Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual country. The most spoken language is Nepali followed by several other ethnic languages.
The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in South Asia, formed in 1768 by the expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lasted until 2008 when the kingdom became the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. It was also known as the Gorkha Empire, or sometimes Asal Hindustan. Founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha monarch who claimed to be of Khas Thakuri origin, it existed for 240 years until the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy in 2008. During this period, Nepal was formally under the rule of the Shah dynasty, which exercised varying degrees of power during the kingdom's existence.
Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah, , was the last King of the Gorkha Kingdom and first King of the Kingdom of Nepal. Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal.
Newar, or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language. Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal. Newars are known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and cuisine. Today, they consistently rank as the most economically and socially advanced community in Nepal, according to the annual Human Development Index published by UNDP. Newars are ranked the 8th largest ethnic group in Nepal according to the 2021 Nepal census numbering 1,341,363 people constituting 4.6% of the total population.
Ranjitkar is one of the castes of Newar. The Newari caste system is divided according to profession. The Ranjitkar caste is concerned with the dyeing of clothes as well as other color related activities. The word "Ranjitkar" comes from Sanskrit origins crudely meaning "people concerned with colors" whereas the word "Chhipaa" is a Nepal Bhasa compound word which can be roughly translated as "color and allow to dry".
The unification of Nepal was the process of building the modern Nepalese state, from fractured petty kingdoms including the Baise Rajya and the Chaubisi Rajya, which began in 1743 AD. The prominent figure in the unification campaign was Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha. On 25 September 1768, he officially announced the creation of the Kingdom of Nepal and moved his capital from Gorkha to the city of Kathmandu.
Dhading District, a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhading Besi as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,926 square kilometres (744 sq mi), had a population of 338,658 in 2001 and 336,067 in 2011.
Nuwakot District, a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bidur as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,121 km2 (433 sq mi) and had a population of 288,478 in 2001 and 277,471 in 2011.
The Malla dynasty also known as the Malla confederacy, was the ruling dynasty of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal from 1201 to 1779. This dynasty was founded by Arideva Malla. Though the latter Mallas were regarded as belonging to the Raghuvamsha dynasty, they were also seen as continuations and descendants of the Licchavi dynasty. Later Malla kings also traced one section of their lineage from Nanyadeva, the founder of the Karnat dynasty of Mithila. The term malla means wrestler in Sanskrit. The first use of the word malla in the Kathmandu Valley began in 1201.
Nuwakot is a town in central Nepal, serving as the namesake of the district of the same name. The town is located on the bank of Trishuli and Tandi Rivers. It is located around 60 kilometres west of Kathmandu, and is known as a historic town which was the capital of the Valley in the days before the unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah, and for more than 1,000 years the hilltop had served as a lookout and fort (kot) guarding the western entrance to Kathmandu Valley. Nuwakot served as an important trading hub for the Malla kings of the Valley, and was along a major transit route used for trade between India and Tibet. Making the Nuwakot hill as main forts including other eight forts: Malakot, Simalkot, Bhairabkot, Belkot, Kalikot, Salyankot, Dhuwankot and Pyaskot in its surrounding area, collectively named as 'Nawakotta'.
Sankhu is the ancient Newar town located in the north-eastern corner of Kathmandu Valley which is about 17 km from the city center of Kathmandu. Sankhu was formerly divided into three Village Development Committee, namely, Pukhulachhi, Suntol and Bajrayogini. Recently the town of Sankhu has been declared as Shankharapur Municipality merging three above-mentioned VDCs and other neighbouring VDCs. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 4333 living in 928 individual households. Sankhu lies between river Salinakhu in east and Asakhu in the west.
Bhupatindra Malla was a Malla Dynasty King of the Kingdom of Bhaktapur who reigned from 1696 until his death in 1722. He is the most widely known king of Bhaktapur and is among the most popular of the Malla dynasty. He is popularly known in Bhaktapur as nepaḥ juju, meaning the king of the Newars. His reign was characterized by the construction of numerous palaces and temples with the Nyatapola temple being his most revered contribution. An integral part of the local folklore, Bhupatindra Malla is regarded as a great builder and a lover of arts whose reign is considered the cultural high point of Bhaktapur. In particular, he was a scholar of the Maithili language and composed 26 plays in Maithili throughout his lifetime.
