Polonnaruwa–Pagan War was a successful military expedition led-by Sinhalese king Parakramabahu the Great against the Pagan Kingdom between 1165 and 1181. It occurred as a result of a trade dispute between the two states. Pagan-kingdom

Background

Diplomatic and cultural relations with Burma and Polonnaruwa existed long since the rise of the

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

Pagan dynasty in the 9th century. After the Chola conquest of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka experienced a decline in Buddhism and Vijayabahu I, who was the monarch of Polonnaruwa during the time, requested Buddhist monks from Pagan Burma to restore the Sangha in Sri Lanka. Historical chronicles state that king Vijayabahu also offered the Thihoshin Pagoda to Pagan king Alaungsithu in the 11th century, which is now still in the region of

Pakkoku Pakokku ( my, ပခုက္ကူမြို့, ) is the largest city in the Magway Region of Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km north-east of Bagan on the Irrawaddy River. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township , Pakokku District ...

in modern Burma. However the friendly relations with Pagan got disrupted with the accession of Narathu to the Burmese throne. Narathu claimed the throne by assassinating Alaungsithu, and he was quite unfavored among the

Burmese people Burmese people or Myanma people ( my, မြန်မာလူမျိုး) are citizens or people from Myanmar (Burma), irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Myanmar is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual count ...

. Hostilities with the

Khmers The Khmer people ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរ, ) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 90% of Cambodia's population of 17 million.

and Burma too further changed the pleasant situation between the two countries. Narathu deprived the envoys of the King of Polonnaruwa, which caused tension between the Sinhalese and

ruler, and thus Parakkamabahu I dispatched a naval fleet to conduct a military raid.

First Invasion of Burma (1164-1165)

A fleet was collected at the port of Paluvak-tota, perhaps Palvakki on the coast north of Trincomalee; it set sail in the south-west monsoon. The army's size is unknown, but it is recorded as containing a year's supply of grains, specially modified arrows, and Sri Lanka's fearsome war elephants. Despite setbacks en route, including the sinking of one ship and the loss of a few others, the army arrived at the city of Kusumiya (modern

Pathein Pathein (, ; mnw, ဖာသီ, ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathei ...

)Buddhist Connections in the Indian Ocean: Changes in Monastic Mobility, 1000-1500. p. 6 on the banks of the

Bago river , native_name_lang = , name_other = , name_etymology = , image = , image_size = , image_caption = , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_m ...

, and captured it. Thereafter, the armies are said to have captured several other cities, including Arimaddhanapura. The Sinhalese assassinated Narathu, and the Burmese facing their defeat requested the Burmese Sangha to resolve the situation, and thus the raid was ended with a peace treaty between the

and Sinhalese Buddhist Sangha.

Second Invasion of Burma (1180-1181)

A retaliatory raid is also thought to have launched by Parakramabahu in 1180, after

Narapatisithu Narapati Sithu ( my, နရပတိ စည်သူ, ; also Narapatisithu, Sithu II or Cansu II; 1138–1211) was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1174 to 1211. He is considered the last important king of Pagan. His peaceful and p ...

, the successor of Narathu imprisoned Sinhalese envoys, tradesmen, and a princess on her way to the Khmer Empire. The tensions and wars between Polonnaruwa and

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

then ended with a peace agreement in 1181.

References

External links

* https://www.ft.lk/columns/the-first-navy-the-nation-raised/4-125438 * http://books.lakdiva.org/codrington/chap04.html Polonnaruwa period Wars involving Sri Lanka Military history of Sri Lanka Wars involving Myanmar Wars involving Cambodia {{DEFAULTSORT:Polonnaruwa-Pagan War