|
Sri Lanka DECLINE OF THE SINHALESE KINGDOM, 1200-1500
Sinhalese Migration to the South
After Nissankamalla's death, a series of dynastic disputes
hastened the breakup of the kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Domestic
instability characterized the ensuing period, and incursions by
Chola and Pandyan invaders created greater turbulence,
culminating in a devastating campaign by the Kalinga, an eastern
Indian dynasty. When Magha, the Kalinga king, died in 1255,
another period of instability began, marking the beginning of the
abandonment of Polonnaruwa and the Sinhalese migration to the
southwest from the northern dry zone. The next three kings after
Magha ruled from rock fortresses to the west of Polonnaruwa. The
last king to rule from Polonnaruwa was Parakramabahu III (1278-
93). The migration is one of the great unsolved puzzles of South
Asian history and is of considerable interest to academics
because of the parallel abandonment of dry-zone civilizations in
modern Cambodia, northern Thailand, and Burma.
Data as of October 1988
|
