HISTORY

In the fifteenth century, however, there was a brief Sinhalese revival and the Kingdom of Jaffna was under Sinhalese rule for about seventeen years till the defeated Tamil King reconquered his kingdom with the help of the Tamil military chiefs from South India.

Under the Viljaya Nagara Empire of South India, the Tamil kingdom became its tributary and there followed a protective relationship. After its decline, Jaffna came under the sway of Tanjore and Madurai, two centres of power that succeeded the former Empire.

It is appropriate here to mention four factors, which contributed to the growth of the Tamil Kingdom.

In the first place, there was internecine dissension and discord among the Sinhalese rulers. As a result, they became weak to the extent that they had to pay tribute to the Northern Kingdom.

In the second place, the fall of Polonnaruwa meant that irrigation tworks of the north central plain in the dry zone had to be abandoned and the area was left to develop into ajungle. This created a no-man's land, which became an effective barrier between the Kingdom of Jaffna and the Sinhalese kingdom.

In the third place, there was a vacuum of a competent imperial power during the period between the decline of the Cholas and the appearance of the Vijaya Nagara Empire.

In the fourth place, there was an influx of immigrants from South India to the only Tamil Kingdom in existence at the time, namely the Kingdom of Jaffna. This exodus took place, because

a. Tamils of South India had lost their last remaining state, the Pandya Kingdom, due to Islamic invasion in 1334 AD.; and

b. The Vijaya Nagara Empire was, in a way, a foreign power, since the tax collectors and military chiefs were Telegu lords. The high cast Vellalars, who wielded influence and power locally, were infuriated and deemed it fit toabandon their motherland, South India.

It may be appropriate to mention in this connection that whereas the settlers in Jaffna before the eleventh century are said to have come mostly from Kerala (Malabar), the immigrants of the Chola and Vijaya Nagara periods seem to have come from the eastern part of South India.

In many ways, the period extenalng rrom me rouneemn lu ~ne sixteenth centuries may be characterized as the Golden Age of the Tamils of Jaffna.

The capital of the Kings of Jaffna was Nallur. They resided at Kopay and ruled directly over the entire Peninsula and the neighbouring Islands together with the Island of Mannar and a portion of the mainland. Other territories in the North and the East were administered by hereditary chiefs called Vanniyars who paid obeisance and tribute to the king.

Kings assumed the alternate throne names Segarajasekaran and Pararajasekaran, and used the epithets Singaiyariyan (Lord of Singaingar, the earlier capital of the Kingdom of Jaffna), Setukavalan (Guardian of Setu or Rameshavaram) and Gangainadan (belonging to the country of the Ganges).

Their emblems were a recumbent bull -nanthi-, a Saiva symbol, and the expression Setu, indicating the place of their origin, Rameshvaram. The term setu was also used as an expression of benediction. These two emblems were also designed on their coins.

At the height of their power, the Kings had nearly 20,000 soldiers. This military prowess enabled them to conduct warfare against the Sinhalese Kings of the South during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The naval power of the Kings was such that they were able to establish military outposts in such distant places in the Island as Chilaw, Negombo and Colombo. Ibn Battuta testifies that he saw hundreds of ships belonging to the King of Jaffna on the Coromandel Coast of South India. It is reasonable to assume that this large fleet was used not only to transport goods but also soldiers. This naval strength of the Kings of Jaffna helped them to achieve a number of objectives:

• To control the Palk Strait and the pearl fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar.
  
• To cross over to South India when circumstances forced them to, and
  
• To make military expeditions along the sea into the areas of the Sinhalese.

The Kingdom of Jaffna, which was divided into various provinces with subdivisions of parrus (literally meaning property or larger territorial units and ur or villages, the smallest unit, was administered on a "hierarchical and regional basis".

At the summit was the King whose kingship was hereditary; he was usually successed by his eldest son.

Next in the hierarchy stood the adikaris who were the provincial administrators.

Then came the mudaliyars who functioned as judges and interpreters of the laws and customs of the land. It was also their duty to gather information of whatever was happening in the provinces and report to higher authorities.

Administrators of revenues called kankanis (superintendents) and kanakkappillais (accountants) came next in line. The letter had to keep records and maintain accounts.

Maniyam was the chief of the parrus. He was assisted by mudaliyars who were in turn assisted by udaiyars, persons of authority over a village or a group of villages. They were the custodians of law and order and gave assistance to survey land and collect revenues in the area under their control.

The village headman was called talaiyari, paddankaddi or adappanar and he assisted in the collection of taxes and was responsible for the maintenance of order in his territorial unit.

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