Polonnaruwa was the royal capital of Sri Lanka from 1070 CE until 1310 CE. These fantastic ruins became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982. It is a popular cultural attraction in Sri Lanka, and part of the Cultural Triangle that includes Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Pidurangala, Ibbankatuwa Megalithic Tombs, and Kandy. Any visit to Sri Lanka would be incomplete if you didn’t learn more about the rise and fall of Polonnaruwa.
This story is about the rise and fall of Polonnaruwa as the royal seat of power. The common answer for why the capital was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa or moved again from Polonnaruwa to Dambadeniya is the same – better defense from invading armies from southern India. An alternative or hidden factor for this move could be the global climate change experienced during these times.
Global Climate Change Experienced by Medieval Europe
Consider, for a moment, what was happening during medieval England during the same time period. William the Conqueror assumed control of England in 1066 after the Battle of Hastings. Historians speculate that his conquest of England was aided by the unusual weather patterns of the Medieval Warming Period that lasted from 950 to 1250 CE.
During this time, Northern Europe was significantly warmer. The North Sea was rising and forcing coastal communities to seek new homes. Norsemen were colonizing Greenland and the Danes were attacking England. They actually occupied England in the early part of the 11th century. In the latter part of the 11th century, William the Conqueror headed north, aided by the warm weather to grow his Norman crops.
Chola Invasion Established Polonnaruwa as the Capital
During these same times, political boundaries were shifting in Sri Lanka. The Chola Tribe from Southern India mounted a successful attack on the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. By 1017, northern Sri Lanka was under Chola control and they shifted the capital to Polonnaruwa. 53 years later, King Vijayabahu I defeated Cholas and regained the Sinhalese lineage but he retained the capital at Polonnaruwa.
One factor for retaining Polonnaruwa could have been the destructive nature of Chola occupation. Evidence exists of substantial damage during the siege of Anuradhapura. The city’s massive walls were collapsed and the extensive irrigation system destroyed.
The Chola also wreaked havoc on Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Vijayabahu I sought help from King Anawrahta in Burma in restoring the practice. Ordained monks were sent from Burma to Sri Lanka. The Sathmahal Prasada at Polonnaruwa is architecturally similar to temples from Thailand and Burma and could be symbolic of assistance King Anawrahta provided in restoring Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
Rise of Polonnaruwa Influenced by Climate Change
Another factor in the rise of Polonnaruwa power could be climate change. Parakramabahu I, the second ruler of Polonnaruwa is known for his frantic construction of the country’s irrigation system. Parakramabahu built or restored 216 water tanks, but perhaps none more magnificent than the Parakrama Samudra (Sea of Parakrama). This massive reservoir has a surface area of over 30 square miles and sits immediately adjacent to Polonnaruwa. It was said that no water that fell in Sri Lanka reached the ocean. Perhaps this construction was more than royal vanity or simple philanthropy. It could have been a necessity for survival dictated by the parallel climate change of the Medieval Warming Period in Sri Lanka.
Could Changing Climate Have Caused The Fall of Polonnaruwa
If the drying at the start of the Medieval Warming Period sparked the rise of Polonnaruwa, could the water from the Little Ice Age that followed contributed to its demise? Within a margin of error these two events are roughly correlated in time, but is there a causal connection? Polonnaruwa was a water driven society. Its chief crop was rice and the government ran on water taxes from the royal reservoirs to supply the paddies.
Now imagine what would happen if the climate was sufficiently wet that the water tax need not be paid. The government would destabilize as the tax base collapsed. Such a governmental collapse was observed during this period with many tanks and canals in outlying provinces falling into disrepair.
Stagnant tanks, combined with unusual amounts of water, could give rise to another problem – mosquitoes. More than just irritation, this new wave of mosquitoes might have the start of malaria in Sri Lanka. Although it’s difficult to establish the exact introduction of malaria to the country, scholars cite malaria as a possible cause for the abandonment of Polonnaruwa. It isn’t a far walk to link climate change to an outbreak of malaria similar to climate change fueling the bubonic plague in Europe.
A Thousand Years of Feast, a Thousand Years of Famine
The dry zone in Sri Lanka had been cultivated by an elaborate system of canals and reservoirs since the time of Anuradhapura in the 3rd century BCE. Throughout the ages, it had seen good rulers and bad, rebellions and peace, yet it had always recovered. The damaged canals were rebuilt and the civilization marched forward.
