History of nepal ministry of foreign affairs nepal mofa. History of nepal from past to present history of nepal. Although the earlier kirati dynasty had claimed the status of the kshatriya caste of rulers and warriors, the licchavis were probably the first ruling family in that area of plains indian origin. Nepal is a small country but it has been land of the marriange of sita and ram, the birth of the buddha and the home to so many great saints, kings and rishis. The history mentioned that kirats ruled nepal during the 7th century bc. Both brahmanic hindu and buddhist legends relate the tales of ancient rulers from nepal. These vamsavalis became popular after the saba 1 dynasty conquered the kathmandu valley in 176869 and can be regarded as part of the nation building process promoting nepali as the lingua franca. However, only two longer chronicles have so far been translated into english and thus remained, in a. In 1922, the first book in nepali language was written by the nepali author ambika p. It is a landlocked country located between india to the east, south, and west and the tibet autonomous region of china to the north.
Nepal historical information royal family king and. Ancient nepal, the early kingdom of the licchavis, transition to the medieval kingdom, the struggle for power, government, economy, people of nepal by sampson jerry. Initially only the kathmandu valley was called nepal. It is said that the medieval history of nepal under the rule of the malla dynasty 10th 18th century in nepal valley and other areas, was an uncanny period. First kings of nepal collection for section officer. If the question is about the first king of unified nepal,it is the father of the nation prithivi narayan shah. Jay dev first the first king of lichhiwi dynesty vaisalia was the lichchhavis homeland. Birendra ruled nepal from 31 january 1972 1 june 2001and he was known as one of the most noble and peaceful king of nepal. The entire family of king birendra was massacred in june 2001 popularly known as royal massacre 2001. Kirkpatrick is considered in the first book of nepalese history while ambika prasad upadhaya wrote the first history book in nepali in 1929. He was from shah dynasty of gorkha and lived from 1723 to 1775 ce.
Sonakshee sinha which game does sachin tendulkar play. The kingdom of nepal was founded in 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king, who succeeded in unifying the three existing smaller kingdoms of kathmandu, patan and bhaktapur into a single state. The 1st shah king in the history of nepal was kulmandan shah and he was king of lamjung district. Nepal is a beautiful and himalayan country everyone knows this today in this post, we can take information related to nepal history information radix question and answer flood. The journey begins with the infamous hippie hash trail that led from london and amsterdam overland to nepal where, prior to the early1970s, hashish was legal and smoked freely in nepal, india, afghanistan, and laos.
Upadhyaya, nepal ko itihas, published from banaras. India and china, is a unique nation with rich natural beauty, varied cultural diversity, and huge history. The history of nepal has always been closely linked to the legends of the hindu and buddhist pantheon, kings and generals, until todays century. This king is said to have offered the curd to a hermit, who. A coherent dynastic history for nepal valley becomes possible, though with large gaps, with the rise of the licchavi dynasty in the 4th or 5th century ce. Very little is known about this period in the history of nepal. Nepali history books discover nepali history books at.
Arideva malla seemed to be the first malla ruler in nepal. King birendra bir bikram shah dev and queen aishwarya, killed in 2001. After it was destroyed by ajatsatru, they flew away to nepal. Nepal was ruled by about total of 28 kings during kirat regime. By defeating the last king of avir dynasty bhuwansingh in a battle, kirati king yalung or yalamber had taken. This was not the first time for gyanendra to have been crowned as the king of nepal. D, reducing the shah monarch to a figurehead and making prime minister and other government positions held by the ranas hereditary. Nepal, a small land locked country in south asia between two giant states. Hence, the first school of nepal was an english medium school levi, 1952. Its territory extends roughly 500 miles 800 kilometres from east to west and 90 to 150 miles from north to south. Then on 1st june 2001, a horrific tragedy wiped out the entire royal family of nepal including king birendra and queen aishwarya along with most of their closest relatives. Politically the first rulers of nepal were the kirats. Kirati king yalambar had the dubious honor of being slain in the battle of the mahabharata, in which gods and. Most of the licchavi kings were devout hindus, but in fact, they did not impose any brahmanic social code or value on their nonhindu subjects.
The malla dynasty was the ruling newar dynasty of kathmandu valley in nepal, from the 12th to the 18th century. Recorded history of nepal begins later with mandevs initiative for recording events in various inscriptions. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan, and bhaktapur into a single state under his. A history of nepal will be of interest to any student of south asian studies, since it fills a serious lacuna in scholarship on the region. Then on 1st june 2001, a horrific tragedy wiped out the entire royal family including king birendra. In may 1991, nepal held its first parliamentary elections. Published june 5th 2002 by miramax books first published may 7th 2002.
