General Kitti

Who he is

Name

Kitti

Title

Commander (senapati) of the royal army and the real power behind the throne

Since

1197 (when he deposed Chodaganga and had Lilavati consecrated)

Born

not known

Family

Not given in the pages we reached.

Confidence

medium for the role, low for the man

English Wikipedia on Lilavati: 'a powerful general named Kitti', who 'rather than seizing the throne for himself, had Lilavati consecrated sovereign queen'. The page says nothing of his origin, his lands or his fate. The Culavamsa chapter is Geiger's; we did not read it.

Overlord

Queen Lilavati (in form)

What it holds

• The command of the royal army and its companies at Polonnaruwa
• The person of the queen and the court
• The treasury through the queen
• No dated land or office other than the command is given in the pages we reached

How it was acquired

By his coup of 1197: he overthrew Chodaganga, the nephew of Nissanka Malla, and set up Lilavati.

Allies and rivals

Ally: the queen. Rivals: the Kalinga faction behind Sahassamalla, other generals and the unpaid companies.

How things stand that morning

Kitti is the strongest man in Lanka on 1 January 1200. Whether he is alive and still in command by 23 August 1200 is the question the year turns on, and the pages we reached say nothing about his end.

Wealth

Through the queen: the crown's revenue. No private estate is named.

Military

The royal army and mercenary companies. No number is given by any source we reached.

Threats

• The Kalinga prince and his friends
• Unpaid mercenaries
• A rival general
• Death by disease or violence (unknown)

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. By 23 August 1200Kitti's authority fails or he is removed, killed or dies before Sahassamalla is consecrated and Lilavati deposed (the pages we reached do not say how).Depends on: A split in the army, defection of the companies, or his death. Stopped by: Prompt pay to the companies, and Kitti keeping the capital's gates.
2. 1202 (outside 1200)The general Ayasmanta repeats the performance: deposes Sahassamalla and appoints Kalyanavati, keeping the power himself.Depends on: A Lankan army that obeys its general. Stopped by: A general who takes the crown himself.

Where the sources disagree

• The brief names 'Lilavati and the general Kitti'; the Wikipedia page confirms it. The assignment asks for 'ministers and generals': Kitti is the only one of 1200 named in the pages we reached; Ayasmanta and Lokissara are later.
• Whether Kitti was alive in August 1200 is not stated; we draw him in command on 1 January and unknown after.

Evidence: One English Wikipedia page names him and describes only the 1197 coup.

On the map: No land: he holds a command.

Primary sources for Lanka (Polonnaruwa)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Lesser Chronicle (the continuation of the Mahavamsa), Dhammakitti and later monks of the Mahavihara tradition (the first continuation about the 13th century (chapters 37 to 79), carried on in stages to the 18th century). The only narrative source for Lanka in 1200. Read online
• Epigraphia Zeylanica: lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon, Various (the Polonnaruwa kings' chanceries), edited by D. M. de Zilva Wickremasinghe, H. W. Codrington and S. Paranavitana (inscriptions of the 3rd century BC to the 18th century; the series ran from 1904). Prints with translation the stone records of the Polonnaruwa kings who held or lost the throne around 1200. Read online
• South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
• The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online
• A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
• Description of the Foreign Peoples (Chau Ju-kua), Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) (about 1225, while superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou). The Song customs officer's survey of the overseas world, compiled from merchants and from Zhou Qufei, a generation after 1200 but describing trade routes that were the same in 1200. Read online