The history of Nepal: Between the ancient Kingdoms and the modern Nationhood.
The history of the present-day Nepal started to be written in Kathmandu Valley around the 6 th century B. C. This fertile valley surrounded by other hills became the birthplace of Nepali civilization and would later owe its birth to the capital city. The traditional accounts hold that the first rulers were the Gopals (the "Cowherd Dynasty"), then the Mahispals (the "Buffaloherd Dynasty"). These mythical times, shrouded by legend gave the preceding stage to the historical period that was to follow.
The earliest objective historical sources are an inscription in the Changu Narayan Temple, of the reign of King Manadev I (c. 464-505 A.D.) of the Lichhavi dynasty. Lichhavis, who are said to have PCM from northern India circa 250 A.D, came up with a kingdom thriving to a period of about 630 years. It is regarded as a golden age of art, architecture, and codification of the laws. The Lichhavi rulers were strict Hindus, but they also encouraged religious tolerance and Buddhism flourished. Their well-managed state, whose system of measuring land and taxation was highly developed, had a solid administrative ground of the future.
After the fall of Lichhavis, it was succeeded by Malla era in the 12th century. The early Malla rulers were in control of a large expansion of territory and influence. Nonetheless, the large empire disintegrated slowly following an impressive beginning. At the end of the 15th century, the Kathmandu Valley had been divided into three competing city-states Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur which were ruled by the Malla kings. The period of the competition which was nearly three centuries long strangely enough triggered an unbelievable cultural and artistic revival. The competing monarchs funded splendid palaces, elaborate carved wooden temples and great squares accessible to the public, including what are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Durbar Squares. The period saw an intense development of the urban spaces and artistic background and support despite political fragmentation.
By the mid-18 th century, the country was divided into dozens of small and disunited states. King Prithvi Narayan Shah of the small Gorkha hill principality was the one that came up with the strategic vision of uniting them. He opened a unification mission through a blend of diplomacy and military conquests. The achievement that crowned him was the conquest of Kathmandu Valley in 1768 that led to the birth of modern unified nation of Nepal. He made Kathmandu, the capital of the new Gorkha Kingdom, present day Nepal. During his successors, Nepal borders increased immensely using military campaigns to expand to the current Kashmir region in the West to Sikkim in the East.
This growth led the enlarging Himalayan kingdom directly into the head banging with the British East India Company. Following over one year of intense warfare during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816), Nepal was forced to agree to the Treaty of Sugauli upon signing it in 1816. The conclusions of this treaty were the renunciation of important territorial contiguities (the Sikkim, Kumaon, and Garhwal regions) and a demarcation that delimits to a large extent the modern Nepal. It also demanded that Nepal should make the British Resident (ambassador) in Kathmandu. One of the major results of the war was that it opened the eyes of the British to the fighting ability of Nepali soldiers, and this saw the commencement of the recruiting of Gurkhas to the British Indian Army which to this day is still practiced.
The 19 th century was an era of the emergence of Rana dynasty which took over in 1846. The Rana PMs turned the monarchy into a figurehead leadership and assumed the leadership of the country as hereditary PMs for 104 years. With this was isolation of the outside world, economic stagnation of the masses and the concentration of wealth and power in the Rana family. The democratic transformation came with a wave in the middle of the 20th century. A popular revolution (aided by monarch) brought to an end Rana rule and reinstated King Tribhuvan to power in 1951. Nepal commenced opening its border to the rest of the world, and in 1953 the first successful attempt of climbing Mount Everest took place. Since that time, the nation has traced an indirect road to democracy, as it went through monarchy back to federal democratic republic in 2008 writing a new history in its great and ancient history.
