This is a list of wars involving Sri Lanka and its predecessor states.
Major conflicts Legend
ConflictSri Lanka (and allies)Opponents Results Anuradhapura period (377 BCE–1017) Battle of Vijithapura(162–1 BCE) Dutugamunu the Great Early Cholas ElaraVictory City of Vijithapura captured by Dutugamunu's army 110 Chola invasion of Anuradhapura(110) Early CholasChola Victory Gajabahu's invasion of Chola(120) Gajabahu I Early CholasVictory Pandyan invasion of Anuradhapura(846) Sena I Pandya dynasty Srimara SrivallabhaPandyan Victory Anuradhapura Sacked and plundered by the Pandya forces Battle of Mahatalita (circa 846–866 CE) The defeat at Mahatalita caused a temporary collapse of organized Sinhalese resistance, though the war eventually ended with a treaty where the Pandyas withdrew and restored the country. Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya(862) Pandya dynastyPandyan Victory Battle of Vellore(915) Pandya dynasty Maravarman Rajasimha II Supported by: Kassapa V Chola Empire Parantaka IChola Victory The combined forces of the Pandyan army and the Sri Lankan expeditionary troops marched north to repel the Cholas. With his combined army utterly routed, King Rajasimha II fled to Sri Lanka in exile. He took the Pandya royal crown and sacred coronation insignia with him, leaving his treasury behind. Eventually moved to the Chera kingdom because his mother was a Chera princess, leaving his crown in the safekeeping of the Sri Lankan king. 917 Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya(917) Pandya dynastyDefeat Nilakanda Sastry, The Colas,1955, pg.122 946 Chola invasion of Anuradhapura(946) Udaya IV Chola Empire Parantaka IAnuradhapura Victory Parantaka I defeated the Sinhalese forces and sacked Anuradhapura, although he was unable to secure lasting control over the region. After their withdrawal, Udaya I's General Viduragga launched a counteroffensive into Chola territory, successfully compelling them to return property seized during their invasion. Battle of Chevur(959) Pandya dynastySupported by: Chola EmpireChola Victory A decisive battlefield victory for the Cholas, resulting in the routing of Pandyan forces 959 Chola invasion of Anuradhapura(959) Chola EmpireTreaty signed Following the Battle of Chevur a punitive naval invasion launched by Parantaka II to punish the Anuradhapura Kingdom for militarily backing the Pandyas A treaty was signed, establishing a fragile peace Chola conquest of Anuradhapura(992–1017) Anuradhapura Kingdom Pandyan Allies Chola EmpireChola Victory Anuradhapura destroyed by Chola forcesSpencer 1976, p. 411The 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/ Polonnaruwa designated as the Chola administrative capital in Sri Lanka Rajarata annexed as a Chola province in 993 Maya Rata and parts of Ruhuna annexed as a Chola Province in 1017 Sinhalese Resistance(1017–1070) Chola EmpireAnuradhapura Victory Polonnaruwa period (1017–1232) First Polonnaruwa–Pagan War(1164–65) Polonnaruwa KingdomAngkorian Empire Parakramabahu I Pagan kingdom Chola Empire NarathuVictory Pandyan Civil War(1169–1177) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Pandya dynasty Parakramabahu I Chola Empire Pandya dynastyDefeat Rival kingdoms abandon military intervention Kingdom of Polonnaruwa and Vira Pandya III control Rameshwaram until 1182 Chola backed-faction occupies the majority of Pandya Nadu Pandya Nadu re-established 1173 Polonnaruwa invasion of Chola(1173) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Parakramabahu I Pandya dynasty Chola Empire Victory Nilakanda Sastry, The Colas,1955 p.368 Second Polonnaruwa–Pagan War(1180–81) Polonnaruwa KingdomAngkorian Empire Parakramabahu I Pagan kingdom NarapatisithuVictory The tensions and wars ended with a peace agreement in 1181 1202 Chola invasion of Polonnaruwa(1202) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Sahassa Malla Chola Empire 1208 Chola invasion of Polonnaruwa(1208) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Queen Kalyanavati Chola EmpireDefeat The invasion completely overran the royal strongholds. Another historical record, the Bopitiya slab inscription, notes