The Story of Sri Lanka: Kingdoms, Colonies, and Civil War — Fexingo History
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The Jaffna Kingdom: A Tamil Realm in the North
Before the Portuguese arrived, the Jaffna peninsula was home to a thriving Tamil kingdom that traded with South India and Southeast Asia. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the rise of the Aryacakravarti dynasty, their capital at Nallur,
The Kandyan Convention: A Treaty That Backfired
In 1815, the British and Kandyan chiefs signed the Kandyan Convention, a treaty that ended the kingdom of Kandy and set the stage for British rule over all of Ceylon. But the agreement, written in English and Sinhala, contained a crucial cl
The Polonnaruwa Power Shift: After Anuradhapura's Fall
In 993, the Chola emperor Rajaraja I sacked Anuradhapura, ending over a thousand years of Sinhalese Buddhist kingship. But the story didn't end with the city's fall. This episode explores the century of Chola rule that followed — how Rajara
The Portuguese in Ceylon: Firearms and Fortresses
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the arrival of the Portuguese in Ceylon in the early 16th century, focusing on the coastal fortresses they built and the firearms that gave them an edge. They discuss the first encounter with the King
The Mannar Craters: Sri Lanka's Bloody Salt Pans
In the 18th century, the Mannar salt pans were the richest resource on the island of Ceylon, worth more than cinnamon or elephants. Control of these coastal flats meant control of the entire island's trade in a commodity so vital it was tax
The Chola Conquest of Anuradhapura 993
In 993, the Chola emperor Rajaraja I launched a campaign that would end Anuradhapura's thousand-year run as Sri Lanka's capital. This episode traces the invasion, the sacking of the city, and the Chola consolidation under Rajendra I, who mo
Sigiriya's Water Gardens: Engineering a Palace in the Sky
In this episode of The Story of Sri Lanka, Lucas and Luna explore the hydraulic genius of Sigiriya, the 5th-century fortress of King Kassapa I. While the rock palace and frescoes often steal the spotlight, the water gardens at its base are
The Anuradhapura Moonstone: A Carved Welcome
In this episode, Lucas and Luna step back from the battles and the politics to examine one of Sri Lanka's most beautiful and enigmatic objects: the moonstone. These semicircular carved stones, found at the base of stairways in ancient Anura
Viramma, the Tamil Poet, and the Palmyra Palm
In this episode, Lucas and Luna step away from kings and battles to follow a Tamil woman named Viramma through the shadow of the Palmyra palm. It's a story of caste, drought, and the long memory of the Jaffna peninsula, where the palms that
The Sigiriya Frescoes and the Women of the Clouds
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the enigmatic frescoes of Sigiriya, the 5th-century rock fortress built by King Kassapa I. Painted on the western cliff face, these half-rising women have puzzled scholars for centuries. Were they cel
The British Capture of Kandy 1815
In 1815, the last independent kingdom in Sri Lanka fell not to a decisive battle but to a conspiracy of chiefs. This episode looks at the final months of the Kandyan Kingdom — the betrayal of Pilimatalawe, the capture of the last king, Sri
The Mahavamsa: When History Becomes Sacred Text
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Mahavamsa, Sri Lanka's great fifth-century chronicle, written by the monk Mahanama at Anuradhapura's Mahavihara monastery. They unpack how this Pali text blended history with prophecy, tracing the
Sigiriya's Water Gardens: Engineering a Palace in the Sky
In 477 CE, King Kassapa I murdered his father, seized the throne, and built a fortress-palace on a 200-meter rock in the heart of Sri Lanka. Sigiriya is famous for its frescoes and Mirror Wall, but the real marvel is its water engineering:
The Kandyan Marriage Alliances: Rajasinha II and the Dutch
In this episode, Lucas and Luna look at a pivotal moment in Sri Lankan history that's often overlooked: the diplomatic and military dance between the Kandyan Kingdom and the Dutch East India Company in the mid-1600s. They focus on King Raja
The Drought That Split Sri Lanka: Anuradhapura Falls
In 103 BCE, a seven-year drought crippled Anuradhapura, and a Tamil general named Pulahatta seized the throne. But the real story is stranger: the king who lost it all, Valagamba, spent fourteen years in hiding, then returned to do the unth
