Following the Chola invasion of Sri Lanka under Raja Raja Chola I in 993 CE, they annexed the principality of Rajarata, which encompassed the north of the country, and made it a province of the Chola empire. However they let the Sri Lankan king Mahinda V rule the southern principality of Ruhuna unhindered for twenty four years. In 1017 they launched an invasion into Ruhuna and captured the king, along with his queen and all the royal jewels. Mahinda V remained a prisoner of the Chola empire, and died under their captivity in 1029.