Also in 1792, nepal first entered into treaty relations with great britain. At that time only the kathmandu valley and surrounding region was known as nepal or nepal mandala and the citizens were known as nepa. History of nepal, nepal information himalayan mentor. The mallas perceived their responsibilities differently, however, and the great malla ruler jaya sthiti reigned c. Malla kings of nepal visited lumbini in the 11th and 12th century. According to the history of nepal, the kirats ruled for about 1225 years 800 bce300 ce, their reign had a total of 29 kings during that time. This action led to the first civil war in nepals history. About the author john whelpton, who works as a teacher in hong kong, is an historian and linguist. During the mid19th century jung bahadur rana rose to power as nepals first prime minister, becoming more powerful than the shah king he was supposed to. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan, and bhaktapur into a single state under his shah dynasty.
While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 19501, the early chapters are devoted to. In the ancient times, before the unification, this nation consisted of. King yashobrahma shah the generation of kulmandan shah had two sons narhari shah and drabya shah. The malla dynasty was a newari dynasty that ruled nepal from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century. Nepal, country of asia, lying along the southern slopes of the himalayan mountain ranges. It hold the himalayas and kailash is on its doorstep. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. Kirats ruled nepal for about years 800 bc to 300 ad. The epic mahabharata mentions the kiratas among the inhabitants of nepal. The monarchy was abolished on 28 may 2008 by the 1st constituent. His book describes the 18thcentury legend surrounding prithvi narayan shah, the first leader to rule nepal as a unified kingdom. He traces the history of the shah dynasty, from its first warlord king to its. Founded by king prithvi narayan shah, a gorkhali monarch of rajput origin from. Supuspa was the first lichhchhavis to enter nepal and jaydev i established lichchavi rule in nepal in around 300 a.
A few more important books on the history of nepal were published in 1928. Landlocked and isolated by the himalayas, nepal is bordered on the west, south, and east by india, and on the n by the tibet region of china. Whelptons text is the first accessible overview of nepals political history published by a university press in english. King birendra, along with his family, is brutally assassinated in a shootingspree. The king of nepal referred to as the maharajadhiraja or king of kings. Before the unification, nepal was ruled by various kirats, lichchavis, thakuris and mallas. He was nepals chief of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. Nanya dev 1097 1147 ce ganga dev 1147 1187 ce narsingh dev 1187 1227 ce ramsingh dev 1227 1285 ce shaktisingh dev 1285 1295 ce harisingh dev 1295 24 ce. While the civil war was continuing, on the night of 1st june 2001, the royal family gets massacred. Lost horizon by james hilton the mustread novel for any visitor to. The history of nepal begins from 9th century bc, when the kirats were the first rulers of this country. The king of nepal was nepals head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008.
The author is able to provide a brief analysis of most events and aspects of the history without taking sides, even when discussing the foreign actors and influences. The ranas established school to impart western system of education in english because they felt access to english education would secure their elite position by providing their offspring with access to knowledge of english language and western ways vir, 1988. In february 1996, the maoist parties declared peoples war against monarchy and the elected government. An account of the kingdom of nepal prepared in 1793 by an englishman william j. The history of nepal and the mysteries of the massacre are stories with a lot of. Legends and ancient times though very little is known about the early history of nepal, legends and documented references reach back to the first millennium bce. He has defeated vasker verma of soma dynasty and established lichchavis dynasty. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the.
Rana was the first prime minister of nepal to visit europe, then who was the first nepali king to visit europe. The 1st kirata king yalambar laid the foundation of the kirata dynasty after defeating the last ruler of the abhira dynasty. King tribhuwan when was the fifa world cup held for the first time. In february 1996, the maoist parties declared a peoples war against monarchy and the elected government.
Prince dipendra was crowned as king while he was on coma stage, later he died in hospital bed. History of nepal from ancient to monarchy, democracy. The first written records date back to the kirati people, who lived in eastern nepal, and the newars of the kathmandu valley. Top 10 books about the himalayas books the guardian. It is possible the first people to inhabit nepal were the kusunda people. The view of the snowcapped peaks of mount kanchenjunga.
Till 1768, modernday nepal comprises various small kingdoms, among which shah kings continued to rule in a few of them. For the centuries, nepal remained divided into many principalities kirats ruled in the east, the newars in kathmandu valley, while gurungs and magars had occupied the midwest. The first king of gopal dynasty was king bhuktaman. Gurkha expansion into n india, however, led to a border war 181416 and to british victory over the gurkhas, who were forced by treaty to retreat into roughly the present borders of nepal and to receive a british envoy at katmandu. Narhari shah became crown prince and the youngest son drabya shah was send to look the animals of the royal family. Supuspa was the first lichchhavis to enter nepal and jaydev i established lichchhavi rule in nepal in around 300 a.
While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 195051, the early chapters are devoted to the origins of the kingdom and the evolving relations of its diverse. Nepal emerged as a unified state over two hundred years ago, centred on the kathmandu valley with its two thousand years of urban civilisation. It opened a new chapter in the historiography of nepal and has taken reference of many of the books mentioned earlier. On the evening of june 1, 2001, during an intimate gathering of nepals royal family. I edition preface nepal has possibly the largest collection of chronicles in south asia. King prithvi narayan shah of gorkha in1786 had invaded the kathmandu valley and unified nepal. List of books and articles about nepalese history online. The mallas were the ruling clan of the malla mahajanapada in north easte.