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The Siege of Kotte from November 1557 – November 1558 was a battle part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. A 50,000 strong Sitawaka army led by King Mayadunne besieged Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Kotte Kingdom for 12 months against a combined force of Portuguese and lascarins led by Captain major Dom Afonso Pereira de Lacerda. After receiving reinforcements from Mannar, Portuguese made a sally and succeeded in forcing the besiegers to withdraw. This siege marked the beginning of a series of battles between Portuguese and Sitawaka forces, and ultimately ended as Portuguese abandoned Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte in 1565. ==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. 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. He became a vassal of the Portuguese king and converted to Christianity in 1557.〔Father S.G. Perera. A history of Ceylon for schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The associated newspapers of ceylon Ltd:Sri Lanka; 1942. p 8-44.〕 This led to an open discontent among Kotte inhabitants and Portuguese sternly repressed the mutiny by arrest and hanging of many participants including 30 Buddhist monks.〔 After consulting with his council,〔Fernao de Queyroz. The temporal and spiritual conquest of Ceylon. AES reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services; 1995. p 334-335 ISBN 81-206-0765-1〕 Mayadunne proclaimed himself heir to the throne of Kotte and appealed to the subjects of Kotte to join his cause. Many chieftains and their followers answered and deserted to Sitawaka. Mayadunne taking the initiative rallied his forces to invade Kingdom of Kotte.〔Father S.G. Perera. A history of Ceylon for schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The associated newspapers of ceylon Ltd:Sri Lanka; 1942. p 44.〕 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「Siege of Kotte (1557–58)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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