This is atimeline of Sri Lankan history, comprising important & territorial changes and political & economic events in Sri Lanka and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, seeHistory of Sri Lanka.
Do not add minor event as this timeline is for "important & territorial changes and political & economic events in Sri Lanka and its predecessor states".
| Year | Date | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 300,000 - 500,000BP | First human settlements in Sri Lanka[1] |
| Year | Date | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 543 BC - 437 BC | Arrival ofPrince Vijaya and establishment ofPre-Anuradhapura. |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(July 2023) |
| This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(July 2023) |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1017 | Chola conquest and occupation of Anuradhapura: TheCholas underRajendra I attack and conquerSri Lanka. | |
| 1029 | Chola conquest and occupation of Anuradhapura:Mahinda V, the last king ofAnuradhapura, dies inChola captivity. | |
| 1029-1041 | Vikramabahu, the son ofMahinda V, launches a resistance movement against theChola rule inSri Lanka, but suddenly dies after contracting a disease inRohana. | |
| 1049 | A Sinhalese chieftain named Lokeshwara, temporarily defeats the Chola forces and establishes a military base in Ruhuna. | |
| 1054 | Keshadhatu Kasyapa, a pretender to the Sinhalese throne, establishes a dominion in Eastern Ruhuna after driving away Chola forces, which would last until 1055. | |
| 1055 | A fifteen-year-old prince named Kitti, belonging to a royal bloodline, annexes the domains of Lokeshwara and Keshadathu Kasyapa, uniting Ruhuna under his rule. Cholas are further pushed back from the South. | |
| 1070 | Prince Kitti, who was given the title Vijayabahu, launches a seventeen-year campaign and successfully drives out the Cholas from Sri Lanka. | |
| 1070 | Vijayabahu is crowned as the first king of Polonnaruwa. | |
| 1084 | Velakkara Revolt:Tamilmercenaries namedVelakkaras, mutiny against kingVijayabahu as he declared war with theChola Empire due to arresting a group ofSinhaleseambassadors sent toWestern Chalukya. | |
| 1110 | Vijayabahu I dies at the age of 71, and the instalment ofJayabahu I as his successor without passing the throne to Vijayabahu's sonVikramabahu I causes apower struggle between the two rulers. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1803 | First Kandyan War:British forces attack theKingdom of Kandy after the King's Adigar Pilimatalawe defected. | |
| 1815 | 2 March | Kandyan Convention: The Kingdom of Kandy is ceded to the British in an agreement signed between British GovernorSir Robert Brownrigg and the Kandyan chiefs. |
| 1817 | Great Rebellion of 1817–1818: The Kandyans rebel against British rule. | |
| 1833 | Colebrooke–Cameron Commission: Legal and economic reforms proposed, first manifestation of constitutional government.Legislative Council of Ceylon established. | |
| 1848 | Matale rebellion: Peasant revolt against imposition of taxes. | |
| 1864 | Rāmañña Nikāya established. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots | |
| 1931 | Donoughmore Commission: Establisheduniversal franchise in Ceylon, and theState Council of Ceylon was elected. | |
| 1948 | 4 February | Independence is gained as theDominion of Ceylon. |
| 1958 | 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom | |
| 1971 | 1971 JVP insurrection: Marxist insurrection conducted by theJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna against the government of Sri Lanka. | |
| 1972 | Sri Lanka becomes a republic, and country's name Ceylon is changed toSri Lanka | |
| 1983 | 24–30 July | Black July by the government and Sinhalese mobs; Beginning of theSri Lankan Civil War |
| 1987 | 29 July | Signing of theIndo-Sri Lanka Accord |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 26 December | 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami hits Sri Lanka causing over 35,000 deaths |
| 2009 | May | Massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan Armed Forces and LTTE |
| 19 May | Death ofVelupillai Prabhakaran; End of the Sri Lankan Civil War | |
| 2019 | April 21 | Bombing of several churches and hotels by Islamic militants causing 269 deaths |
| Beginning of theSri Lankan economic crisis (2019–present) | ||
| 2022 | March–November | Protests erupt against the government's mishandling of the economic crisis |
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Anuradhapura kingdom 377 BC – 1017 AD | |||||||
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