History of Sri Lanka and significant World events from 1216 AD to 1505 AD

World events are in normal letters and Sri Lanka History events are highlighted in BOLD LETTERS

1216 The Grim Situation in Lanka After Kalinga Magha ruined Rajarata, many proud Sinhalese had migrated to the South. Kalinga Magha was reluctant to come searching for them. He had fulfilled the desires of his clients by installing them as town Sultans. The pillaging of the Sinhalese heritage, which the Sinhalese couldn't take to the South with them, continued unopposed.

1220 Retreating General Senapathi Subha builds Yapahuwa A Sinhala General named Senapati Subha had survived the invader's onslaught. He was retreating from Polonnaruwa, looking for a suitable place to defend against the invaders. He selected such place and built the fortified town of Yapahuwa.

1221 5th Crusade : Last Crusade on Jerusalem The plan of the fifth crusade was to capture the seaport of Damietta in Egypt, and then take Cairo and then go into the Sinai Peninsula. The crusade was launched in 1217 AD. Two years later they took Damietta. But the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Germany broke his promise to send reinforcements. When the Muslim armies counter attacked the Crusaders had to withdraw. Two more years later in August 1221, the Crusaders lost even Damietta to the Egyptian forces. In September, as the Crusaders deserted ranks, the army was disbanded. That was the end of the fifth Crusades on Jerusalam.

1222 Ghengis Khan has World's Best-Controlled Large Empire After he conquered Russia, Ghengis Khan commanded the one of the largest empires in the history of mankind. It was definitely the Best controlled empire in history. His very loyal troops maintained the empire exactly the way they were told to.

1222 Anyone can go anywhere without any danger Ghengis Khan ordered his officers to impose inhuman punishment on those who break the law. Like in Buddhist Sri Lanka under the good Sinhala kings, a person could go anywhere in the Mongol empire without any danger. There were hardly any crimes.

1222 Best Security the Silk Route ever had The Silk route was the biggest beneficiary. The security on the Silk route reached the best ever. This increased the travelling and trade activities between China and the Middle East.

1222 Courier Service on the Silk Route Mongols started a courier service along and around the silk route to enable faster communication. This pony-express network spread through the mountains and deserts of Central Asia. Gradually this became a superb courier service which benefited many traders, and officials.

1227 Death of Ghengis khan Genghis Khan died in 1227 AD while at the peak of his power. Before his death, he divided his empire among his sons and grandsons. The strength of the empire helped these Mongols to continue the rule. They will conquer Korea, Iran, Baghdad, Moscow and Kiev.

1227 Dilemma of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Germany The Christian Church was very unhappy with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. He had broken two promises to join the crusade in 1215 and again in 1220 due to domestic political problems. When Pope Gregory IX, threatened Frederick with excommunication, he was forced lead his army from Italy in August 1227. Within few days he turned back as he was sick. Angry Pope promptly excommunicated him.

1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, follows King Richard's example When he recovered from his illness, Frederick led his army on his own crusade. The angry Pope didn't give him blessings of the Church. Even before he landed in Acre (in Israel) he lost many of his ships which lost their way. Instead of war, he requested permission to speak with the Egyptian sultan Al-Kamil. His fair negotiations impressed the Egyptians so much that they gave Jerusalem back to the Crusaders. Egyptians also gave him a guarantee that there would be no hostilities for 10 years.

1229 Angry Pope calls for a Crusade against Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Pope, and other European kings who were under the influence of the Pope, refused to acknowledge him. Angry Pope even called for a Crusade against Frederick. He returned home to fight against these crusaders in May 1229.

1232 Coming of Vijayabahu-3: A courageous and a determined young Sinhalese boy grew up in Vanni. He was a descendant of a family related to Sangamitta ( princess who brought the Bo tree). He was also related to king Sri Sanghabodi. Though his family was very poor, he grew up showing his noble blood in deeds and in attitudes. ( unlike today's leaders who claim nobility merely by words and propaganda). Growing up in Vanni, he witnessed the barbarity of the South Indian invaders and the treacherous ways of the militant South Indian thugs in Lanka.

1232 Vijayabahu-3 clears the Southwest from the enemy Vijayabahu-3 freed the hill country, the Ruhuna, and the Dakshinadesa in many battles against the local collaborators who had hired South Indian mercenaries and Sinhalese thugs in their private armies.

1232 Vijayabahu-3 in Dambadeniya: First Lankan King outside Rajarata. With the little resources that were available, Vijayabahu-3 built the fort city of Dambadeniya. This small city became the next capital of Lanka. He became the first Lankan King to reign outside A'pura or Polonnaruwa.

1232 The Challenge on Vijayabau-3 Almost all the books and the libraries have been destroyed. All learnt Bikkus who protested to the racist South Indian rule, had been murdered. King organised a campaign to find surviving pious monks of good memory and of good knowledge. Then he got them to write down all 84 divisions of the Buddhist doctrine. Bikku order was reformed to make it clean and disciplined. King ordered all Buddhist places in the south west to be repaired and restored.

1232 Vijayabahu Temple in Wattala is built

1232 Kelaniya Temple is restored South Indian militant gangs had looted and destroyed the temple in Kelaniya. Vijayabahu-3 restored the temple.

1233 Bikkus who survived in jungles and overseas, return He invited all the good Buddhist monks in hiding places in the hills and in the jungles of Ruhuna, to come back. He also invited all known Buddhist monks who had fled and were living overseas ( in China, in Burma, and in north India) to come back to revive the lost civilisation.

1233 Return of the relics (Tooth Relic & the Alms Bowl) King himself went on his foot to bring in the relics buried in a secret place in Kotmale hills. He selected a steep rock which no invader could force in at Beligala. There he built a divine palace to keep the relics. Around this palace he built lakes, bathing ponds, Mandapas, and Dagabas.

1236 Job Done at best in 4 years : Death of Great Noble King Vijayabahu-3 He trained his two sons to continue the golden philosophy. His elder son, Parakramabahu-2 was already predicted to be a majestic King. As per tradition, he handed over this elder son to the Buddhist monks. Buddhist monks groomed him for the task. (He would one day unite Lanka). For four years Vijayabahu-3 worked so hard to achieve what he did, in repairing the damages caused by the Invaders and traitors. He was buried in Attanagalle.

1236 Son of Vijayabahu-3 ( New king ) seeks blessings of the relics for the liberation of the country Parakramabahu-2, the elder son of Vijayabahu-3, became the new king. He moved the relics to a new palace near his Royal palace so that he can pay respect three times a day. He knew that the responsibility to unite Lanka was on his shoulder. He knew that it was his turn to perform, like the five Great Kings before him had done. Everyday he meditated to concentrate his mind on planning the strategy. He prayed for the relics to perform a miracle if he was capable of success against the powerful evil. He witnessed a miracle of the Budda image appearing from the relics. Thereafter he found a new confidence. A festival for the relics was then held for seven days. Then he prepared the country for liberation.

1240 Wealthy Ghana kingdom disappears in history The enormous wealth of Ghana, which was the result of it's trade exports to the Middle East, was both a blessing as well as a curse as the trade profits constantly attracted invaders. Finally, Takrurs (today's Senegal) conquered Ghana. But they would also lose it soon to another new power. The fall of the Ghana kingdom saw the rise of the new Muslim Kingdom of Mali.

1240 Battle of Kirina : Emergence of Mali empire of Sudan As Takrurs(People of Senegal) conquered Ghana, a community named Mandinka people from a small kingdom named Mali, was advancing under their Muslim leader, Sundiata Keita. He was a master of magic and enchantment. In 1240, he challenged the Takrurs in the battle of Kirina. In these legendary battles in the history of Sudan, Muslims won the battle over Takrur people. That confirmed the supremacy of the Mali Empire in Africa.

1240 The Great Liberation - Parakramabahu-2 unites the country After careful preparation and planning, Parakramabahu-2 launched his campaign of liberation. He first took a line of enemy fortresses defended by a massive force of 44,000 South Indian mercenaries who were mainly Kerala troops of Kalingha Magha. They fled to Polonnaruwa after losing the forts.

1240 Blocking of Mannar: Sinhalese forgive the enemy AGAIN and EVEN absorb them into the Army. Many foreign troops looted the gems, gold, and other valuables and withdrew to Mannar hoping to withdraw to South India. An unknown Sinhala Lieutenant heard about this. He led an army unit to Mannar. He blocked the path of the looting invaders and engaged all of them in battle, whenever they came. He managed to kill all invaders who tried to flee the country through Mannar. Some threw away their weapons and offered to surrender. AGAIN, as good Buddhists they chose to forgive the invaders who surrendered. These South Indian prisoners were EVEN given land to build houses and jobs as soldiers of the Lankan Army.

1240 Northern chiefs become the officials of the Central Government As the surrendered invaders were forgiven and were given land and jobs as soldiers of the Lankan Army, the Vanni Sultans, (Vanni town chiefs who had land written out to them by the invader KalinghaMagha) realised that Lankan king was powerful enough to topple them. These Vanni and Jaffna Sultans made peace by becoming part of the local administration under the central government. (It proved the enormous hunger for power, these selfish Tamil chiefs in the north had). The King appointed them as the local officials in respective areas under the central government. But it was only a ploy to fool the powerful king. Whenever the central government was weak, these treacherous chiefs of Vanni and Jaffna would refuse to respect the central government. That was how they took advantage of the fair and deeply religious Sinhalese tolerance.

1240 A Project Leader to uplift Buddhism Parakramabahu-2, assigned a person named Devapathiraja as the project leader to restore the Buddha Sasanaya.

1240 Kalutara Bridge & the Bodiya is built A 38-meter long bridge was built at the mouth of the Kalutara river to facilitate transport between Ruhuna and Dakkinadesa ( western province). A three storey temple surrounded by Bo trees was constructed there.

1240 Famine ended by the Festival for the 3 Sacred Relics An all-island famine ended after a Great festival was held for the Tooth relic, Alms bowl, and the Bodi tree.

1241 240 Year Mongol rule in Russia, begins Batu Khan ( one of the Grandsons of Ghengis Khan ) led his Mongol army taking Kiev, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, and the Danube valley within four years. His Mongol army in this southern Russia was known as "the Golden Horde". That was the beginning of a 240 year rule under the "Golden Horde".

1241 Mongols ready to invade Western Europe By 1241 AD, the "Golden Horde" was on the Adriatic seacoast. They were ready to invade western Europe.