The Buddha's Tooth: How a Relic Shaped Sri Lankan Power
In episode 205 of The Story of Sri Lanka, Lucas and Luna trace the extraordinary journey of the Buddha's tooth relic — from the cremation pyre in Kushinagar to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. Along the way, they unpack how this single obj
The Dutch in Ceylon: Cinnamon, Canals, and the Caste of the Coast
When the Dutch East India Company took over Sri Lanka's coast from the Portuguese in 1658, they found more than a spice monopoly – they found a fractured island of kingdoms and a society they'd reshape with canals, Roman-Dutch law, and a ne
The Temple of the Tooth and the Relic's Long Journey
In episode 203 of The Story of Sri Lanka, Lucas and Luna follow the winding path of the most sacred object in Sinhalese Buddhism — the tooth relic of the Buddha. From its legendary arrival in the island, smuggled in the hair of a princess,
Elara's Rule and Dutugamunu's Path to Anuradhapura
Before Dutugamunu's famous victory at Vijithapura, the Tamil king Elara had ruled Anuradhapura for forty-four years. This episode looks past the battle chronicles to examine how Elara governed: his impartial justice, his patronage of Buddhi
Dutugamunu: The Warrior King Who Defeated Elara
Before the Cholas, before the Portuguese, before the civil war, there was another struggle for Sri Lanka's soul. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of Dutugamunu, the Sinhalese prince who rose against the Tamil king Elara in
Sigiriya's Mirror Wall: Graffiti of a Lost Kingdom
In this milestone episode, Lucas and Luna ascend the Lion Rock of Sigiriya to explore the famous Mirror Wall — a polished surface covered in ancient graffiti. Dating from the 7th to 10th centuries, these inscriptions are not royal decrees b
Sigiriya: The Lion Rock Fortress of Kassapa I
In this episode of The Story of Sri Lanka, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic rise and fall of Kassapa I, the fifth-century king who murdered his father to seize the throne and then built his capital atop the impossible rock fortress of Si
The Last Stand of the Kandyan Kings: Uva Rebellion 1818
In 1818, the British had only been in control of Kandy for three years when the Uva Rebellion broke out — the most serious uprising against colonial rule in Sri Lanka's history. This episode follows the revolt from its fiery start in Wellas
The Kandyan Convention: A Treaty That Couldn't Hold
In 1815, a group of Kandyan chiefs signed away their kingdom to the British, ending millennia of Sinhalese independence. Lucas and Luna explore how the Kandyan Convention came to be, the grievances that drove the chiefs to rebellion, and wh
The Anuradhapura City Plan: A Sacred Urban Blueprint
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the urban planning of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka's first great capital, which flourished from the 4th century BCE to the 11th century CE. They discuss the city's grid layout, its massive reservoirs like
Polonnaruwa's Water Revolution: Parakramabahu's Ancient Dams
Long before modern engineering, the kings of Sri Lanka built a vast irrigation network across the island's dry zone. This episode zooms in on the 12th-century golden age under Parakramabahu I, who transformed Polonnaruwa into a hydraulic ma
The Last King of Kandy: Exile and the Fall of a Dynasty
In 1815, the Kandyan Kingdom—the last independent Sinhalese realm—fell to the British after centuries of resistance. This episode unpacks the final act: the deposition of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last king of Kandy, and his exile to Vello
The Kandyan Kingdom That Never Fell: Inside Kandy's Last Stand
Long after the Portuguese and Dutch had claimed the coasts, a mountain kingdom in the heart of Sri Lanka remained independent. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Kingdom of Kandy survived for over three centuries against succes
The Kandyan Peasantry: How British Land Policy Shaped Sri Lanka
In this episode of The Story of Sri Lanka, Lucas and Luna step away from kings and battles to trace the quiet but seismic shift in land ownership under British rule. They explore the Crown Lands Encroachment Ordinance of 1840, which turned
The Anuradhapura Drought: How Climate Toppled a Kingdom
In this episode of The Story of Sri Lanka, we explore the devastating drought that struck Anuradhapura in the first century BCE, a catastrophe that historians believe contributed to the fall of the ancient city as the island's capital. We t
