Kandyan Kingdom
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| Kandyan Kingdom | |
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 Janith (talk) 03:45, 16 August 2008 (UTC)
Original uploader was Uvants2 at en.w · Public domain · source | |
| Name | Kingdom of Kandy |
| Native name | රජධානිය මහනුවර |
| Conventional long name | Kingdom of Kandy |
| Era | Early modern period |
| Status | Independent monarchy |
| Year start | 1469 |
| Year end | 1815 |
| Capital | Kandy |
| Common languages | Sinhala, Tamil, Portuguese Creole |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
| Government | Monarchy |
Kandyan Kingdom The Kandyan Kingdom was a Sinhalese monarchy in central Sri Lanka that persisted from the 15th century until its annexation in 1815. It resisted coastal powers such as the Portuguese Empire, the Dutch East India Company, and the British Empire, while interacting with regional actors including the Kingdom of Kotte, the Kingdom of Sitawaka, and the Mughal Empire through diplomacy, war, and trade. The kingdom's institutions centered on the royal city of Kandy, its hereditary and ritual kingship, and a landed aristocracy tied to the Buddhist monastic order such as the Malwathu Maha Viharaya and the Asgiri Maha Viharaya.
History
The polity emerged amid the fragmentation of the Sinhala realms after the fall of the Kingdom of Gampola and the decline of the Kingdom of Kotte following conflicts like the Wijayaba Kollaya. Founding rulers claimed lineage connected to the Sinhala royal houses and consolidated power under monarchs such as Senasammata Vikramabahu and later Vimaladharmasuriya I, who engaged militarily with the Portuguese–Kandyan War and negotiated with the Dutch Republic. The reign of Rajasinghe II and Kirti Sri Rajasinha featured alliances with the Dutch East India Company against European rivals and complex relations with regional polities including the Kingdom of Jaffna and the Nayakkar dynasty of Madurai. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw increasing British intervention after the Treaty of Amiens and conflicts like the Kandyan Wars (1803–1818), culminating in the signing of the Convention of Sinmalle and the Kandyan Convention under British generals such as Robert Brownrigg, leading to the kingdom’s incorporation into the British Ceylon colonial administration.
Geography and Capitals
Situated in the central uplands of the island of Sri Lanka, the realm encompassed montane plateaus, river valleys fed by the Mahaweli River, and strategic passes like the Kadugannawa Pass. The principal royal seat was the city of Kandy, centered on the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), with seasonal or auxiliary administrative centers at Hanguranketha, Ranweli, and hill fortresses such as Dumbara and Ridi Viharaya precincts. Turf and forested tracts including the Knuckles Mountain Range and the catchments supplying the Mahaweli River shaped irrigation projects and defensive lines; control over highland caravan routes linked to ports like Galle and Trincomalee.
Government and Administration
Monarchy operated through a patrimonial court headed by a king whose legitimacy was reinforced by ritual at the Dalada Maligawa and recognition from the chief monks of Malwathu Maha Viharaya and Asgiri Maha Viharaya. Administrative offices included provincial chieftains such as the Dissavas and local headmen like the Arachchis and Korales, who managed land grants and tribute extraction tied to traditional land tenures such as the Rājākariya system. Legal matters invoked customary law adjudicated by royal officials alongside Buddhist monastic arbitration; treaties and correspondence engaged envoys and intermediaries familiar with the protocols used by European companies like the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company.
Society and Culture
Society comprised Sinhalese peasantry, elite feudal households, Tamil mercantile communities in upland towns, and mixed Portuguese Burgher families; notable families included nobles descended from lineages recorded in chronicles such as the Mahavamsa and local palm-leaf registers. Court culture patronized traditional performing arts like Kandyan dance, drumming ensembles such as the Geta Bera tradition, and visual arts displayed in wood carving, lacquer work, and temple frescoes. Architectural forms combined royal audience halls, timber mansions, and vaulted shrine complexes exemplified by the Temple of the Tooth precinct; festivals like the Esala Perahera reinforced dynastic legitimacy through processions and relic veneration.
Economy and Trade
The highland economy rested on wet-rice cultivation organized through irrigation works and hereditary service obligations under raja grants; upland terraces produced staples while forested zones supplied timber, elephants, and spices traded through coastal entrepôts such as Colombo and Galle. Merchant networks included Sinhalese traders, Tamil middlemen, and European factors; commodities exchanged with Malabar and Bay of Bengal ports comprised cinnamon, pearls, elephants, and ivory. Fiscal extraction combined in-kind levies, corvée obligations under the Rājākariya system, and negotiated tolls on caravans traversing passes to port cities like Jaffna and Trincomalee.
Religion and Education
Theravada Buddhism was central, institutionalized through the monastic orders at Malwathu Maha Viharaya and Asgiri Maha Viharaya which conferred sacral sanction on monarchs via relic guardianship at the Dalada Maligawa. Monastic colleges and temple schools taught Pali scholarship, Buddhist doctrine, and Sinhala literary traditions preserved in chronicles like the Culavamsa; learned monks maintained links with monastic centers in Burma and Thailand at various times. Rituals, ordination lineages, and patronage networks underpinned temple-land endowments and the transmission of ritual knowledge in festivals such as the Perahera.
Military and Diplomacy
Military organization emphasized hill fortifications, elephant corps, and light infantry raised from provincial levies and feudal contingents; battlefield tactics adapted to upland terrain against invading forces such as the Portuguese Empire and later British expeditions led by commanders including Arthur Wellesley in broader regional contexts. Diplomatic practice balanced marriage alliances, tributary exchange, and treaties with European powers like the Dutch Republic and the British East India Company, while asylum and ties with South Indian polities including the Nayakkar dynasty of Madurai influenced succession politics. Guerrilla resistance, mountain warfare, and control of passes proved decisive in prolonged conflicts such as the Kandyan Wars (1796–1818) which ultimately ended with formal cession to British Ceylon.