Capital of Sri Lanka

The current legislative capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and the executive and judicial capital is Colombo. Over the course of the island's history, the national capital has been in several locations other than Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the following is a list of cities which have historically served as the capital city of Sri Lanka and its predecessor states.

Part of a series on the
History of Sri Lanka
Chronicles
Dipavamsa Mahavamsa Cūḷavaṃsa Rajavaliya Pujavaliya
Periods
Prehistory Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age 300,000 BP –543 BC Pre Anuradhapura Indo-Aryan settlement 543–377 BC Anuradhapura Arrival of Buddhism Dutthagamani's campaign Fall of Anuradhapura 377 BC–1017 Polonnaruwa Chola conquest Sinhalese Resistance Invasion of Kalinga Magha 1017–1232 Transitional Vijayabā Kollaya Crisis of the Sixteenth Century 1232–1597 Kandy Kandyan Wars 1597–1815 British Ceylon Great rebellion Matale rebellion Buddhist revival World War II Independence 1815–1948 Sri Lanka Dominion Republic 1948–present
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