The progressive era of Udarata

Main characteristics of the epoch. Konappu Bandara’s (also known as Wijesundara Bandara) triumph over Udarata in 1592, immediately following the death of Yamasinghe Bandara who had received the kingdom under the patronage and the aid of the Portuguese was an event which marked a new era both in the history of the kingdom and the history of Sri Lanka as a whole. Only when the way in which history evolved is closely examined in...

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The invasion of Kalinga Magha and the fall of the Polonnaruwa kingdom.

 It is commonplace that the disunity among the natives inevitably makes a state vulnerable, as it keeps them occupied in their internal struggles which has the result of drawing their attention from possible external conquests. A similar event occurred in ancient Sri Lanka, to be more specific, during the Polonnaruwa kingdom. Sri Lanka was marked by the Kalinga Magha invasion in 1215 AD which led to the fall of the Polonnaruwa kingdom...

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Viharamahadevi, a military woman, driven by patriotism.

It is characteristic that someone who carries in to effect something which is hard to perform in general becomes an important individual in the history. The same holds true for queen Viharamahadevi to whom most scholars attribute the victory of the war campaign undertaken by Dutugamunu in his pursuit of freedom from the South Indian invasion. Viharamahadevi being the noble mother queen of her son made herself extraordinary on account...

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Feminine role in politics and war in ancient monarchical Sri Lanka with special attention to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa period.

Though the roles ancient monarchs came to play in Sri Lankan history is a much discussed subject, an equal attention has not been paid to observe the role of their female counterparts. What is noteworthy in this regard is though infrequently, women have advanced to power more commonly owing to a critical political condition mostly followed by an assassination of a king, when the kingdom has fallen in to decline. However, while some...

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