Foreign rulers take advantage of the disturbed…

Foreign rulers take advantage of the disturbed political state of the Sinhalese kingdom, and in the thirteenth century Chandrabhanu, a Buddhist king from Malaya, had invaded the island twice.

He attempted to seize the two most sacred relics of the Buddha in Sinhalese custody, the Tooth Relic and the Alms Bowl.

In the early fifteenth century, the Ming dynasty Chinese intercedes on behalf of King Parakramabahu VI (1412-67), an enlightened monarch who repulses an invasion from the polity of Vijayanagara in southern India, reunites Sri Lanka, and earns renown as a patron of Buddhism and the arts.

Parakramabahu VI is the last Sinhalese king to rule the entire island.