king. Legends and records from both Indian and Sri Lanka sources say that he alo ...

. It existed between 543 BC and 437 BC. According to the Mahavamsa, the Kingdom was founded by

Prince Vijaya According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'' chronicle, Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was the first Sinhalese monarchy, Sinhalese king. Legends and records from both Indian and Sri Lanka sources say that he along with several hundred followers came to ...

and his followers.

Name

Tambapaṇṇī is a name derived from ''Tāmraparṇī'' or ''Tāmravarṇī'' (in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

). This means the colour of copper or bronze because when Vijaya and his followers landed in Sri Lanka, when their hands and feet touched the ground they became red with the dust of the red-earth. Therefore, the city founded on that spot was named Tambapaṇṇī. A derivative of this name is Taprobane (Greek).

Background

According to the '' Mahāvamsa'', a chronicle written in

Pāḷi Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhis ...

, the inhabitants of Sri Lanka prior to the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

migration were Yakkhas and

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

s. Ancient grave sites that were used before 600 BC and other signs of civilisation have also been discovered in Sri Lanka, but little is known about the history of the island before this time. Sinhalese history and the historical period of Sri Lanka traditionally starts in 543 BC with the arrival of

, a semi-legendary prince who sailed with 700 followers to Sri Lanka. Legend has it that when

landed on the shores of the island he kissed the sand, called it 'Thambapanni' and planted a flag depicting a lion in the ground. (The famous '

Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...

' ruins of India depict the events of Prince Vijaya'a landing). After landing in Tambapaṇṇī, Vijaya met

Kuveni Kuveni(කුවේණි / குவேணி) also known as Sesapathi or Kuvanna or Leelawathi, was a Yakshini queen in Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Pali chronicles Mahavansa and Dipavansa of the Sinhalese people. The primary source for ...

the queen of the , who was disguised as a beautiful woman but was really a named Sesapathi.

History

The Kingdom of Tambapaṇṇī was founded by

, the first

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

King, and 700 of his followers after landing in Sri Lanka in an area near modern-day

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district **Mannar Bridge, a bridge connect ...

, which is believed to be the district of Chilaw. It is recorded that Vijaya made his landing on the day of Buddha's death. Vijaya claimed

as his capital and soon the whole island became known by this name. Tambapaṇṇī was originally inhabited and governed by , and their queen

, with their capital at Sirīsavatthu. Upatissagāma was the second capital of the kingdom. It was seven or eight miles further north of the previous capital

. The city was established by Upatissa, a follower and senior minister of

Vijaya Vijaya may refer to: Places * Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam * Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India People * Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...

. During the end of his reign Vijaya, who was having trouble choosing a successor, so sent a letter to the city of his ancestors at

Sinhapura Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura' ...

, in order to invite his brother Sumitta to take over the throne. However Vijaya had died before the letter had reached its destination so the monarchy was succeeded by his chief minister Upatissa who acted as king for a year.

References

Citations

Bibliography