History of Nepal

History of Nepal

Nepal is a country of ancient civilization which can be traced thousand of years before the birth of Christ (B.C). However, scientifically reliable documents that are available now date back only to the 5th Century AD when the Lichhavis ruled over the country. We have to be content with various Legends about the earlier periods until more authentic documents are found. Legends say that the very first dynasty to rule the Kathmandu valley was Gopala dynasty. Then ruled by Kiratas. After Kiratas, then came rulers of Lichhavis dynasty who improved the economy and making great contributions for the development f the art of building, temples, images and places. After Lichhavis period, another important era of Nepalese history is the Malla dynasty ruled around 13th century AD. Innumerable temples, palaces, idols and carving that are preserved in the valley, speak of the excellence in art and architecture during that period. In this sense Nepal has a long and a glorious history. By 1767 AD, the Great King Prithivi Narayan Shah of Shah Dynasty conquered various warring principalities and laid the foundation of modern Nepal.

After Prithivi Narayan Shah, the campaign of the unification was given continuity by his younger son Bahadur Shah and was launched once again by the First Prime Minister of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa. 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.

Another crucial chapter of the history began the fall of Rana Regime in February 1951, after a popular revolution Nepal saw the dawn of democracy. A democratic revolt of 1990 has reinstated the Multi-party democratic system since April 1990. A people movement of 2005 had removed the Shah Dynasty of constitutional monarchy. Nepal has been declared as Federal Democratic Republic by the First Constitutional Assembly on 28th May 2008.