that the defense collapsed so swiftly that Queen Kalyanavati had to be physically carried away on the shoulders of her remaining guards to a safe hiding place. Queen Kalyanavati's reign ends. Chola invasion of Polonnaruwa under Anikanga(1209) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Dharmasoka General Āyasmanta Polonnaruwa Kingdom Chola Empire AnikangaDefeat Anikanga put both the infant King Dharmasoka and the regent, General Ayasmanta, to death having wiped out the leadership, he seized the throne for himself, taking the title Anikanga Mahadipada, ruing for 17 days. 1210 Chola invasion of Polonnaruwa(1210) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Queen Lilavati Chola Empire LokissaraDefeat Led by a military chief named Lokissara, the invaders took advantage of the deeply fragmented Sinhalese defenses. They overran the capital of Polonnaruwa with minimal resistance. Lilavati was successfully deposed, and Lokissara seized the throne, ruling the region for roughly nine months. Invasion of Parakrama Pandyan II(1212) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Queen Lilavati Pandya dynasty Parakrama Pandyan IIDefeat The Pandyan King Parakrama Pandyan II invaded Sri Lanka from South India. His forces defeated Lilavati’s remaining defenders, permanently stripping her of power in 1212 CE. Following this defeat, Queen Lilavati completely disappeared from the historical record. Invasion of Kalinga Magha(1215) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Parakrama Pandyan II Eastern Ganga dynasty Kalinga MaghaDefeat Magha’s forces sacked Polonnaruwa, tortured and deposed Parakrama Pandya II, and launched a campaign of widespread structural and cultural destruction. They heavily ransacked Buddhist monasteries, destroyed centuries of historical libraries, and forced the native Sinhalese nobility to permanently abandon the Rajarata basin. Magha established a tyrannical rule over the north that lasted over two decades. Transitional period (1232–1592) First Tambralinga invasion of Dambadeniya(1247) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Parakramabahu II Tambralinga ChandrabhanuDefeat First Pandyan invasion of Dambadeniya(1258) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Parakramabahu II Pandya dynasty Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan IDefeat Second Tambralinga invasion of Dambadeniya(1262) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Parakramabahu II Tambralinga ChandrabhanuDefeat Second Pandyan invasion of Dambadeniya(1263) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Parakramabahu II Pandya dynasty Jatavarman Vira Pandyan IIDefeat Third Pandyan invasion of Dambadeniya(1270) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Parakramabahu II Pandya dynasty Jatavarman Vira Pandyan IIDefeat Forth Pandyan invasion of Dambadeniya(~1277) Kingdom of Dambadeniya Bhuvanekabahu I Pandya dynasty Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I Kulasekara CinkaiariyanDefeat Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I sent an expedition to Sri Lanka under his minister Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan Aryacakravarti in the late 1270s, defeating Savakanmaindan, a tributary to the Pandyans on the Jaffna kingdom. This expedition plundered the fortress of Subhagiri (Yapahuwa) and returned with the Relic of the tooth of the Buddha.Kunarasa, p.66 Bhuvanekabahu I's successor Parakramabahu III went on a personal embassy to Kulasekaran's court and persuaded him to return the relic. Jaffna kingdom was under Pandyan suzerainty for the next twenty years and only regained its independence during the Pandyan Civil war of 1308-1323 that followed Kulasekaran's death.KA Nilakanta Sastri, p197 1360 Jaffna invasion of Gampola(1360) Kingdom of Gampola Jaffna kingdom Vijayanagara invasion of Gampola(1385) Kingdom of Gampola Vijayanagara Empire 1391 Jaffna invasion of Gampola(1391) Kingdom of Gampola Jaffna kingdom Ming–Kotte War(1411) Ming China Parakramabahu VIMing victory Overthrow of Vira Alakesvara Ascension of Parakramabahu VI 1435 Vijayanagara invasion of Kotte(1435) Vijayanagara Empire 1437 