Kingdom of Anuradhapura
The Kingdom of Anuradhapura (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර රාජධානිය/ යුගය; Tamil: அனுராதபுர இராச்சியம்) was the first kingdom of Sri Lanka that flourished on the island from the 5th century B.C. to the 11th century A.D. History Early period The discovery of prehistoric tools and monuments such as urn burial grounds has proved that Sri Lanka was inhabited from very early times (Jayasuriya, 2016). Local chronicles reveal that Deva, Yakkhas, Raksasa, Pulinda, Vyadha, Sabara, Milakkha and Nagas were the early tribes who inhabited the country before the Arrival of Aryans including Prince Vijaya of Indian origin (Jayasuriya, 2016; Wikramagamage, 2004). The arrival of Aryans & the establishment of Anuradhapura The transition from Prehistory and Protohistory to the Historical Period of Sri Lanka began with the Indo-Aryan settlers headed by the legendary ruler Vijaya from North India. As mentioned in the chronicles, four Aryan groups had settled down in Sri Lanka from the 5th century B.C. (Wikramagamage, …
