When to date the start of the history of theJaffna kingdom is debated among historians.

The name 'Ko Veta' is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried with the skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BCE. Ko, meaning "King" in Tamil, is comparable to such names as Ko Atan, Ko Putivira and Ko Ra-pumaan occurring in contemporaryTamil Brahmi inscriptions of ancient South India andEgypt.^[1][2]

Potsherds withearly Tamil writing from the 2nd century BCE have been found from the north inPoonagari,Jaffna to the south inTissamaharama bearing several inscriptions, including of the clan namevelir, chieftains and minor Tamil kings also residing in theancient Tamil country.^[3]Sangam literature from the 3rd century BCE-4th century CE illustrate that a section of the islandEelam, known as Nāka-Tivu or Nāka-Nadu at the time, was autonomously ruled by local kings in the northern peninsula. The early emporiums of the north and east such asManthai,Kandarodai (Kadiramalai),Vallipuram,Anaikottai attest Tamil presence through finds ofTamil-Brahmi scripts, coins by the TamilThree Crowned Kings,Black and red ware pots and beads similar to those found inArikamedu andKaraikudi.^[4][5][6]

The twin epics of ancient Tamil NaduSilappatikaram (1st century CE) andManimekalai (6th century CE) speak of Nāka Nadu across the sea fromKaveripoompuharpattinam, and their civilization which was even more sumptuous than those of theCheras, theCholas and thePandyas.^{[citation needed]}Manimekalai speaks of the greatNāka king Valai Vanan who ruled the prosperous Nāka Nadu with great splendour and a richTamil Buddhist tradition.^{[citation needed]}Cīttalai Cāttanār, the author of theManimekalai reflectedTamilakam's perception at the time that Nāka Nadu was an autonomous administrative entity, kingdom ornadu stretching across coastal districts, distinguished from the rest of the island also ruled intermittently by Tamil kings; Eela or Irattina Tivu-Nadu.^[7]Jaffna is an anglicized rendering of the medieval Tamil name for the northern peninsula,Yaalpaanam orYaalpanapattinam.^{[citation needed]}

There is scattered literary and archeological evidence from local and foreign sources describing the division of the whole island in the first few centuries of the common era between two kingdoms. The accounts of 6th centuryGreek merchantCosmas Indicopleustes who visited the island around the time of KingSimhavishnu ofPallava's rule in Tamilakam reveal the presence of two kings, one of whom was based in Jaffna, home to a great emporium, who ruled the coastal districts. In the ninth century CE, as themedieval Cholas regained strength in the region, a Tamil kingdom based in Jaffna was functioning in rivalry to the south, as described in narratives byArab travellers such as Soleyman (Suleiman), Ibn Vahab and writing sixty years later, Abu-Zeyd.^[8][9] The historianAl-Masudi identifies Yaalpaanam asZapage orZabedje in his 10th century workThe Meadows of Gold and describes how the island peninsula's Maharaja (Hindu king) wielded sovereignty over islands opposite the kingdom ofKanyakumari,Karativu island (or Kala island, home to the ancient port of Kalam where ships docked for water on their way to theNicobar islands), the islands Zadig, Sarendib andRameswaram Island. He visited the Jaffna country and thelands of Ramanathapuram which extended both inland and on sea at the time. Masudi witnessed the funeral of a Tamil Hindu king during his stay in Jaffna.Muhammad al-Idrisi writes in the 10th century that the king of Jaffna (Jabeh) rules his island country of the same name (in an apparent reference to the minstrel Yaalpaanan to whom the kingdom was gifted) and in the neighbourhood of this country are the islands of Karativu andEluvaitivu which also obey his rule.Rajadhiraja Chola's conquest of the island led to the fall of four kings there, one of whom, Madavarajah, was the king of Jaffna and, according to historian K. Pillay, a usurper from theRashtrakuta dynasty.^[10] Inscriptions from the period reveal that the Cholas defeated three Jaffna kings during their conquest of the island.