The architectural heritage of Kathmandu city is integral to that of the Kathmandu valley since all monuments have evolved over centuries of craftsmanship influenced by Hindu and Buddhist religious practices. The architectural treasure of the Kathmandu valley has been categorized under the well known seven groups of heritage monuments and buildings. In 2006, UNESCO declared these seven groups of monuments as a World Heritage Site (WHS). The seven monuments zones cover an area of 188.95 hectares, with the buffer zone extending to 239.34 hectares. The Seven Monument Zones (Mzs) inscribed originally in 1979 with a minor modification in inscribed year as 2006, are: Five monuments in Kathmandu – Durbar square of Hanuman Dhoka, Hindu temples of Pashupatinath and Changunarayan, the Buddha stupas of Swayambu and Boudhanath; and two monuments outside Kathmandu city limits, in the satellite towns of Patan and Bhktapur – Durbar square at Patan, Durbar square at Bhaktapur. Brief details of the five Kathmandu city monuments are elaborated here.
Pratap Malla was a Malla king and the eighth King of Kantipur from 1641 until his death in 1674. He attempted to unify Kathmandu Valley by conquering Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, but failed in the effort. He was successful in extending and securing the borders of Kantipur and was responsible for the monopoly over trade with Tibet. The resulting prosperity was responsible for the construction of majority of the buildings around Durbar Square during his reign. His reign is seen as a cultural and economical high point of the Malla dynasty.
Nepal Mandala is the ancient geographic division of Nepal into different regions. It was characterized by three major divisions: “Purwanchal”, “Madhyamanchal”, and “Pashchimanchal”. These divisions were further subdivided into smaller areas known as “Mandals.” The concept of Nepal Mandal has historical significance, reflecting the administrative and cultural organization of the region in earlier times. It is marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries that lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas. The rule of the indigenous Newars in Nepal Mandala ended with its conquest by the Gorkha Kingdom and the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768.
Historically, the "Thakuri" is one of influential tribe in Nepal that held significant history in Nepal, forming the core of the country's ruling class.
The Battle of Nuwakot also called Siege of Nuwakot or Invasion of Nuwakot was fought in Nuwakot in 1744. Nuwakot was controlled by the Kingdom of Kantipur and it was an important location as it had a trade route to Tibet. The Gorkha Kingdom previously attacked twice by Nara Bhupal Shah and his son Prithvi Narayan Shah respectively. To prepare for the war Prithvi Narayan Shah visited Varanasi to get war materials, ammunition, acquire weapons, train the soldiers, and Pilgrims. He improved his army personnel and included people from any caste including the blacksmiths, cobblers, sweepers, Damai, and anyone who was bodied and physically fit was able to join the crew.
The Battle of Sindhuli was fought on 6 November 1767 near Sindhuli Gadhi. The battle was part of the unification of Nepal led by Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha.
Nuwakot Palace is a palace built by Nepal's first king Prithvi Narayan Shah in the 18th century and is located in Nuwakot, Bidur Municipality.
In the 11th century, a powerful empire of Khas people emerged in western Nepal whose territory at its highest peak included much of western Nepal as well as parts of western Tibet and Uttarakhand of India. By the 14th century, the empire had splintered into loosely associated Baise rajyas, literally 22 states as they were counted. The rich culture and language of the Khas people spread throughout Nepal and as far as Indo-China in the intervening centuries; their language, later renamed the Nepali language, became the lingua franca of Nepal as well as much of North-east India. In south-eastern Nepal, Simraungarh annexed Mithila around 1100 AD, and the unified Tirhut stood as a powerful kingdom for more than 200 years, even ruling over Kathmandu for a time. After another 300 years of Muslim rule, Tirhut came under the control of the Sens of Makawanpur. In the eastern hills, a confederation of Kirat principalities ruled the area between Kathmandu and Bengal.
