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Polonnaruwa is the medieval capital of Sri Lanka . The history of early Sri Lanka was very cautiously recorded and written down by monks.In the Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle) records the former era of the Sri Lankan, and Chulavamsa (lesser Chronicle), gives an exact image of the 'Polonnaruwa' period. From this chronicle, we found out that Aggabodhi IV (667 - 685) AD was the first Sri Lankan King who lived in Polonnaruwa, and the town came gradually to become the 'Country Residence' of royalty. Anuradhapura , the formal and administrative capital, was already a thousand years old, and kings more and more favored the new city of Polonnaruwa, and urbanized it. However, the Cholas of South India made Polonnaruwa the capital after raiding and flaming Anuradhapura in 993 AD.
In 1070 AD, the Sinhala King Vijayabahu I liberated the kingdom by conquering the Cholas, and kept Polonnaruwa as his capital. Vijayabahu succeeded in refurbishing much of the irrigation system in the island, encouraged trade and brought some richness back to the nation. King Parakramabahu I (1153-86) raised Polonnaruwa to its pinnacles. He erected huge buildings, drained swamps and planted vast areas with crops, planned beautiful parks, created wildlife sanctuaries, re-established earlier monuments & even undertook military expeditions against Burma and India .
However, his topmost achievements were the formation of the 2400-hectare tank (about 15 Km2), so huge it was named the Parakrama Samudra ( Sea of Parakrama ); and the association of the three orders of monks, the Maha vihara, Jetavana and Abhayagiri into one Sangha or 'Supreme Order of Monks'. The prominence of his attainment was to guarantee the continued existence of Buddhism in the dark centuries ahead.Parakramabahu was the last great king of Sri Lanka . King Nissankamalla (1187 - 96), although claimed him to be a great designer was not. In addition, wasted most of the country's wealth trying to match his predecessor's deeds.
After Nissankamalla's death, Polonnaruwa gone to decline, civil war, lawlessness and constant invasions from the South Indian Chola Empire, and Malay barbarians who sacked the city several times, almost destroyed the social structure and spiritual order of the country. Entire centuries after this were the 'Dark Ages' of Sri Lanka , a century from which few historical records stay alive.The capital was shifted to Kurunegala, and Polonnaruwa returned to the jungle; its huge reservoirs survived as a sequence of swampy lakes, and its large brick buildings became lost beneath thick tropical forest. The Portuguese are said to have raided and looted Polonnaruwa, but by the early nineteenth century, the site was completely lost.
In the early years of this century, the chief monuments of the ancient city were exposed. Today, maintenance and excavations continue, as part of the work of the Cultural Triangle .
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