page_title: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte and its defenses from 1557 - 1565. Map based on following sources; - Map of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte by historian Douglas D. Ranasinghe. -Details in “Fernao de Queyroz. The temporal and spiritual conquest of Ceylon. AES reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services; 1995. ISBN 81-206-0765-1” -Map of Jayawardenapura Kotte and environ “Paul E.Peiris. Ceylon the Portuguese Era: being a history of the island for the period, 1505-1658 - Volume 1. Tisara Publishers Ltd:Sri Lanka; 1992. p 142-143”
context_page_description: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte, is the official administrative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic and legislative capital, Colombo.
  The Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council area is bounded in:
  the North by Kolonnawa Urban Council area,
  the North-East by the Kotikawatta–Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area,
  the East by the Kaduwela Municipal Council area,
  the South-East by the Maharagama Urban Council area,
  the South-West by the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council and
  the West by the Colombo Municipal Council area, which is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.
context_section_description: The village of Darugama lay at the confluence of two streams, the Diyawanna Oya and the Kolonnawa Oya. As Darugama was a naturally secure place, it was not easy for enemies to enter it. Here, in the 13th century, a chieftain named Nissanka Alagakkonara built a Kotte, or fortress.
  Alagakkonara is mentioned by Ibn Batuta as ruling in Kurunegala, but other sources indicate that he was the Bandara (Guardian) of Raigama Korale (county) in the modern Kalutara District. Arya Chakravarthy's army was held by Alagakkonara in front of Kotte, while he defeated the enemy's invasion fleet at Panadura to the south-west.
  Kotte was a jala durgha (water fortress), in the shape of a triangle, with the Diyawanna Oya and Kolonnawa Oya marshes forming two long sides; along the shorter third (land) side a large moat (the 'inner moat') was dug. The fortress was nearly 2.5 km² (0.97 sq mi) in area, fortified with ramparts of kabook or laterite rock, 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) high and 10.7 metres (35 ft) in breadth.
  In 1391, following the conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom by Prince Sapumal (Sembahap Perumal), Kotte was given the epithet 'Sri Jayawardhanapura' ('resplendent city of growing victory'). It became the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kotte, which it remained until the end of the 16th century.
  From the ramparts to the magnificent three storied buildings that housed the Kings Palace, Laterite and clay were the main raw material used in its construction. One of the places from which the laterite blocks were mined can be seen even today inside the premises of Ananda Sasthralaya (a local school).
  The main features of the capital city were:
  the King's palace, with walls of quartz that sparkle in the moonlight (candrakanta pasana) and a golden spire, with beautiful flower gardens and springs of water,
  the three-storeyed Dalada Maligawa with Buddha's sacred tooth relic in it (Temple of the tooth),
  the five-storeyed "Arama" where sixty Buddhist Bhikkus resided, with a Sangha Raja(a high priest)as the chief incumbent,
  the King's Treasure House,
  the 'Kotavehara' at Baddagana, the only Buddhist temple of the city outside the moat and rampart,
  the Royal cemetery at Beddagana (Veherakanda memorial),
  and the 'Angampitiya', the military parade and training ground just inside the inner moat.
  The Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and were initially welcomed by the king. But they had militaristic and monopolistic intentions and gained control of the city by 1565. Failing to withstand repeated assaults by the forces of the neighbouring kingdom of Sitawaka, the city was abandoned by the Portuguese, who made Colombo their new capital.
  Like similar cities of that era, Sri Jayawardhanapura was built with security in mind. A rampart and moat protected the entire city. Traces of this moat and rampart are still visible today at certain places. Along parts of the rampart, encroachers have now built houses, garages and even toilets.
  The urbanisation of Kotte restarted in the 19th century. The archaeological remains were torn up and used as building materials (a process that continues) — some of it even ending up in the Victoria Bridge, across the Kelani River.
caption: Map of Kotte (1557-1565)
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