The city of Anuradhapura is situated one hundred and twenty eight miles (205 km) north of Colombo in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka on the banks of the Malwatu Oya, and was founded by King Pandukhabaya in 437BC. By the mid-3rd century BC, Anuradhapura's fame had spread as far as the Roman-Hellenistic world of the Mediterranean and by the 1st century AD, it had established trade and diplomatic links with China.
It was the capital of the Anuradhapura Kingdom from the 4th century BC till the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centres of political power and urban life in South Asia. It was also a wealthy city which created a unique culture and a great civilization . Today this ancient city of Sri Lanka, which is sacred to the Buddhist world, with its surrounding monasteries covers an area of over sixteen square miles ( 40 sq km) and is one of the world's major archaeological sites and is the largest and oldest of all Sri Lanka’s ancient cities.
