The Sinhalese Revolts were a series of conflicts between the Chola Empire and the Sinhalese rebels based in Ruhuna aimed to liberate the province of Mummudicholamandalam (modern-day Sri Lanka) from the Chola occupation. These conflicts lasted between 1055 to 1070. Initially, the revolts were suppressed by the Chola military, however in 1070 under Vijayabahu I, the Sinhalese successfully librated Sri Lanka from Chola rule, establishing the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Chola Invasions Military expeditions from South Indian forces into Anuradhapura had been brief ad hoc up until the mid-tenth century. These were designed to facilitate short-term gains with minimal involvement followed by a withdrawal to the mainland. However, with the ascension of more ambitious and aggressive imperial Chola kings, Rajaraja I (985–1014) and his son Rajendra I (1012–1044), a new strategy of ruthless plunder and destruction of major political and religious centers on the island occurred, followed by the establishment of semi-permanent and fortified encampments, from where wide-ranging raids could be carried out in other parts of the island. Early Resistance In 1029, eleven years after the Chola conquest of Rohona, Prince Kassapa, son of Mahinda, hid in Rohana, where Chola forces vainly searched for him. Soon after the death of his father Kassapa assumed the monarchy as Kassapa VI (also known as Vikramabahu) and "ruled" in Rohana for several years (c. 1029–1040) while attempting to organise a campaign of liberation and unification. He became the king of Rohana after 11 years of Chola rule in Rohona. Taking advantage of uprisings in the Pandya kingdom and Chera kingdoms, Kassapa VI massacred the Chola garrisons in Rajarata and drove the 95,000-strong Chola army to Pulatthinagara. But he died before he could consolidate his power, and a series of ephemeral aspirants to the throne subsequently appeared and disappeared in Rohana without dislodging the Cholas from the north. Kassapa VI's mysterious death in 1040, however, brought an end to the war. His successor Mahalana-Kitti (1040–1042) tried to lead an unsuccessful revolt against the Cholas. Revolts under Vijayabahu Vijayabahu I (1039–1110), descended from or at least claimed to be descended from the Sinhalese royal house. He had defeated his most powerful rivals in Rohana and was anxious to take on the Cholas, by the age of seventeen. The crisis in the country left a scattering of turbulent chiefs and intractable rebels whose allegiance, if any, was at best opportunistic which proved a problem to both