Mayadunne of Sitawaka: Difference between revisions

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Several years later after Raigam Bandara died, in 1538, Mayadunne annexed the [[Kingdom of Raigama]] to Sitawaka. The all out rivalry between Sitawaka and Kotte started to unroll here on. By this time the [[Buddhist]] monks in Kotte who were responsible of the [[Relic of the tooth of the Buddha|Dantha Dhathuwa]], the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, secretly smuggled it into [[Kingdom of Sitawaka|Sitawaka]] and placed it under the protection of Mayadunne since they saw Portuguese as hostile towards [[Buddhism]]. According to the local tradition if someone has the ownership of the [[Relic of the tooth of the Buddha|Tooth Relic]] he can claim the throne of all the Kingdoms within [[Sri Lanka]]. Mayadunne's popularity grew rapidly among locals and similarly Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte and later Dharmapala of Kotte had to rely more and more on Portuguese for help. Mayadunne started frequent attacks against the Kotte Kingdom and more and more of the lands of Kotte became part of Sitawaka. Since [[Kotte Kingdom|Kotte]] lacked local support the Portuguese automatically became the protectors of that Kingdom. Hence the rivalry between [[Kotte Kingdom|Kotte]] and [[Kingdom of Sitawaka|Sitawaka]] turned into a rivalry between [[Kingdom of Sitawaka|Sitawaka]] and Portuguese.
 
During the period of [[Kingdom of Sitawaka]] King Mayadunne had stopped at the Nawagamuwa Pattini Devale to make a vow before he went to war with the Portuguese in the Colombo Fort. According to the reports of the Portuguese, in 1550, the King of Portuguese sent 600 troops to help King [[Bhuvanaikabahu VII of Kotte]]. They fought with King Mayadunne at Nawagamuwa. It is also recorded that in 1576, the Portuguese army destroyed Nawagamuwa Devale and established an army camp there<ref name=Janani > http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/04/17/fea28.asp</ref><ref name=Hiranthi>http://amazinglanka.com/wp/nawagamuwa/</ref>.It is also recorded that in 1576, the Portuguese army destroyed Nawagamuwa Devale and established an army camp there. The devalaya was rebuilt by King Mayadunne only to be destroyed again by the Captain of the Colombo fort, leaving a pile of ruins<ref name=Janani /><ref name=Hiranthi />.
 
===Sinhalese–Portuguese War===