1241 Europe's Narrow Escape from the Mongols As Batu Khan's ( one of the Grandsons of Ghengis Khan ) Mongol army made last preparations to invade western Europe, Europe lacked both the unity and the resources needed to face them. If the Mongols had invaded, nothing in western Europe could have stopped them. Fortunately for Europe, the sudden death of the Supreme Khan, Ogadai Khan in 1241, save them. Batu Khan cancelled the invasion and withdrew from the Adriatic seacoast to the southern Russia. There the cautious Mongols waited until a suitable supreme leader was selected.

1242 Sinhalese try desperately to Revive their Literature Parakaramabahu-2 who was a scholar himself, revived the literature. He himself authored Kavisilumina, the story of KusaJathakaya. Among many writings at this time was the Saddarmma Ratnavaliya ( the stories of Dammapada ).

1244 Muslims take over Jerusalam again 15 years after the East Roman Emperor Frederick won the Jerusalem for the Christians through discussions, the ambitious religious expansion programmes clashed with the defiant Islamic resistance. That led to clashes between the Christians and Muslims again. In the ensuing battles Muslims again took over the Jerusalem.

1244 Pope calls for the 6th Crusade Again, Pope called for a crusade and got King Louis IX of France to fund the army. This King was serious in his approach to the crusade. He planned the crusade for full four years.

1245 Cholas cease to be a military power in South India The Cholas had been weakened further by the constant resistance offered by the other South Indian communities they tried to rule. Foremost among them were the Pandyans. Typically selfish Chola hunger for power also had led to ruthless internal power struggles. Chola military power which was crumbling since 1200 AD, ceased to exist by this time. In another 35 years, Cholas themselves would vanish from the earth. And no one (except the Warmongering Lankan Tamil racists) would regret it. The history records many such destroyers in history who caused nothing but destruction on others. Such warmongering communities who were led by power-hungry leaders only made others weaker, before they themselves enjoyed the loot and vanished in the history. They had only caused pain, suffering and destruction on other hardworking people on this planet. That was why the Sinhalese still proudly boast a glorious civilisation while these Barbarians have to depend on well-fund d propaganda to create and show a glory on their part.

1247 23rd Invasion : Warlord ChandraBanu's Javaka mercenaries In 1025 AD, the Cholas captured the Buddhist Kingdom of Sri Vijaya while they were at their peak. That was the start of the South Indian community there. Later this community spread into other smaller Java kingdoms. Suddenly Sri Lanka was faced with an invasion by a Warlord named Chandra Banu from Tambralinga, a small kingdom in this Malay peninsula. His Javaka army carried blow-pipes, poisoned arrows, and machines that can shoot arrows. Sinhala warriors who hadn't seen such new weapons were surprised and stunned initially.

1247 Conspiracy Theory Historians argue that given the way things finally worked out, that the good old selfish power-hungry elements in Lanka probably hired the Javaka Warlord and his private army. All the subsequent incidents support this theory.

1247 Javaka Invaders capture Polonnaruwa Initially the invaders stunned the Lankan troops with their new weapons and tactics based on those weapons. They managed to capture Polonnaruwa.

1247 The Legend of Veerabahu Eldest son of King Parakaramabahu-2 took command of the Lankan army to face the invaders. Virabahu was a brilliant strategist. From the reports he received on these initial encounters, Virabahu studied the enemy's tactics and the weapons very well. Then he managed to defeat them in every battle. The invaders idea of scaring the Lankans into defeat by producing new weapons, didn't work thanks to Virabahu.

1247 Javaka Conspiracy by the South Indians in Jaffna As the invaders ran all the way to the Jaffna peninsula, power hungry South Indian extremists in Lanka saw their opportunity. They contacted their brothers, the South Indian Pandyan Kingdom. They proposed to the Pandyan king to employ the Javaka army to stop the Lankan Army from entering the Jaffna peninsula so that they can establish a rebel kingdom in the peninsula. In return they promised to pay tribute to the Pandyan kingdom. As the ungrateful Pandyan king agreed, the Javakas settled down in Jaffna with the help of the power hungry local South Indian elements. ( Such incidents have led to the historians to believe that the Javaka mercenaries were hired by the good old selfish power-hungry elements in Lanka).

1247 Lanka is unable to take Jaffna Lankan king Parakramabahu-2 had no strength to wage a war to liberate the Jaffna peninsula against the combined powers of the Javaka invaders, wealthy South Indian families, and the Pandyans who had promised to provide military help if Lankan Army attacked. Parakramabahu-2 waited until the suitable time came to unite the country again. But before he could make the move, in 22 years these Javakas and the South Indian rebels in Jaffna would attack the Lankan King hoping to grab whole of Lanka.

1248 6 th Crusade is launched Pope had given the task of organising the sixth crusade to the King Louis IX of France. After four years of planning, he led the crusade force on the same basic strategy of the Fifth Crusade. They captured the port Damietta in Egypt on 6th June 1249. The disaster struck them the following year.

1250 Mongols destroy the 5000 years old ancient irrigation system in Baghdad Mongols finally took Baghdad in Persia (Iraq). In one of the saddest destructions in history, the Mongols destroyed the irrigation system that had served the region since the days of ancient Sumeria in 3500 BC.

1250 6th Crusade ends in disaster In April, 1950, the crusaders under King Louis IX of France were assaulting Cairo. Even after four years of planning, he didn't see the importance on his flanks. Egyptians opened the sluice gates of all the water reservoirs along the Nile. The flood surrounded the whole crusade army. They had to surrender. In the subsequent peace deal, these Crusaders lost all the captured territory and had to pay a huge war bill to cover the cost of the war they had created. Ashamed King Louis stayed in Palestine for four more years. Then in 1254 AD, he returned to France as a very disappointed king.

1257 Kublai Khan becomes the Supreme Mongol leader When Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, came to power as the supreme Khan in 1257 AD, the vast Mongol Empire extended from China to the Mediterranean. Kublai Khan also forced the kings of Burma and Cambodia to accept the Mongol rule. Unlike other Mongol leaders, Kublai Khan was also a builder. He built roads and canals across their vast empire. He ruled from Beijing in China. ( Mongols managed to take the northern China from the Song dynasty who continued to resist the Mongols advance into the south). Europeans learnt a lot about his rule through Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller who would soon spend 15 years as a guest in his imperial palace.

1257 Most Cosmopolitan Public Venues in the World Unlike all invaders before them, the Mongols tolerated all religions and cultures. They encouraged scholars, inventors, and traders as the results of their hard work generated more income to the Mongol empire. Because of this the Mongol empire had the most cosmopolitan Public venues at the time. At these venues, Merchants and Craftsmen from Italy, France, and Byzantium empire, met Persian Astronomers and Indian Mathematicians, and the missionaries sent by the Pope met Buddhist priests from the Indian region.

1266 Earliest Classical Sinhala Prose The Earliest Classical Sinhala Prose : Pujavaliya was written around this time.

1268 Noble prince Virabahu so loved by everyone, including children as young as 3 years When Parakaramabahu-2 asked for the bikkus opinion about which one of his five sons should be the next king, Bikkus voted for the eldest son Veerabahu (Vijayabahu-4). He had already proved his worthiness and capability to be the future leader of Lanka. He was also very religious, trusted and loved by all the people. People were already coming to see him for advice. Even three year old Lankan children knew him by name.

1268 Tooth relic moves to Kandy Tooth relic was enshrined in a new Temple in Kandy.

1268 Legend of Virabahu: "Bosath" Vijayabahu-4: Grand son of Vijayabahu-3, ( 3rd in a continuous line of great Sinhala Kings ) King Parakramabahu-2 abdicated, giving the throne to his eldest son by popular request. The King requested him to restore Anuradapura, Polonnaruwa, and specially the Ratnavali Seya (Ruwanvelimahaseya). His coronation was held in Polonnaruwa (after the restoration of the old city) in a massive celebration. Whole country celebrated for 7 days. Sinhalese had only two such celebrations ( The other was in 1236 AD under King Parakramabahu-2) in 600 years of treacherous ethnic betrayals and invasions.

1268 The Title of King's Friend : reviving the ancient Sinhalese tradition of Bestfriend. Bosath Vijayabahu-4 invented the new title of "The friend of the King". A person must have seven great qualities to be noble enough to be selected as "a best friend". He or She had to a wise ruler, a clever minister, a trustworthy person, a clever counsellor, ready to stand by in distress or in danger, always speak the truth, would be loyal to the king even at death. He chose Virabahu, son of his father's sister, as the first Bestfriend. He was a childhood friend of Bosath Vijayabahu-4. This revived the Sinhalese tradition of Bestfriends. Sinhalese who didn't lose their values during the 450 years of colonialism, still carry this tradition by having one or more best friends whom they totally trust.

1268 New King delegates power Vijayabahu-4, like a typical Sinhalese leader, had to lead by example. This meant that he was out of the capital most of the time. Therefore he delegated the ruling power to his four brothers, his father, Friends of the king, and the trustworthy ministers. If the ruling power was divided among so many powerful individuals in any other country there would have been disagreements, clashes and problems. Since the Lankans had a National philosophy, and truly noble leaders who knew which action and policy was out of the National philosophy, there was no need to worry. Such was the value and the importance of the Lankan National Philosophy that was based on the Buddhist principles.

1268 Road link between Dambadeniya & Polonnaruwa Vijayabahu-4 built a wide road, 125 km long, from Dambadeniya to Polonnaruwa. That was the first step towards the restoration of Polonnaruwa. Then they began the repair work on the monuments.

1268 Vijayabahu-4 (Bosath Vijayabahu) lives in the jungle restoring Polonnaruwa In another classic case of a true Sinhalese leader leading by example, Bosath Vijayabahu-4 then left for Polonnaruwa with a volunteer group of monks, engineers, architects, technicians, and workers and soldiers. To motivate them through the hard life, they brought and placed the Relics in a new Relic temple built in Polonnaruwa. He lived in the jungles of Polonnaruwa with other workers. He worked like a labourer to restore the ancient capital city of Polonnaruwa that had been burnt to the ground by Kalingha Magha.

1268 Restored Polonnaruwa ranks amongst the Seven Best Cities in South Asia Through unbelievable hard work, they managed to restore Polonnaruwa to such a state, that it was ranked amongst the Seven Greatest Cities in South Asia at that time.

1268 Restoration of Anuradapura begins Immediately after restoring Polonnaruwa, Bosath Vijayabahu-4 took the project teams to the ruined city of Anuradapura. There they began the restoration work on Anuradapura. Again Bosath Vijayabahu-4 worked, ate, and slept like a labourer, among the labourers. Such leadership qualities by example, motivated thousands of other patriots to follow the same. But the selfish corrupt elements were alarmed of the revival of the Sinhalese. They planned to weaken the Sinhalese again.

