It is believed that the kiratis arrived in the 7th or 8th century from the east and started to settle in nepal. The 1st kirata king yalambar laid the foundation of the kirata. 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. Arideva malla seemed to be the first malla ruler in nepal. Before the campaign of national integration launched by king prithivi narayan shah the first shah king of nepal, kathmandu valley was ruled by the malla kings, whose contribution to arts and culture are indeed great and the malla era is considered to be the golden age of nepal. In 1999, onesto spent several months moving through the guerrilla zones in nepal s mountainous regions, a visit arranged by the communist maoist party of nepal. Whelpton portrays a country of extraordinary contrasts, whose history has been buffeted constantly by its neighbors, china and india. Nepals recorded history began with the kiratis, who arrived in the kathmandu in the 7th or 8th century bce from the east. The history mentioned that kirats ruled nepal during the 7th century bc. On the evening of june 1, 2001, during an intimate gathering of nepals royal family, crown prince. This was not the first time for gyanendra to have been crowned as the king of nepal.
In reference to nepali architecture, the first archaeological evidence of architecture is the garud dhwoj pillar inscription, installed by king manadev, thefirst historical king of nepal, in a. Nepal historical information royal family king and. In the 3rd century bc the great indian emperor introduced buddhism into nepal. Earthquake history of nepal historical photos nepali. Nepals untold story a king is murdered, but the real. Jul 11, 2015 i have to admit that among books i have read fromabout nepal there are much more about than from. I am all the time telling myself to increase from books, especially fiction. Life before the drug wars and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Thomas bell, kathmandu is a very fresh book which recreates nepals quite complicated history intertweened with personal experience of a news correspondents life in kathmandu. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the. Thakuri dynasty rule of thakuri kings thakuri dynasty was a rajput dynasty after aramudi, who is mentioned in the kashmirian chronicle, the rajatarangini of kalhana 1150 ce, many thakuri kings ruled over.
While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 195051, the early chapters are. Nepal tourism where to stay, eat and visit colorful maps and photos of popular destinations. Gyanendra, last monarch 200108 of nepal, who ascended to the throne after the assassination of king birendra reigned 19722001 and the subsequent suicide of crown prince dipendra, who had committed the murder. Nepals untold story a king is murdered, but the real massacre may still be ahead. Founded by king prithvi narayan shah, a gorkhali monarch of rajput origin from. So the actual history of the shah dynasty dates much before prithvi narayan shah. Koirala elected premier 1960 following elections, king mahendra took control, suspended the parliament, constitution and party politics. The documented history of nepal begins with the changu narayan temple inscription of king manadeva i c. Then, vijayakama deva, the son of laksmikama, became the nepalese king. Prithvi narayan shah was the first ruler of unified nepal. Whether its about nepal, its people and their manners, its mountains, hills and villages, stories set in the country youre visiting will provide you with a new perspective and add another layer of excitement into planning your actual trip. Published in nepal, it can be ordered at or from the author. It is possible the first people to inhabit nepal were the kusunda people.
Jun 22, 2008 born on 7 july 1947, gyanendra bir bikram shah dev was the last king of nepal, from 2001 to 2008. The rajput brahmin combine has been ruling the country since long. The earthquake magnitude at that time is believed to be around 7. The earthquake of june 7, 1255 ad 10 bs is the first recorded earthquake in the history of nepal. The festivals of nepal are almost the same as are prevalent among indian hindus. Before the unification, nepal was ruled by various kirats, lichchavis, thakuris and mallas. The elder son and crown prince, dipendra, though in a coma, is now the king of nepal. While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 19501, the early chapters are devoted to theoriginsofthekingdomandtheevolvingrelationsofitsdiversepeo ples. History of nepal ministry of foreign affairs nepal mofa. The literary rate in nepal is not very high, but there is a sizable.
History of nepal, nepal information himalayan mentor. Arriving from the east around the 7th or 8th century bc, these mongoloid people are the first known rulers of the kathmandu valley. There is no shortage of great literature about nepal written in english. Two rebel women of nepal, is the history of two rural women who campaigned for womens rights and against corruption in the early part of the 20th century. 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. Our largest collection ever on general books, rare books, author signed and autographed books, maps, postcards, posters, incense, audio, video, handicrafts, calendars and more.
People power in the philippines, burma, tibet, china, taiwan, bangladesh, nepal, thailand and indonesia 19472009 george katsiaficas 5. His book describes the 18thcentury legend surrounding prithvi narayan shah, the first leader to rule nepal as a unified kingdom. Their first and remembered king were yotamba huang, better known as yolambor, who is mentioned in the epic mahabharata. King birendra, she notes, was the focus of a sharp debate over whether or not to mobilize the army against the maoists. The last ruling king of the shah dynasty in nepal, king gyanendra was born in 1947. Nepal s recorded history kicks off with the hindu kiratis. The buddhist mythology suggests that buddha and his disciple came to kathmandu and stayed in patan. Nepali history books discover nepali history books at. But he was defeated by ajatsatru, the powerful magadha king, in the 5th century b. Aug 22, 2012 forget kathmandu by manhushree thapa gives a good and succinct overview of nepal s history. Among the killed were the king of kathmandu valley, abahya malla. The ancient history of nepal has no concrete evidence to prove the reality, all that weve got is purana ancient holy books and vamsawali to support the myths.
