But
the recorded history of Nepal does not start until
around 800 BC, with the beginning of the Kirat Period.
After that Lichhavi and Thakuri Period, followed by
the Malla Period and finally the Shah Period.
Kirat
Dynasty (800 BC - 300 AD)
Very
little is known about this period in the history of
Nepal. The Karats ruled for about 1000 years and were
ruled by a total of 28 kings during that time. The
first and best-remembered king was Yalambar. Legend
credits him with meeting Indra, the lord of heaven,
who ventured into the Valley in human guise. He had
the dubious honor of being slain in the epic battle
of the Mahabharata, in which gods and mortals fought
alongside each other.
Another
remarkable event is the arrival of Gautam
Buddha in the time of the seventh king. The
Buddha supposedly spent time in Patan, where he elevated
the blacksmith caste to goldsmiths and bestowed upon
them the name of his own clan, Sakya.
The
great emperor of India, Ashoka, was also a visitor
to Katmandu in this period. As a follower of Buddhism,
Ashoka visited Lumbini, the birthplace
of Buddha, and erected stupas in Katmandu. His daughter
married a local prince and further spread the religion.
As the Kirat dynasty came to an end in the valley,
parts still remained in the eastern mountains where
they are considered to be the forefathers of today’s
Rai and Limbu castes.
Lichhavi
Dynasty (300 -600 A.D.)
It
is the first documented period in the history of Nepal.
The Lichhavi, having lost their political fortune
in India, came to Nepal and attacked and defeated
the last Kirati king, Gasti. The Lichhavis were probably
the Rajputs of India, from today’s Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh. The Lichhavis gave Nepal its first
great historical figure, Manadeva I, in the 5th century.
He was said to be a talented and brave king, responsible
for conquests in the east and west.
Thakuri
Dynasty (600-1200 A. D.)
In
602 AD, the first Thakuri dynasty began with the ascent
of Amsuverma. Though he was not a Lichhavi, he married
a daughter of the Lichhavi king, Shiva Eva. He was
an able, true servant of the people. He was a far-sighted
king in the aspect of making family connections making
him a great diplomat. his sister and his daughter
Bhrikuti were married with an Indian prince and Tibet’s
powerful King Tsrong -tsong Gompo respectively. Bhrikuti
is believed to have taken as part of her dowry the
begging bowl of Buddha and other artifacts of Buddhism.
Later she sprayed Buddhism all over Tibet.
Malla
Dynasty (1200 - 1769 AD)
Though
the Malla were active in other areas, they didn’t
come to the valley until 1200 AD when King Ari-deva
assumed the title and founded a new, highly accomplished
dynasty. The Malla Period is a glorious era in the
history of Nepal. Mallas developed trade and commerce,
industry, religion and culture. They reached a high
level of perfection in the fields of art and architecture.
The early Malla monarchs held absolute power by divine
right: they were considered to be incarnations of
Vishnu, as the present Shah rulers. Although the Mallas
were Hindu Shaivites following strict Brahmin rituals,
they were tolerant of Buddhism, which was widespread
at the court and among the people - especially in
its Tantric form, the cult of Vajrayana. The most
popular kings of this period and their accomplishments
are briefly described below:
Jayasthiti
Malla (1354-1395)
Jayasthiti
Malla was the most famous of all the Malla Kings.
As a great reformer, he codified the whole structure
of the Nepalese society in a strictly orthodox Hindu
frame. He developed arts and literature, built temples
and brought the system of measuring land and houses.
Pratap
Malla
Pratap
Malla was the King of Kantipur, today’s Katmandu.
He was an authority in religion, music, and the art
of warfare. And though he was a Hindu, he tolerated
other religions. He even reconstructed the Buddhist
shrine of Swayambunath. He constructed Krishna Mandir,
the Shrine of Taleju, Rani Pokhari, and Guheswari
temple.