1269 Jaffna Conspirators, Javakas, & Pandyans plan invasion Power hungry, wealthy Jaffna families approached the Pandyan king again. They organised a pact between Chandrabanu ( Warlord of the Javaka troops in Jaffna), and the Pandyan king. Under this plan, both would together invade Lanka to weaken the Sinhalese. They were to cover the cost of the invasion by looting.

1269 24th invasion : Pandyans & Javakas strikes Mannar In their second attempt to grab Lanka, ChandraBanu's Javaka troops from Jaffna attacked the Lankan Army camp in Mannar. Meanwhile Pandyan ships landed in Mannar bringing Pandyan invaders. After overrunning the Lankan army camp there, they established a beachhead where more Pandyan troops landed.

1269 Invaders surround Yapahuwa Then the Combined forces of Pandyans and the Javakas in rebel Jaffna kingdom, marched to Yapahuwa. There they surrounded the capital of Lanka and demanded the king ( Bosath Vijayabahu-4) to admit Chandrabanu as the king of Lanka.

1269 Why would they want Buddhist relics ? The invaders demanded that the Buddhist relics to be handed over to them. This was a strange demand. Never before a South Indian invader hired by the wealthy Jaffna families, had ever demanded for the Buddhist relics. This was probably because the whole gang of the selfish corrupt elements in Lanka, supported this invasion. They probably hoped to rule, exploit, and profit from the rest of Lanka while the northern Warlords to run the north. All of them obviously knew that it was easier to win the hearts of the Sinhalese commoners with the sacred relics.

1269 Angry Vijayabahu stops the restoration of Anuradapura After finishing his restoration of Polonnaruwa, Vijayabahu-4 had just started the repair work on Anuradapura. He learnt of the Battle in Mannar where the invaders wiped out the Lankan Army camp there. Furious of the traitors in Lanka, he came back to Yapahuwa from the jungles of Anuradapura to face the invaders himself.

1269 Bosath Vijayabahu-4 fights like a soldier to wipe out the enemy invaders and the traitors It was the time of the heroes. It was the hour of the true noble blood. Bosath Vijayabahu-4 personally led the Lankan Army comprising of mainly Sinhalese boys. The South Indian troops of the Lankan Army had deserted as usual. His Royal best friend Virabahu walked alongside him. They fought the enemy on foot like the real soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, alongside the fellow soldiers. Lankan army convincingly defeated the powerful combined force of the Pandyans and the Javakas. The invaders who had been very confident of victory, were shocked.

1269 Enemy units running for their lives all over the North……. Brave and strong Sinhala army lieutenants hunted the fleeing enemy units through Vanni lands all the way to Jaffna. Chandrabanu, the self imposed Jaffna rebel king, had to flee leaving all his valuables, his women, his much loved horses, and his favourite elephants. Some brave Sinhala troops reached and blocked the northern coastline so that the invaders couldn't escape. Chandrabanu was killed while trying to escape from Jaffna beach to South India.

1269 And then the peace…. Power hungry South Indian conspirators in the north realised that they couldn't destroy the Lankan Army or the Sinhalese patriotism because of the strength Lanka had gained by following the National philosophy. They realised that nothing could stop Lanka becoming united again. They quickly advised the Pandyan king to seek peace with King Bosath Vijayabahu-4 before their ruling power in the north was destroyed. When the Pandyan king suggested a peacepact, the religious Sinhalese welcomed peace.

1269 Fair Lankan king appoints a Local Governer as requested by the enemy Responding to a request made by the Pandyans, Javakas and the Northern Warlords, fair Sinhala King even appointed a son of Chandrabanu as the Governer of Jaffna under the Central Government. Compared to how others in history treated their victims whom they had conquered, the Sinhalese go down in the history of mankind as one of the gentlest, kind, forgiving and accommodating communities in history. ( Later these ungrateful Pandyans, Javakas, and northern Warlords will invade again to destroy the Sinhalese ).

1270 Restoration of Anuradapura fails due to lack of resources After liberating the country from the 24th invasion, Vijayabahu-4 went back to the restoration work on Anuradapura. But the last invasion had drained the country's resources. Seeing the mammoth task ahead, he requested for more craftsmen and funds from his father. They couldn't find enough as the country was so poor. Anuradapura could not be restored.

1270 An economy so poor: For the first time, Lanka is poor unrecoverably………. Once mighty Lanka, after suffering from 24 invasions and at least a dozen major rebellions by the power-hungry warlords in the north, was now poor unrecoverably. Lanka was so poor that the Gold coins were not in use anymore. Copper coins became the normal coins in use.

1270 Taxes on Corruption : Selfish & Corrupt class plan revenge on the Sinhala philosophy The government could hardly tax people as they had nothing to give. Instead, Bosath Vijayabahu decided to crack down on the corruption and the ill-disciplined officials and merchants. Heavy fines and penalties were imposed on corruption. Wealthy and influential officials and merchants began to get caught. This led to the corrupt social classes becoming very unhappy of the Sinhala National philosophy again.

1270 Death of Parakaramabahu-2 Son of great king Vijayabahu-3, and father of Bosath Vijayabahu-4, died of old age. His son, Bosath Vijayabahu-4, the King of Lanka, lived mostly in the field developing the country, repairing and restoring the damages. After his father's death it became easier for the selfish corrupt elements to manipulate the administration while the king was away. Soon Bosath Vijayabahu-4 was isolated from the capital city.

1272 Selfish Corrupt Elements plan to murder the good King Bosath Vijayabahu After the death of the king's great father, the unhappy greedy merchants, and the corrupt officials planned the assassination of Bosath Vijayabahu-4. They were angry that they were being taxed, exposed to the public and fined for their irregular practices. They paid a corrupt Army General named Mitta to secretly raise a private army. Through the contacts and the money offered by foreign businessmen, he even hired mercenaries from Rajput states ( Rajput was home to many powerful and wealthy merchant families ) in India.

1272 Assassination of Great King Bosath Vijayabahu-4 : Selfish Corrupt class takes revenge The conspirators employed a slave who gained access to the king. Using this slave, they murdered Bosath Vijayabahu-4 and quickly deployed the private army in the capital Dambadeniya. Good citizens of Lanka were taken by surprise. Only Buvanekabahu ( King's brother) managed to flee to Yapahuwa.

1272 Military Stand against the new corrupt ruler Fortunately the Sinhala troops of the Lankan Army were not corrupt. They continued to believe in the good National Philosophy. They rose up against the new ruler. Clever Sinhala soldiers infiltrated amongst the foreign mercenaries and made friends with them. The new ruler was then unable to satisfy the pay and work conditions of the hired mercenaries. His own mercenaries killed him. The mercenaries then made peace with the Sinhala troops. Then the good citizens brought king's brother Buvanekabahu from Yapahuwa to the throne. But no one could replace great humans like Bosath Vijayabahu.

1272 For the first time Lankan King could not challenge the ethnic Tamil racist rebel rule in Jaffna. King ruled all of Lanka except the Jaffna peninsula As Buvanekabahu became the king, the northern warlords realised that poor and shattered Lanka was not in a position to unite the country for some time. They made a deal with the Pandyans. Pandyans were benefiting from many trade activities with Jaffna. In this deal made for mutual power, Pandyans swore to protect the Jaffna rebel kingdom from Lankan government while the Northern Warlords would pay annual tribute to the Pandyans. Lanka, weakened by traitors who were living in Lanka itself, didn't have enough resources to recover the Jaffna peninsula from the warlords and the mighty Pandyans. Therefore King Buvanekabahu ruled all of Lanka, except Jaffna. He was powerful enough to defeat the warlords of Jaffna. But the Lankan economy was too weak to face the Pandyans in a war.

1273 Sri Lanka misses the Greatest Trade Opportunity By this time, Lankan products were in very high demand in the world markets. Unfortunately Lankan were not aware of this fact. ( If they had been able to continue their glorious civilisation where they had ambassadors and trade envoys in other countries, Lanka would have made a fortune through this trade. Unfortunately, since Lankans were NOT fully aware or had resources to market their products overseas, it was the Arab merchants, Portugese, Dutch and the British who took advantage and became rich).

1273 First recorded Arabic influence in Lanka More and more Arab merchants were migrating to Lanka for business purposes. They developed into a unique community who safeguarded their Islam religion and customs. But they, on the whole, seldom showed any respect for the Sinhalese religion or the customs. In fact, in the years to come, they would penetrate deep into untouched Sinhala villages, and misuse the trust and the hospitality of the innocent Sinhala Buddhist villagers. They would abuse these unsuspecting Sinhalese without any remorse or sympathy. They would also collaborate with the European invaders, endangering the lives of the patriots. Sometimes, for Muslim's selfish business advantages, they would entice the foolish Sinhalese to fight the invaders.

1273 Lanka becomes a Free Fire Zone of the Selfish Corrupt elements As Sinhalese were weak beyond recovery, the Theravada Buddhist system (which prevented exploitation of the country and the people by the greedy and corrupt elements) collapsed. This made Lanka a free fire zone for all selfish elements who were hanging on to the few opportunities available in the country. There was hardly anyone powerful enough to control them.

1273 Transformation from the Theravada system to the present commercialised system Lankan society was getting fast commercialised. People began to get money, instead of goods, in return for selling spices like arecanuts. Foreign merchants bought these trade goods for cheap and made a fortune by selling them for very high prices in world markets. Use of money increased. Foreign trade, along with corruption, increased many times within just a few decades. True Sinhalese found it difficult to live with the values they had safeguarded for thousands of years with so many non-Buddhists,( who believed in different philosophies), refusing to respect the Buddhists principles in the society. The number of people who saw nothing wrong with the selfishness, and corruption, ignoring the philosophy of the Spiritual Buddhists, increased.

1274 Mongols invasion of Japan is thwarted by "Kamikaze" -The Devine Wind Both Mongol invasions in 1274 AD and again in 1281 AD, were driven back by ferocious typhoons. Japanese called these typhoons the "Kamikaze", the divine wind. They would use this term to name the Japanese pilots crashing on the enemy ships to save their country during the World War Two.