The kirats ruled for about 1225 years 800 bce300 ce, they had a total of 29 kings during that time. List of books and articles about nepalese history online. While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 19501, the early chapters are devoted to. Nepali history books discover nepali history books at vedic.
During the earthquake nearly one third of the total population of kathmandu were killed. I edition preface nepal has possibly the largest collection of chronicles in south asia. Recent history the successful indian movement for independence 1947 stimulated democratic sentiment in nepal. King yalambar the first of their 29 kings is mentioned in the mahabharata, the hindu epic, but little more is known about them. Born on 7 july 1947, gyanendra bir bikram shah dev was the last king of nepal, from 2001 to 2008. A pivotal moment in nepals history was the birth of buddhism. 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.
It is a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual country. List of books and articles about nepalese history online research. The visionary king prithvi narayan shah, the king of gorkha was the one who unified the small states into a single nation called nepal. Nepal is a small country but it has been land of the marriange of sita and ram, the birth of the buddha and the home to so many great saints, kings and rishis. The king of nepal was nepals head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008.
It has to be mentioned that the history of ancient nepal is the history of kathmandu valley. He was overthrown by the people of nepal in 2008 after he tried and imposed the absolute monarchy in 2006. He was declared king during a political plot on november 7, 1950 when both his father king mahendra and his grandfather king tribhuvan along with other royals fled to india. Many dynasty and rulers have ruled in nepal during the early centuries. During the mid19th century jung bahadur rana rose to power as nepals first prime minister, becoming more powerful than the shah king he was supposed to. Synopsis nepal emerged as a unified state over two hundred years ago, centred on the kathmandu valley with its two thousand years of urban civilisation. Nepal historical information royal family king and queen. Birendras younger brother, prince gyanendra, is the regent. These vamsavalis became popular after the saba 1 dynasty conquered the kathmandu valley in 176869 and can be regarded as part of the nation building process promoting nepali as the lingua franca. Sep 18, 2011 the earthquake of june 7, 1255 ad 10 bs is the first recorded earthquake in the history of nepal. In this video show about the kings of kingdom of nepal 1768 2008 good for history lesson.
It starts with how nepal, initially a collection of small idependant kingdoms, was unified by prithvi narayan shah and brings you up to speed with events u. This book is the most comprehensive and accessible englishlanguage onevolume history of nepal. Thanks for watching for more videos pleases subscribe my channel. It hold the himalayas and kailash is on its doorstep. John whelpton, who works as a teacher in hong kong, is an historian and linguist.
History of nepal records mention the gopalas and mahishapalas believed to have been the earliest rulers with their capital at matatirtha, the southwest corner of the kathmandu valley. This is a perfect guidebook to help you know nepal, its vast history, culture, traditions, and beautiful sightseeing around. Nepal has a long and glorious history of existence. Nepal emerged as a unified state over two hundred years ago, centred on the kathmandu valley with its two thousand years of urban civilisation. The most spoken language of nepal is nepali followed by several other ethnic languages. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by a prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan and bhaktapur into a single state under his shah dynasty. Nepal supplied many troops for the british army in both world wars. History of nepal from ancient to monarchy, democracy. There are usually both buddhist and brahmanic hindu versions of these various legends.
However, only two longer chronicles have so far been translated into english and thus remained, in a. The prisoner of kathmandu by charles allen another new book about nepal is really about brian hodgson. Both versions are accepted indiscriminately in the festivals associated with legendary events, a tribute to the. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his nephew prince dipendra, who was king for only three days while in a coma, following the massacre of the preceding king gyanendras brother, birendra and other members of the royal family. Ajatsatrus descendents came over to nepal and established their domain. Here nepal tourism has been described with all essential information. 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. Born on poush 27, 1779 bs to king narabhupal shah, he conquered the small kingdoms and expanded his territory until he died at the age of fifty six. 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. Jun 29, 2015 here nepal tourism has been described with all essential information. The 24th descedant of king supushpa, jaya dev ii, reestabslished the rule of lichchhavis in.
The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a. The temples of nepal are very popular all over the world. He traces the history of the shah dynasty, from its first warlord king to its current. 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.
Gyanendra, the second son of king mahendra reigned 195572, was educated at st. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan, and bhaktapur into a single state under his shah dynasty. Discover librarianselected research resources on nepalese history from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals. Nepals rich prehistory consists mainly of the legendary traditions of the newar, the indigenous community of nepal valley now usually called kathmandu valley. Historical development of temple architecture in nepal. About 200 ad a people called the lichavis took power in nepal. 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. Aug 12, 2018 a pivotal moment in nepal s history was the birth of buddhism. Which is why, studying about your destinations are important. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his father, pratap singh shah. Forget kathmandu by manhushree thapa gives a good and succinct overview of nepals history. He served as the head of the nepalese monarchy shah dynasty. They were ousted by the kirantis around the 7th or 8th century b. Relations with britain were cordial, however, and in 1923 a britishnepalese treaty expressly affirmed nepals full sovereignty.