# Dharmapala of Kotte

> Dharmapala or Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara was the last king of the Kingdom of Kotte, in present-day Sri Lanka, from 1551 until 27 May 1597. He is also known as Dom João Dharmapala, the first Christian king in Sri Lankan history. He is widely despised by the majority of Buddhist Sinhalese for having betrayed his religion of birth i.e., Buddhism and converting to the religion of the foreign conquerors, who they viewed as carrying a reign of terror. Dharmapala allowed Buddhist Temples in his Kingdom, including the highly venerated Temple of Kelaniya to be ransacked and burnt down by the Portuguese.

*King of the Kingdom of Kotte (1551-97)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/dharmapala-of-kotte

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Historical Figure ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645))
- **Category:** Historical Figures
- **Born:** 1541
- **Died:** 1597-05-27
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Dharmapala or Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara was the last king of the Kingdom of Kotte, in present-day Sri Lanka, from 1551 until 27 May 1597. He is also known as Dom João Dharmapala, the first Christian king in Sri Lankan history. He is widely despised by the majority of Buddhist Sinhalese for having betrayed his religion of birth i.e., Buddhism and converting to the religion of the foreign conquerors, who they viewed as carrying a reign of terror. Dharmapala allowed Buddhist Temples in his Kingdom, including the highly venerated Temple of Kelaniya to be ransacked and burnt down by the Portuguese.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 42.8 / 100
- **Momentum:** 3.6 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 4.6 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 20.2 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 30.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 45.0 / 100

## Sources
- [Dharmapala of Kotte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmapala_of_Kotte)
- [Dharmapala (roi de Kotte)](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmapala_(roi_de_Kotte))
- [Дгармапала (магараджа Котте)](https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0_(%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%82%D0%B5))
- [Dharmapala](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmapala)
- [දොන් ජුවන් ධර්මපාල රජ](https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%9C%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%8A_%E0%B6%A2%E0%B7%94%E0%B7%80%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%8A_%E0%B6%B0%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%BD_%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%A2)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q370824)

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