Medieval history of Sri Lanka The Medieval history of Sri Lanka is dated from the end the of Anuradhapura Kingdom , in 1017 , to the start of British Colonial occupation in 1815 . Kingdom of Ruhuna . Kingdom of Ruhuna ( B . C 210 - B . C 161 ) The first king of the Rohana Kingdom was King Mahanaga . He was the brother of King Dewanampiyathissa in Anuradhapura main Kingdom . after king Mahanaga , his son Yatalathissa came as the new king in Ruhuna . he built The Yatala vehera ( Thissamaharama ) & Kalaniya vehera . the third king of Ruhuna was King Gothabhaya . after him , King Kawanthissa built the Rohana Kingdom strongly . King Dutugemunu was the son of King Kawanthissa . he defeated the chola king Elara & united SriLanka under one government . Kings In Rohana Kingdom 1 . Kimg Mahanaga 2 . King Yatalathissa 3 . King Gothabhaya 4 . King Kawanthissa Kingdom of Polonnaruwa . The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was the second major Sinhalese kingdom of Sri Lanka . It lasted from 1055 under Vijayabahu I to 1212 under the rule of Lilavati . The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa came after the Anuradhapura Kingdom was invaded by Chola forces under Rajaraja I and after the Kingdom of Ruhuna , where the Sinhalese Kings ruled during Chola occupation . Vijayabahu I ( 1055 – 1110 ) , recaptured the whole Island , and established Polonnaruwa as the new capital . King Vijayabahu married from the Kalinga ( Orissa ) Royal Family a second queen , and had a son Vikramabâhu I and a daughter Ratnavali . His sister , Mitta , married a Pandya Prince who had three sons , the eldest being Manabharana . He married Ratnavali . Their son was Parākramabāhu I ( 1153 – 1186 ) Grandson of Vijayabahu I , Prince of Sinhala - Pandyan - Kalinga descent , son of Manabharana and Vijayabahu ’ s sister , Mitta . He was a very powerful king , noted for his engineering , naval power , art , culture , many Sinhala inscriptions , and even a Tamil edict in Uruthota ( Kayts ) . The Chulavamsa was written by Dharmakirthi , updating the Mahavamsa to include Parakramabahu . It was a great age since the epic Anradhapura period . Jaffna kingdom . The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti came into existence after the invasion of Magha , who is said to have been from Kalinga , in South India . It eventually became a tribute paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1250 , but later become independent with the fragmentation of the Pandyan control . For a brief period , in the early - to - middle 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 . It was freed of Kotte control in 1467 ; its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls and elephant exports and land revenue . It was less feudal than most of other regional kingdoms in the island of Sri Lanka of the same period . During this period , important local Tamil literature was produced and Hindu temples were built including an academy for language advancement . The arrival of the Portuguese colonial power to the island of Sri Lanka in 1505 , and its strategic location in the Palk Strait connecting all interior Sinhalese kingdoms to South India , created political problems . Many of its kings confronted and ultimately made peace with the Portuguese colonials . In 1617 , Cankili II , an usurper to the throne , confronted the Portuguese but was defeated , thus bringing the kingdom ’ s independent existence to an end in 1619 . Kingdom of Dambadeniya . Dambadeniya is an ancient capital of Sri Lanka . Four kings ruled from here , Vijayabâhu III ( 1220 – 1236 ) , Parâkkamabâhu II ( 1236 – 1270 ) , Vijayabâhu IV ( 1270 – 1272 ) , Bhuvanaikabâhu I ( 1272 – 1283 ) . The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabâhu III . He was able to bring about the unity among the sangha that had fled in various directions due to the hostile activities of the invader Kalinga magha & succeeded in holding a Buddhist convention in 1226 to bring about peace among the Buddhist clergy . king Parâkkamabâhu II inherited the throne from king Vijayabâhu . He is considered a genius who was a great poet & prolific writer . Among the books he wrote are Kausilumina , which is considered a great piece of literature . Unifying the three kingdoms that existed within Sri Lanka at that point of time is regarded as greatest achievement . King Bosath Vijayabâhu , as the eldest son of king Parâkkamabâhu II , was crowned in 1270 . He was well known for his modest behaviour & for his religious activities . He was killed in the second year of his reign by a minister called Miththa . After the demise of his elder brother Vijayabâhu , king Bhuvanaikabâhu I , as the next in line to the throne , shifted the capital to Yapahuwa for reasons of security . He followed his father ' s footsteps as a writer & continued with the religious activities started by his brother Vijayabâhu .