Bibliography of Sri Lanka

Last updated November 17, 2022

Overviews

Blaze, L. E (1995). History of Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1074-3.
Blaze, L. E (1995). The Story of Lanka. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1074-3.
de Silva, K. M. (2005). A History of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa. p. 782. ISBN 955-8095-92-3.
Ludowyk, E. F. C. (1985). The Story of Ceylon. Navrang Booksellers & Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7013-020-8.
Mittal, J. P. (2006). "Other dynasties". History of Ancient India: From 4250 BC to 637 AD. Vol. 2 of History of Ancient India: A New Version. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 81-269-0616-2.
Nicholas, C. W.; Paranavitana, S. (1961). A Concise History of Ceylon. Colombo University Press.
Peebles, Patrick (2006). The History of Sri Lanka. Greenwood. ISBN 9780313332050.
Seneviratna, Anuradha (1989). The Springs of Sinhala Civilization. Navrang Booksellers & Publishers. LCCN 89906331. OCLC 21524601.
Siriweera, W. I. (2004). History of Sri Lanka. Dayawansa Jayakodi & Company. ISBN 978-955-551-257-2.
Tinker, Hugh (1990). South Asia: A Short History. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824812875.
Yogasundaram, Nath (2008). A Comprehensive History of Sri Lanka. Vijitha Yapa Publishers. ISBN 978-955-665-002-0.
Silva, K.M. de History of Sri Lanka (1982) complete text online free

History

Primary sources

Dhammakitti; tr. Geiger, Wilhelm; tr. Rickmers, C. Habel (1212). Culavamsa: Being the More Recent part of the Mahavamsa (1929 ed.). Colombo: Ceylon Govt. Information Dept.
ed. & tr. Oldenberg, Hermann (1879). The Dîpavaṃsa, an Ancient Buddhist Historical Record. Williams and Norgate.{{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
ed. Gunasekara, B. (1900). The Rajavaliya : or, A historical narrative of Sinhalese kings from Vijaya to Vimala Dharma Surya II. Colombo: Government Printer, Ceylon. ISBN 81-206-1029-6. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2014-12-14.{{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
Knox, Robert (1681). An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon. London: Richard Chiswell.
tr. Geiger, Wilhelm; Bode, Mabel Haynes (1912). Mahavamsa : the great chronicle of Ceylon. London: Oxford University Press.
Moratuwagama, H. M. (1996). සිංහල ථුපවංසය—Sinhala Thupavansaya[Sinhala Thupavamsa] (in Sinhala). Rathna Publishers. ISBN 978-955-569-068-3.

By era

Tambapanni & Upatissa Nuwara period

Mittal, J. P. (2006). "Other dynasties". History of Ancient India: From 4250 BC to 637 AD. Vol. 2 of History of Ancient India: A New Version. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 81-269-0616-2.

Anuradhapura period

Bandaranayake, Senake (2007). Sigiriya . Central Cultural Fund. ISBN 978-955-613-111-6.
Lokubandara, W. J. M. (2007). The Mistique of Sigiriya — Whispers of the Mirror Wall. Godage International Publishers. ISBN 978-955-30-0610-3.
Mendis, Ranjan Chinthaka (1999). The Story of Anuradhapura. Lakshmi Mendis. ISBN 978-955-96704-0-7.
Perera, Lakshman S. (2001). The Institutions of Ancient Ceylon from Inscriptions. Vol. 1. International Centre for Ethnic Studies. ISBN 978-955-580-055-6.
Rambukwelle, P. B. (1993). Commentary on Sinhala Kingship — Vijaya to Kalinga Magha. Sridevi Printers. ISBN 978-955-95565-0-3.
Siriweera, W. I. (2004). History of Sri Lanka. Dayawansa Jayakodi & Company. ISBN 978-955-551-257-2.
Wijesooriya, S. (2006). A Concise Sinhala Mahavamsa. Participatory Development Forum. ISBN 978-955-9140-31-3.
Paranavithana, Senarath (July 1936). "Two Royal Titles of the Early Sinhalese, and the Origin of Kingship in Ancient Ceylon". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 68 (3): 443–462. doi:10.1017/S0035869X0007725X.

