Siege of Kotte (1557–1558)

Siege of Kotte
	Part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War
Date	November 1557 – November 1558
Location	Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Kingdom of Kotte 06°54′39″N 79°53′16.21″E / 6.91083°N 79.8878361°E
Result	Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Sitawaka	Portuguese Empire Lascarins (local soldiers on the Portuguese side); Supported by:; Kingdom of Kotte
Commanders and leaders
Mayadunne of Sitawaka; Tikiri Bandara; Panapitiya Mudali	Afonso Pereira de Lacerda; Diogo de Melo Coutinho; Manuel de Castro; Jorge de Melo; Francisco Barreto
Strength
50,000 Sitawaka men	480 Portuguese,; At least 9,000 Lascarins; 12 fustas ; Unknown number of reinforcements from Mannar
Casualties and losses
Low	Moderate

The siege of Kotte was an offensive which took place during the Sinhalese–Portuguese War between 1557 and 1558. A 50,000-strong Sitawaka army led by King Mayadunne besieged Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Kotte Kingdom, for 12 months against a combined force of Portuguese and Lascarins led by Captain-major Dom Afonso Pereira de Lacerda. After receiving reinforcements from Mannar, Portuguese made a sally and succeeded in forcing the besiegers to withdraw. This siege marked the beginning of a series of battles between Portuguese and Sitawaka forces, and ultimately ended as Portuguese abandoned Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte in 1565.