Jaya
Prakash Malla
Jaya
Prakash was the last King of Kantipur. Although brave
and confident, he was unlucky. He tried to save the
Valley from a Gorham attack, calling for unity among
the three states around Katmandu. But he was not heeded
to. Even calling on the army from the East India Company
did not help. Fighting within his family was partly
to blame.
Ranjit
Malla
Ranjit
Malla was the last King of Bhaktapur. As a lover of
rare and precious things, he added many courtyards
to his palace. And to improve economic conditions
in his Kingdom, he imported silver exporting it as
coins.
Shah
Dynasty (1769 to date)
During
the middle of the 18th Century, there were about 500
small states in India and about 50 states in Nepal.
The situation was completely chaotic in the sense
that most of them were fighting each other to expand
their territory. And then along comes Prithvi Narayan
Shah from the state of Gorkha (home of the now famous
Gurkha soldier), about 100 km west of Katmandu. He
thought that unless Nepal was unified, it was in probability
of going into the hands of British India. He started
the process by unifying the small states. In 1768,
after ten years of preparation, siege, and attack,
Katmandu fell to Gorkha on the day of the festival
of Indra and the Virgin Goddess. Prithvi Narayan died
in 1775 and was succeeded by his son Pratap singh
Shah. The new Shah rulers, transferring their seat
of power to Katmandu after its conquest, undertook
to expand and consolidate their territoryDown South,
Nepal was expanding its territory into India. By 1810,
the kingdom extended from Kashmir to Sikkim and was
double than its present size.
The
kings of Nepal.
1. Prithivinarayan shah
Date of birth : 1723 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1742 -1775 A.D.)
Date of Death : 1775 A.D.
2. Pratapsingh Shah
Date of birth : 1751 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1774 -1777 A.D.)
Date of Death :1777 A.D.
3. Rana Bahadur Shah
Date of birth : 1775 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1777- 1798 A.D.)
Date of Death : 1806 A.D.
4. Girwanyudhabikram Shah
Date of birth : 1797 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1798 -1816 A.D.)
Date of Death :1816 A.D.
5. Rajendra Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth : 1813 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1816 -1847 A.D.)
Date of Death : 1881 A.D.
6. Surendra Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth :1829 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1847 -1881 A.D.)
Date of Death :1881 A.D.
7. Treelokya Bir Vikram Shah*
Date of birth :1847 A.D.
Date of Death :1877 A.D.
8. Prithivi Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth :1875 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1881 -1911 A.D.)
Date of Death :1911 A.D.
9. Tribhuwan Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth :1906 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1911 -1954 A.D.)
Date of Death :1954 A.D.
10.Mahendra Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth :1920 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1954 -1972 A.D.)
Date of Death :1972 A.D.
11.Birendra Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth :1945 A.D.
Duration of rule : (1971 -2001 A.D.)
Date of Death :2001 A.D.
12.Dipendra Bir Vikram Shah*
Date of birth :1971 A.D.
Duration of rule : (2001 -2001 A.D.)
Date of Death :2001 A.D.
13.Gyanendra Bir Vikram Shah
Date of birth : 1947 A.D.
Duration of rule : (2001-till now)
*Treelokya Birvikram shah couldn't be the king although
he was crown prince because of his early death so
his only one son Girwan vikram shah became the king
in childhood.
*Dipendra Bir vikram shah was announced as the king
of Nepal after the death of king Birendra only for
two days although he was in unconscious condition.
The first Prime Minister, Bhimsen Thapa, suffered
humiliation from this defeat and was arrested and
locked up and committed suicide in 1839. The period
between 1836-1846 was marked with confusion and intrigues.
Pandays, Basnyats, and Kunwars were all fighting each
other for power.
The Prime ministers of Nepal
1.*Kalu Pande
Duration: (1745 -1757 A.D.)
2.*Damodar Pande
Duration: (1802 -1803 A.D.)
