Ancient Sri Lanka

Main articles: Pre Anuradhapura period and Anuradhapura period

Ptolemy's world map of Ceylon, first century CE, in a 1535 publication
According to the Mahāvamsa, a Pāḷi chronicle written in the 5th century CE, the original inhabitants
of Sri Lanka are said to be the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before
600 BCE have also been discovered in Sri Lanka.[50] Sinhalese history traditionally starts in 543 BCE
with the arrival of Prince Vijaya, a semi-legendary prince who sailed with 700 followers to Sri Lanka,
after being expelled from Vanga Kingdom (present-day Bengal).[51] He established the Kingdom of
Tambapanni, near modern-day Mannar. Vijaya (Singha) is the first of the approximately 189
monarchs of Sri Lanka described in chronicles such as the Dipavamsa, Mahāvaṃsa, Cūḷavaṃsa,
and Rājāvaliya.[52]
Once Prakrit speakers had attained dominance on the island, the Mahavamsa further recounts the
later migration of royal brides and service castes from the Tamil Pandya Kingdom to
the Anuradhapura Kingdom in the early historic period.[53]