Social Sciences
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Item Foreign Trade Relations in Sri Lanka in The Ancient Period: With Special Reference to The Period from 6th Century B.C to 16th Century A.D.(Reviewing International Encounters 2018,The Research Center for Social Sciences (RCSS), University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Sudharmawathie, J.M.Foreign trade is one of the prominent feature of Sri Lankan economy from the ancient times. According to some views ancient Ceylon was inhabited by foreign traders who arrived the country from neighboring countries. According to the chronicles, Ceylon had been populated from the 6th Century B. C. The maritime trade of the Indian Ocean can be traced back to the dawn of civilization when as early as the third millennium B. C., the Hardpan merchants of India traded with Mesopotamia through the ports of the Persian Gulf. Up to the time of 8th century A. D. foreign trade activities in the Indian Ocean were carried out by various nations such as Persians, Ethiopians and Chinese and many others. After the 8th century B. C. most trade activities were conducted by Muslim trades in various Islamic Countries. Sri Lanka had been the central point for all these traders. It is apparent that Sri Lanka has engaged in trade with many countries from the ancient times. It includes Greece, Rome, Persia. India, South-East Asian countries and with China, the farthest country towards the east. Accordingly, Sri Lanka had been treated as the main land mark for foreign trade in the Indian Ocean. From ancient times Sri Lanka had been treated as the main meeting point of the traders bringing their goods from the East and the traders coming from the west though Persian bay and Red Sea. The main objective of this research is to investigate the factors contributed become Sri Lanka a popular trading center in international trade activities during the prescribed period under consideration. Primary and secondary sources including information from chronicles, inscriptions and archeological remains were adapted along with foreign documentation and reports. Geographical location of Sri Lanka has substantiated the possibility of maintaining trade relations with foreign countries. As the sea routes towards the east and west were located through Sri Lankan sea, this island had become a popular sea halt on foreign voyages. Sri Lanka had become so popular among international traders because of the fact that there were several harbors located around the island that can be anchored any vessels. The importance of harbors situated in Sri Lanka had subjected to remarkable charges from time. However, the significance of every harbor has remained unchanged at all times. The main harbor during the Anuradhapura period was Mahathiththa. It existed up to the 14th century. When Mahatiththa become out of use, the other harbors in the southern and western part of the island become prominent. According to the sources reveals another important factor is that Sri Lanka is situated very close to India. Another fact the foreign traders attracted towards this small island is that the enrichment of the country with many valuable natural resources such as pearls, gems, elephants, ivory, and spices namely cinnamon, pepper, clove including many other varieties which were high demand in international trade.Item The Rehal of Ibn Batuta: A historical analysis of Ibn Batuta's Narration on Sri Lanka(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Sudharmawathie, J.M.Sri Lanka possess a greater significance and importance as an island in the Indian Ocean because of the geographical features of the island. Since Sri Lanka is situated in a central position in the Indian Ocean along the maritime trade route, Sri Lanka owns several bays and anchorages which provide adequate facilities for the ships. As a result, from the ancient times, Sri Lanka served as an important arena to maintain the relationships of countries across the globe. There are several foreign scholars who had kept records on the significance of Sri Lanka's geographical features since 4th century B.C. Some of such authors are of Greek, Roman, Persian, Arabian and Chinese origins. A fact to note is that some of those authors had not visited Sri Lanka. Yet, even they had written about Sri Lanka in the like manner of those who visited Sri Lanka.One of the important Arabic traveller who visited Sri Lanka in 14th century was Ibn Batuta. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze the significance and the accuracy of Ibn Batuta's records when following Sri Lankan history. In order to achieve this aforementioned objective, primary and secondary sources were referred. Ibn Batuta who visited Sri Lanka in 1344, travelled in many parts of the country. Some such places are Sri Padha, Dondra Devalaya, Galle Fort and Colombo Fort. Along with the descriptions of these places the author had mentioned about the politics of Sri Lanka during the period when he visited the island. Especially he mentioned about the Arya Chakrawarthi who ruled in Jaffna in that period. In addition, inclusive of his reports are the economic, political and religious facts about Sri Lanka. He has also reported about Gampola, which was the kingdom in rule back then, Thus, it can be concluded that the report written by Ibn Batuta is a useful source when learning history, irrespective of the fact that he is a foreign author