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.
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.
Nara Bhupal Shah was a king of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lies in modern day Nepal; and the father of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nara Bhupal Shah was the son of Birbhadra Shah, the grandson of Prithvipati Shah. He was the king of the Gorkha state in Nepal. He tried to extend his kingdom by capturing Nuwakot, but he failed.
Jaya Prakash Malla was the last king of Kantipur which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746 after succeeding his father Jagajjaya Malla, and then from 1750 until his death in 1769.
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'.
Basnyat/Basnet family or Basnyat/Basnet dynasty was a Khas-Chhetri and a warlord clan family involved in the politics and administration of the Gorkha Kingdom and Kingdom of Nepal. This family got entry into Thar Ghar aristocracy group of Gorkha at the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. It was one of the four noble families to be involved in active politics of Nepal together with Shah dynasty, Pande family and Thapa dynasty before the rise of Rana dynasty. This family is descended from Shivaram Singh Basnyat, the commander of Gorkhali forces and a member of Shreepali Basnyat clan of Gorkha. This family was maritally linked to Kala (Black) Pande section of Pande dynasty through Chitravati Pande who married Kaji Kehar Singh Basnyat. This family was the last Kshatriya (Chhetri) political family to be wiped out from the central power by Jung Bahadur Rana of Kunwar family during the Bhandarkhal Massacre in 1846 for the conspiracy to take the power leading to people suffering from the Rana rule for 104 long years.
Chaubisi Rajya, Chaubise Rajya or Chaubisye Rajya, were sovereign and intermittently allied petty kingdoms in South Asia ruled by the Khas in बाइसे राज्य and Magars in चौबीसे राज्य, located at the intersection of Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent. One of these kingdoms, Gorkha, annexed the others, becoming the present day country of Nepal. This conquest began soon after Prithvi Narayan Shah ascended to the Gorkha throne in 1743 AD. The Chaubisi Rajya were annexed during the unification from 1744 to 1816 AD. A parallel group of 22 small kingdoms, Baaisse Rajya, existed to the west of the Gandaki Basin.
Kaji was a title and position used by nobility of Gorkha Kingdom (1559–1768) and Kingdom of Nepal between 1768 and 1846. Many other contemporary kingdoms used the same title for their ministers.
The Battle of Kirtipur occurred in 1767 during the Gorkha conquest of Nepal, and was fought at Kirtipur, one of the principal towns in the Kathmandu Valley. Kirtipur was then a walled town of 800 houses and part of the kingdom of Lalitpur. It is spread along the top of a ridge.
The Battle of Kathmandu or siege of Kathmandu or siege of Kantipur occurred during the Unification of Nepal. It was fought in Kathmandu in 1768, and resulted in the defeat of its king Jaya Prakash Malla by conquerors Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of the adjoining Gorkha Kingdom.
The Battle of Bhaktapur was the final campaign in the Gorkha conquest of Nepal. It took place in Bhaktapur in 1769, and resulted in the victory of the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah, giving him control of the entire Kathmandu Valley and adjoining areas.
The Battle of Lalitpur in 1768 ended with the Gorkha conquest of Lalitpur, one of the three kingdoms in Nepal centered in the Kathmandu Valley, and the loss of the rule of the native Newars.
Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar was military commander (Sardar) of Gorkha Kingdom during the Unification of Nepal at the reign of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He was born circa 1728 AD to Ashiram Kunwar in the Kunwar family. His descendants went on to found the Rana dynasty of Nepal. He was a successful general in the unification campaign of Nepal of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He defeated British forces at Hariharpur Gadhi on 25 August 1767. He died in Mechi Campaign in 1771 A.D.
Bir Bhadra Thapa or Birabhadra Thapa also spelled Virabhadra or Virbhadra, was a politician, courtier and military officer in the Gorkha Kingdom during the 18th century. Born in medieval Tanahun Kingdom, he left his ancestral property there and migrated into the uprising Gorkha Kingdom. He got entry into the minor ranks of military of King Prithvi Narayan Shah due to being a nephew of Sura Prabha, the wife of military commander Shivaram Singh Basnyat of the Basnyat dynasty. Thereafter, he took part in the various battles of Unification of Nepal throughout his life. Among his grandsons, Bhimsen Thapa went on to become the Mukhtiyar of Nepal for 31 years and founder of Thapa dynasty.
Tularam Pande was Nepalese military personnel, diplomat and politician in the Gorkha Kingdom. He was a diplomat who served King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha. Two of his diplomatic missions were with Dolakha and Kathmandu while the latter remained unsuccessful. He also served as the national military commanders in the forces of Prithvi Narayan Shah. He was the patron of the Gora Pande clan, a minor faction of the Gorkha-based aristocratic Pande family. Some of his patrilineal descendants became influential politicians such as Ranajit Pande and Dalabhanjan Pande in the Nepalese history through their marital ties with the Thapa dynasty. His matrilineal descendants became significantly influential; Queen Tripurasundari of Nepal went on to become Queen Mother of Nepal and Mathawar Singh Thapa – the Prime Minister of Nepal and Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji – the latter period ruler of Kaski and Lamjung and Prime Minister of Nepal.
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.
Prithvi Jayanti is an observance annually celebrated on 11 January to commemorate the birth of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was the first king of unified Nepal. In the mid-18th century, he set out to unify the small kingdoms which would become present-day Nepal. During the observance, many people add a garland to statues of Shah, participate in the parades, and remember his contribution to Nepal. Prithvi Jayanti was celebrated as a public holiday from 1951 until its abolishment in 2006. However, some local governments in Gorkha District and Nuwakot District have declared Prithvi Jayanti to be a public holiday. In 2023, the government declared it as a national holiday.
Battle of Belkot was fought in Belkot fort in 1744 a few days after the Battle of Nuwakot, part of the Unification of Nepal. It resulted in a Gorkhali victory, and the commander Jayant Rana was captured and flayed alive after ordering to be skinned alive by Prithvi Narayan Shah, first King of Nepal.
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.