1275 Venetian traveller Marco Polo in China Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller who left Venice in 1271 AD, arrived in Beijing in 1275 AD. There he made friends with Kublai Khan, the Mongol supreme leader who was ruling his empire from China. Marco Polo spent 15 years there as a guest in his palace. One of his writings about Kublai Khan's summer palace at Shandu, created the English term "Xanadu" to describe a place of luxury, fun and pleasure. He wrote that Khan lived in a marble palace surrounded by trees and gardens, ministers, officials, musicians, and magicians. He also mentioned a pavilion held up by 200 silken cords. His writings inspired the Europeans to explore the east for.

1279 World's First Rockets & Gunpowder In 1215 AD the Chinese Song dynasty had retreated to the southern China as the Mongols took Beijing. They continued to resist the Mongols advance into the south. There they invented rockets, gunpowder, and military paddle-boats. With these new weapons, they were a formidable opponent even to the Mongols.

1279 Mongols take all of China Mongols kept on attacking until the Song dynasty was weak in the southern China. Finally in 1279 AD, Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, completed the conquest of China and ended the Song dynasty. As revenge, Mongols placed the southern Chinese at the bottom of the four social classes they had created. This made the southern Chinese very angry of the invader's rule.

1279 Cholas totally disappear from history ( Today No one in the region, except the Lankan warmongering Tamil racists, regrets it ) At the end of the Chola dynasty under RajadiRaja-3, Cholas disappeared form history as quickly as they came. They were declining since 1200 AD. The history records many such destroyers in history who did caused nothing but destruction to their victims. Such communities who were led by power-hungry warmongers only made others weaker before they themselves enjoyed the loot and vanished in history. They had only caused pain, suffering and destruction on other hardworking people on this planet. That was why the Sinhalese can still proudly boast a glorious civilisation while these Barbarians has to depend on well-funded propaganda to create and show any glory on their part.

1281 Second Largest Amphibious Force ever to land anywhere in history : Mongol's 2nd invasion of Japan is foiled by Typhoons In their second attempt, Mongols returned in massive strength to take Japan in 1281 AD. Mongols sent the second Largest Amphibious Force ever to land anywhere in the recorded history. ( The Largest was the 150,000 Chola troops who landed in 1018 AD in the 15th Invasion on Sri Lanka. This was followed by another 100,000 Chola troops who landed just seven years later to invade the southern jungles of Sri Lanka. Both these were world records that would stay until the modern times). A massive Mongol army of 140,000 troops secured and held on to several beachheads for two months. Then the divine wind struck again. A typhoon destroyed most of the Mongol fleet. Japanese Samurais and armed Buddhist monks who had been trained in the art of war in the Buddhist temples, were able to defeat the invaders in the beachheads. Only half of the huge Mongol army returned safely.

1283 A Lankan embassy in Egypt : Shows the increasing influence of the Arab merchants in Lanka Lankan king appointed an envoy ( an ambassador) to the Sultan of Egypt to help maintain good relationship. There is no doubt that the Arab merchants who came for business, were responsible for this.

1284 25th invasion - A suspected Pandyan invasion: Budda's relics ends up in Pandyan Kingdom Since there is no record of a Sinhala king between 1284 and 1287, it is suspected that there was a Pandyan occupation. The invaders took the Budda's relics in Polonnaruwa to the Pandyan kingdom.

1284 Kublai Khan demands relics from Lanka, in order to rule China Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) wanted to rule China, the most resourceful Asian country, as long as he could. Five years after completely taking China, he noticed that if he could have the Buddha's relics ( which were in the custody of Lanka) he could win the Chinese Buddhists. He sent a delegation to Lanka who demanded the relics. But they had to return empty handed as the invading Pandyans had taken the relics.

1287 Lanka, including the king himself, is at the mercy of the Pandyans, corrupt officials and merchants King Parakramabahu-3 had to seek peace with everyone as the Sinhalese were so weak. He became a king who lived under constant threats from the Pandyan kingdom. His coronation was held in Polonnaruwa. But he ruled from Dambadeniya for the fear of assassination by the corrupt officials and merchants who were very powerful with their international connections by this time. It was this state of weakness that today's Eelamists had always wanted. Under such weak governments, the Northern Warlords thrived without paying tax. But good and fair South Indian citizens of Lanka continued to live with the Sinhalese in the fine multi-cultural country.

1287 Pandyans demand Annual tax to return the Buddha's relics King Parakramabahu-3 had no option other than submitting to the Pandyan demands of annual payments to obtain the Buddha's relics back.

1290 Muslims overrun the northern parts of the Pandyan kingdom The Muslim military power from the middle east, entered South India from the North India. Delhi was already under the Muslim control. In Punjab the first Muslim state had been established.

1291 Last crusader kingdom falls to Muslims After the disastrous failure of the last crusade, the local Muslim armies,

1291 Last crusader kingdom falls to Muslims After the disastrous failure of the last crusade, the local Muslim armies, specially the Egyptians, conquered the remaining Latin outposts in Syria and Palestine. On May 18, 1291, the last of the Crusader kingdoms, the town of Acre (in today's Israel), fell. The Crusaders who had settled in these kingdoms, along with the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, escaped to Cyprus. There they survived under the rule of Venice until 1570 when Ottoman Turks took it. Only the Latin states in Greece survivied until 1450 AD.

1292 Colonised Crusaders after the War Lives of the Crusaders who had colonised the Christian outposts changed in unexpected ways. The Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem first became the Knights of Rhodes and then the Knights of Malta. They governed those islands under Latin rule. After the war, the Knights of Templars who escaped to Cyprus were exposed to the Venetian trade. They became very wealthy bankers. The Teutonic Knights withdrew to the Baltic coast and established a settlement which later became Prussia.

1292 Crusades awaken Europe Crusades opened the Europe to the trade with the Middle East. Many ships arriving from the middle east, made the ports in Italy and southern France very busy. European Kings and merchants had so far seen only their tiny European kingdoms. They began to realise that there was an advanced world beyond the oceans.

1292 Pet Cats enter Europe from Egypt Crusaders introduced the Egyptian pet cats culture to the Europeans. Those cats they first brought to Europe during the Crusades, were the ancestors of many of the modern cat breeds throughout the world.

1292 MarcoPolo visits Lanka What this European traveller from Venice, saw in Asia was one of the two reasons why Europe progressed in life to become colonial masters in 300 years. The other reason was what the Crusaders saw in the middle east.

1293 Kurunegala becomes Lanka's capital Buvanekabahu-2 ( Son of Buvanekabahu) became king in Kurunegala.

1295 Marco Polo's returns home In 1295 AD, the Venetian traveller Marco Polo, returned home. He wrote details about the East, emphasizing the fabulous wealth. This attracted many greedy Europeans to explore and conquer the wealth of the new world. So called "European adventurers" sailed around the coast of Africa and across the Atlantic to reach the east. That was the end for many ancient civilisations in those areas.

1295 Mongols in Iran convert to Islam In 1231, Mongol armies took Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Georgia. In 1258 AD after the fall of Baghdad, Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Mangu and Kublai Khan established the Iranian Khanate ( Mongol kingdom in Iran). Hulagu Khan ruled today's Iran, eastern Iraq, western Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. By 1295 these khans of Iran converted to the faith of Islam. Although the Mongols strictly enforced the political rule, they didn't destroy the local cultures, languages or the religions. When the khan Abu-Said died without a male heir in 1395, the khanate broke up into small states ruled mainly by the Islamic Iranians.

1300 Appearance of Ottoman Turkish empire The Ottoman Turks were once refugees who were running scared of the Mongol invaders. They stopped, studied, and founded one of the most powerful and long-lived empires in the world. Their early use of firearms and artillery with knowledge they learnt from the Chinese, gave them an advantage over the others in the middle east and in Europe. They attracted support from other Muslim groups in their fight against the Christians of the Byzantine Empire. They created the janissaries- one of the most effective warriors the world had ever seen. Janissaries were the Christian boys of the captured territories, who served with honour and with many privileges in the Muslim armies after an excellent training. .

1302 Greed of the Christian Church is exposed In 1302 AD, Pope Boniface VIII claimed in public that "Every human creature is subject to the Roman pontiff". This was known as the "Unam Sanctam", the most ambitious claim to Pope's supremacy. Such power-hungry demands and the greed made the Christian Church unpopular among the free thinking Europeans. The Christian Church was even selling forgiveness of sins, for money.

1302 European Kings regain power over the Christian Church Finally, King Philip IV of France, " Philip the Fair", sent his troops to Rome to arrest the Pope. That was the end of a 230 year domination the Pope was having, over the European kings. That was also the end of a 500 year of Pope's alliance with European super powers to expand Christianity in the conquered regions.

1302 The greatest literacy achievement of Lanka : 550 Jataka stories King Parakaramabahu-4 ordered the 550 Jataka stories to be translated from Pali to the Sinhala language. These stories of Karmic Law influenced generations of true Sinhala patriots on moral edification. That is considered the Greatest literacy achievement in Lanka.

1302 Wise King saw the importance in the Revival of Literature Realising where he had to rebuild the lost civilisation from, King Parakramabahu-4 encouraged literacy work on legendary and historical characters and events. King Parakramabahu-4 himself wrote Dalada Sirita.

1306 Knights of Rhodes create another Crusader Outpost in the Mediterranean As the last Latin outpost of Acre fell, crusader settlers (together with the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller) had taken refuge in Cyprus which was under the Venice. Around 1306 AD, the Knights Hospitaller again took control of the island of Rhodes. They began to rule that island as an independent Christian state. This became the last Crusader outpost in the Mediterranean. In 1522 AD, Ottoman Turks conquered them after fierce fighting. In 1570 AD, Ottoman Turks conquered Cyprus from the rule of Venice. Only the Latin states created by the crusaders in Greece survived until 1450 AD.

1308 26th Invasion: Last South Indian Invasion in history: Arya-Chakravarti from Pandyan Kingdom While the Lankan King Parakramabahu-4 was busy developing the literature, Pandyans invaded Lanka again. There aren't many details available to verify whether any Lankans were part of the conspiracy to invade. We know that the Pandyan king Kulasekera sent the invasion force under his War minister AryaChakravarti. He definitely had precise intelligence about the Sinhala fortress of Yapahuwa and the defence system. The good old selfish corrupt elements or the willing spies living in multi-cultural Lanka, probably supplied them with this information. He overran Sinhala army headquarters based in the fortress at Yapahuwa with ease. He also overrran the capital city Kurunegala easily. There must have been good reasons as to why the invader was able to overrun those fortifications so quickly and easily. Then AryaChakravarti sent the Tooth Relic and many treasures back to the Pandyan kingdom.

