Tambapanni According to popular tradition, the Kingdom of Tambapanni was founded by
Prince Vijaya and his 700 followers after landing on the island, in a district near modern day
Mannar which is believed to be the district of Chilaw, after leaving
Suppāraka. It is recorded the Vijaya made his landing on the day of Buddha's death. Vijaya claimed
Tambapanni his capital and soon the whole island come under this name. Tambapanni was originally inhabited and governed by
Yakkhas, having their capital at
Sirīsavatthu and their queen
Kuveni. According to the
Samyutta Commentary, Tambapanni was one hundred
leagues in extent. After landing in Tambapanni, Vijaya is believed to have met
Kuveni, a legendary queen of the
yakkhas, who was disguised as a beautiful woman but was really a (devil) named Sesapathi. During the end of his reign Vijaya, who was having trouble choosing a successor, sent a letter to the city of his ancestors,
Sinhapura, in order to invite his brother
Sumitta to take over the throne. However Vijaya had died before the letter had reached its destination so the elected minister of the people
Upatissa, the Chief government minister or prime minister and leading chief among the
Sinhalese became
regent and acted as regent for a year. After his coronation which was held in the Kingdom of Tambapanni, he left it building another one bearing his own name. While his was king, Upatissa established the new capital
Upatissagāma, in which the kingdom was moved to from the
Kingdom of Tambapanni. When Vijaya's letter arrived Sumitta had already succeeded his father as king of his country, and so he sent his son
Panduvasdeva to rule Upatissa Nuwara. It was named after the regent king
Upatissa, who was the prime minister of
Vijaya.
Anuradhapura In 377 BC, King
Pandukabhaya (437–367 BC) made
Anuradhapura his capital and developed it into a prosperous city. Anuradhapura (Anurapura) was named after the minister who first established the village and after a grandfather of Pandukabhaya who lived there. The name was also derived from the city's establishment on the
auspicious asterism called Anura. Anuradhapura was the capital of all the monarchs who ruled from the dynasty. The consecration ceremonies and rituals associated with kingship began during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa, under the influence of Ashoka of India. The whole country was brought under the rule of a single monarch by Dutthagamani for the first time. Before this, it had several principalities independent of the Anuradhapura Kingdom. Several invasions have been made against the Anuradhapura Kingdom, all of which were launched from
South India. The first invasion recorded in the history of the country is during the reign of
Suratissa (247–237 BC), where he was overthrown by two horse dealers from South India named Sena and Guththika. After ruling the country for 22 years, they were defeated by
Asela (215–205 BC), who was in turn overthrown by another invasion led by a
Chola prince named
Ellalan (205–161 BC). Elara ruled for 44 years before being defeated by Dutthagamani. The country was invaded again in 103 BC by
five Dravidian chiefs, who ruled until 89 BC when they were defeated by
Valagamba. ==Genealogy==