The History: Kings, Establishments, and Legacies.

Nepal's history is long, and not much of its early establishments have been recorded properly. Out of the information that is available, the earliest rulers of Nepal believe to have been the Gopalas and Mahishapalas. They set their capital at Matatirtha (south-west Kathmandu valley).

During the 7th/8th Century B.C., the valley was ruled by the Kirantis. One of their famous kings was King Yalumber, who is also mentioned in the epic, "Mahabharat" (more on this in another post).

Around 300 A.D., the Licchavis clan (originated from Vaishali and Muzaffarpur in modern northern Bihar, India) conquered the Kathmandu Valley by overthrowing the Kirantis. The Changu Narayan Temple in Bhaktapur (a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Culture) was built during this time (more about Changu Narayan here: Changu Narayan – Changunarayan, Nepal - Atlas Obscura). During the early 7th century, King Amshuvarma took the throne from his Licchavi father-in-law and married his daughter, Bhrikuti, off to the Tibetan King Tsong Tsen Gampo. This was the first move in history that led to establishing good relations with Tibet. The Licchavi era was most famous for its art and architecture in the valley.

Almost 900 years later, the Mallas arrived, and it was at this time Nepal flourished in all aspects. The Mallas built numerous temples, palaces, and squares. Cities and society became organized, and they encouraged literature, music, art, and religion/religious festivals. This period of time was known as the Golden Age.

After the death of King Yaksha Malla, the valley was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu (Kantipur), Bhaktapur (Bhadgaon) and Patan (Lalitpur). After division, Nepal was divided into about 46 independent principalities. One among these was the kingdom of Gorkha with a Shah ruler. Much of Kathmandu Valley’s history around this time was recorded by Capuchin friars who lived in the valley on their way in and out of Tibet.

A Gorkha King named Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered all the kingdoms in the valley by 1769. Instead of annexing the newly acquired states to his kingdom of Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan decided to move his capital to Kathmandu and established the Shah dynasty which ruled unified Nepal from 1769 to 2008.

During the mid-19th Century Jung Bahadur Rana became Nepal’s first prime minister, turning the Shah king into a figurehead. He started a hereditary reign of the Rana Prime Ministers that lasted for 104 years. The Ranas were overthrown in a democracy movement of the early 1950s with support from King Tribhuvan. Soon after the overthrow of the Ranas, King Tribhuvan was reinstated as the Head of the State. In early 1959, Tribhuvan’s son King Mahendra issued a new constitution, and the first democratic elections for a national assembly were held. The Nepali Congress Party was victorious and their leader, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (most commonly known as B.P. Koirala) formed a government and served as prime minister. But in 1960, King Mahendra changed his mind and dissolved Parliament, banning political parties and democracy. The People's Movement started in 1990, which King Birendra accepted and established a multiparty parliament with the King as Head of State and an executive Prime Minister. In May 1991, Nepal held its first parliamentary elections. In February 1996, the Maoist parties declared People’s War against monarchy and the elected government.

King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and his family

*This image does not belong to me*

On 1st June 2001, a tragedy wiped out the entire royal family including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya with many of their closest relatives (read more about the massacre here Death, Love and Conspiracy: The Nepalese Royal Massacre of 2001 (Durbar Hatyakanda) | Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training (adst.org)). With only King Birendra’s brother, Gyanendra and his family surviving, he was crowned the king. King Gyanendra abided by the elected government for some time and then dismissed the elected Parliament to wield absolute power. In April 2006, another People’s Movement was launched jointly by the democratic parties focusing most energy in Kathmandu which led to a 19-day curfew. Eventually, King Gyanendra relinquished his power and reinstated the Parliament. On November 21, 2006, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist chairman Prachanda signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), committing to democracy and peace for the progress of the country and people. A Constituent Assembly election was held on April 10, 2008. On May 28, 2008, the newly elected Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, abolishing the monarchy. Nepal today has a President as Head of State and a Prime Minister heading the Government.

The new constitution of Nepal was publicized through an overwhelming majority of the votes of CA members on September 20, 2015. With this historic achievement, the decades-long dream of Nepali people to have a constitution made through an elected representative body came true.

If you would like to read more in-depth about Nepal's history, including images, diagrams, and timelines, please visit Kingdoms of South Asia - Nepal (historyfiles.co.uk).