1308 Social divisions that helped the invader : 1). New selfish class of Sinhalese When Arya-Chakravarti invaded, the Lankan society comprised of two distinctive elements. One was the patriotic Lankans (who endeavoured to maintain the good system). The others were the unpatriotic selfish elements. Prominent among them was the new selfish corrupt class of Sinhalese who would settle for their personal interests rather than upholding the good system based on the National Philosophy. They avoided taking risks to themselves. But they grabbed any opportunity to make wealth. When it was convenient they would pretend to be patriotic, but would rather have someone else fight for it.

1308 Social divisions that helped the invader : 2). Traditional selfish corrupt class of Opportunists Then there was the good old selfish corrupt class of officials and merchants, the traditional trouble-makers. As long as the political and social environment allowed them to exploit the country's resources and the masses to their advantage, they were happy. They would do anything, and would spend any amount, to stop the return of the Theravada system.

1308 Social divisions that helped the invader : 3). Newly arrived Muslim traders Then the newly arrived Muslim traders had introduced the new culture where the value of money overrode the values of selflessness, National unity and patriotism.

1308 Social divisions that helped the invader : 4). Power-hungry Tamil chiefs of the north Then there were the power-hungry wealthy South Indian families of the north. Many of them had become Warlords who maintained their own thug squads. They were happy with the self-rule in their local areas under a weak Central government. They would do anything to keep Lanka poor and the central government weak.

1325 Aztec civilization appears A nomad tribe in present-day Mexico, observed, according to legend, an eagle eating a snake, while sitting on a cactus grown on a rock in a swamp. On that marshy spot, which they believed was a powerful location, they built a city named Tenochtitlan, which is today the Mexico City. The Aztecs expanded in central Mexico. Their population estimated at 5 million, was larger than that of England at the time. The Aztec culture was both unusually gentle and one of the most brutal in history. In pyramid temples, Aztec priests cut the heart out from human's chest using knives. Animal and human sacrifice were made daily. Sometimes, thousands of humans were sacrificed in a single week.

1341 Gampola becomes the capital Buvanekabahu-4 ruled from Gampola as better natural defences were available in Gampola than Kurunegala. AryaChakravarti was able to overrun both Yapahuwa and Kurunegala.

1344 Iban Batuta, the Persian traveller, visits Lanka He described the small but beautiful city of Gampola under the king Buvanekabahu-4. He also described the invader Arya-Chakravarti's Headquarters in Puttalam. The invader had overrun Yapahuwa and Kurunegala. But the invader couldn't reach Gampola due to Guerrilla attacks staged by the patriotic Sinhalese forces. AryaChakravarti's base camp comprised of wooden houses and watch towers. The camp was surrounded by cinnamon trees, which was a lucrative international trade. Arya Chakravarti, being a trained warrior, had studied foreign languages as a student. He knew Persian language. He treated this international traveller very well. Using the Sinhalese collaborators, Aryachakravarti even organised him to visit the Samanala mountain with an armed escort of South Indian and local collaborator troops.

1344 Proof that North was NOT under "Tamil" kings In his writings, Iban Batuta refers to northern chiefs in Lanka as provincial Sultans who ruled either under the central government or by making compromises under the invader's rule. It is quite possible that these northern chiefs, who had a reputation for being power-hungry, were glad to see the invaders weakening the central government. That allowed them to avoid remitting the collected tax to the central government.

1347 Beginning of 300 years of Black Death : "Deadliest killer in the History" Black Death began in the steppes of Central Asia after several natural disasters like earthquakes. Unhealthy gases from underground, corrupted the air. The bug then spread to China and India. Through the trade travel it arrived in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. It reached Constantinople in 1347. Messina in Sicily became the first European town to have it in October the same year. By 1348, Paris and the south coast of England were affected. Then it spread rapidly to the rest of Europe. It continued both in the winter and in the summer. Therefore it is believed that it had it's pneumonic form ( for it to affect warm cramped living conditions) as well as being a bubonic plague. It spread rapidly in the not-densely populated areas as well. The death was quick after infection. Mortality rate was said to be as high as 90% which indicated that it could be a virul infection. The epidemic affected animals including household pets, f armyard animals, and even birds easily. But later on the animals developed resistance to the plague.

1347 How the conditions of medieval Europe helped it spread Unhygienic conditions under which the European masses lived, were the prime reason why it instantly killed one third of the Europeans initially. unsanitary housing, rubbish tips, butchers' shambles, and stinking ditches helped the plague spread fast. Europeans refused to touch or get close to the victims' decomposing bodies, or their goods and clothing.

1347 Germ Warfare In one of the earliest records of germ warfare, European armies began to use the germs to their advantage to destroy the enemy. There are records of plague-ridden armies attempting to capture an enemy fortress by catapulting decaying corpses into the enemy town to infect the defenders.

1347 Church take advantage of the Black Death to increase membership Christian Church went on a campaign to enhance their image using the Black Death. Church claimed that the Black Death was a punishment from God for the sins of mankind. Church blamed the European lifestyles of excessive indulgence in eating, drinking and immoral sexual behaviour was responsible. Many new European social organizations joined the Church, calling for a return to spirituality. But the plague affected both the wicked and the good people.

1347 Church outlaws new Social organizations Some of these new spiritual movements attracted too many recruits. Church began to outlaw them in order to keep the Christian numbers intact.

1347 Beggars, the Poor, and the Jews are blamed and Massacred in Europe It was easy to accuse the beggars and the poor for the Black Death. In Europe where the Jews had been tolerated so far in history, a popular belief developed that they were responsible. In west German and Swiss cities, there were many massacres of innocent Jews. Germans and the Swedish tortured them until they admitted to poisoning of the water wells. The Church and many spiritual organizations tried to stop this without success.

1347 Benefits after the plague European's sudden growth, collapsed after the plague. Many towns and villages either disappeared or became depopulated. Labour force decreased, leading to higher wages and uncultivated land. ( The plague appeared again in 1361 and then several times in the 15th and 16th centuries). Rent paid to landlords for leasing the land for cultivation, fell. Inflation rose. Farmers rose up in uprisings. Positions usually held by men, were opened to women. This made women gaining greater status in society. Food prices fell. Survivors enjoyed these benefits.

1347 Shocking Death Toll of the Black Death Black Death destroyed a larger number of people than any other disease or war in history. The damage left by the plague between 1347 and 1351 was shocking. Italian city states had highest death tolls. In Florence, almost all the population, over 100,000 had died. In Cairo, Egypt, a city of 500,000, roughly 7,000 people died each day. By 1400 China lost 30 per cent of it's population, from an estimated 125 million to 90 million. By 1349, one-third of the Islamic population died. Some 25 million people (a third of the population of Europe) were killed by the initial onslaught of the Black Death. Half of the European population eventually died. By the early 20th century, effective treatment was made available.

1352 Northern Warlords dare to demand Taxes FROM the Central Government Some of the Warlords in the north who were in alliance with the invader, decided to take advantage of their powerful position. For the first time in the recorded history of Sri Lanka, these northern Warlords DARED to demand taxes from the Central Government. They tried to scare the central government into paying ransom using the power of the invader. They despatched tax collectors to the south to collect the tax from the multi-cultural Lanka. A fearless minister named Alagakkonara, under Buvanekabahu-4, captured and killed these tax collectors.

1352 Taking advantage without shame when Lanka was weak…. Such events in the history only strengthened the suspicion the Sinhalese have about the South Indian extremists in Lanka. When Lanka and the Sinhalese were strong they loved to live in the beautiful multi-cultural country. But when Lanka or the Sinhalese were weak, they do have the dubious reputation of taking advantage, and demanding unfairly, without any gratitude or mercy.

1352 Northern Warlords complain to Arya Chakravarti- The Invader Northern Sultans who had sent the tax collectors, went to Arya Chakravarti who was ruling from Puttalam. They complained that racist Sinhalese have murdered the South Indians in the south. Angry Arya Chakravarti decided to launch an offensive "to catch the racist Sinhalese and their King".

1353 Jaffna Warlords get AryaChakravarti to attack the Sinhalese Arya Chakravarti advanced to Matale with his infantry units. His ships landed as south as Panadura. He would be hunting the Sinhalese for the next three decades. Sinhalese patriots spread out in the hill country and the Ruhuna. They responded in Guerrilla warfare.

1353 Heroes of 1815 AD develop their skills This was where the legendary Sinhalese patriots of the hill country developed their exceptional skills in Guerrilla warfare. These patriots would almost push the British empire into the sea in 1815 AD. Unfortunately, the subsequent social tactics introduced by the British branded them as low-castes and pushed them into poverty and helplessness. Even today the honour, bravery and patriotism are very much safeguarded in these truly noble Sinhalese communities hidden in the remote corners of the hill country.

1360 Proof of Selfishness of the Northern officials: An inscription in Medawala Rajamaha Viharaya in Kandy An inscription dated to this year, was found in Medawala Rajamaha Viharaya in Kandy. It revealed a treaty between the Lankan king and a northern official regarding tax payments to the central government and the rules of authority for the official. This proved that these northern chiefs were only area-chiefs who used to work for the central government. They were NOT Kings of separate states. This also revealed that by this time the northern chiefs, whenever the king was weak, bargained for power and tax payments with selfishness and power-hunger.

1368 A Buddhist monk liberates China from Mongols It wasn't easy even for the Mongols to keep ruling China. Crop failures and floods created famine. At all these opportunities, patriotic Chinese revolted against the invader almost everywhere. The deathblow to the Mongols in China came from the rebellion organised by the Buddhist monk Zhu Yuan zhang. He disrobed himself and became a warrior. his liberation struggle began in the Yangtze Valley. Within just seven years, he led a peasant army to victory in the South China in 1368. In three more years he drove the Mongols from Beijing.

1368 Mongols are driven out from China Zhu Yuan zhang, the Buddhist monk who became a warrior, founded the Ming dynasty in 1368. In three more years, he managed to take Beijing. After 100 years, Mongols were back in their homeland beyond the Chinese border. They would never take China again.

1368 Ming Dynasty rebuilds China Under Ming Dynasty the Chinese were busy reorganisation and rebuilding. They were not able to invent new things. The Great Wall and the Grand Canal network were repaired. Schools and literature were improved. Confucianism became the National philosophy again. Central bureaucracy was restored. The knowledge of Confucianism and literature became compulsory in the civil service examinations.