Polonnaruwa period

Jaffna period

Abeysinghe, Tikiri (2005). Jaffna Under the Portuguese. Colombo: Stamford Lake. p. 66. ISBN 955-1131-70-1 .
De Queroz, Fernao (1992). The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon. New Delhi: Vedam Books. p. 1274. ISBN 81-206-0764-3.
Gnanaprakasar, Swamy (2003). A Critical History of Jaffna. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. p. 122. ISBN 81-206-1686-3.
Kunarasa, K (2003). The Jaffna Dynasty. Johor Bahru: Dynasty of Jaffna King’s Historical Society. p. 122. ISBN 955-8455-00-8.
Tambiah, H. W (2001). Laws and customs of Tamils of Jaffna (revised ed.). Colombo: Women’s Education & Research Centre. p. 259. ISBN 955-9261-16-9.

Dambadeniya period

Gampola period

Kotte period

Siriweera, W. I. (1994). A Study of the Economic History of Pre Modern Sri Lanka. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-7621-2.
da Silva, O. M. (1990). Fidalgos in the kingdom of Kotte, Sri Lanka, 1505-1656: the Portuguese in Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Harwoods Publishers.
Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 2. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. (Link). OCLC 12552979.

Sitawaka period

Siriweera, W. I. (1994). A Study of the Economic History of Pre Modern Sri Lanka. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-7621-2.
Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 2. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. (Link). OCLC 12552979.

Kandyan period

Siriweera, W. I. (1994). A Study of the Economic History of Pre Modern Sri Lanka. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-7621-2.
Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 2. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. (Link). OCLC 12552979.
C. Gaston Perera, Kandy Fights the Portuguese – A Military History of Kandyan Resistance. Vijithayapa Publications: Sri Lanka, June 2007. ISBN 978-955-1266-77-6

British Ceylon

Brohier, RL, The Golden Age of Military Adventure in Ceylon: an account of the Uva Rebellion 1817-1818. Colombo: 1933
Malalgoda, Kitsiri (1976). Buddhism in Sinhalese Society, 1750–1900: A Study of Religious Revival and Change. U. of California Press. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-14.
Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule, 1795–1932. Oxford U.P. ISBN 9780714620190.
Peebles, Patrick (2001). The Plantation Tamils of Ceylon. Continuum International. ISBN 9780718501549.
Schrikker. Alicia (2007). Dutch and British Colonial Intervention in Sri Lanka, 1780–1815: Expansion and Reform. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004156029.
Spencer, Jonathan (1990). Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780203407417.
Wenzlhuemer, Roland (2008). From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880–1900: An Economic and Social History. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004163614.
Wickramasinghe, Nira (2006). Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824830168.
Muthiah, Wesley and Wanasinghe, Sydney, Britain, World War 2 and the Sama Samajists, Young Socialist Publication, Colombo, 1996
Sivasundaram, Sujit. "Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Migration in the Advent of British Rule to Sri Lanka," American Historical Review (2010) 115#2 pp 428–452. in JSTOR
Wenzlhuemer, Roland. "Indian Labour Immigration and British Labour Policy in Nineteenth‐Century Ceylon," Modern Asian Studies (2007) 41:575–602

1948–present

Spencer, Jonathan (1990). Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780203407417.
Wickramasinghe, Nira (2006). Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824830168.
Crusz, Noel, The Cocos Islands Mutiny, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, WA, 2001

By topic

Monarchs

Mendis, Vernon L. B. (2000). The Rulers of Sri Lanka. S. Godage & Brothers. ISBN 978-955-20-4847-0.

Portuguese Ceylon

Abeysinghe, Tikiri (2005). Jaffna Under the Portuguese. Colombo: Stamford Lake. p. 66. ISBN 955-1131-70-1 .
De Queroz, Fernao (1992). The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon. New Delhi: Vedam Books. p. 1274. ISBN 81-206-0764-3.
Winius, George D. (1971). The fatal history of Portuguese Ceylon; transition to Dutch rule . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-29510-0.
Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 2. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. (Link). OCLC 12552979.
S.G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. (Link). OCLC 10531673.

Dutch Ceylon

Schrikker. Alicia (2007). Dutch and British Colonial Intervention in Sri Lanka, 1780–1815: Expansion and Reform. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004156029.
Winius, George D. (1971). The fatal history of Portuguese Ceylon; transition to Dutch rule . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-29510-0.
S.G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. (Link). OCLC 10531673.

