Nayaks of Kandy

The Nayaks of Kandy (a.k.a. Kandy Nayak Dynasty) were the rulers of Sri Lanka with Kandy as their capital from 1739 to 1815. They were also the last dynasty to rule Sri Lanka. They were related to the Madurai Nayak dynasty and to the Tanjore Nayak dynasty . There were four kings of this lineage and the last king, Vikrama Rajasinha, was captured by the British and exiled to Vellore Fort in India

Much earlier to the establishment of the Kandy Nayak dynasty, it was not unknown for the Sinhalese to take wives from ruling clans across Southern India . The first to do so was King Vijaya who procured his royal consort from the city of Madurai . Later kings followed suit.

Because the Kandy kings received military support from the Nayaks of Madurai and the Tanjore Nayak dynasty to fight off the Portuguese, alliances between Kandy, Madurai and...
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