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The Battle of Mulleriyawa ( මුල්ලේරියාවේ සටන Mulleriyawa Satana in 1559) was a battle part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It was one of the most decisive battles in Sri Lankan history and considered as the worst and most devastating defeat of Portuguese during that period.〔( “Year 8 History Sinhala Text Book – Government Publication”, THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE IN SRI LANKA: p15, 17 August 2012. )〕 According to local chronicles the marshlands of Mulleriyawa turned red with blood after the annihilation of the Portuguese.〔Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505-1658, By P.E. Pieris, p. 85.〕 With this victory Sitawaka emerged as a military power which able to challenge the Portuguese expansion. ==Background== Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505 and established trade relations with kingdom of Kotte. They erected a fortress in Colombo and garrisoned it. In 1521, Kotte king Vijayabahu VII’s three sons mutinied against their father. They killed him and divided the kingdom among themselves, leading to the events which known as “Spoiling of Vijayabahu” (Vijayaba Kollaya). Eldest son Buvanekabahu VII received Kotte with the sea board and ruled with the title of emperor. Second son received the principality of Raigama and ruled under the name of King Raigam Bandara. The youngest son, who was the leader of “spoiling”, received the kingdom of Sitawaka and ruled as King Mayadunne Bandara. With Raigam Bandara’s death in 1538 Mayadunne annexed principality of Raigama and invaded Kotte. Buvanekabahu VII with the help of Portuguese defeated Mayadunne’s invading forces, eventually paving the way to an uneasy peace between two kingdoms. Portuguese wanted to conduct a full-scale offensive against Sitawaka and neutralize the threat exerted by King Mayadunne. But King Bhuvanekabahu VII did not support their cause; he only wanted Portuguese help for defensive purposes. After Bhuvanekabahu's death in 1551, Dharmapala came to the Kotte throne; he was more or less a puppet king under Portuguese influence. At this time Mayadunne of Sitwaka was raiding the Kotte border and extending its (Sitawaka's) sphere of influence. After the unsuccessful siege of Kotte from 1557-1558 by Mayadunne, Portuguese were laying plans to invade Sitawaka.〔Father S.G. Perera. A history of Ceylon for schools - The Portuguese and Dutch period. The associated newspapers of ceylon Ltd:Sri Lanka; 1942. pp. 8-37 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Mulleriyawa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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