Geography

Sivasundaram, Sujit. "Tales of the Land: British Geography and Kandyan Resistance in Sri Lanka, c. 1803–1850," Modern Asian Studies (2007) 41#5 pp 925–965. in JSTOR

Government & military

Government

Military

Bansal, Alok, Mayilvaganan. M and Podder, Sukanya, Sri Lanka: Search for Peace. Manas Publications, New Delhi, 2007. ISBN 81-7049-340-4
Brohier, RL, The Golden Age of Military Adventure in Ceylon: an account of the Uva Rebellion 1817-1818. Colombo: 1933
Spencer, Jonathan (1990). Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780203407417.
Crusz, Noel, The Cocos Islands Mutiny, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, WA, 2001
Dissanayaka, T.D.S.A.: War or Peace in Sri Lanka, Volume II. Swastika (Pvt.) Ltd., Colombo 1998.
Hoole, R., Somasundaram, D., Sritharan K., and Thiranagama, R. The Broken Palmyra – The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account. The Sri Lanka Studies Institute, Claremont 1990. (Also available online.)The Broken Palmyra – The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account.
Indian intervention in Sri Lanka: The role of India's intelligence agencies. ISBN 955-95199-0-5/ ISBN 978-955-95199-0-4, South Asian Network on Conflict Research (1993), By Rohan Gunaratna.
Johnson, Robert: A Region in Turmoil. Reaktion, New York and London 2005. (Covers Sri Lanka and its regional context.)
Muthiah, Wesley and Wanasinghe, Sydney, Britain, World War 2 and the Sama Samajists, Young Socialist Publication, Colombo, 1996
Narayan Swamy, M. R.: Tigers of Lanka: from Boys to Guerrillas. Konark Publishers; 3rd ed. 2002, ISBN 81-220-0631-0.
Rajasinghan, K.T.: Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. 2001–2002. (Serialised in Asia Times Online).Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
War and Peace in Sri Lanka: With a Post-Accord Report From Jaffna. ISBN 955-26-0001-4 / ISBN 978-955-26-0001-2, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka; 1 edition (1 October 1987), By Rohan Gunaratna.

Demographics

Religion

Deegalle, Mahinda (ed.): Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka. Routledge, London, 2006, ISBN 0-415-35920-1.

Economy

Peebles, Patrick (2001). The Plantation Tamils of Ceylon. Continuum International. ISBN 9780718501549.
Wenzlhuemer, Roland (2008). From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880–1900: An Economic and Social History. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004163614.
Codrington, H. W. (1994). Ceylon Coins and Currency. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0913-6.
Siriweera, W. I. (1994). A Study of the Economic History of Pre Modern Sri Lanka. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-7621-2.
Wenzlhuemer, Roland. "Indian Labour Immigration and British Labour Policy in Nineteenth‐Century Ceylon," Modern Asian Studies (2007) 41:575–602

Culture

Art & architecture

Basnayake, H. T. (1986). Sri Lankan Monastic Architecture. Sri Satguru Publications. ISBN 978-81-7030-009-0.
Fernando, G. S. (2001). සිංහල සැරසිලි—Sinhala Sarasili[Sinhala Decorational Art] (in Sinhala). M. D. Gunasena and Company. ISBN 978-955-21-0525-8.

Science & technology

Gooneratne, W.; Hirashima, S. (1990). Irrigation and Water Management in Asia. Sterling Publishers.

Society

Arsecularatne, S. N, Sinhalese immigrants in Malaysia & Singapore, 1860–1990: History through recollections, Colombo, KVG de Silva & Sons, 1991
Balasingham, Adele: The Will to Freedom – An Inside View of Tamil Resistance. Fairmax Publishing Ltd, 2nd ed. 2003, ISBN 1-903679-03-6.
Malalgoda, Kitsiri (1976). Buddhism in Sinhalese Society, 1750–1900: A Study of Religious Revival and Change. U. of California Press. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-14.
Peebles, Patrick (2001). The Plantation Tamils of Ceylon. Continuum International. ISBN 9780718501549.
Ellawala, H. (1969). Social History of Early Ceylon. Department of Cultural Affairs.
Deegalle, Mahinda (ed.): Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka. Routledge, London, 2006, ISBN 0-415-35920-1.
Gamage, S. and Watson, I.B.: Conflict and Community in Contemporary Sri Lanka. Sage, New Delhi 1999.
Gamage, S.: Ethnic Conflict, State Reform and Nation Building in Sri Lanka: Analysis of the Context and Suggestions for a Settlement, in: Neelsen, John P. and Malik, Dipak: "Crises of State and Nation: South Asian States between Nation Building and Fragmentation", Manohar, New Delhi (forthcoming).
Wenzlhuemer, Roland. "Indian Labour Immigration and British Labour Policy in Nineteenth‐Century Ceylon," Modern Asian Studies (2007) 41:575–602