1375 Muslim culture develops the African Mali Kingdom Muslims of Mali ( which replaced the conquerors of the wealthy Ghana Kingdom), who were occupying today's Sudan, developed themselves as the most prosperous kingdom in Africa. Like the Ghana's before them, Mali's prosperity came from trade from Sahara to Tunis. Muslim teachers established important schools and universities in Mali. Students even came from North Africa and the middle east to study reading, writing, and Islam in these top quality schools. They brought architects from the middle east to design mosques. These foreign workers introduced building with brick instead of clay.

1375 African Mali empire at their peak By 1375, many Europeans were familiar with the Mali empire and their trade goods. Mali empire ruled a vast African region, from central Africa to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, in order to control the export trade. They traded gold, salt, shells, skins, ivory, and clothing.

1380 Russians begin liberation from Mongols Batu Khan's ( one of the Grandsons of Ghengis Khan ) Mongol army, named as "the Golden Horde", was ruling southern Russia since 1241. The Mongols bureaucracy and tax collection based on Chinese system, in Russia, was nearly the same as that of the Mongols in China. By 1350 Russians started liberation attempts. Russian victory in 1380 led by the grand duke of Moscow, Dmitry Donskoy was the turning point. In 1395, Russians established 4 states in the liberated area, Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimea, and Sibiria. These shielded Moscow from Mongols. In 1480, when Ivan III Vasilyevich, grand duke of Moscow, refused to pay any taxes to the Mongols, that became the end of Mongol rule in the region.

1380 Brave minister Alagakkonara faced the Pandyans as the king fled As Pandyans under Arya Chakravarti advanced on Gampola, the king Buvanekabahu-5 fled. This confirmed both the existence and the rise of an incapable Sinhalese elite.( A local collaborating class of Sinhalese, who advanced in the society under the invader’s rule, had been in existence ever since 1215 AD. They had become a new artificial elite who lacked the legendary Sinhalese qualities of honour and dignity). But this incident showed the rise of this new artificial Sinhalese elite, into positions that were formerly held only by the elite Sinhalese of great qualities and principles. Fortunately, the Minister Alagakkonara was not one of those bogus, incapable leaders. He faced the invaders with a strategy in his mind. He defeated them in classic guerrilla warfare. He became the unofficial ruler of Lanka.

1400 End of Mali kingdom and Emergence of Last Great African kingdom- Songhai kingdom in Nigeria As Mali empire emerged over the Kingdom of Ghana, a well-administered state named Songhai in Nigeria was developing fast. They converted to Islam in 1000 AD. They wrote down the Islamic law which is still used in West Africa. In 1400 AD, they conquered the Mali empire by taking the Mali capital city.

1400 Secrets of the Last Great African kingdom- Songhai kingdom in Nigeria The Songhai Empire expanded under the emperor Sunni Ali. He had his provinces ruled by Governors and civil servants. He created a professional army. The Navy he established helped him to own the vital trade routes from Nigeria to Tripoli, and those in the Nile Valley. Along these trade routes, slaves were sold to the Arabs. He also sold fine leather that became known as Moroccan leather in Europe. He also developed irrigation in order to avoid dependence on trade income.

1400 Venice : The Leading Maritime Power in the Christian world As Attila turned back without capturing Italy, some of the displaced native refugees of north-eastern Italy, continued to live in the islands, marshes, and lagoons where they took chelter from Attila. This settlement grew connecting 120 islands created by the 177 canals by 400 bridges. By 991, this independant republic of Venice became the greatest commercial centre for trade with the East due to the Venetian policy of trading with the Muslim powers rather than fighting them. In 1204, the weakening of the Byzantine Empire made Venice politically the strongest European power in the Mediterranean. By 1400 AD, Venice was the leading maritime power in the Christian world. Through the 15th century, Turkish invasions ended the Venetian supremacy. By 1500, discovery of sea route to India was crippling blow. In 1508 the Holy Roman Empire, the pope, France, and Spain together captured Venice. In 1797 the Venetian Republic was captured and ended by Napoleo n.

1405 Coming of Zheng Ho : ( The Chinese who would invade Lanka ) Chinese army of the Ming dynasty, who were chasing the Mongols out of China, crossed the northern Chinese border to enter a Muslim village in Mongolia. There they captured the son of a Muslim family. This was castrated, and was later recruited into the Chinese army. With his exceptional talents and skills, he rose the ranks quickly. He came to be known as Zheng Ho. He became an influential court eunuch and impressed the Chinese emperor with his capabilities. Emperor would select him to explore the lands beyond the sea. He became a Chinese admiral, explorer, and an excellent diplomat.

1405 Zheng Ho arrives in Lanka to demand the relics In his first exploration, Zheng Ho left China with 62 ships carrying gold and other treasures in 1405. They visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and Calicut in India. These visits were both political-oriented and trade-oriented. He arrived in Sri Lanka to demand Buddha's relics and the submission to the Chinese rule. As the Lankan King refused both demands, they returned empty-handed.

1405 Results of Zheng Ho's exploration in Asia Zheng Ho's visits established the Chinese Naval and commercial influence in the Indian Ocean. His exploration led to the Chinese migration into South Est Asia as traders.

1409 Zheng Ho becomes an invader Zheng Ho made five more voyages between 1409 AD and 1421 AD. He visited the South East Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, east Africa, and Egypt. They took Kings, Queens, Ministers, and Officials as prisoners (from weaker countries) and Ambassadors (from stronger countries) from 30 countries and presented them to the Chinese emperor. One of their victims was the Royal family of Sri Lanka.

1409 27th Invasion : Chinese returns in 5 years as invaders He took the whole Sinhala Royal family from Gampola. The king Veera Alakeswara ( son of the brave minister Algakkonnara ) and his queen, children, other nobles, ministers, all ended up as Royal prisoners in China.

1409 Sunethra Devi escapes with her sons Fortunately, one of the Queens, named Sunethra Devi, managed to escape with her two sons. One of these two sons would become the last king to unite Lanka, in 4 years time, as a great leader. He would be known as Parakramabahu-6. He would be the last Lankan king to unite the country before the Portugese came.

1410 Mongol empire begins to collapse After 200 years, and 42 years after losing China, Mongol empire collapsed rapidly and broke into local kingdoms. Liberation efforts by the local patriots became common all across their empire. Even the very well-disciplined Mongol army couldn't stop the patriots.

1411 Parakramabahu-6 makes Raigama the Capital City of Lanka Parakramabahu-6, son of Sunethra Devi, grandson of the brave minister Algakkonnara, who managed to escape the Chinese, became the new king from Raigama in Kalutara district. He spent three years in Raigama. He began to build a new Capital City for Lanka.

1411 Work begins on building a New Capital City in Kotte Parakramabahu-6 was a truly noble great king. He started building a brand new capital city for Lanka in Kotte. It would take three years to complete the task.

1411 Parakramabahu-6 tackles the Selfish Corrupt elements effectively Parakramabahu-6 was determined to unite Lanka. He treated that task as his responsibility as the new king. He was slowly and steadily improving the economy through agriculture and trade. He was at the same time very careful not to run into conflict with the selfish corrupt elements. He knew that those elements could sabotage his journey at any given time. Instead, he allowed them to function with freedom to a great extent while making plans to liberate the north from the warlords. Fortunately the selfish corrupt elements didn't notice this slow process.

1412 King Parakramabahu-6 goes to Jaffna to unite the country Parakramabahu-6 wanted to unite the country by defeating the provincial warlords. They were reaping the benefits of the state by refusing to remit the taxes collected from their regions. They were using the infrastructure established by the fine Lankan civilisation. Yet they wouldn't repair them or build new ones. Innocent people were suffering under their selfish rule which followed no National Philosophy. Parakramabahu-6 led the Lankan army along with the prince Sapumal who was a General of the Lankan Army. He was the adopted son of Parakramabahu-6. Both of them had no idea of the threacherous trap they were stepping into.

1412 Vanni Conspiracy: Lankan Army is trapped in Jaffna Vanni chiefs who were officials of the Lankan Government, allowed the Lanka army to pass through to the Jaffna peninsula. Some of them were only pretending to be loyal to the central government. Then these treacherous Vanni chiefs attacked the Lankan Army from behind with their private thug squads. Lankan army was trapped between the armed gangs of the Jaffna warlords and the thugs maintained by these treacherous Vanni chiefs. Faced with a disastrous situation, many South Indian soldiers of the Lankan Army deserted, as usual, to the rebel side. Sinhala people in Jaffna, who had to live in fear under the oppressive rule of the warlords, joined the Lankan army in order to liberate the country from the evil rule. Lankan army will then fight one of the greatest battles in Sri Lankan history with outstanding bravery.

1412 Battle of Jaffna : Trapped Lankan Army fights back in Jaffna When the treacherous Vanni chiefs cut off the escape route for the Lankan army, Prince Sapumal took charge of the situation. He had anticipated this act of betrayal from the notoriously opportunistic northern chiefs. He had plans for such a contingency. He launched the strategy and then led the charge on the rebels himself. During the deadly battle, prince Sapumal proved himself as a fighter that no rebel in the north could challenge. Even the South Indians had him on the record saying that "he alone, on his black horse, charged along the streets of Jaffna, slaying the rebels in dozens".

1412 Battle of Jaffna : Prince Sapumal kills the Rebel leader Prince Sapumal singled out the rebel leader, Segarajasekeram-6. Prince Sapumal fought him face to face, and killed him. Then he entered the main camp of the northern warlord. There he captured the rebel leader's consort (partner), and the children. They were sent to Kotte for their own protection. They lived in safety in Kotte.

1412 Northern Militant leader is captured Prince Sapumal caught the leader of the armed thugs in the north who had committed horrendous crimes against the innocent people in the region. Without executing them for the crimes committed against humanity, he sent them back to Kotte.

1412 Northern Warlord escapes to South India The most powerful warlord, the so-called Jaffna Sultan, fled to the VijayaNagar Empire in South India. He would live there for twenty years until the time was right to come back. ( The embarrassed Eelamists say that "the Tamil king" was "weak" and "was lenient towards the Sinhala people" and that he "withdrew" with his family to South India for 16 years).

1412 Battle of Jaffna : Victory over rebels Parakramabahu-6 had effectively taken Vanni and Jaffna. He became the only king after king Parakramabahu and King NissankaMalla to crush the northern warlords convincingly, and unite the entire country. This was the last time the country was united before the European invaders came in 1505. Sapumal Kumaraya, who distinguished himself in battle, was appointed as the sub-king of jaffna, the Governer of the central government. He would become a legend among the good people of Jaffna for the service he would render to the peninsula.

