Read Next View. Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo. Sigiri Saman Homestay. Ashen's Beach House. Taru Villas - Rampart Street. Poomaz Peace Palace - Ella. Villa Tulip Garden. Taru Villas - River Cottage. Lazy Koala Hostel - Adults Only. Trinco Prasanna Resort. About BC when a people called the Sinhalese migrated there from India. According to legend, the first settlers were led by a man named Vijaya. It soon became an integral part of Sinhalese culture. However, at first, Sri Lanka was divided into different states.
A man named Dutthagamani BC united them into a single kingdom. As well as being a powerful ruler Dutthagamani was a great builder and he erected palaces and temples.
The capital of the first Sri Lankan kingdom was at Anuradhapura. The staple diet of the Sri Lankan people was rice but to grow rice needs to stand in water. However in the hot climate of Sri Lanka water soon evaporated. Some water was provided by rain in the rainy season October to April but it was not enough. To gain extra water the people dammed streams and rivers. King Mahasena built large reservoirs and irrigation canals to take water from one area to another.
The network of reservoirs and canals gradually became bigger and more complex. In the 2nd 3rd and 4th centuries, AD Sri Lanka became a rich kingdom. She traded with India, China, Persia, and Ethiopia. However, from the 5th century, onward Sri Lanka suffered from invasions from India.
In the 10th century, the Chola kingdom became powerful in southern India. In the Cholas captured northern Sri Lanka and they made Polonnaruwa the capital. In they captured the south. However the Sinhalese continued to resist and in the Cholas withdrew from Rohana, in the Southeast.
In the Sinhalese ruler Vijayabahu recaptured the north. However, after his death in weak rulers succeeded him. Sri Lanka broke up into independent states. Then in Parakramabahu the Great became king of the realm of Dakkinadesa. This great ruler reunited Sri Lanka and he repaired the irrigation system. He died in In the 13th century, Sri Lankan power declined. There were repeated invasions from India and political instability. The irrigation system began to break down and the people drifted to the Southwest.
In the capital Polonnaruwa was abandoned. In the 13th century the Tamils settled in the north of Sri Lanka and by Sri Lanka was divided into 3 areas. In the north lived Tamils. There was a Sinhalese kingdom in the Southwest based in Kotte and another in the center and east based in Kandy.
A new era in the history of Sri Lanka began in when the n arrived. The Portuguese sought cinnamon a very valuable spice. In they sent an expedition to Colombo and asked permission to build a fort there.
King Vijayabahu of Kotte reluctantly assented. However the Portuguese then ordered the king to sell them his cinnamon at a price fixed by them. When the king refused the Portuguese used force. In the king of Kotte was forced to agree to give cinnamon to the Portuguese each year as tribute.
A story that fascinated me as a child and still does today. If you head to Nuwara Eliya in the hills, you will find a shrine to Princess Seetha where it is believed she was held captive.
Lankadeepa was the name used during the time of Gautama Buddha. He was the founder of the philosophy that is Buddhism 2, years ago. This name came to be after Prince Vijaya and his followers arrived on the island in the 5th Century BC. The sand on the beach where he landed was copper coloured with hues of red and brown.
Tamba means copper in Sanskrit, and hence the name. His kingdom is considered to be the first and the beginnings of the Sinhalese Kings that reigned over the island for thousands of years to come. The Romans commonly used this name for the island. This is the name by which the Europeans referred to Sri Lanka. A blogger wrote that the post-colonial name was associated with "terrorism, war and [the late Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai] Prabhakaran".
One young man told the BBC it was high time that names across the country showed some uniformity. Country profile: Sri Lanka.
Dilmah: Ceylon Tea.
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