The Kotte conquest of the Jaffna kingdom was an expedition against the Jaffna kingdom by the

Kotte kingdom The Kingdom of Kotte ( si, කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, Kottay Rajadhaniya), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Kotte, under the rule of Ming-backed ...

. The Kotte's campaign had several phases against Jaffna dated between A.D. 1449–50 and 1453-4. The first campaign, led by

Prince Sapumal Bhuvanekabahu VI of Kotte (, ), also known as Sapumal Kumaraya and Chempaka Perumal, was an adopted son of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, Parakramabahu VI, whose principal achievement was the conquest of Jaffna Kingdom in 1447 or 1450.Gnanaprakasar, ...

, adopted son of

Parakramabahu VI Parâkramabâhu VI (1410/1412/1415–1467) was a king in the Sri Lankan kingdom of Kotte. He is the last great king in Sri Lanka who managed to unite the island under one flag. His rule is famous for the political stability which he maintained i ...

in 1450. In the second campaign, Prince Sapuma defeated Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan and ruled the region nearly 17 years as a representative of Kotte.

Background

Jaffna kingdom was in better peak in terms of power and economy during early 15th century. It had influential control over

Palk Strait The Palk Strait ( ta, பாக்கு நீரிணை ''Pākku Nīriṇai'', si, පෝක් සමුද්‍ර සන්ධිය ''Pok Samudra Sandhiya'') is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Distri ...

and extended its domination over Vanni,

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam Di ...

, and

Chilaw Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...

regions. Vanni principalities were paid tribute to the kingdom. Also, it was able to influence southern kingdoms of the island. The rise of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

influenced Southern India and extended its sovereignty to Jaffna. Therefore, Jaffna kingdom became powerless, weak, and a tributary state. Meanwhile, Kotte kingdom became powerful during the reign of Parakramabahu VI. He made a request to Prince Sapumal for invading Jaffna kingdom as the king wanted to keep him away from Kotte by considering future crown issues. However,

Rajaveliya Rajavaliya (line of kings) is an ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka. It contains the history of King Vijaya to King Vimaladharmasuriya ΙΙ. It is the only chronicle which contains continuous history of Sri Lanka written in Sinhalese language. Altho ...

did not mention such causes.

Campaign

Expeditions against the Jaffna kingdom had two phases that were led by Sapumal. The first campaign was able to defeat tributary Vanni states of Jaffna kingdom, but failed to subdue the Jaffna. The support of

was an additional strength to Jaffna forces. It occurred in 1449–50. Sapumal gathered forces from Kotte and launched the second attack, including center of Jaffna during 1453-4. Jaffna and Kannada forces put up stubborn resistance. Kannada forces had an outpost on the mainland that served as access command to the Jaffna peninsula. Vanniyar leaders and Indian Muslims also helped Jaffna. However, all of them were defeated and Sapumal conquered Jaffna kingdom. There are different concepts about the last days of Jaffna king Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan. Ancient records that described the Jaffna campaign do not say much about his last days, but ''Rajaveliya'' says that Sapumal slew him, took his consort and children prisoners, and brought them to Kotte. Also, some historical scholars suggest that he would have been killed in the final battle, but

Yalpana Vaipava Malai Yalpana Vaipava Malai ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண வைபவமாலை) is a book written by a Tamil poet named Mayil Vaakaanar ( ta, மயில் வாகனார்) in 1736. This book contains historical facts of the early Tam ...

and ''Kokila Saudesaya'' describe that he had fled to Southern India with his family.

Aftermath

Parakramabahu VI appointed Prince Sapumal as representative of Kotte and ruler of Jaffna. Sapumal received cooperation from local people including chieftains and the Jaffna army. The newly formed army consisted of Tamil, Malayalis, Tuluvar, and Singhalese. According to ''Yalpana Vaipava Malai'', Sapumal established Nallur city and built

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil ( ta, நல்லூர் கந்தசுவாமி கோவில் si, නල්ලුරුව ස්කන්ධ කුමාර කෝවිල) is a significant Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northe ...

. However, there are controversial concepts that say Nallur and temples were established before the arrival of Sapumal. Also, some scholars say that the campaign end the rule of

Aryacakravarti dynasty The Arya Chakravarti dynasty ( ta, ஆரியச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம், Sinhalese: ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lank ...

in Jaffna kingdom as the later kings of Jaffna did not have the title of Aryacakravarti. Sapumal ruled the Jaffna kingdom for 17 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotte conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom Wars involving the Jaffna kingdom Wars involving Sri Lanka Kingdom of Kotte Conflicts in 1449 Conflicts in 1450 Conflicts in 1453 Conflicts in 1454 1450s in Asia Military history of Sri Lanka