The origin of the Jaffna kingdom is obscure and still the subject of controversy among historians.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} Among mainstream historians, such asK. M. de Silva,S. Pathmanathan andKarthigesu Indrapala, the widely accepted view is that the Kingdom of theAryacakravarti dynasty in Jaffna began in 1215 with the invasion of a previously unknown chieftain calledMagha, who claimed to be fromKalinga in modernIndia.^[16][17][18] He deposed the rulingParakrama Pandyan II, a foreigner from thePandyan dynasty who was ruling theKingdom of Polonnaruwa at the time with the help of his soldiers and mercenaries from the Kalinga, modernKerala andDamila (Tamil Nadu) regions in India.^[19]

After the conquest ofRajarata, he moved the capital to theJaffna peninsula which was more secured by heavy Vanni forest and ruled as a tribute-paying subordinate of theChola empire ofTanjavur, in modern Tamil Nadu, India.^[19] During this period (1247), aMalay chieftain fromTambralinga in modernThailand namedChandrabhanu invaded the politically fragmented island.^[19] Although KingParakramabahu II (1236–70) fromDambadeniya was able to repulse the attack, Chandrabhanu moved north and secured the throne for himself around 1255 from Magha.^[19] This prompted thePandyan Empire in modernSouth India to intervene and Chandrabhanu submitted to Pandya rule in 1258.

When Chandrabhanu embarked on a second invasion of the south, the Pandyas again came to the support of the Sinhalese king and killed Chandrabhanu in 1262 and installedAryacakravarti, a minister in charge of the invasion, as the king.^[19] When the Pandyan Empire became weak due toMuslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka.^[19][20] All subsequent kings of the Jaffna kingdom claimed descent from one Kulingai Cakravarti who is identified with Kalinga Magha by Swami Gnanaprakasar and Mudaliar Rasanayagam while maintaining their Pandyan progenitor's family name.^[21][22] The origins of the Aryacakravarti are claimed in contemporary court chronicles but modern historians offer competing theories as well. The consensus held by historians is that they were a Pandyan feudatory family and the family is connected to the Ramanathapuram Hindu temple and was ofTamil Brahmin origin.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}C. Rasanayagam investigated why they called of themselves as Arya Chakravarthis; and states that when the Jaffna kingdom fell into the hands of the Portuguese in 1618, the Jaffna kings claimed to have "descended from twoBrahmin kings who were appointed byRama himself after his conquest of Lanka and establishment of the Rameshwavaram temple". The Jaffna kings also claimed that Lord Rama himself gave them the title of Arya and granted them theparasol and the emblem of Setu. Rasanayagam therefore suggested that the Brahmin connection may have been mythical and adopted by the later kings as they grew in eminence.^[28]

The dynasty claimed titles such asSetukavalan meaning custodians of theRameswaram temple in modern India,Singaiariyan (from the city ofSingai Nagar,^[29] another name for their capital Nallur), andGangainadan, alluding to their origin from theGanga dynasty or theGanges region of modernNorth India.^[29] Politically, it was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it.^[20] However, it met with simultaneous confrontations with theVijayanagar empire that ruled fromVijayanagara, southern India, and a reboundingKingdom of Kotte from the south of Sri Lanka.^[30] This led to the kingdom becoming avassal of the Vijyanagar Empire as well as briefly losing its independence under the Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467.^[20] The kingdom was re-established with the disintegration of Kotte kingdom and the fragmentation of Viyanagar Empire.^[31] It maintained very close commercial and political relationships with theThanjavur Nayakar kingdom in southern India as well as theKandyan and segments of the Kotte kingdom. This period saw the building of Hindu temples and a flourishing of literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit.^[30][32][33]

The Kotte conquest of the Jaffna kingdom was led by kingParakramabahu VI's adopted son,Prince Sapumal. This battle took place in many stages. Firstly, the tributaries to the Jaffna kingdom in theVanni area, namely theVanniar chieftains of theVannimai were neutralised. This was followed by two successive conquests. The first war of conquest did not succeed in capturing the kingdom. It was the second conquest dated to 1450 that eventually was successful. Apparently connected with this war of conquest was an expedition to Adriampet in modernSouth India, occasioned according to Valentyn by the seizure of a Lankan ship laden withcinnamon. TheTenkasi inscription ofArikesari Parakrama Pandya ofTinnevelly 'who saw the backs of kings at Singai, Anurai,' and elsewhere, may refer to these wars; it is dated between A.D. 1449-50 and 1453–4.^[34]Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan the Aryacakravarti king fled to South India with his family. After the departure of Sapumal Kumara to Kotte, Kanakasooriya Cinkaiarian re-took the kingdom in 1467.

Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka by 1505 where their initial forays were against the south-western coastal Kotte kingdom due to the lucrative monopoly on trade inspices that the Kotte kingdom enjoyed that was also of interest to the Portuguese.^[35] The Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials inColombo for multiple reasons which included their interference inRoman Catholic missionary activities,^[35] (which was assumed to be patronizing Portuguese interests) and their support to anti-Portuguese factions of the Kotte kingdom, such as the chieftains fromSittawaka.^[35] The Jaffna kingdom also functioned as a logistical base for theKandyan kingdom, located in the central highlands without access to any seaports, as an entrypost for military aid arriving fromSouth India.^[35] Further, due to its strategic location, it was feared that the Jaffna kingdom may become a beachhead for theDutch landings.^[35] It was kingCankili I who resisted contacts with the Portuguese and even massacred 600–700ParavaCatholics in theisland of Mannar. These Catholics were brought fromIndia to Mannar to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries from the Jaffna kings.^[36][37]

The first expedition led by ViceroyConstantino of Braganza in 1560 failed to subdue the kingdom but wrested theMannar Island from it.^[38] Although the circumstances are unclear, by 1582 The Jaffna king was paying a tribute of ten (10) elephants or an equivalent in cash.^[35][38] In 1591, during the second expedition led byAndré Furtado de Mendonça, kingPuvirasa Pandaram was killed and his sonEthirimana Cinkam was installed as the monarch. This arrangement gave the Catholic missionaries freedom and monopoly inelephant export to the Portuguese,^[38][39] which the incumbent king however resisted.^[38][39] He helped theKandyan kingdom under kingsVimaladharmasuriya I andSenarat during the period 1593–1635 with the intent of securing help from South India to resist the Portuguese. He however maintained autonomy of the kingdom without overly provoking the Portuguese.^[38][39]

With the death of Ethirimana Cinkam in 1617,Cankili II, a usurper, took control of the throne after killing the regent nominated by the late king.^[40] Unable to secure Portuguese acceptance of his kingship, Cankili II throughMigapulle Arachchi invited military aid from theThanjavur Nayak kingdom and allowed corsairs fromMalabar to use a base inNeduntivu, hence posting a threat to Portuguese shipping routes throughPalk Straight.^[40] Cankili II was supported by the Kandyan rulers. After the fall of the Jaffna kingdom, the two unnamed princesses of Jaffna had been married to Senarat's stepsons, Kumarasingha and Vijayapala.^[41] Cankili II expectably received military aid from the Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom. On his part,Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur made attempts to recover the Jaffna kingdom for his protege, the Prince of Rameshwaram .^[41] However, all attempts to recover the Jaffna kingdom from the Portuguese met with failure.

By June 1619, there were two Portuguese expeditions: a naval expedition that was repulsed by the Malabari corsairs and another expedition byFilipe de Oliveira and his 5,000 strong army which was able to defeat Cankili II.^[40] He, along with every surviving member of the royal family were captured and taken toGoa, where he was beheaded. The remaining captives were encouraged to become monks or nuns, and as most obliged, it avoided further claimants to the Jaffna throne.^[40]

Over the next 40 years, there were six rebellions against the Portuguese rule led byKaraiyar chiefs, one which were led byMigapulle Arachchi andVarunakulattan with the forces ofThanjavur Nayak kingdom after the invasion by the Kandyan king Senarat I until theDutch capture of Jaffna fort in 1658.^[40][42] During that period, Portuguese destroyed everyHindutemple^[43] and theSaraswathy Mahal library inNallur, the royal repository of all literary output of the kingdom.^[44][45] Due to excessive taxation, population decreased and many people moved toRamanathapuram in India and theVanni districts further south.^[40] External commerce was negatively impacted, though elephants, Jaffna's principle export, were traded forsaltpetre with various kingdoms in India and sent toLisbon. Thus, decline in trade made it difficult to pay for essential imports and such items ceased to be imported.^[40] In the words ofFernão de Queirós, the principle chronicler of Portuguese colonial exploits in Sri Lanka, the people ofJaffna were "reduced to the uttermost misery" during the Portuguese colonial era.^[40][43]

Although the Portuguese attempted to completely destroy the royal family through encouraged celibacy, there are number of families ofSri Lankan Tamil origin who claim descent from the royal family.^[46]

• Jaffna kingdom

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