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Though Nepal is known as the birthplace of Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Gautama, its recorded history began with the Kiratis, a tribe of Hindu sheep farmers who arrived in this region in the seventh or eighth century BC from the east.
Centuries later, the Thakuri king, Arideva Malla, founded the Malla Dynasty, which heralded another creative burst of Nepali cultural expression. Earthquakes, invasions, and feuding between Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur couldn’t thwart the dynasty’s growth, and it reached its peak in the 15th century under Yaksha Malla.
During this time, Malla’s prosperity was being watched by the Gurkhas in the nearby western city-state of Gorkha. Their leader, Prithvi Narayan Shah, led his people to conquer the Kathmandu Valley, where fighting over this territory lasted for 27 years. The Gurkhas finally secured control of the region in 1768, and relocated their capital to Kathmandu. For the next 24 years, the Gurkhas expanded their power with an army that seemingly could not be conquered, until it encountered Tibet’s troops in 1792 and ceased its expansion. This period of time came to be known as the Shah Dynasty.
Despite British incursions, Nepal’s Shah rulers continued to maintain control of the region—until 1846, when military leader Jung Bahadur overthrew the sitting king with a violent takeover that was so bloody it came to be known as the Kot Massacre. He renamed himself with the noble moniker of Rana, declared himself prime minister for life, and set about suppressing all opposition and securing the throne for his future heirs. Through World War II, the Ranas savored their lavish Kathmandu palaces, while the Nepalese barely survived in horrid conditions. The Ranas sealed Nepal’s borders, and the country faded away, eventually taking on a mythic image likened to Shangri-la.
British support was critical to Rana's regime. So after the former withdrew from India after World War II, opposition toward their rule grew. India engaged them in negotiation, King Tribhuvan was crowned, and a government was formed that included the Rana alongside the newly formed Nepali Congress Party. After a century, Nepal’s borders were reopened.
The transition to democracy was slow. It wasn’t until a 1991 election that the Nepali Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal shared most of the votes. Still, Nepal’s citizens remained unsettled. A general strike in 1992 led to several deaths and another election in 1994. Still, the government could not resolve the disputes bureaucratically, even by forming a tripartite coalition. In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal declared a “people's war.”
Five years later, in a power play that shocked the world and could have been torn from the pages of Shakespeare, Crown Prince Dipendra massacred the royal family, an attack that left him in a coma. But Nepalese leadership didn’t hear this brutal wake-up call to end the turmoil. After Dipendra’s uncle (and the murdered king’s brother), Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, became King, his cabinet members came and went while the Maoists made and broke truces.