1414 Jaffna people get the Best Leader in the country Parakramabahu-6 appointed the most capable administrator, the best of Lanka, as the man to develop the people of the peninsula. Under the brilliant statesmanship of Prince Sapumal, the peninsula would progress very much better than many other areas in Lanka. Fair citizens of Jaffna liked prince Sapumal, the new Governer of Jaffna. Such was the ancient, good Sinhalese way. The legendary hospitality of the Sinhalese, included their tendency to look after the others first, before looking after themselves. It was a quality, or a weakness, depending on how the receiver treated the Sinhalese in return. The power-hungry South Indian racists had previously taken advantage of the inefficiency of the local chief, to rally people for their rebellions. Therefore, prince Sapumal dedicated himself, to develop the north and the people. He earned respect for the Sinhalese from the fair Tamils in Jaffna. He was firm against power-hungry racists who jeopardised the ethnic hrmony in Jaffna.

1414 Prince Sapumal builds the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil Prince Sapumal built, and repaired many Hindu kovils. He built the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil, the most famous kovil in Jaffna. Prince Sapumal built this kovil for God Skanda-(God Kataragama). Even today, Jaffna Hindus believe God Skanda lives there. Prince Sapumal's deeds are depicted on paintings in the kovil with respect even today.( Year 2003 ). He built the Nallur town as well.

1414 Precautions taken by Prince Sapumal, proves the existence of traitors He linked the pond in his house to a pond, 19 kilometers away in Nirveli using an underground tunnel. This was a clear indication of the existence of the two-faced traitors around him. He knew that behind some of those smiling, humble and friendly faces and words spoken, were traitors, waiting for the opportunity to strike again. He was right. Within 68 years, despite all the hard work he had done to develop the people and the land, the power hungry South Indian racists would massacre the last Sinhalese patriots in Jaffna to grab power again.

1414 The Royal prisoners return from China The Chinese decided to release the Lankan prisoners, including the Royal family, that they took prisoner in 1409.

1414 Kotte Becomes the Capital City As the country was united, the building of the City of Kotte was also completed. Parakaramabahu-6 moved from Raigama, from where he ruled for 3 years, to Kotte.

1415 Janissaries Turkish Ottoman empire demanded a son from every Christian family in the captured territory who had more than one son. These young men were trained as Janissaries( Slave Warriors). With the world's best training, Janissaries became one of the most effective warriors the world had ever seen. They were offered the recognition, privileges and facilities that no other soldier in the Ottoman empire would receive. They became the elite troops of the Ottoman emperor himself.

1415 "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" : Battle of Agincourt, France During the 100-Year War between England and France, two armies met eachother in Agincourt, France. The morale of the British troops was low because the French force was much larger. In a historical speech before the battle, Henry V, King of England, said " The greater the odds, the more the glory". He told his troops, "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…for who shall shed his blood with me here, shall be my brother". ( This later became a classic play written by William Shakespeare). At the end, the English won the battle against the superior French force. The secret of their victory was their high morale and their longbows, which killed the French armoured knights from long distances. After this battle British took control of much of France.

1415 Last Great Literature awakening before the European invaders Many literature classics (mainly poetry) were written during the rule of Parakramabahu-6. Foremost of them were Sandesha Kavyas like Tisara, Mayura, Paravi, and Selalihini Sandeshaya. Those days would never again be matched again. This was the Last Great Literature awakening before the arrival of the European invaders.

1415 Parakramabahu-6 works in Anuradapura restoration efforts The jungle covered ruins of Anuradapura. Parakramabahu-6 worked hard to restore them. He even lived and worked there encouraging the workers to withstand the hardships with patriotism. He managed to restore the Mirisavetiya Dagaba to 120 feet.

1421 "Forbidden City" : Ming dynasty moves Capital to Beijing The Ming capital which was in Nanjing, was moved to Beijing. Emperor Yongle built a huge imperial palace which is known today as the "Forbidden City". Many non-Chinese communities along the Chinese border had to pay taxes and be loyal to the Chinese government. Meanwhile, the Chinese ships were visiting India, Madagascar, and Sumatra. Chinese trade migration also increased.

1431 Joan of Arc : "The Maid of Orleans" fights the invaders & the collaborators 19 year old French patriot Joan of Arc, known in history as "The Maid of Orleans", decided to fight against the British invaders and the collaborators. British were occupying much of the France with the help of greedy French collaborators. It seemed like that it was suicidal and hopeless even to attempt to challenge the British. But her victories in several battles and the popularity she gained, alarmed the French corrupt selfish elements and the British. Soon the selfish corrupt French traitors captured her and sold her to the English.

1431 Joan of Arc is burnt alive by the Christian Church In a devious conspiracy, in a corrupt court of law, the Christian church branded her as a heretic and sentenced her to the death penalty. On 30th May, nineteen year old Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake in Rouen. It is said that her heart didn't catch fire. Today patriotic French consider her as one of the great patriotic heroines of France. Almost 500 years later, in 1920 AD, the Christian Church reversed their mistake, and claimed her as a saint.

1440 Incas become a powerful empire for next 97 years In 1440, Inca emperor Pachacuti and his son, Topa Inca began to expand the Inca empire to their greatest heights. At the end, Incas ruled the entire Andes mountain region in South America. Their writing system used knotted threads of various colours. They recorded their census reports using these knotted threads. Their fine art is evident in their tapestries, pottery, and metalwork.

1440 Similarity between the Incas & Sinhalese civilisation Like the Sinhalese civilisation in Lanka, the Inca empire was well divided and subdivided into very effective local administrative districts. Incas demanded total loyalty from all the people. Like in ancient Egypt, the central government owned almost all the resources of the land. People could be called for working on public projects. The government maintained a fine welfare system which looked after the needy people. Government owned welfare warehouses which held enough supplies for the aged, sick, and widowed. Incas also had sophisticated building techniques. Incas built clay models of their buildings to discuss further planning and modifications. Their roads and bridges were some of the best in the world at the time.

1440 Inca city of Machu Picchu : a stunning archaeological site in the world. Incas didn't know the wheel. Yet they somehow moved large blocks of stone on wooden rollers to build great structures. They used plumb lines to ensure straight walls. They built a Great City named Machu Picchu, in the difficult high mountains of the Andes. Incas abandoned this great city for unknown reasons later. The city remained hidden, intact from human interference. When it was rediscovered in the 20th century, it became one of the most stunning archaeological sites in the world.

1444 Portugese Explorers in Africa Portuguese explorers were trying hard to find a sea route to Asia from the coast of West Africa. They noticed the potential of two highly lucrative commodities that the could sell in Europe. They were "gold" and "human slaves".

1444 Portugese : First Europeans to start the Slave trade Slavery had existed in the world from ancient times. Slaves had been used as faithful servants, and in return, had been generally treated fairly as human beings, by their masters. Slaves had been used for hard labour as it was profitable to get labour done for free than to pay for it. Slavery had been practised in this fashion in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and America. So far, slaves had been looked after generally well as an asset to the master. Mutual respect and compromise was generally evident in master-slave relationship. But as the European Explorers realised that it was a profitable business, greed replaced the little dignity the slaves had, with inhuman cruelty. Treatment of the slaves went down to a horrible low level. Portugese would enjoy the trade monopoly of slavery for nearly 100 years. They were shipping nearly a 900 slaves per year from Africa to Portugal.

1448 Battle of Varna : Janissaries fight alone for victory In the battle of Varna between the crusaders and the Ottoman Turks, the Muslim army fled the battlefield suffering defeat. But the Janissaries, the elite Special forces of the Turks, stayed back, fought the Crusaders on their own and routed the crusaders. That was a stunning victory. It helped enhance their image as the most feared military unit of the Ottoman army.

1448 Very patriotic King's daughter marries a South Indian in Lanka The daughter of King Parakramabahu-6, married a South Indian Pandyan named Sundara Pandya who lived in Vanni, Sri Lanka. This proved the amount of trust the Sinhalese were ready to place on the good non-Sinhalese citizens who respected the Sinhalese philosophy. This is also a classic example of the true multi-culturism practised by the Sinhalese, despite the repeated betrayals by the ungrateful, power-hungry selfish elements.

1450 Last Chinese are driven out by the Vietnamese Last occupying Chinese are driven out by the Vietnamese. This marked the end of a historical Chinese domination in Vietnam. But the French would occupy Vietnam in 1885. These heroic people would fight both the French and American superpowers for 90 years before obtaining freedom for their land.

1450 Pepiliyana Temple is built Parakramabahu-6 built this temple in the memory of his mother, Sunethra Devi. If not for her escape from the Chinese, Parakramabahu-6 wouldn't be able to contribute his great achievements to Lanka.

1453 Constantinople falls to Ottoman Turks Constantinople, also known as Istanbul, the capital of the East Roman Empire, finally fell to Ottoman Janissaries. By this time, Ottoman Turks were ruling both the Christian Byzantine Empire and the Islamic neighbours.

1453 End of the East Roman Empire (Byzantine empire) Fall of Constantinople marked the end of the East Roman Empire. Ottoman Turks meanwhile turned to the Balkans and in the following year, conquered the Balkans.

1460 Turkey Ottoman capture Greek states After taking Greece, Ottomans established a ruling class of Greek collaborators who had a privileged position in the Greek society. They joined the Greek orthodox Church as Ottoman administrators and political advisers, to become the most influential elements in Greece. Later this rule by the collaborators became corrupt and brutal. Greek masses suffered very badly under them. In 1830, in the war between the European superpowers (France, Britain and Russia) and the Turks, Greece received independence.

1463 First Kandyan Revolt for a separate state In another classic example to show that provincial power-hungry warlords, and rebel leaders was NOT unique to the north, a Jotiya Bandara from Kandy led a revolt against the king Parakramabahu-6 who ruled from Kotte. These rebels were trying to establish a separate kingdom in the hill country so that the rebel leaders could enjoy the privileges enjoyed by the ruling class. Fortunately, the Lankan Army managed to crush the rebels. A trusted member of the Royal family was appointed as the sub-king (The Governor) to Kandy to avoid future revolts.

1466 Death of Parakramabahu-6 : The Last Great King to rule the entire country He raised the nation to a height that was never achieved again. After ruling for 55 years, he died without a male heir. Subsequent kings struggled to stay in power and to match the great qualities of the true Sinhala leaders. These incapable rulers came to power through family connections and favourations, rather than by merit or by deeds. Under such bogus leaders, the life long handwork of this resourceful ruler, was destroyed. Parakramabahu-6 was the Last king of Great Achievements. He was also the Last Lankan king to rule the entire country as the Portugese came in 39 years after his death.

