Kingdom of Gampola

Former kingdom in Sri Lanka
Kingdom of Gampola
ගම්පොළ
1341–1408
Flag of Gampola
Flag
A Map of Gampola
A Map of Gampola
CapitalGampola
Common languagesSinhala
Religion
Theravada Buddhism
GovernmentMonarchy
Monarch 
• 1341–1353
Bhuvanaikabahu IV
• 1341–1353
Parakkamabahu V
• 1357–1374
Vikramabahu III
• 1372–1391
Bhuvanaikabahu V
• 1391-1397
Vira Bahu II
• 1397–1408
Vira Alakesvara
• 1408-1410
Parakrama Bahu Epa
Historical eraTransitional period
• Established
1341
• Disestablished
1408
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Dambadeniya
Kingdom of Kotte
Part of a series on the
Historical states of Sri Lanka
Sinhala Kingdom
Kingdom of Tambapanni
543–437 BCE
Anuradhapura Kingdom
437 BCE–1017 CE
1017–1055
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
1055–1232
1232–1341
Kingdom of Gampola
1341–1371
1371–1597
Sri Lanka since 1948

flag Sri Lanka portal

  • v
  • t
  • e

Gampola is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. King Buwanekabahu IV (son of King Vijayabahu V) ascended the throne after his father and shifted the capital from Kurunegala to Gampola, with the support of General Senalankadhikara.

After his death, his brother, King Parakramabahu V (1353 AD - 1359 AD), who used to reign from Dedigama ascended the throne and moved to Gampola. He was dethroned by King Buwanekabahu IV's son, King Vikramabahu III (1359 AD - 1374 AD) and sent to Malaya.

King Vikramabahu III conveyed the tooth relic to Gampola and held a festival in honour of this sacred relic. He built a shrine at Niyamgampaya in Gampola. The rock temple "Gadaladeniya Viharaya" was constructed by king Vikramabahu III. Meanwhile, a general called "Alagakkonara" became more powerful than the king as they helped to defeat "Araya Chakravarthi", a Tamil ruler who had grabbed the throne of the northern country.

There are many Buddhist temples belonging to the Gampola era like "Lankathilaka" and "Ambekke dewalaya".

The last king of Gampola was King Buwanekabahu V. He ruled the island for 29 years. At the same time, King "Weerabahu II" (1392-1397 AD) ruled Raigama. King "Vijayabahu VI" (1397-1411 AD), who is from the Alagakkonara family, grabbed the throne from king Weerabahu II. The Chinese ambassador Zheng He, who was unhappy with the change of hands, carried off King Vijayabahu VI to China in 1411 AD. The next kingdom was the Kotte kingdom. A separate city was built in Kotte during this time by a noble known as Alagakkonara.

References

  • v
  • t
  • e
Pre-Anuradhapura period
House of Vijaya (543–237 BCE)
Anuradhapura period
House of Vijaya (543–237 BCE)
Chola dynasty (237–215 BCE)
House of Vijaya (215–205 BCE)
Chola dynasty (205–161 BCE)
House of Vijaya (161–103 BCE)
The Five Dravidians (103–89 BCE)
House of Vijaya (89 BCE–66 CE)
House of Lambakanna I (66–436)
The Six Dravidians (436–463)
House of Moriya (463–691)
House of Lambakanna II (691–1017)
Anuradhapura from Rohana
  • Kassapa VI (1029–1040)
  • Mahalana–Kitti (1040–1042)
  • Vikrama Pandu (1042–1043)
  • Jagatipala (1043–1046)
  • Parakrama Pandu (1046–1048)
  • Loka (1048–1054)
  • Kassapa VII (1054–1055)
Polonnaruwa period
House of Vijayabahu (1055–1187)
House of Kalinga (1187–1197)
House of Vijayabahu (1197–1200)
House of Kalinga (1200–1209)
House of Vijayabahu (1209–1210)
Lokissara (1210–1211)
House of Vijayabahu (1211–1212)
Pandyan dynasty (1212–1215)
Eastern Ganga dynasty (1215–1236)
Transitional period
House of Siri Sanga Bo (1220–1505)
Kandyan period
House of Dinajara (1591–1739)
Nayaks of Kandy (1739–1815)
Italics indicate regent.
  • Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Sri Lanka topics
Overviews
History
Periods
Epochs
Topics
Government
Law
Executive
Judiciary
Legislature
National security
Devolution
Politics
Geography
Economy
Society
Topics
Culture
Issues
  • Category
  • Portal

Stub icon

This Sri Lankan history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e