After the collapse of Polonnaruwa, the derelict dams and fallow field continued until the 20th century. This could be a prime example of the frailty of human civilization collapsing under the pressures of climate change. The great Parakramabahu could build the Sea of Parakrama, but he couldn’t stop the winds of change. Today, we are observing the most radical climate change in recorded history. We would be wise to heed caution on climate change, or perhaps we too might suffer another thousand years of famine.
References
- Ingstad, Anne Stine (2001). “The Excavation of a Norse Settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland”. In Helge Ingstad; Anne Stine Ingstad. The Viking Discovery of America. New York: Checkmark. pp. 141–169. ISBN 0-8160-4716-2. OCLC 46683692.
- Mann, M. E.; Zhang, Z.; Rutherford, S.; et al. (2009). “Global Signatures and Dynamical Origins of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly” (PDF). Science. 326 (5957): 1256–60. Bibcode:2009Sci…326.1256M. doi:10.1126/science.1177303. PMID 19965474.
- “How does the Medieval Warm Period compare to current global temperatures?”. SkepticalScience. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- K. M. De Silva (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. University of California Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-0-520-04320-6. Retrieved 19 April 2012. “In their expulsion from the island”
- “Drought In West Linked To Warmer Temperatures”. Earth Observatory News. 2004-10-07. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
- Bokay, Mon (1966). “Relations between Ceylon and Burma in the 11th Century A.D”. Artibus Asiae. 23: 93. doi:10.2307/1522637. JSTOR 1522637
A really interesting read! I really appreciate posts that go beyond the surface level and help me become a better rounded traveler.
Thanks for posting this 🙂
Glad you liked it. You can not only travel through countries but also through time if you are observant enough,
That’s quite an interesting theory you write about. I guess so often climatic factors are forgotten by historians who concentrate on names and dates to draw their timelines. And Polonnaruwa wouldn’t be the first big city in the world, which was abandoned due to climatic changes and resulting famine.
I thought it was a good working theory. There do seem to be cycles happening on a world wide scale that affect many countries. Climate change seems like it is, at least, a contributing cause.
I love learning about the history of places of interest. It really helps to connect with the visit and to understand why the inhabitants did what they did. Amazing structures of this timeframe.
Me too. Another fun game to play is -why was this city put here? It really helps you understand on a deeper level, which is one of the reasons you travel in the first place.
I am not a history buff at all, so could not put much of this into context until the end. Once you talked about the mosquitos and disease and related it to the bubonic plague, it made sense to me. Interesting.
I thought I would be in trouble writing about Sri Lanka, a country the size of West Virginia literally on the other side of the world from America so I tried to tie everything back to history of western Europe to make it more accessible. I might need to work on the mainstreaming of these ideas a little bit more. Maybe find sound place like the Salton Sea and talk about the changes it has experienced in the last 50 years. Talk about thriving resort towns like Bombay Beach and then show salt caked docks a half mile away from the new shoreline. That would establish that sudden and radical climate change can decimate an area with pictures instead of references. Then, once that fact has been establish, I can apply it in other times during history.
I never thought of the history of this region as something that could have been affected by climate change- what an interesting thought.
Research is showing that climate change has been a factor for the rise and fall of many civilizations. Any time key dates line up in unconnected civilizations, I begin to think of climate change as a factor.
What an interesting read. I had no idea about the history of this place. Love how you delved into it and informed us 🙂
When I feel obliged to include references, it’s a sign.
That’s an interesting insight into why Polonnaruwa must’ve collapsed as a kingdom. The place looks absolutely lovely in your pictures and I loved learning about its history, thanks for all the information you’ve shared!
Glad you liked it. It’s a beautiful place to visit, with out without the history lesson.
This was very interesting to read, love a history lesson. I never though about climate change and how it changed history, but it makes sense. Your photos of Polonnaruwa are fantastic, Sri Lanka has so much history.
Thank you. We are planning a second post about Polonnaruwa just as a tourist but I wanted to start with the history because it was more unique. I think this might be the first climate change / Pollnauruwa piece on the web.
Really interesting post! I hadn’t really thought much about climate change from this angle so you’ve given me lots to think about.
I think there are many sides to climate change. It makes a compelling story.
Wow, I had no idea there was so much history behind Sri Lanka. I’m ashamed to say probably the only thing I previously knew about the country is that it used to be called Ceylon, and they have good tea. I really do want to make it there this year.
That’s actually more than I knew when I first arrived in the country. I was like – what is this Ceylon place. If we knew everything, then there would be no reason to travel.
Aww so beautiful. This pics are awesome, I wish I could visit this place one day.Thanks for all this great informations too 🙂
Our pleasure. Glad you liked it.
