Kotte Kingdom
| Kingdom of Kotte කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය |
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| Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||
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| Capital | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | |||||||||||
| Languages | Sinhalese | |||||||||||
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism | |||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||||
| Kingdom of Kotte | ||||||||||||
| • | 1412–1467 | Parakramabahu VI of Kotte | ||||||||||
| • | 1508–1528 | Parakramabahu IX of Kotte | ||||||||||
| • | 1551–1597 | Dharmapala of Kotte (Last) | ||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||
| • | Unification of all Sri Lanka | 1412 | ||||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 1597 | ||||||||||
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The Kingdom of Kotte, centered on Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (located just outside present-day Colombo), was a kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century.
The term Kotte is said to have derived from the Malayalam word "Kōttei" which means fortress.The word Kotte was introduced by Nissankamalla Alagakkonara, who was the founder of the fortress. They were believed to be from the city of Vanchi, identified with Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu. The Alagakkonara family have also been identified to be of Malayali ancestry.
Founded as a fortress by Minister Alakesvara (1370–1385) of the Alagakkonara clan of the Kingdom of Gampola during the reign of Vikramabahu III of Gampola to checkmate invasions from South India on the western coast, Parakramabahu VI later made Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte his capital city in 1412. It was well protected by the large swamp which surrounded the area.
Parakramabahu VI first became the king of Raigama in 1412, then in 1415 he made Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte his capital. The King upgraded the existing citadel and built a new royal palace. Parakramabahu VI waited until ties between the Vijayanagara Empire and Jaffna kingdom were severed. First he captured the Vanni and made its leaders loyal to him. Prince Sapumal was the commander of the Kotte army at the time.
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