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 Gorkha Kingdom was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states, located at the intersection of Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing several neighbors and becoming present-day Nepal. The Gorkha Kingdom extended to the Marshyangdi River in the west, forming its border with the Kingdom of Lamjung. To the east, the kingdom extended to the Trishuli River, forming its border with the Nepal Mandala. The Gorkha Kingdom was established in 1559 CE by Prince Dravya Shah, the second son of King Yasho Brahma Shah of Lamjung. The prince replaced the King Mansingh Khadka Magar who previously ruled the region.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ranajita Malla was the last king of the Malla dynasty who ruled Bhaktapur from 1722 to 1769. After his defeat by the Gorkhali forces of Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1769, he left for Varanasi. He is widely known for his contributions to Nepal Bhasa literature, in particular his plays are generally praised by modern scholars. He has been generally described as a peace loving, simple and religiously devoted monarch who allowed his citizens to advice and criticize him. However, his reign was characterized by constant disputes with Kantipur and Gorkha. He is also known for the crisis of succession during his reign when he favored his concubine's issue over his queen consort's, who more generally liked which caused a lot of mutiny in the kingdom especially in cities in like Thimi and Banepa.
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 led to the construction of the majority of the buildings around Durbar Square during his reign. His reign is seen as a cultural and economic 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.
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 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.
Vamshidhar Pande known by Alias Kalu Pande was a Nepalese politician and military general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. in Gorkha family. He was the commander of the Gorkhali forces during the Unification Campaign of Nepal who died in the first Battle of Kirtipur in 1757 A.D. Pande's real name was Banshidhar Pande. He was a son of Kaji Bhimraj Pande who was minister during reign of King Prithivipati Shah of Gorkha. He was descendant of Minister of Gorkha and Dravya Shah's accomplice Ganesh Pande. He had three sons: Dewan Kajisaheb Vamsharaj Pande, Sardar Ranasur Pande and Mulkaji Sahib Damodar Pande.
Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar was a 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 King Prithvi Narayan Shah's unification campaign of Nepal. He defeated British forces at Hariharpur Gadhi on 25 August 1767. He died in the Mechi Campaign in 1771 A.D.
Tularam Pande was a 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 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.
The Kingdom of Lalitpur, also known as Patan, was a kingdom ruled by the Malla dynasty of Nepal. It was established in 1482 after King Yaksha Malla's death. His sons divided the kingdom into four parts: Bhaktapur, Kantipur, Lalitpur, and Banepa.
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.
