The Kings and their activities during the reign of Kotte are described in the following explanations. The kingdom was controlled by nine different rulers. The arrival of the Portuguese and the Vijayaba Kollaya were the two most significant events that happened during the reign.
The Rulers in Kotte Reign
1. King VI Sri Parakramabahu (1410-1467)
2. King Jayaweera Parakramabahu (1467-1469)
3. King VI Buwanekabahu (1469-1477)
4. King VII Panditha Parakramabahu (1477-1484)
5. King VIII Weera Parakramabahu (1484-1509)
6. King IX Dharma Parakramabahu (1509-1518)
7. King VI Vijayabahu (1518-1521)
8. King VII Buwanekaba (1521-1551)
9. Prince Don Juwan Dharmapala
(1551-1597)
King
VI Sri Parakramabahu (1410-1467)
In 1410, 6th Sri Parakramabahu became the King of the island. There were no rulers in the country from 1408 to 1410. Parakrama Epa, the son of King 6th Vijayabahu, arrived in Sri Lanka In 1414 and controlled the Dedigama area. Then he waged war against King 6th Sri Parakramabahu and King 6th Sri Parakramabahu defeated Parakrama Epa.
Sri Lanka
was divided into sub divisions after the reign of King II Parakramabahu (1236-1270).
All of the divisions were united as one country under the King 6th
Parakramabahu. The King did an excellent job for the land, nation and the
people as well.
Sunethra
Devi Pirivena, his mother’s name was the name he gave to the Pirivena he built
in Pepiliyana. He also restored Sumana Saman temple in Ratnapura and the Stupa of
Mahiyanganaya. The tooth relic was housed by the King at a relic temple in
Kotte. The King was a well-educated man. He has made a significant contribution
to Sinhala Literature. The King wrote two books: ‘Ruwan Mala’ and ‘Piyum Mala’.
Kavya
Shekaraya, Selalihini
Sandeshaya, Paravi Sandeshaya, Loweda Sangarawa, Budugunaalankaraya, Guththila
Kavya are some of the poets written during the reign. Thotagamuwe Sri
Rahula thero, Weththewe thero, Devinuwara Irugal Kulathilaka
thero and Veedagama maithree thero were among the scholars in the
season.
King
Jayaweera Parakramabahu (1467-1469)
This was
the grand-son of King VI Parakramabahu. No written history available for the
King.
King
VI Buwanekabahu (1469-1477)
In 1469, Prince
Sapumal became the King as VI Buwanekabahu. During his reign, Arya
Chakrawarthi invaded Jaffna once more, but the King overcame them. In 1469,
a Prince named Senasammatha Wickramabahu ascended to the throne of Kandy
with the support of the entire Kandy population.
The Prince then
attempted to destabilize the Kotte reign by engaging in immoral behaviour. He
was the major enemy for the King. After the King dispatched a battalion to
Kandy, the Prince was forced to surrender.
King
VII Panditha Parakramabahu (1477-1484)
He was the
son of King VI Buwanekabahu. The King was defeated by Prince Ambulugala
also known as 8th Weera Parakramabahu in 1484. There was no written
history other than that.
King
VIII Weera Parakramabahu (1484-1509)
In 1477,
Prince Ambulugala took over as King VIII Weera Parakramabahu after King VII
Panditha Parakramabahu died. During the reign of the King, Portuguese were
landed in the country in 1505. After that there was an agreement between the
Portuguese and the King including the governance of the beach areas of Sri
Lanka.
The Portuguese
agreed to secure the beach side of the island in exchange for 80 tons of
Cinnamon from the King. He divided the kingdom into four sections and assigned
Dharma Parakramabahu, Vijayabahu, Rajasinghe and Raigam Bandara to each.
King
IX Dharma Parakramabahu (1509-1518)
He was the
eldest son of King VIII Weera Parakramabahu. After he got the kingship, Prince
Vijayabahu waged war against him. Then, the King got help from the Portuguese for
the first time in history. In 1518, the King was defeated by King VI
Vijayabahu.
King
VI Vijayabahu (1518-1521)
Prince
Ambulugala, also known as 8th Weera Parakramabahu had a son named King
6th Vijayabahu (1484 - 1509). He was the second son. King 9th Dharma
Parakramabahu became the ruler of Kotte after the reign of King 8th
Weera Parakramabahu (1509-1518). He was the eldest son of King 8th
Weera Parakramabahu.
In 1518, 9th
Dharma Parakramabahu was defeated by King 6th Vijayabahu and he
became the ruler in Kotte reign. Buwanekabahu, Raigam Bandara and Mayadunne
were the three sons of the King while Dewaraja was his step son.
King had a
major necessity to crown the throne to his step son, Dewaraja. After hearing of
it, three sons were against the incident and fled the Palace.
Vijayaba
Kollaya
The incident that is going to get the throne in Kotte reign from King 6th Vijayabahu is known as Vijayaba Kollaya. During the reign of King Jayaweera in Kandy, the three princes had used soldiers to surround the Palace. Then the King decided to reach an agreement with the princes. However, the King used a person to assassinate them. The princes were aware of this and used a foreign individual to assassinate the King. Then they took over the Kingdom. The incident took place in 1521. That was ‘Vijayaba Kollaya’.
After that, Kotte was divided into three parts. Kotte, Seethawaka and Raigama.
· Kotte – Prince Buwanekaba
· Seethawaka – Prince Mayadunne
· Raigama – Raigam Bandara
King VII
Buwanekaba (1521-1551)
Prince
Buwanekaba ascended to the throne in Kotte following the Vijayaba Kollaya.
But on the other hand, Prince Mayadunne waged war against him in order to claim
the throne of Kotte. In 1505, the Portuguese landed in Sri Lanka. The King then
sought assistance from the Portuguese.
A daughter
named Samudra was the King’s one and only child. He made the decision to
entrust his daughter to Veediye Bandara, a major commander in the
King’s army. Because of this royal heritage, Prince Mayadunne became enraged
with the King.
The King then
decided to hand-over the throne to prince Dharmapala. Prince Dharmapala was the
son of the King’s daughter. The Portuguese aided the King in this situation and
they presented a crown to the prince Dharmapala.
In 1551, King
Buwanekaba’s reign came to an end when a Portuguese soldier shot him in the
palace in Kelaniya. Prince Dharmapala was crowned as Don Juwan Dharmapala in
1551.
Prince Don Juwan Dharmapala (1551-1597)
After the
death of King VII Buwanekaba, the throne was given to Prince Dharmapala. But he
was still younger and unable to manage the country at the time. As a result, his
father, Veediye Bandara ruled over the kingdom.
The Portuguese
harassed Buddhists and the people of the reign on several occasions.
Then Veediye Bandara fought against them but lacked the power to conduct
war.
In 1557,
Prince Dharmapala surrendered to the Portuguese after the death of Veediye
Bandara. Then the Portuguese took control of Kotte. The people were unhappy
with the prince, thus the tooth relic was given to the Prince Mayadunne in
Seethawaka.
Seethawaka grew in strength as a result of these factors. Portuguese power was eliminated as a result of the two conflicts between Portuguese and Sinhalese in Mulleriyawa and Kotte in 1562 and 1564. Prince Dharmapala died in 1597.
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