The sea is still there. It is just outside of the park so you don’t realize it during your visit. It was just outside of the museum where you buy tickets. Most of the tanks built during that period are actually still in use.
Thank you It was fun researching more about the beautiful places we went.
You can live for weeks without food but only days without water. Water makes the world go round.
What a fantastic discourse – loved how you connected the two continents and weather here. Also interesting to learn about Chola occupation of Sri Lanka (though I would call them a dynasty and not a tribe – their empire was huge) and their eventual defeat. Invasions often impact the religion of the region, but it’s great that Buddhism could get back to the country after that…
Glad you liked the history. I can see you point about the Chola. The more I travel, the more I realize how narrow my lessons on world history were growing up. We cover every hill and valley in Europe in exquisite detail but gloss over vast empires of historic significance.
This is so interesting! I rarely think of climate change as a factor in distant history, much less something to consider when trying to understand places I travel to. But of course it’s not a new phenomenon and it makes tons of sense. I love learning fascinating things like this when traveling.
Every 60 million years or so it goes off the rails and kills almost everything in the planet too. Or the young earth scientists could be right and the Earth is only six thousand years old and the gods are f’n with us. Hard to say 😉
Sri Lanka has been on my mind since quite sometime and you blog i just pushing me more! I really liked how you have done your research on the history of the place and not just posted pics and travel tips. I am quite surprised to read about Chola invasion and all the havoc it caused!
Havoc is a matter of perspective. I am sure native Americans could say something about European invaders. The mortality rates from European diseases were in the 90%. Many villages were deserted before Europeans reached them. The Chola never reached levels like that.
Polonnaruwa looks so fascinating. The temples retain their aura of magnificence in spite of the ravages of time. This place is relatively lesser known than say Anuradhapura or Sigriya. But I find the place really intriguing and would like to visit when I am in these parts.
It’s much better preserved than Anuradhapura but not as naturally awesome as Sigiriya. The fascinating thing about Sigiriya is that it ran in the same time period, but only was a city for about 17 years. It doesn’t share the wealth, influence or longevity of Polonnaruwa.
Such a fascinating piece of history behind Polonnaruwa. You have brought up some questions worth pondering on. It also drives our attention to possible consequences of climate change. I used to think climate change don’t really impact us THAT much, but actually it is impacting us in all aspects. We just didn’t really pay attention to it.
The only reason we wouldn’t think climate change is going to affect is is because of extreme hubris. There is significant evidence of it happening in the past and it will most certainly happen again in the future.
Fascinating. I’ve heard about the climate change in medieval Europe, but I never really connected the dots with the rest of the world. Makes me wonder what civilisations were affected by climate change worldwide. Also, something I’ve always wondered when I travel, does climate affect people’s behaviour? From a crowd psychology persepective, I mean. And to what extent?
Warmer countries certainly have a different vibe than colder ones (IMO).
I thought climate change through medieval Europe was a good starting reference, glad you were on board there. I think a lot of civilizations from Egypt, to Rome, to Mayans have been affected at different stages.
I can get what you are saying about warm / cold cultures. I have a second layer to this theory that there is a cultural difference depending on how much Neanderthal DNA is in a population. A lot of studies are showing that Neanderthals were more advanced than humans, but unable to form large social groups. Perhaps the antisocial behavior (and depression) carried on in cold weather climates. Here is a fascinating link on the subject (with minimal research) https://www.inverse.com/article/12945-neanderthals-went-extinct-because-they-were-smart-sad-and-alone-just-like-you
Just goes to show global warming is an ongoing issue. Polonnaruwa is just beautiful. It’s a place I’d love to visit to the ruins 😊
Indeed. I am sure Polonnaruwa isn’t going to be the last civilization to fall because of climate change.
Wow, there’s a lot of history behind this site! Can you hire a guide when you visit, or do you recommend reading about it before visiting?
We hired a guide where we bought tickets. He was much better than the Sigiriya guide, probably because it’s so much easier to access Polonnaruwa that more experienced guides go there (instead of climbing Sigiriya twice a day!). I always encourage reading ahead of time, but there’s a really good museum at the ticket office. You could probably spend a 1/2 hour there and get the highlights. If you don’t have a guide, you will need a good map with highlights to find where you want to go. If you just show up, the ruins are huge and there isn’t obvious signage on where you want to go. One nice benefit of self guiding is that you can go by bike, which would be a great way to get around the grounds.
Very nice post thanks for sharing with us I like historical places and sri lanka have places like this and i Love them