1469 Sapumal Kumaraya leaves Jaffna After the death of Parakramabahu-6, Prince Sapumal left Jaffna hoping to become the king of Lanka. A power struggle erupted between him and Jayavira ( grandson of Parakramabahu-6). This is also an example to show what happened to the Sinhalese when they didn't have the National philosophy. If the National philosophy were in existence, the most deserving and capable leader would be the king without any disagreement. However, in this shameful battle for the throne, Sapumal killed Jayavira to become the king in Kotte. His absence in Jaffna, provided the opportunity for the wealthy, power-hungry South Indian extremists in Jaffna to regroup again.

1478 Northern Warlords in action again…..! After prince Sapumal left for Kotte, the South Indian extremists raised their ugly head in Jaffna again. The wealthy, power-hungry South Indian extremists in Jaffna planned their customary rebellion for nine years. It is possible that these rebels gradually used the ethnicity factor to attract support and sympathy from the other South Indians living in Lanka. It is also quite possible that it was the Sinhalese community in Jaffna who protested against the racism.

1478 The Great Massacre of the Sinhalese in Jaffna : Most Horrific Ethnic Cleansing in the history of Lanka However, these rebels began their campaign by assassinating the sub-king( The Governor) who had been appointed for Jaffna by the central government in Kotte. Then they massacred all the known Sinhala patriots in Jaffna. It is not known how many Sinhalese were killed in the north. But the historians regard this event as the end of the majority Sinhalese community in the north. The traditional Sinhalese community had lived in the north even from the days the Buddhism and the Tooth Relic reached Lanka in 246 BC. The other Sinhalese residents in Jaffna were ordered to take an oath, swearing allegiance to South Indian rebel rule.

1478 Record of Ethnic Cleansing & Colonisation in Jaffna peninsula Many Sinhala families tried to flee Jaffna as the Sinhala patriots were systematically assassinated. The remaining Sinhala families were ordered to swear allegiance to the rebel rule. They would live like second class citizens in their own country. They were forced to speak South Indian languages like Tamil. They were forced to practise South Indian culture. After several generations they mixed into the rest of the South Indian population in the north. The rebels brought more South Indian migrants from South India to bolster the manpower in the north. This was how Jaffna was under a rebel rule when Portuguese arrived 27 years later.

1478 Proof that many others, not only Jaffna, took advantage of the weak Central Government A weakened Kotte kept on losing areas including Jaffna, Kandy, Vanni, and East coast. All these fell in to the hands of opportunistic local chiefs who refused to pay tribute to the weak Lankan king in Kotte. This was an example to show that what happened in Jaffna was NOT something unique. Many other powerful opportunists in other areas also took advantage of the situation. Jaffna was NOT a separate state of a Tamil homeland as such, as claimed by today's Eelamists for their political advantage. What happened in Jaffna, was nothing but a power-hungry local rebellion, which perhaps used the racism factor, to scare the South Indians in Lanka into the rebel side. The power-hungry rebellion in Jaffna, was like any other rebellion emerged in other parts of Lanka.

1478 Legend of Dracula As Ottoman Turks sweep across Balkans, the legendary Count Dracula lived in Romania. It is believed that he developed his liking to human blood while fighting the invading Ottoman Turks as a Romanian Noble.

1480 End of Mongol rule in Russia Batu Khan's ( one of the Grandsons of Ghengis Khan ) Mongol army, named as "the Golden Horde", was ruling southern Russia since 1241. Russians liberation attempts started from 1350. Russian victory in 1380 led by the grand duke of Moscow, Dmitry Donskoy was the turning point. In 1395, Russians established 4 states in the liberated area, Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimea, and Sibiria. These shielded Moscow from Mongols. In 1480, when Ivan III Vasilyevich, grand duke of Moscow, refused to pay any taxes to the Mongols, that became the end of Mongol rule in the region.

1488 Cape of Good Hope : Europeans discover the sea route to Asia European rulers and merchants thought that the wealth of Asia could lead them to prosperity in Europe. Since 1481, Bartolomeu Diaz, Portuguese navigator, sponsored by King John II of Portugal, was searching for the sea route to Asia around Africa. He continued exploring the coast of Africa, from where the previous Portugese explorer, Henry the Navigator had stopped. Finally in February 1488, he discovered and went around the southern tip of the Africa. (This route was used later by Vasco de Gama to complete the journey to Asia.) He named this southern tip of Africa as Cape of Storms, but King later changed it to Cape of Good Hope. In 1500, he died in a storm in this Cape of Good Hope.

1490 Slavery turns inhuman From this point onwards, the slave trade started by the greedy European merchants would deprive them of human dignity and even the basic rights as a servant. Innocent slave families would be separated without any concern for their feelings. It looked as if the world totally stopped treating the slaves, as humans or rather, as living things who had feelings and needs. So began the mass enslavement of Africans by Europeans. The brutality inflicted on slaves form this point onwards was worse than the treatment of slave POWs by the Africans. Many Europeans established a view that the enslaved person was a member of an inferior race or a tribe. Greed overruled any concerns that the slave was also another human being.

1492 Christians take the Last Islamic Stronghold in Spain Spanish Christians backed by the European kings and the Church, slowly took over the power from the Islamic rulers of Spain. The last Islamic stronghold, Granada, fell to the Christian forces in 1492.

1492 New Christian Spanish rulers hire Christopher Columbus After liberating Spain from the Muslim rule, the new Christian Spanish rulers Ferdinand V and Isabella I, thought that the exploration of the new world could generate wealth. During the Muslim rule of Spain, they had learnt how rich the ancient civilisations in Asia and South America were. They sponsored an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus who promised to reach Asia by sailing across the Atlantic.

1492 Christopher Columbus arrives in North America By accident, Christopher Columbus arrived in North America which he thought was India. However, the Red Indians got their name by this incident.( 30 million Aztecs in Mexico, 30 million Incas in Peru, 11 million Mayans in El Salvador would be wiped out).

1492 Most Populated City in the World : (Tenochtitlan- Aztec capital city) When European explorers first arrived in Latin America in 1492, the population of Tenochtitlan was over 300,000. It was a beautiful city of houses and castles surrounded by flowergardens. This showed the level of destruction the Latin America was subjected to by the new invaders. Few European cities in western Europe had more than 100,000 residents. Paris had only 80,000 people. London had only 50,000.

1492 First Permanent European colony in America On the West Indian island of Hispaniola ( today's Dominican Republic and Haiti), Christopher Columbus established the first permanent European colony of America. Unsuspecting natives were very friendly and hospitable to the colonists. Then, as they realised the true intentions of the Europeans, natives turned to war.

1497 Vasco Da Gama: First to sail around the earth Sponsored by Emanuel, the King of Portugal, Vasco Da Gama left the port of Lisbon with four ships on July 8, 1497 to reach India. In November, he crossed the Cape of Good Hope ( discovered by Bartolomeu Dias nine years ago) safely. That was the longest sea voyage at the time as he was in the sea for a continuous 13 weeks. By reaching India in 10 months, he became the first to sail around the earth.

1497 Portugal expels Jews Emanuel, the King of Portugal (1495-1521), was a passionate Roman Catholic. He was very eager to despatch Catholic missionaries to foreign lands to spread Christianity. He also tried to organise a new European crusade against the Turks. His passion in Christianity, made him decide to expel all Jews from Portugal. Jews were persecuted, forcing them to leave Portugal. Portugal also lost many brilliant people as Jews left the country.

1498 Vasco Da Gama arrives in India On May 20, 1498, 10 months after leaving Lisbon, Vasco Da Gama reached India. He landed in Calicut on the Malabar Coast of India, which was ruled by the Zamorin people. Muslim merchants, who knew what this arrival meant for their profitable trade, were hostile to him.

1498 None of Vasco Da Gama's European goods were tradable in India Vasco Da Gama also found that the European goods that he brought in, were of such poor quality that he was unable to trade them or to get the Zamorin ruler to sign a trade agreement with the Portugese. ( In another 500 years time, it would be the opposite that became a reality as Indian goods were hardly tradable in the Europe). As the business approach failed, the need to apply force and cunning tactics became clear.

1498 Vasco Da Gama returns home Vasco Da Gama sailed back to Portugal in a longer 16 month journey in which many of his crew died of deceases. When he arrived in Lisbon in September 1499, he had travelled over 24,000 miles. He also proved that the Indian Ocean was not the small landlocked sea, a theory by the ancient Greeks believed by the Europeans. He was promoted as an Admiral by the Portugese king.

1500 First Portugese Trading Post in India, is massacred Portugal quickly despatched an armed force led by the explorer Pedro Cabral to Calicut, India. Amidst protests by the Muslims, they obtained permission to put up a Portuguese trading post in Calicut. But as the greedy intentions of the Portugese became clearer, the local Zamorins, inspired by the Muslims, attacked the trading post killing everyone. Portugal would despatch Vasco da Gama to take revenge, in February 1502.

1502 Vasco Da Gama grabs trade monopoly by massacring Muslims Vasco da Gama left Lisbon in February 1502 to take revenge on the massacre of the Portugese "trading post" in Calicut. Angry with the Muslims, he attacked all Muslim ships he encountered. He killed more than 400 men, women, and children in cold blood in one passenger ship which was returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. He blasted his way into Calicut using the superior fire-power of Portugese Cannons. He forced the Zamorins to allow Portugese the monopoly of foreign trade, in return for peace. Taking compensation in rich trade goods, he arrived in Portugal in September 1503 as the "Portugese Hero" who grabbed the Indian trade monopoly from the Muslims. His "heroism" in India was a warning of what lied ahead for South Asia.

1502 Portugal : Centre of Spice trade in Europe The trade monopoly, grabbed from the Muslim traders in the region of Malabar coast of India, made Portugal wealthy straight away. City of Lisbon became the centre of the spice trade in Europe.

1502 Portugese Empire develops Along with the trade, a Portuguese Empire also developed in order to control the trade from the ports of eastern Africa, West and South of India, and Indonesia.

1503 Mona Lisa Leonardo Da Vinci painted MonaLisa around this time.

1503 Cochin : First European Fort in India In 1500, when the Portuguese returned, they were the first Europeans to establish s trading post in Cochin. Two years later, Admiral Vasco da Gama established a factory. In 1503, the first European fort in India was constructed in Cochin. In 1577, Portugese Catholic missionaries published the first book printed in the native Indian language.

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