Sri Lanka (officially, The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)  is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. The South Asian Island nation was known as Ceylon (play /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/) until 1972. Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.

As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia.It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road.Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia along with Ladakh, Bhutan and the Chittagong hill tracts. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital. The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon, the last of which is native to the country. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka has led to the title The Pearl of the Indian Ocean.The island is laden with lush tropical forests, white beaches and diverse landscapes with rich biodiversity. The country lays claim to a long and colorful history of over three thousand years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world. Sri Lanka's rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.

Sri Lanka is a founding member state of SAARC and a member United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, G77 and Non-Aligned Movement. As of 2010, Sri Lanka was one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Its stock exchange was Asia's best performing stock market during 2009 and 2010.

Etymology

 In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: Known in India as Lanka or Singhala, ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane  (play /təˈprɒbəniː/) and Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity"). Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505,  which was transliterated into English as Ceylon. As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, and achieved independence under the name Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.

In Sinhala the country is known as ශ්‍රී ලංකා śrī laṃkā, IPA: [ʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː], and the island itself as ලංකාව laṃkāva, IPA: [laŋˈkaːʋə]. In Tamil they are both இலங்கை ilaṅkai, IPA: [iˈlaŋɡai]. The name derives from the Sanskrit श्री लंका śrī (venerable) and lankā (island),the name of the island in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana. In 1972, the official name of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka". In 1978 it was changed to the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".The name Ceylon is still in use in the names of a number of organisations; in 2011, the Sri Lankan government announced a plan to rename all of those for which it is responsible.

 

Pre-historic Sri Lanka

The Prehistory of Sri Lanka dates back to about 125,000 years Before Present (BP) and possibly even as early as 500,000 BP. It covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron ages. Anthropologists believe that some burial rites and certain decorative artefacts discovered by the excavations in Sri Lanka exhibit similarities between the first inhabitants of the island and the early inhabitants of Southern India. Among the most important Paleolithic (Homo Erectus) human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka are, Pahiyangala (named after the Chinese monk Faxian, who visited the cave in the 5th century), which dates back to 37,000 BP, Batadombalena, which dates back to 28,500 BPand Belilena, 12,000 BP. One of the most important archaeological findings from these caves is the Balangoda Man, who first appeared in Sri Lanka about 34,000 BP.

Frescos on the Sigiriya rock fortress in Matale District, fifth century

19^thcentury painting depicting Rama preparing for war against Ravana.

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which describes the kingdom of Lanka had been created by the divine sculptor named Vishwakarma, for Kubera, the lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine YakshasLater, Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful Emperor who built a mythical flying machiene named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravana's airport.
Historical records show that the earliest settlements were formed by the combination of four Hela tribes named Naga, Yaksha, Deva and Gandhabba. They all were related to the Maha Rishi Pulasthi’s family, described in Ramayana. These earliest-known inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Vedda people people,an indigenous community living in present-day Sri Lanka, that numbers approximately 3,000. Irish historian James Emerson Tennent theorised Galle, a southern city in Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Early inhabitats of Sri Lanka spoke the Elu language, which was the early form of modern Sinhala language