3. Bhimsen Thapa
Duration: (1806 -1837 A.D.)
4. Ranganath Paude
Duration: (1837 -1838 A.D.)
5. Chautariya Puskar Shah
Duration: (1838 -1839 A.D.)
6. Ranajanga Pande
Duration: (1839 -1840 A.D.)
7. Phattejanga Shah
Duration: (1840 -1843 A.D.) (1845 -1846 A.D.)
8. Mathabar Singh Thapa
Duration: (1843 -1845 A.D.)
*Kalu Pande and Damodar Pande were appointed as the
senior army leader they were called “Kaji”.
In 1846, Jung Bahadur Rana had himself designated
prime minister and later "Maharajah" with
powers superior to those of the king. He established
an oligarchy, which would last 104 years. The country
was kept in isolation and the people were deprived
of political and social rights. Enemies were assassinated
or persecuted and the power structure and state moneys
were directed solely to the self-interest of the Ranas.
The King was there but he was kept under complete
control of the Ranas.
The Rana Prime Ministers of Nepal.
1. Janga Bahadur Rana
Duration: (1846 -1856 A.D.) ( 1857 -1876 A.D.)
2. Bam Bahadur Rana
Duration: (1856 -1857 A.D.)
3. Ranodheep Singh Kuwar
Duration: (1876 -1887 A.D.)
4. Bir Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1887 -1902 A.D.)
5. Dev Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1902 -1903 A.D.)
6.Chandra Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1903 -1929 A.D.)
7. Bhim Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1929 -1932 A.D.)
8. Judhha Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1932 -1945 A.D.)
9.Padma Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1945 -1948 A.D.)
10.Mohan Shumsher Ja.Ba.Ra.
Duration: (1948 -1950 A.D.)
Till 1950 there was cruel Rana rule over the country.
Other hand the freedom fighter were fighting in terai
belt of the country. the king was also against the
Rana rule . So in November 1950 king Tribhuwan fled
to India under the pretence of hunting. As there was
no decisive victor ,India presided over a compromise.
The king returned from India soon thereafter the Rana
rule was ended.
The Prime ministers of Nepal (1950 -2006 A.
D.)
1. Matrika Prasad Koirala
Duration: (1950 -1951 A.D.) (1952 -1954 A.D.)
2.Tanka Prasad Acharya
Duration: (1955 -1957 A.D.)
3.Dr. K. I. Singh
Duration: (1957 -1957 A.D.)
4.Subarna Shumsher Rana
Duration: (1958 -1959 A.D.)
5. Biseshor Prasad Koirala
Duration: (1959 -1960 A.D.)
6.Dr. Tulsi Giri
Duration: (1962 -1964 A.D.) (1975 -1977 A.D.) (2005
A.D. –till)
7.Surya Bahadur Thapa
Duration: (1964 -1968 A.D.) (1979 -1983 A.D.) (1997
-1997 A.D.) (2003 -2004 A.D.)
8.Kirtinidhi Bista
Duration: (1968 -1973 A.D.) (1977 -1979 A.D.)
9.Nagendra Prasad Rijal
Duration: (1973 -1975 A.D.) (1985 -1986 A.D.)
10.Lokendra Bahadur Chanda
Duration: (1983 -1985 A.D.) (1989 -1990 A.D.) (1994
-1995 A.D.) (2002 -2003 A.D.)
11. Marichman Singh Shrestha
Duration: (1986 -1989 A.D.)
12. Krisna Prasad Bhattrai
Duration: (1990 -1991 A.D.) (1999 -2000 A.D.)
13.Girija Prasad Koirala
Duration: (1991 -1994 A.D.) (1997 -1999 A.D.) (2000
-2002 A.D.)
14.Manamohan Adhikari
Duration: (1994 -1995 A.D.)
15. Sher Bahadur Deuba
Duration: (1995 -1996 A.D.) (2001 -2002 A.D.) (2003
-2004 A.D.)
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