kingdom · South Asia

Kingdom of Kotte

1412 CE – 1597 CE · capital Kotte

The last Sinhalese kingdom to unite all of Sri Lanka, under Parakramabahu VI, before its kings became clients of the Portuguese.

Origins

Parakramabahu VI took power in 1412 after the fall of the Alakeshvara family of the Kingdom of Gampola, possibly with Chinese backing following Zheng He's intervention. He moved the capital to the fortified town of Kotte near Colombo, which the Alakeshvaras had built as a defence against the Jaffna Kingdom.

Rule and society

Parakramabahu VI reigned for over five decades and briefly unified the island, conquering the Jaffna Kingdom and subduing the Vanni chieftaincies. His reign was a golden age of Sinhala poetry, with the monk-poet Sri Rahula. Kotte controlled the cinnamon-growing west coast, whose trade attracted the Portuguese, who arrived in 1505 and soon built a fort at Colombo.

Decline and legacy

In 1521 the kingdom split into Kotte, the Kingdom of Sitawaka and the Kingdom of Raigama. Kotte's king Dharmapala converted to Christianity and in 1580 bequeathed his realm to the King of Portugal; on his death in 1597 it became part of Portuguese Ceylon.

Lineage

Kingdom of Gampola 1341 CE – 1412 CEKingdom of KottePortuguese Ceylon 1597 CE – 1658 CE

Connections (5)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Kotte. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kotte
MLA
“Kingdom of Kotte.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kotte. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Kotte.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kotte.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Kotte’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kotte (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