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Located off the southern tip of India. Known to Europeans from at least the 2nd century CE., the island was noted under the name of "Taprobanus" in Ptolemy's Geographos. The following list memorializes the most important states; though often unified, Sri Lanka has had many eras of fragmentation as well. Dynastic names reflect the location of capitals more often than familial descent. Europeans began involving themselves in Sri Lankan affairs from 1505. The line of Sinhalese rulers from the 5th century BCE to the present. Also noted are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Chagos Archipelago, Jaffna, Kandy, the Laccadive Islands, the Maldive Islands, Sitawaka, and Trincomalee. |
A note on the names: the following list will comprise two different names - the first is the (Arabic) personal name of the individual, followed in parentheses by a regnal name derived from an almost forgotten indigenous language.