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People: Kalinga Magha
Location: Camposampiero Veneto Italy

Kalinga Magha

Prince of Kalinga and founder of the Jaffna kingdom
Years: 1170 - 1236

Kalinga Magha (reigned 1215–1236), also known as Cinkaiariyan Cekaracacekaran I and Magha the Tyrant, is an invader who is remembered primarily for his aggressive conquest and Hindu fanaticism.

He is identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty.

Kalinga Magha is a prince from the Kingdom of Kalinga, which is in the Orissa state of modern India.

His family is connected to the rulers of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.

Kalinga Magha’s relatives of Ramanathapuram administer the famous temple of Rameswaram.

He usurps the throne from Parakrama Pandu of Polonnaruwa, in 1215.

His reign sees the massive migration of native Sinhalese to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power.

Magha is the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive is his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata exist primarily in the south of the island.