Kingdom of Gampola

Kingdom of Gampola
ගම්පොළ
1341–1408 →
Capital		Gampola
Languages		Sinhala, Tamil
Government		Monarchy
List of Sri Lankan monarchs
•	1341-1353	Parâkkamabâhu IV
•	1353-1359	Parakkramabahu V
•	1359-1374	Wickramabahu III
•	1374-1408	Bhuvanakabahu V
History
•	Established	1341
•	Disestablished	1408

Gampola is a town 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 to the throne after his father and shifted the capital from Kurunegala to Gampola, with the support of the 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 honor of this sacred relic. He built a shrine at Niyamgampaya in Gampola. The rock temple "Gadaladeniya Viharaya" was constructed by king Vikramabahu III. Meanwhile, generation 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