List of monarchs of Sri Lanka

The following is a list of monarchs of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) since 505 BC. The main source for many of these monarchs are the chronicles of the island maintained by monks, known as the Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, and the Chulavamsa. This list should be used with the following factors kept in mind. Firstly the dates provided for the earliest monarchs are difficult to objectively verify; those which are particularly difficult to know have been denoted with a (?) mark. Secondly in terms of succession it is difficult to divide the monarchs into 'houses' or 'dynasties' as often the throne was passed around amongst related individuals within a particular clan; especially in medieval times there were no articulated rules of succession and whoever was in possession of the sacred Tooth Relic had a good claim to being called king.

Note on Chronology

It should be borne in mind that there is controversy about the base date of the Buddhist Era, with 544 BC and 483 BC being advanced as the date of the "parinibbana" of the Buddha. As Wilhelm Geiger pointed out, the "Dipawamsa" and "Mahawamsa" are the primary sources for ancient South Asian chronology; they date the consecration ("abhisheka") of Asoka to 218 years after the "parinibbana". Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne 56 years prior to this, or 162 years after the "parinibbana". The approximate date of Chandragupta's ascension is known to be within two years of 321 BC (from Megasthenes). Hence the approximate date of the "parinibbana" is between 485 and 481 BC - which accords well with the Mahayana dating of 483 BC.cite book
last = Geiger (Tr)
first = Wilhelm
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Mahawamsa or Great Chronicle of Ceylon
publisher = Oxford University Press (for the Pali Text Society)
date = 1912
location = Oxford
pages = 300
url = http://lakdiva.org/culavamsa/vol_0.html
isbn = ]

The difference between the two reckonings seems to have occurred at sometime between the reigns of Udaya III (946-954 or 1007-1015)and Pârakkama Pandya (c. 1046-1048), when there was considerable unrest in the country.

The chronology of the following list is based on the the traditional Sri Lankan system which is based on 544 BC, or 61 years earlier than the Mahayana calender. The dates after c 1048 are synchronous.

Vijayan monarchs (543 BC–237 BC)

from Tambapanni (Thammanna Nuwara) (553 BC–505 BC)

The Two Chola Kings (237 BC–215 BC)

ub Kingdoms (205 BC–161 BC)

Maya Rata

The Pancha Dravida (the 'Five Dravidans') (104 BC–89 BC)

had Dravida (The 'Six Dravidians') (436–463)

Kings of Rajarata from Anuradhapura and other capitals (777–c. 1007)

Lambakanna monarchs (777–c. 1007)

Kings of Rajarata from Polonnaruwa (1055–1236)

Kalinga monarchs (1215–1236)

from Polonnaruwa (1287–1293)

from Gampola (1357–1408)

Kingdom of Sitawaka (1521–1594)

Portuguese Colonial rule (1580–1658)

The Portugal Colonial rule of Ceylon lasted from 1580 to 1658, during which the Portuguese ruled several parts of the costal areas of the island.

Kings of Portugal (1580–1658)

;Portuguese House of Habsburg (Philippine Dynasty)

;House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Governor-Generals of Ceylon (1948–1972)

In 1948, Sri Lanka achieved independence from the United Kingdom as a Dominon within the Commonwealth, and the British monarch remained the head of state. The Governor was replaced with a Governor-General, responsible not to London, but the local parliament.

Prime Ministers of Ceylon and Sri Lanka (1948 - 1978)

The post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 prior to independence from Britain and the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a Westminster-based political system establish the Prime Minister was the head of government therefore the most powerful political office of the country at the time. This changed in 1978, with constitutional change, when the Executive Presidency was created making the President both head of state and head of government. Until 1978 the Prime minister was also the Minister of Defence and External Affairs.

Presidents of Sri Lanka (1978—)

The 1978 constitution moved from a Westminster-based political system into one modeled on France.The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, head of the Cabinet, appoints the prime minister, and could dissolve parliament (after one year has passed since the convening of parliament after a parliamentary election).

References

External links

* [http://discover.lankanest.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=74.htm Discover Sri Lanka - List of kings & kingdoms in Sri Lanka]
* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen3000.html VIJAYA and the Lankan Monarchs]
* [http://lakdiva.org/codrington/sovereigns.html]
* [http://www.mahavamsa.org/ The Mahavamsa History of Sri Lanka] The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka
* [http://www.colonialvoyage.com/ceylonD.html]
* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/slm-kings.htm Complete list of Sri Lankan Leaders]