Nepal contains some of the most rugged and difficult mountain terrain in the world. The gurkha principality was later established by rajput warriors from india, and in. Published by the department of archaeology in kathmandu, nepal, ancient nepal. Apr 20, 2014 in history of nepal, newars are thought to have lived in the nepal valley since the 4th century ad, developing a hindubuddhist culture. A gurkha homestead at massiang village in palpa district. This was a lake in the prehistorical period, longtime ago mahatma vippsaya. They were called nepa, so, after the name of the dynasty, the country was named as nepal. The history of nepal can broadly be divided in to three phases, ancient, medieval and modern. Landlocked and isolated by the himalayas, nepal is bordered on the west, south, and east by india, and on the n by the tibet region of china.
Politically nepal at present is functioning within republic framework. One among these was the kingdom of gorkha with a shah ruler. Thus up until the unification of the country, nepals history is largely the history of the kathmandu valley. Another crucial chapter of the history began the fall of rana regime in february 1951, after. Aug 12, 2018 a pivotal moment in nepal s history was the birth of buddhism. When lichhavies, lost their political fortune in india, came to nepal. On account of the compression format we have used for the pdf files, we. History of nepal centuries ago, on the plains of the terai region along nepals southern border, the ruling influence was predominantly that of the aryan power raging in north india. History of nepal ministry of foreign affairs nepal mofa. Some historians in nepal are of the opinion that lichivis during first country a. Pdf on jan 1, 2006, shanker thapa and others published history of nepalese buddhism. This period is the first documented period in the history of nepal.
Nepal s history dates back to the time of the gopalas and mahishapalas who are believed to have been the earliest rulers of the valley with their capital at matatirtha, the southwest corner of kathmandu valley. Men, women and children sit on the basement porch of thatched house. This brief survey is intended as a list of works which i have found especially useful myself or which i think would be particularly suitable for readers wanting to follow up topics necessarily treated very cursorily in my recent onevolume history. In english, the nepali scholar and politician dilli. The second known rulers of nepal are the lichhavis.
Whelpton portrays a country of extraordinary contrasts, whose history has been buffeted constantly by its neighbors, china and india. The first firm historical records about nepal begin in around the 7 th to 8 th century bc when the kiratis, a mongoloid people, migrated westwards from. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and his cabinet and the legislative power is in the hands of. Nepal as a political region has been united by different kings of different kingdoms at various times in nepalese history. A pivotal moment in nepals history was the birth of buddhism. Nepal had been ruled throughout its history by the kings of different dynasties until the monarchy was abolished in 2063 bs. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of south asia and east asia. The birth of nepalese democracy in 1951 opened its classrooms to a more diverse population. Nepal geography, climate and population geography nepal is located entirely in the ganges basin and is bordered by india in the east, south and west and by china in the north. Himalaya, the journal of the association for nepal and. They were ousted by the kirantis around the 7th or 8th century b. Nepals strategic balancing posted in asia 26may05 author. A grand palace built by him, the kailashkutbhawan is a great achievement in the field of architecture and engineering.
Himalaya, the journal of the association for nepal and himalayan studies volume 25 number 1 himalaya no. Nevertheless, nepal has much more than monarchs when it comes to realm of history. This tells about the prearyan settlement in the then nepal. The wright chronicle reconsidered manik bajracharya and axel michaels introduction it is an oftendiscussed theory that india and this includes, for once, nepal as well did not produce any historiography. Dilli raman regmi is the only nepali historian who has written and published extensively in english on the ancient and medieval history of the country, his ancient. The main party through nepals modern history providing nearly all of the countrys prime ministers even when the ban on parties prohibited party activity is the nepali congress party nc. With fifteen peaks higher than 7 000 m, including the worlds highest peak mount everest at 8 848 m, nepal is one of the highest countries in the world. Ancient history of nepal the history of nepal is mainly classified into. They attacked and defeated the last kirati king, gasti. Newars are thought to have lived in the nepal valley since the 4th century ad, developing a hindubuddhist culture. A brief history of nepal tweet the first firm historical records about nepal begin in around the 7 th to 8 th century bc when the kiratis, a mongoloid people, migrated westwards from china into the kathmandu valley. The recent excavation in the kathmandu valley has found out neolithic tools. Earthquake history of nepal historical photos nepali.
