Tamil kingdom in present-day Sri Lanka (1215–1619)
For other uses, see Jaffna (disambiguation).
Kingdom of Jaffna
யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு(Tamil)
Yālppāṇa irācciyam
යාපනය රාජධානිය(Sinhala)
Yāpanaya rājadhāniya
1215–1619
A reconstruction of the Jaffna kingdom flag (Nandi Kodi) based on archaeological and literary evidence.[1]
Jaffna kingdom at its greatest extent (circa 1350)
Jaffna kingdom in 1619
Capital
Nallur
Common languages
Tamil
Religion
Hinduism (Shaivism)
Government
Monarchy
Aryacakravarti
• 1215–1255[2][3][4][5]
Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan a.k.a. Kalinga Magha
• 1277–1284
Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan
• 1617–1619
Cankili II
Historical era
Transitional period
• Kalinga Magha's invasion of Sri Lanka led to the fall of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.[2][3][4][5]
1215
• Pandyas installed Aryacakravarti
1277
• Independence from Pandya dynasty
1323
• Jaffna in the Kingdom of Kotte
1450
• Aryacakravarti dynasty restored
1467
• Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
1619
Currency
Setu coins
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
Chola dynasty
Pandya dynasty
Portuguese Ceylon
The Jaffna kingdom (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, Sinhala: යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1619 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally thought to have been established after the invasion of Kalinga Magha from Kalinga in India.[2][3][4][5] Established as a powerful force in the north, northeast and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute-paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence[2][6] when the last Pandyan ruler of Madurai was defeated and expelled in 1323 by Malik Kafur, the army general of the Delhi Sultanate.[7] For a brief period in the early to mid-14th century it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka, to which all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was overpowered by the rival Kotte kingdom around 1450 when it was invaded by Prince Sapumal under the orders of Parakramabahu VI.[6][2][3][4][5]
It gained independence from Kingdom of Kotte control in 1467,[8] and its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls, elephant exports and land revenue.[9][10] It was less feudal than most of the other regional kingdoms on the island of Sri Lanka of the period.[10] During this period, important local Tamil literature was produced and Hindu temples were built, including an academy for language advancement.[11][12][13] The Sinhalese Nampota dated in its present form to the 14th or 15th century CE suggests that the whole of the Jaffna Kingdom, including parts of the modern Trincomalee District, was recognised as a Tamil region by the name Demala-pattanama (Tamil city).[14] In this work, a number of villages that are now situated in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts are mentioned as places in Demala-pattanama.[15]
The arrival of the Portuguese on the island of Sri Lanka in 1505, and its strategic location in the Palk Strait connecting all interior Sinhalese kingdoms to South India, created political problems. Many of its kings confronted and ultimately made peace with the Portuguese. In 1617, Cankili II, a usurper to the throne, confronted the Portuguese but was defeated, thus bringing the kingdom's independent existence to an end in 1619.[16][17] Although rebels like Migapulle Arachchi—with the help of the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom—tried to recover the kingdom, they were eventually defeated.[18][19] Nallur, a suburb of modern Jaffna town, was its capital.
^Mudaliyar C, Rasanayagam (1993). Ancient Jaffna: being a research into the history of Jaffna from very early times to the Portuguese period. New Delhi Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120602106.
^ abcdeCite error: The named reference DS91 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcdNadarajan, V. History of Ceylon Tamils, p. 72
^ abcdIndrapala, K. Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon, p. 16
^ abcdCite error: The named reference Cod74 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference PP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^The History of Sri Lanka by Patrick Peebles, p. 31
^Cite error: The named reference PP34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference PB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference TA29 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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^Cite error: The named reference Kunarasap73 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference G64-65 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Indrapala, K – The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity: The Tamils in Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa.
^"Nampota". Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference a58 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Gnanaprakasar, S. A critical history of Jaffna, pp. 153–172
^An historical relation of the island Ceylon, Volume 1, by Robert Knox and JHO Paulusz, pp. 19–47.
^An historical relation of the island Ceylon, Volume 1, by Robert Knox and JHO Paulusz, p. 43.
The Jaffnakingdom (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, Sinhala: යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1619 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of...
the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. Jaffna's suburb Nallur served as the capital of the four-century-long medieval Tamil JaffnaKingdom. Prior...
The Portuguese conquest of the Jaffnakingdom occurred after Portuguese traders arrived at the rival Kotte kingdom in the southwest of modern Sri Lanka...
Ruins of the JaffnaKingdom refer to the remains of the remaining building structures of the JaffnaKingdom, the royal abode and structure of the ruling...
The flag of the JaffnaKingdom of the Aryacakravarti line of kings of Jaffnakingdom in northern Sri Lanka consisted of the couchant bull (also called...
Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Kotte, under the rule of Ming-backed Parakramabahu VI, conquered the Jaffnakingdom and...
co-existed in Sri Lanka spanning certain partial periods, including the Jaffnakingdom (which existed 1215–1624 CE), Vanni chieftaincies (which existed from...
the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval JaffnaKingdom. The peninsula was historically divided...
Chola, Pallava, Kalinga, and Rajarata. Jaffna District was thereafter part of the pre-colonial Jaffnakingdom. The district then came under Portuguese...
When to date the start of the history of the Jaffnakingdom is debated among historians. The name 'Ko Veta' is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried...
provinces. Modern Sri Lankan Tamils descend from residents of the JaffnaKingdom, a former kingdom in the north of Sri Lanka and Vannimai chieftaincies from the...
The burning of the Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය ගිනිබත් කිරීම, Yāpanaya...
centuries, allying at various times with the JaffnaKingdom, the Madurai Nayak dynasty of South India, Sitawaka Kingdom, and the Dutch colonizers to ensure its...
themselves for dominance. The JaffnaKingdom, and vanni chieftaincies inhabited by Eelam Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled...
the Jaffnakingdom. Also known as the Aryacakravarti dynasty, was a northern kingdom centred around the Jaffna Peninsula. In 1247, the Malay kingdom of...
Cinkaiariyan and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan, monarchs of the Jaffnakingdom. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India...
districts of the ascending Jaffnakingdom to the Koneswaram shrine. The Tamil Aryacakravarti dynasty kings of the Jaffnakingdom paid homage to the Koneswaram...
Portuguese in the conquest of the Jaffnakingdom, who aligned and also commanded over the troops of Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom, whose king was Raghunatha Nayak...
capitals that followed the fall of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom and the creation of the Jaffnakingdom and Crisis of the Sixteenth Century. Periodization of...
Jaffna Kings, formerly known as Jaffna Stallions, are a franchise cricket team which plays in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). On December 16, 2020, the...
the two millennia of Sinhalese kingdoms, other political entities also existed on the island, including the JaffnaKingdom, the Vanni chieftaincies and...
Jaffna and the south side of the harbour at Muttur. Trincomalee was made into a fortified port town following the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom...
சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம், Sinhalese: ආර්ය චක්රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the JaffnaKingdom in Sri Lanka. The earliest Sri Lankan sources, between 1277 and 1283...
the collapse of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa in the 13th century, as well as the establishment of the JaffnaKingdom in the Jaffna Peninsula. Control of...
prominent king of the JaffnaKingdom Cankili II - last king of the Jaffnakingdom Migapulle Arachchi - Feudal lord of JaffnaKingdom who rebelled against...
entirety of the island of Sri Lanka under one crown. By 1467, however, the JaffnaKingdom to the north had asserted its independence. In 1505 the first Portuguese...