Kirti Sri Rajasinha vs Ulrika Eleonora

Kirti Sri Rajasinha, with the assistance of the Siamese monk Upali, re-established the higher ordination (Upasampada) for Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. This revived the Buddhist Sangha, which had declined under earlier Nayakkar and Portuguese rule, and restored Buddhism as the state religion of the Kandyan Kingdom.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha commissioned the construction of the current Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy to house the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. This temple became the most important Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka and a symbol of Kandyan sovereignty.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha successfully repelled a Dutch invasion of the Kandyan Kingdom. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to conquer Kandy but were defeated by the Kandyan army, forcing the Dutch to sign a peace treaty in 1766 that recognized Kandyan independence.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha patronized Sinhalese literature, poetry, and traditional arts. He sponsored the composition of Buddhist texts and the revival of classical Sinhalese poetry, contributing to a cultural renaissance in the Kandyan court during his reign.

Ulrika Eleonora was crowned Queen of Sweden after the death of her brother Charles XII. Her coronation was conditional on accepting a new constitution that limited royal power, marking the start of the Age of Liberty.

Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne in favor of her husband, Frederick I, after only one year as queen. She did so to allow him to become king, as she had no children and the Riksdag preferred a male monarch.

As queen, Ulrika Eleonora oversaw the conclusion of the Great Northern War with the Treaty of Nystad. Sweden ceded Livonia, Estonia, and Ingria to Russia, ending its status as a major European power.

Ulrika Eleonora died in Stockholm at age 53. Her death ended the life of Sweden's only reigning queen regnant, who had abdicated after a brief reign.