Etymology of the word nepal the kings of the gopala dynasty ruled over it. Thus, up to the unification of the country, nepal s recorded history is largely that of the kathmandu valley. According to the outline history of nepal, nepal consisted of three kingdoms during the early medieval. During the earthquake nearly one third of the total population of kathmandu were killed. Licchavi also lichchhavi, lichavi was an ancient kingdom on the indian subcontinent, which existed in the kathmandu valley in modernday nepal from approximately 400 to 750 ce. A vamshavali edited by daniel wright addeddate 20110703 11. Over the centuries nepal s boundaries have extended to include huge tracts of neighbouring india, and contracted to little more than the kathmandu valley and a handful of nearby citystates. Delving into the religious history of nepal, the construction of temples and installation of deities has usually been from the part of royalties, aristocrats,traders, and common donors. A brief timeline on nepals political history with an. Centuries ago, on the plains of the terai region along nepals southern border, the ruling influence was predominantly that of the aryan power raging in north india. Very little is known about the early history of nepal, legends and documented references reach far back to the 30th century bc. In this milieu, gautam buddha prince siddhartha of the sakya clan renounced his royal luxuries in search of enlightenment, wandering around the plains of. He became known as the buddha, or the enlightened one. Nepal country constitutional profile constitutionnet.
While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 19501, the early chapters are devoted to. Historical development of temple architecture in nepal. To read about the background to these events, see history of nepal. Sep 18, 2011 earthquake history of nepal historical photos posted on september 18, 2011 february 3, 20 by anand nepal the earthquake of june 7, 1255 ad 10 bs is the first recorded earthquake in the history of nepal. Ancient nepal having thus come into existence was ruled over by the rulers of. Founded by king prithvi narayan shah, a gorkhali monarch of rajput origin from. Facts about ancient history of nepal prithvi narayan shah, the eldest son of narabhupal shah of gorkha, was born on 27 push 1779 bs.
With fifteen peaks higher than 7 000 m, including the worlds highest peak mount everest at 8. History of nepal from past to present history of nepal. History of nepal from ancient to monarchy, democracy. From the south to the north, nepal can be divided into four main physical belts, each of which extends east to west across the country. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the. There are usually both buddhist and brahmanic hindu versions of these various legends. Nepals history dates back to the time of the gopalas and mahishapalas who are believed to have been the earliest rulers of the valley with their capital at matatirtha, the southwest corner of kathmandu valley. Greater nepal is a nascent irredentist concept of nepal extending beyond its present boundaries to include current indian territories controlled by the gurkha army after defeating some neighbouring kingdoms in wars fought from 1791 to 1804 but ceded to the east india company under the sugauli treaty after the gurkha king was defeated in the 181416 anglonepalese war.
However the expansion came to a halt when nepal came into conflict with british india company and signed the treaty of sugauli which lost the most important territories of nepal. The museum was housed in a newari style palace, known as tallo durbar, built by king ram shah in the 18th century. Special interests include epigraphy, manuscripts, numismatics, archives, art, anthropology, architecture and museum studies. A sage called ne lived in penance on the confluence of the bagmati and bishnuma. The most spoken language of nepal is nepali followed by several other ethnic languages. List of books and articles about nepalese history online. Oct 11, 2015 a brief timeline on nepals political history with an analysis on the current situation. These tools were used at the advent of neolithic era and many of them date back to 9000 b. But there are some very clear indications that the prevedic and vedic aryans had already entered nepal much earlier. Anshuverma has been referred to as a man of many talents. Nepal emerged as a unified state over two hundred years ago, centred on the kathmandu valley with its two thousand years of urban civilisation. In the 3rd century bc the great indian emperor introduced buddhism into nepal.
Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. An historical study of a hindu kingdom in english and french. Kings reigns, a chronicle of nepalese history, part 2, ancient nepal kathmandu, july i969 hereinafter cited as. Regmi also has written a number of papers on nepali history the first article being published in 1942, but most of them. The legislative authority of the interim government, prior to the establishment of the ca rested in a 330 member parliament. Among the killed were the king of kathmandu valley, abahya malla. Much of kathmandu valleys history around this time was recorded by capuchin friars who lived in the valley on their way in and out of tibet. Nepal does not allow party formation along ethnic, caste, religious, tribal or regional lines.
It is a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual country. Jun 11, 2014 nepal s strategic balancing posted in asia 26may05 author. The history of the nepalese monarchy has been the integral and inseparable part of the history of nepal. King birendra bir bikram shah dev and queen aishwarya, killed in 2001. This is a timeline of nepalese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in nepal and its predecessor states. Josse nepals unfortunate location between india and china has led to the phrase. History the history of nepal began in, and centres on, the kathmandu valley.
The priests never became all powerful figures in nepali society, like that of india and tibet. Thus, up to the unification of the country, nepals recorded history is largely that of the kathmandu valley. Ancient medival modern the rulers of ancient period were as follows. While john whelptons history of nepal focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 195051, the early chapters are devoted to the origins of the kingdom and the evolving relations of its diverse peoples. Education in nepal from the primary school to the university level has been modeled from the very inception on the indian. Men, women and children sit on the basement porch of. The ancient history of nepal is obscured in various myths and legends. Merrell, then charge daffaires at new delhi, presented the legion of merit to prime minister the maharaja padma shumshere jung bahadur rana in recognition of the role played by gurkha soldiers from nepal in. His rule became a blessing to the licchhavi period which also made it the golden age in the history of nepal. While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 1950 51, the early chapters are devoted to the origins of the kingdom and the evolving relations of its diverse peoples.
Education in nepal was long based on homeschooling and gurukulas. The museum shows how nepal was unified in the 18th century and displays various ethnic and cultural heritage of nepal. Nov, 2012 the areas of presentday india, pakistan, and nepal have provided archaeologists and scholars with the richest sites of the most ancient pedigree. The author is able to provide a brief analysis of most events and aspects of the history without taking sides, even when discussing the foreign actors and influences. References to nepal valley and nepals lower hill areas are found in the ancient indian classics, suggesting that the central himalayan hills were closely related. The licchavi clan originated from vaishali and muzaffarpur in modern northern bihar, india and conquered kathmandu valley. Second ruling dynasty mahispal dynasty 3 king ruled around 150 years. Both versions are accepted indiscriminately in the festivals associated with legendary events, a tribute to the. The first formal school durbar school, established by jung bahadur rana in 1853, was intended for the elite. A brief timeline on nepals political history with an analysis on the current situation. Nepals rich prehistory consists mainly of the legendary traditions of the newar, the indigenous community of nepal valley now usually called kathmandu valley.
It is located mainly in the himalayas, but also includes parts of the indogangetic plain. Vintage nepal rare old pictures, videos and arts of nepal a gurkha homestead at massiang village in palpa district. The history of nepal has always been closely linked to the legends of the hindu and buddhist pantheon, kings and generals, until todays century. Josse nepal s unfortunate location between india and china has led to the phrase. Baburam bhattarai is the prime minister and head of government. The species homo heidelbergensis a protohuman who was an ancestor of modern homo sapiens inhabited the subcontinent of india centuries before humans migrated into the region known as europe. Nepal once again gets mentioned in the hindu epic of ramayana. First ruling dynasty gopal dynasty 8 kings ruled around 500 years.
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