Vijayanagara invasion of Kotte(1437) Vijayanagara Empire 1440 Vijayanagara invasion of Kotte(1440) Vijayanagara Empire Kotte conquest of Jaffna(1449–1454) Jaffna kingdom Vanni chieftaincies (until 1450)Supported by: Vijayanagar EmpireKotte victory Jaffna kingdom captured by Kotte Parakramabahu VI appoints Prince Sapumal as representative of Kotte, who would reign for about 17 years Kotte invasion of Vijayanagara(1456) Vijayanagara EmpireVictory 1518 Kotte–Portuguese War(1518) 1521 Kotte–Portuguese War(1521) Kotte–Portuguese invasion of Kandy(1550) Portuguese–Sitawaka War(1551) 1560 Portuguese invasion of Jaffna(1560) Jaffna kingdom Portuguese victory 1574–78 Portuguese attack on Sitawaka(1574–78) Portuguese destruction of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara (~1575) 1591 Portuguese invasion of Jaffna(1591) Jaffna kingdom Portuguese victory Kandyan period (1592–1815) First Kandyan–Dutch War(1670–1675) Rajasinha II
Jacob Blaquet de la Haye
Rijckloff van GoensDutch victory French expelled from all occupied territories Expansion of Dutch Ceylon Offensives by Rajasinha II repelled Second Kandyan–Dutch War(1764–1766) Kirti Sri Rajasinha
Lubbert Jan van EckDutch victory Treaty of Batticaloa Dutch occupation of Kandy until the Treaty of Batticaloa All coastal regions ceded to the Dutch Vanniyar Rebellion(1782) Vanni chieftaincies Victory Vanni region liberated from Dutch rule First Anglo-Kandyan War(1803–1805) Sri Vikrama Rajasinha Kandyan oppositionVictory Second Anglo-Kandyan War(1815) Sri Vikrama Rajasinha British victory End of the Kandyan monarchy British Ceylon period (1815–1948) Third Anglo-Kandyan War(1817–1818) Keppetipola Disawe Madugalle Nilame Ehelepola Nilame Robert BrownriggBritish victory Second Boer War(1899–1902) Cape BoersBritish victory Conquest and dissolution of the South African Republic and Orange Free State Treaty of Vereeniging The Boer republics are absorbed into the British Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Vereeniging. World War I(1914–1918) Allied Powers:
and others... Central Powers: and others...Allied victory World War II(1939–1945) Allied Powers:
Axis powers:
Allied victory
Civil wars and internal conflicts Legend
ConflictSri Lanka (and allies)Opponents Results Pre-Anuradhapura period (543–377 BCE) Pandukabhaya's rebellion(458–439 BCE) Rebellion: Pandukabhaya's victory Prince Tissa was not archknowledged universally as the Sinhalese king, remained as regent during the rebellion, which ended with the Battle of Labugamaka where with the aid of the Yakkhas and others, Pandukabhaya slew eight of his uncles who were against him. Manavanna's First Restoration War(660s) Supported by:Pallava dynasty Civil war: Aborted Manavanna's Second Restoration War(684) Supported by:Pallava dynasty Civil war: Manavanna's victory Polonnaruwa period (1017–1232) Velakkara revolt(1084) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Polonnaruwa KingdomRebellion: Polonnaruwa victory First Polonnaruwa War of Succession(1110–1153) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Polonnaruwa KingdomCivil war: Queen Sugala rebellion(1157) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Principality of RuhunaRebellion: Polonnaruwa victory Ruhuna Rebellion(1160) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Principality of Ruhuna Rajarata Rebellion(1168) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Rajarata Second Polonnaruwa War of Succession(1186–87) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Polonnaruwa KingdomCivil war: Second Polonnaruwa War of Succession(1186–87) Polonnaruwa Kingdom Polonnaruwa KingdomCivil war: Transitional period (1232–1592) Sinhala sange revolt(1470s) Rebellion: Led to Kandyan independence in 1469 Vijayabā Kollaya(1521) Succession crisis: Weerasuriya revolt (1521) 1536–39 Kotte–Sitawaka War(1536–39) Succession crisis: 1547 Kandy–Sitawaka War(1547) Succession crisis: 1552 Kandy–Sitawaka War(1552) Succession crisis: Revolt of Veediya Bandara(1553) Revolt: 1555–65 Kotte–Sitawaka War(1555–65) Succession crisis: Conversion of Dharmapala (1557) Battle of Denipitiya (1557) Siege of Kotte (1557–1558)