The political history of the Kingdoms of Yapahuwa, Kurunegala and Gampala
| dc.contributor.author | Gunasinghe, Pattiyage Ananda Tissa | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-09-10T05:10:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-09-10T05:10:39Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1970 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The subject covered by this Thesis is the political history of Sri Lanka during the period after the death of Parak- -ramabahu II of Dambadeniya, and the rise of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte in the first decade of the fifteenth century. This period saw fundamental changes in the nature and structure of the State in Sri Lanka, The kings of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruva claimed and exercised suzerainty over the whole country, ruling the various areas through governors and other officials appointed by them. The large surpluses of food that resulted from a regular cultivation of rice in a tank-based agri- -cultural system enabled the rulers of these kingdoms to maintain a powerful army and a well organised administration. While there were revolts against various kings and dynasties, these were attempts to supplant the rulers rather than attempts to destroy the unitary structure of the State in order to establish provincial centres of power. The one systematic attempt to establish regional autonomy, i.e. the revolt of Rohana during the reign of Parakramabahu I, was ruthlessly crushed by the central government. The political structure of the country during the period covered by this study is a complete contrast to this. After the death of Parakramab&ahu I of Polonnaruva, there was,except for a brief period under Nissankamalla, virtual anarchy in the country until the commencement of the reign of Vijayabahu III, who established himself at Daibadeniya. He, his son Paraékramabahu II, and the two sons of the latter, Vijayabahu IV and Bhuvenekabahu I, brought the larger portion of the Island under their control, and for a period of nearly fifty years the country enjoyed a degree of stability. But with the death of Bhuvenekabahu I in 1284 A.D. as a result of an invasion launched by the Pandyan kingdom, and the destruction of the kingdom of Yapahuva, the disintegration of the State commenced, When the Dambadeniya dynasty reestablished itself again, in 1296 A.D.e, its rulers could set up their capital only at Kurunagala, with the result that they lost control of the northern portion of the kingdom. After the death of Pardkramabahu IV of the Dambadeniya dynasty, the country gradually broke up into a large nwaber of kingdoms and principalities, until, in 1350 A.D., the effective rule of the consecrated king of the Island was confined only to a small area in and around Gampala. Another feature of this period was the establishnent of a separate centre of political power in the Jaffna peninsula, which, in time, became linguistically different from the rest of the Island. At the end of the period of our study there emerges a picture, not of one unified, integrated State covering the whole Island, governed by a universally accepted ruler, but a situation where the consecrated ruler of the Island exercised authority only over the central and south-western portions of the country, (though he claimed nominal authority over the whole Island), depending for his government on the support of powerful noble families, with a weak control over the various regional authorities. This change in the structure of the State was accompanied by a change in the base of the power of the State from the dry zone section of the Island $6 the wet zone section, and an analysis of this change suggests that the transformation in the nature of the State occurred precisely because of this chanve of economic environment. In contrast to the dry zone, the quantum of land available for distribution was much less, and even the land distributed, and the land retained and cultivated by the State, yielded a lesser surplus over and above subsistence needs. As a result, the revenues of the State fell, with the State no longer being able to maintain the powerful military forces that were its ultimate saurce of authority, and its ultimate sanéthon against revolt and separatism by its regional authorities. Along with these developments within the Island arose a situation in the outside world where a great upsurge of trade was taking place. The Crusades, in West Asia, led to a great demand for eastern goods, including products of Sri Lanka such as spices and other goods, to be sold in Europe, and this was accompanied by technical developments in Chinese nautical science, which enabled Chinese mariners to sail directly into the Indian Ocean for purposes of trade. South India, Sri Lanka and other south-east Asian countries formed part of a trade net-work operated by South Indian guilds. With this expansion of trade, the demand for agricultural and other products found in the south-western and central regions of Sri Lanka increased, with the result that the hereditary land-owning class, which formed the official hierarchy of the State, greatly increased its economic wealth. This in turn resulted in the rise of powerful noble families, such as the Menavaras, the Ganavasis, the Alagakkonaras, etc. who, on the one hand, set up regional centres of autonomy, and on the other hand, exercised considerable power and influence in the central government. It is this interaction of forces that forms the subject matter of this study. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/837 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of Peradeniya | |
| dc.subject | History | |
| dc.title | The political history of the Kingdoms of Yapahuwa, Kurunegala and Gampala | |
| dc.type | Thesis |