The history of Sri Lanka

From a small county on the Atlantic edge, Sri Lanka grew into a seafaring empire that reached three continents, then weathered earthquake, invasion and dictatorship to become a settled democracy. Every age left its mark on the country's cities and character. Follow the whole arc below, or jump straight to the era you want.

1. 1 377 BC – 1232 AD The Ancient Kingdoms Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka's great ancient capitals: giant dagobas, the sacred Bodhi tree, the Gal Vihara Buddhas and one of history's finest hydraulic civilisations. Read the full story →
2. 2 247 BC The Arrival of Buddhism How Buddhism reached Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC: Mahinda's meeting with King Devanampiya Tissa at Mihintale, the sacred Bo tree at Anuradhapura, the Pali canon and the Sacred Tooth Relic. Read the full story →
3. 3 1469 – 1815 The Kandyan Kingdom The Kingdom of Kandy, the last independent Sinhalese kingdom, held off the Portuguese and Dutch behind its mountains for over 300 years until the British took it in 1815. Its temple, art and the 1818 uprising. Read the full story →
4. 4 1505 – 1948 Colonial Ceylon Three empires shaped colonial Ceylon: the Portuguese from 1505, the Dutch VOC from the 1640s, and the British from 1796, who unified the island and built the tea, rubber and railway economy. Read the full story →
5. 5 1948 – today Independence and Modern Sri Lanka Sri Lanka's modern story: independence from Britain in 1948 as Ceylon, the republic and renaming in 1972, the world's first female prime minister, and the 2022 crisis and recovery. Read the full story →
6. 6 1983 – 2009 The Civil War and Reconciliation Sri Lanka's civil war, 1983 to 2009: the roots in post-independence tensions, the conflict with the LTTE, the 2004 tsunami, the end in 2009 and the peaceful north and east that welcome travellers today. Read the full story →