Dhatusena was a king of Sri Lanka who reigned from 455 to 473 AD. He was the first king of the Moriyan dynasty. In some records, he is also identified as Dasenkeli. Dhatusena reunited the country under his rule after twenty six years of anarchy, defeating the six Dravidians that were ruling the country at that time. Dhatusena built large reservoirs and canals to augment the agriculture in the country. Early life and becoming king Dhatusena's ancestry is uncertain. The Cūḷavaṃsa, the ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka, tells us that he was of royal lineage whose ancestors had fled the royal capital about three hundred seventy-five years earlier.According to Mahavamsa, His grandfather had lived in Nandivapi Grama (Village) and his father in the name of "Dhata" had lived in Ambilayagugama. He had the two sons of Dhatusena(The eldest and the future king) and Silathisbodhi. The country was invaded in 433 by Tamils apparently of or related to the Pandyan dynasty from South India, known as "the Six Dravidians". They overthrew Mittasena and ruled the Anuradhapura Kingdom for twenty-six years, from 433 to 459. During this time, Sinhalese leaders abandoned Rajarata and fled to the Ruhuna principality in the south of the country. Ruhuna was used as the base for resistance against the invading rulers. Dhatusena was raised by his uncle, a Buddhist monk named Mahanama. The Pandyan invaders were searching for Dhatusena, and his uncle ordained him as a Buddhist monk to disguise him. Dhatusena later organised a resistance movement against the Tamil invaders and led a rebellion against them. Dhatusena claimed the kingship of the country in 455. By the time Dhatusena started the rebellion, three of the six Pandayn invaders were already dead, and in the battles that occurred during the rebellion, two more were killed. The final battle took place in circa 459, where the last king, Pithiya, was killed. Having defeated the Parindyan invaders, Dhatusena was crowned as the king of Sri Lanka in 459, taking Anuradhapura as his capital. After his coronation, he had had the villages of the fervent supporters of the former Dravidian kings confiscated as a penalty for their disloyalty. Services as king After being enthroned, he persuaded the people who have fled to Ruhuna to re-populace their abandoned regions in Anuradhapura. Dhatusena built eighteen massive irrigation tanks and eighteen small irrigation tanks in order to develop agriculture in the country. Among