The destruction of the 1500-year-old Anuradhapura kingdom fell due – but was it destroyed by problems of its own making – or by a force so overwhelming that no power could ever hope to withstand it?

The Lambakanna king, Sena II, pulled victory from disaster. Sri Lanka became one of the dominant powers in the Indian Ocean. So how did it get from there to the doors of desolation in barely 125 years?

How was it that, even as life seemed at its easiest, the plush and kind middle years of later Lambakanna rule almost came to an abrupt halt - courtesy of an Indian invasion?

King Manavanna was to restore the fortunes of the returning Lankbranaka dynasty, and his succeeding sons were to rule as if the kingdom merited nothing but the best. But was the Anuradhapura kingdom really that safe?

As the Lambakanna kings retook their throne for a second innings, how was it that rice, that most ordinary of all crops, was to power the last glorious golden age of the one-island state?

When King Kashyapa took up residence in Sigiriya, he triggered a party that, like the ancient world itself, raced to its corporeal end with all the aplomb of the last serving of the lost martini on board the Titanic. But what made it so extraordinary?

It’s often said that to rule, you must be ruthless to excess. But exactly what were the excesses created by these final Sri Lankan kings as to earn them a place on a list of wicked monarchs?

Spoiled for choice, selecting the naughtiest monarchs of Sri Lanka is an arduous job. But why does the list begin with its founding father, and a latter queen who made a kitten out of Henry VIII of England?

Some of Sri Lanka’s most beloved spices came in the ships of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British – but why were they brought here, and how did they throw off the trauma of transplantation to prosper and proliferate?

Sri Lanka’s secretive off-stage spices are every bit as treasured as its most famous ones. But what are they, and how are they used?

Few people ever packed light as they headed to Sri Lanka. But what are the spices that arrived in the carry-on baggage its visiting traders, travellers and superpowers?

Three spices hold the key to every dish in Sri Lanka. But which ones are they, and why does their consequence stretch far beyond the humble kitchen?

She was the pin-up of her times – but was it about the island’s first queen that caused so much disquiet, even now, and where might you still find her?

Sri Lanka’s seven greatest wonders from ancient times include a palace to escape death, a dish, a book, and a fortress. But what made them so fundamental – to the nation and the world – as to earn their place in history?

A tree – and a trio of stupas are among ancient Sri Lanka’s greatest wonders. But why are any of these so important – not just to the island, but to the world?

Despite their iconic status, the original seven wonders of the ancient world pale in comparison to the seven wonders of ancient Lanka, the subject of the next three podcasts. But why include Panda Wewa, a reservoir now lost in the jungle?

Protected by a necklace of high mountains and surrounded by dense jungle ideal for guerrilla warfare, the Kandyan kingdom’s natural defences helped it withstand repeated invasions. But what was this long-forgotten mountain war, fought for almost 200 years?

Kandy is much more than its city. And in an arc of land that spreads to the north are five places that tell stories of the kingdom that are almost entirely forgotten. What are they, and why do they matter?

Kandy’s deeper history is a byzantine tale of kings, caste, money, and religion. Here, history is not dead; not even sleeping or dazed. It is instead ever on the lookout. So what should you look out for?