Chola conquest of Anuradhapura

Chola conquest of Anuradhapura
Date992 AD–1017 AD
Location
Result

Chola Victory

Territorial
changes

Polonnaruwa made Chola administrative capital in Sri Lanka

Rajarata annexed as a Chola province in 993 A.D

Rest of the Island Annexed as a Chola Province in 1017-1018 A.D [3]
Belligerents
Chola Empire

Anuradhapura Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

(992–993 CE)

Rajaraja Chola I (Emperor)
Rajendra Chola I (Prince)
Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan (General)


(1017 CE)

Rajendra Chola I (Emperor)
Sanga Varma Chola (Prince)


(1042 CE)

Sanga Varma Chola (Chieftain)

(992–993 CE)

Mahinda V (POW)


(1017 CE)

Kassapa VI


(1042 CE)

Kassapa VI 
Disposed Pandyan Princes 
Units involved
Chola Navy
Chola Army
Anuradhapura Army
Pandyan Auxiliaries[citation needed]
Strength
95,000[4] Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Many Soldiers and Large number of Sinhalese civilians died

The Chola conquest of Anuradhapura was a military invasion of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura by the Chola Empire. The period of Chola entrenchment in entire Sri Lanka lasted in total about three-quarters of a century, from roughly 993 CE (the date of Rajaraja's first invasion) to 1070 CE, when Vijayabahu I recaptured the north,east and central Sri lanka and expelled the Chola forces restoring Sinhalese sovereignty.[5]

The Chola conquest followed an initial conflict between Chola and the Pandya-Sinhalese alliance during conquest of the Pandya Kingdom by Chola king Parantaka I.[6] After the defeat, Pandya king Rajasimha took his crown and the other regalia and sought refuge in Anuradhapura.[6] The Paranthka made several futile attempts to regain regalia, including invasion of Sri Lanka on a date between 947 and 949 CE during the reign of Sinhalese king Udaya IV (946–954 CE).[6] One of the driving motives behind the invasions of Anuradhapura by the Cholas' was their desire to possess these royal treasures.[6]

The conquest started with the invasion of the Anuradhapura Kingdom in 993 CE by Rajaraja I when he sent a large Chola army to conquer the kingdom and absorb it into the Chola Empire.[7] Most of the island was subsequently conquered by 1017 CE and incorporated as a province of the vast Chola empire during the reign of his son Rajendra Chola I.[8][9][10] The Chola occupation would be overthrown in 1070 CE through a campaign of Sinhalese Resistance led by Prince Kitti, a Sinhalese royal. The Cholas fought many subsequent wars and attempted to reconquer the Sinhalese kingdom as the Sinhalese were allies of their arch-enemies, the Pandyas.

  1. ^ Spencer 1976, p. 411
  2. ^ The Jungle Tide:“Collapse” in Early Mediaeval Sri Lanka STRICKLAND, KEIR ,MAGALIE (2011) The Jungle Tide: “Collapse” in Early Mediaeval Sri Lanka. Doctoral thesis, Durham University. P.331 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/893/
  3. ^ Sastri 2000, p. 199-200.
  4. ^ Roy, Kaushik (6 October 2015). Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. ISBN 9781317321279.
  5. ^ Spencer 1976, p. 409.
  6. ^ a b c d Wijetunga, Wijetunga Mudalige Karunaratna (1962), "First Phase: Relations between the Sinhalese and the Cholas up to the time of Rajaraja I", The rise and decline of Chola power in Ceylon, pp. 75–107, doi:10.25501/SOAS.00029338
  7. ^ Sastri 2000, p. 172–173.
  8. ^ Chattopadhyaya 1994, p. 7–9.
  9. ^ Kulke, Kesavapany & Sakhuja 2009, p. 195–.
  10. ^ Gunawardena 2005, p. 71–.