Related Research Articles

The Mahāvaṃsa is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in the style of an epic poem written in the Pali language. It relates the history of Sri Lanka from its legendary beginnings up to the reign of Mahasena of Anuradhapura covering the period between the arrival of Prince Vijaya from India in 543 BCE to his reign and later updated by different writers. It was composed by a Buddhist monk at the Mahavihara temple in Anuradhapura about the 5th century CE. In 2021, a petition was made to declare the original leaf book a UNESCO heritage.

The caste systems in Sri Lanka are social stratification systems found among the ethnic groups of the island since ancient times. The models are similar to those found in Continental India, but are less extensive and important for various reasons, although the caste systems still play an important and at least symbolic role in religion and politics. Sri Lanka is often considered to be a casteless or caste-blind society by Indians.

The Jaffna Kingdom, also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula. It was traditionally thought to be established after the invasion of Magha, who is credited with the founding of the Jaffna kingdom and is said to have been from Kalinga, in India. Established as a powerful force in the north, north east and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute-paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence in 1323, when the last Pandyan ruler of Madurai was defeated and expelled in 1323 by Malik Kafur, the army general of the Delhi Sultanate. For a brief period, in the early to mid-14th century, it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka when all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was eventually overpowered by the rival Kotte Kingdom, around 1450 when it was invaded by Prince Sapumal under the orders of Parakramabahu VI.

The Arya Chakravarti dynasty were kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka. The earliest Sri Lankan sources, between 1277 and 1283, mention a military leader of this name as a minister in the services of the Pandyan Empire; he raided the western Sri Lankan coast and took the politically significant relic of the Buddha's tooth from the Sinhalese capital city of Yapahuwa. Political and military leaders of the same family name left a number of inscriptions in the modern-day Tamil Nadu state, with dates ranging from 1272 to 1305, during the late Pandyan Empire. According to contemporary native literature, such as Cekaracecekaramalai, the family also claimed lineage from the Tamil Brahmins of the prominent Hindu pilgrimage temple of Rameswaram in the modern Ramanathapuram District of India. They ruled the Jaffna kingdom from the 13th until the 17th century, when the last of the dynasty, Cankili II, was ousted by the Portuguese.

Vallipuram is a village in Vadamarachchi, near Point Pedro in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The village is an ancient settlement with rich archeological remains. The village is home to the Vishnu temple Vallipuram Aalvar Kovil.

Sri Lankan Moors are an ethnic minority group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.2% of the country's total population. Most of them are native speakers of the Tamil language who also speak Sinhalese as a second language. They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Sri Lankan Muslim community is divided as Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Moors and Sri Lankan Malays depending on their history and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. J. V. Chelvanayakam</span> Sri Lankan politician (1898–1977)

Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam was a Malaysian-born Ceylonese Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. He was the founder and leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and a political leader of the Ceylon Tamil community for more than two decades. Chelvanayakam has been described as a father figure to Ceylon's Tamils, to whom he was known as "Thanthai Chelva".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lankan place name etymology</span>

Sri Lankan place name etymology is characterized by the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the island of Sri Lanka through the ages and the position of the country in the centre of ancient and medieval sea trade routes. While typical Sri Lankan placenames of Sinhalese origin vastly dominate, toponyms which stem from Tamil, Dutch, English, Portuguese and Arabic also exist. In the past, the many composite or hybrid place names and the juxtaposition of Sinhala and Tamil placenames reflected the coexistence of people of both language groups. Today, however, toponyms and their etymologies are a source of heated political debate in the country as part of the political struggles between the majority Sinhalese and minority Sri Lankan Tamils.

Alagakkonara, also known as Alakeshwara, were a prominent feudal family that provided powerful ministers and military rulers during the medieval period in Sri Lanka. Although some historian say that the family was of Tamil origin originated from Madurai or Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. They arrived in Sri Lanka around the 13th century and naturalized themselves in Sri Lanka. One member of the family is noted for founding the current capital of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as a fort from which he waged a war against encroaching tax collectors from the Jaffna kingdom in the north. The family lost most of its influence after its leader was taken captive by the Ming Dynasty (Chinese) Admiral Zheng He in 1411.

