Kingdom of Kotte
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Kingdom of Kotte කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1412–1597 | |||||||||||||
Flag of Kotte | |||||||||||||
Theravada Buddhism | |||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Monarch | |||||||||||||
• 1412–1467 | Parakramabahu VI | ||||||||||||
• 1472-1480 | Bhuvanaikabahu VI | ||||||||||||
• 1484-1518 | Parakramabahu VIII | ||||||||||||
• 1551–1597 | Dharmapala | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Transitional period | ||||||||||||
1412 | |||||||||||||
• Disestablishment | 27 May 1597 | ||||||||||||
|
Historical states of Sri Lanka | |
---|---|
1232–1620 | |
1521–1594 |
The Kingdom of Kotte (
Kotte, under the rule of
The Kotte Kingdom was largely dissolved during the
Etymology
The term Kotte is said to have derived from the
History
Kotte was founded as a fortress by Minister Alakesvara (1370–1385) of the Alagakkonara clan of the Kingdom of Gampola during the reign of Vikramabahu III of Gampola to checkmate invasions from South India on the western coast; Parakramabahu VI later made Kotte his capital city in 1412. It was well protected by the large swamp that surrounded the area.[7]
Rise
In 1450, Parakramabahu VI had, with his conquest of the Jaffna kingdom in northern Sri Lanka, unified all of Sri Lanka. 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 Thera, Weedagama Maihree thero, and Karagala Wanarathana thero. By 1477, however, 10 years after the death of Parakramabahu VI, regional kingdoms became more powerful. 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
Parakramabahu IX of Kotte moved the capital to Kelaniya in 1509 and it stayed there until 1528.
Arrival of the Portuguese
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] They were taken by a tortuous route to the capital, Kotte, which was actually quite close by. This was done in order to create the impression that the kingdom was too far inland to make invasion from the harbour feasible. This plan was, however, spoilt by the fact that the Portuguese who remained with the ship fired the ship's cannon repeatedly, which sound was heard by the Portuguese party being taken to Kotte.[11] This incident gave rise to the local saying "Parangiya Kotte Giya Vage" ("like the Portuguese went to Kotte")[11] [පරන්ගියා කොට්ටේ ගියා වගේ], which refers to doing something or going somewhere in a roundabout route instead of a direct route. However, during this meeting, the Portuguese managed to secure a trade agreement with the Kotte king.[12]
Demise
Kotte Kingdom's downfall began with an event in 1521 that became known as the "
In 1565,[15] the capital of Kotte was abandoned by Dharmapala of Kotte due to frequent attacks from the Kingdom of Sitawaka led by Mayadunne and his son Rajasinghe I; he was taken into Colombo under Portuguese protection.[16] Most of the areas of Kotte Kingdom were annexed to the Kingdom of Sitawaka[17] however after the downfall of Sitawaka in 1594, these areas were re-annexed to the Kotte kingdom.[18] In 1597 Dharmapala gifted the Kotte Kingdom to the Portuguese throne and the Kotte era was officially ended.
Military
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 the Portuguese expressing unfamiliarity with the designs of Sinhalese ordinance used by 1519. 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
In the final periods of the kingdom, the Portuguese were often in charge of the military.
- Alagakkonara
- Parakramabahu VI of Kotte
- Manikka Taleivar[21]
- Bhuvanekabahu VI, known also as Sapumal Kumaraya or Chempaka Perumal.
- Veediya Bandara
- Prince of Ambulugala
- Samarakone Rala
Significant military victories of Kingdom of Kotte
- 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 Empireas retaliation to looting a ship belonging to Kotte, and making that port a tributary paying port of the kingdom.
Trade
The kingdom was situated near
Literature
One of the greatest fields that flourished under his rule was 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
- ven Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thero[22]
- ven Waththawe
- ven Weedagama Maithree
Notable art works of the era
Sandesha poems
- Kokila Sandesha
- Paravi Sandesha
- Gira Sandesha
- Salalihini Sandesha
- Hansa Sandesha
- Nilakobo Sandesha
Poems and other anthology
- Lowada Sangarawa
- Buduguna Alankaraya
- Gutthila kaawya
- Kawyashekaraya
- Parakumba Siritha
- Saddharmarathnakaraya
Buddhist education institutions started in the era
These institutions paved way not only to the enhancement of Buddhist literature but also to the development of
- Padmawthi Piriwena, Karagala
- Vijayaba Piriwena,Thotagamuwa
- Sunethradevi Piriwena, Papiliyana
- Siri Perakumba Pirivena, Ethul Kotte
Aryvedic medical books written in Kotte era
- Waidya Chinthamani
- Yoga Rathnakaraya
Religion
Buddhism was the state religion for most of its existence. Parakramabahu VI built a shrine for the Sacred Tooth Relic near the royal palace. Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya was also enshrined by Parakramabahu VI to celebrate the Esala Perahara Pegent, in Honor of the Sacred Tooth relic. He also repaired Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara; which along with the Sri Perakumba Pirivena and Sunethra Devi Pirivena have become the most famous monasteries in the country.
Hinduism was also given a foremost place in society. Most of the Buddhist temples entrusted shrines of Hindu gods
The Portuguese converted much of the population into the
Baththotamulla
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
- Kastane
- Lascarins
- Saddharmarathnakaraya
- Siege of Kotte (1557–1558)
- List of Sri Lankan monarchs
- History of Sri Lanka
Notes
References
- ^ Somaratne, G. P. V. (1984). The Sri Lanka Archives, Volume 2. Department of National Archives. p. 1.
- ISBN 9780313076961.
- ISBN 9781134317776.
- ^ de Silva, K.M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. Delhi: University of Ceylon. p. 86.
- ISBN 9780226789507.
- ^ 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) - ^ "The Kotte Dynasty and its Portuguese allies". Humphry Coddrington. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
- JSTOR 43483739.
- ^ OCLC 10531673.
- ISBN 9789083176901.
- ^ OCLC 12552979.
- OCLC 10531673.
- ISBN 81-206-1029-6
- OCLC 10531673.
- OCLC 12552979.
- OCLC 10531673.
- OCLC 10531673.
- OCLC 10531673.
- JSTOR 45385041.
- ^ Weerakkody, P.; Nanayakkara, A. (2005). "Sinhala Weapons and Armor: Adaptation in Response to European Style Warfare".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISBN 9789556651492
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 9780842607919.
External links
- හත්වැනි බුවනෙකබාහුගේ වටිනාපහ පුවරු ලිපිය (VII Buwanekabahu) Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Sinhala)
- හෙළ සාහිත්යයේ ස්වර්ණමය යුගය හා කෝට්ටේ සවැනි පරාක්රමබාහු රජතුමා Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Sinhala)