Kingdom of Kandy | Last Kingdom of Sri Lanka
The Kingdom of Kandy (Sinhala: මහනුවර රාජධානිය/ යුගය; Tamil: கண்டி இராச்சியம்) was the last kingdom of Sri Lanka that flourished on the island from the late 15th century to the early 19th century A.D. History Early period Kandy is located in the area that belonged in ancient times to the Malaya Mandala in the central hilly region. Pre-Christian Early Brahmi Inscriptions along the banks of the Mahaweli Ganga indicate that the area had been inhabited by forest-dwelling Buddhist monks (Paranavitana, 1970). The chronicles reveal that Prince Dutugemunu (reigned: 161-137 B.C.) spent his time at Kotmale in the hill country. In the subsequent periods, several Sinhalese kings continued to maintain sub-kingdoms in the present Kandyan region administered through a trusted prince appointed by them. Sometimes, kings used hill country as a safe place during times of local unrest or as a fortress against invaders. With the decline of the civilizations of Anuradhapura , Polonnaruwa and Rohana, the royal c…
