page_title: Siege of Kotte (1557–58)
section_title: Opposing forces and the defenses of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Kotte (1557–58) / Opposing forces and the defenses of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte
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: The Siege of Kotte from November 1557 – November 1558 was a battle part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. A 50,000 strong Sitawaka army led by King Mayadunne besieged Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Kotte Kingdom, for 12 months against a combined force of Portuguese and Lascarins led by Captain-major Dom Afonso Pereira de Lacerda. After receiving reinforcements from Mannar, Portuguese made a sally and succeeded in forcing the besiegers to withdraw. This siege marked the beginning of a series of battles between Portuguese and Sitawaka forces, and ultimately ended as Portuguese abandoned Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte in 1565.
context_section_description: The Sitawaka army consisted of 50,000 men in 300 companies organised into three corps. First corps or the vanguard left Sitawaka on 10 November 1557 under the command of Tikiri Bandara (King mayadunne's son). The center led by Panapitiya Mudali marched out on 15 November. The rearguard under King Mayadunne left Sitawaka on 30 November 1557. These forces advanced slowly towards Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, securing the supply routes and outposts on their way.
  Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte (sometimes simply referred to as “Kotte”) was the capital of Kotte kingdom. It was a triangular elevated area of land with its apex at the north. On either side it was protected by Kolonnawa canal and its connecting streams, which were heavily infested with alligators. The area between the solid ground and the water was a marsh land which submerged after a moderate rain fall. Within lay the city and the palace defended by a rampart of laterite rock. All this area was known as Ethul Kotte (inner fortress).
  This triangular area connected to dry land at the base by a narrow isthmus and protected by a moat (inner moat). This narrow isthmus and the dry land outside the rampart was known as Pita Kotte. Pita Kotte's approaches were defended by a curtain and a moat (outer moat) with a drawbridge. Pass leading to the south was known as “pass of Ambalao” and was the main route to Colombo Fort.
  Receiving the news of the invasion force, Dom Afonso Pereira de Lacerda, the Captain major of Portuguese Ceylon, arrived at Kotte with 300 Portuguese soldiers just arrived from Goa, increasing the total number of Portuguese soldiers to 480. In addition to the elite King's Guard, at least 9,000 Lascarins were stationed in Kotte under the command of Francisco Barreto (Tammita Suriya Bandara – Uncle of King Dharmapala).
  Afonso Pereira rapidly organized Kotte's defenses with the help of the remaining inhabitants. He stationed 20 Portuguese and 200 Lascarins at the "pass of Ambolao", another 40 Portuguese and 400 Lascarins at the "pass of Mosquitos" and 80 Portuguese and 800 Lascarins manned various defenses in Pita Kotte. Afonso Pereira placed 12 fustas armed with falcons in the lake. They were fast ships with a shallow draft and were capable of patrolling the canals.
  By the end of November 1557, the Sitawaka army approached Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. Tikiri Bandara's corps took positions to the south and west of the city with their main encampment just west to the lake. Panapitiya Mudali covered the rest of the area and King Mayadunne's corps remained as a reserve force providing reinforcement when necessary.
caption: Map of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte and its defenses
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