The Kotagama inscription found in Kegalle District in Sri Lanka is a record of victory left by the Aryacakravarti kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in western Sri Lanka. The inscription reads;

"The women-folks of lords of Anurai who did not submit to Ariyan of Cinkainakar of foaming and resounding waters shed tears from eyes that glinted like spears and performed the rites of pouring water with gingerly seed from the bejeweled lotus like hands."

The Vanni chieftaincies or Vanni principalities was a region between Anuradhapura and Jaffna, but also extending to along the eastern coast to Panama and Yala, during the Transitional and Kandyan periods of Sri Lanka. The heavily forested land was a collection of chieftaincies of principalities that were a collective buffer zone between the Jaffna Kingdom, in the north of Sri Lanka, and the Sinhalese kingdoms in the south. Traditionally the forest regions were ruled by Vedda rulers. Later on, the emergence of these chieftaincies were a direct result of the breakdown of central authority and the collapse of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa in the 13th century, as well as the establishment of the Jaffna Kingdom in the Jaffna Peninsula. Control of this area was taken over by dispossessed Sinhalese nobles and chiefs of the South Indian military of Māgha of Kalinga (1215–1236), whose 1215 invasion of Polonnaruwa led to the kingdom's downfall. Sinhalese chieftaincies would lay on the northern border of the Sinhalese kingdom while the Tamil chieftaincies would border the Jaffna Kingdom and the remoter areas of the eastern coast, north western coast outside of the control of either kingdom.

The Battle of Mulleriyawa in 1559 was part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It was one of the most decisive battles in Sri Lankan history and considered as the worst defeat of Portuguese during that period. According to local chronicles the marshlands of Mulleriyawa turned red with blood after the annihilation of the Portuguese. With this victory Sitawaka emerged as a military power which able to challenge the Portuguese expansion.

Lascarins is a term used in Sri Lanka to identify indigenous soldiers who fought for the Portuguese during the Portuguese era (1505–1658) and continued to serve as colonial soldiers until the 1930s. The lascarins played a crucial role not only in the colonial armies, but also in the success of the campaigns of the local kingdoms.

The Kingdom of Kotte, named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century.

Portuguese Ceylon is the name given to the territory on Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka, controlled by the Portuguese Empire between 1597 and 1658.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijithapura</span> Town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

Vijithapura, also known as Vijitha Nagara or Vijithagama, was a fortress–city in ancient Sri Lanka. When Vijaya, the first recorded ruler of the country arrived from India, he brought a large retinue of his followers with him. These followers spread throughout the country, and established settlements. One of his chief followers named Vijitha founded the establishment which was then known as Vijitha Nagara or Vijithagama. The city is believed to have been founded during the reign of king Panduvasudeva, the third recorded king of Sri Lanka, who was the brother in law of the chieftain Vijitha.

The Anuradhapura period was a period in the history of Sri Lanka of the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 377 BCE to 1017 CE. The period begins when Pandukabhaya, King of Upatissa Nuwara moved the administration to Anuradhapura, becoming the kingdom's first monarch. Anuradhapura is heralded as an ancient cosmopolitan citadel with diverse populations.

The House of Vijaya was the first recorded Sinhalese royal dynasty that ruled over the island, Sri Lanka. According to Sinhalese folklore Prince Vijaya is the traditional first king of Sri Lanka, founding the Kingdom of Tambapanni and the dynasty subsequently founding the Kingdom of Upatissa Nuwara and finally the Anuradhapura Kingdom.

The Sinhalese monarchy has its origins in the settlement of North Indian Indo-Aryan immigrants to the island of Sri Lanka. The Landing of Vijay as described in the traditional chronicles of the island, the Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa and Culavamsa, and later chronicles, recount the date of the establishment of the first Sinhala Kingdom in 543 BC when Prince Vijaya, an Indian Prince, and 700 of his followers landed on the island of Sri Lanka and established the Kingdom of Tambapanni. In Sinhalese mythology, Prince Vijaya and followers are told to be the progenitors of the Sinhalese people. However according to the story in the Divyavadana, the immigrants were probably not led by a scion of a royal house in India, as told in the romantic legend, but rather may have been groups of adventurous and pioneering merchants exploring new lands.

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