Yapahuwa was one of the ephemeral capitals of medieval Sri Lanka, in the latter part of the 13th century. Built around a huge granite rock rising abruptly almost 100m above the surrounding lowlands, at midway between Kurunagala and Anuradhapura, the citadel of Yapahuwa has a strong resemblance to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. In 1272, King Bhuvenakabahu transferred the capital from Polonnaruwa to Yapahuwa in the face of Dravidian invasions from South India. Following the death of king in 1284, the Pandyans of South India invaded Sri Lanka once again, and Yapahuwa was largely abandoned and inhabited by Buddhist monks and religious ascetics.
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