History of Kathmandu

Excavations conducted at Hadigaon and Lubhu in southern part of the valley, in Kathmandu, have unearthed brick walls and Stone Age tools.

In 1992, workers digging a trench for the foundation of a house in Maligaon in Eastern Kathmandu discovered a life size (171 x 49 cm) standing male figure carved in pale sandstone, made in the Kushan style.

"The inscription on this sculpture, clearly dated to samvat 107, most likely corresponding to AD 185, provides this previously missing evidence, and pushes back the epigraphical documentation of royal rule in the Kathmandu valley nearly three hundred years.

"[2] The geological setting of the valley points to the existence of a lake near Chobar gorge on the Bagmati River, below the present Pashupatinath Temple, which was a pilgrimage place during the period of the Buddha.

[citation needed] He also founded the city of Manjupatan, which today lies within the present Kathmandu Metropolitan area, located between Swayambu and Gujeswari near the airport.

[citation needed] Four stupas around the city of Patan, near Kendra Hiranyavarna Mahavihara (called "Patukodon"), 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) far away from Kathmandu, is said to have been erected by Charumati, attests to the ancient history.

The city was formed in the shape of a Chandrahrasa (Manjushri's sword) mentioned in Swayambhu Purana,[4] which was used to drain Nagdaha to create the Kathmandu valley and fortified with 8 barracks which were guarded by Ajimas.

[1] The famous Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang (Wade-Giles: Hsüan-tsang), spent about two years between 637 and 642 CE at the great university of Nalanda, which is almost directly south of Nepal.

It is not certain that he actually visited Nepal, but he left a fascinating account of it, the capital city which we know as Kathmandu, and its king, which, presumably, dates from this period: "The country is about 4000 li in circuit, and is situated among the Snowy Mountains.

Narendradeva sent 7,000 troops with their allies, the Tibetans, attacked Kanauj, the Gupta capital, captured the usurper, Arjuna, and his family, and sent them as a captives to China.

[7] This was the last known official contact between China and India until the 13th century[8] and so, the following account of Nepal from the Tang Annals, most probably dates to information brought back about that time: "Their king, Narendadeva, is adorned with genuine pearls, with rock-crystal, with mother of pearl, with coral and amber; he wears earrings of gold and pendants of jade, and he wears a small Buddha-image as an amulet.

"[10] Thomas Watters says that the Shih-ka-fang-chih (Pinyin: Shiga fangzhi), 'A record of the country of Sakya(muni),' which is dated 650 CE,[11] reports that there was at the capital, "a large building in seven stories, above200 feet (61 m) high and 80 paces in circumference, the upper part of which accommodated 10000 [or, preferably, "a myriad"] persons; the chambers of this building had exquisite carvings, and were adorned with precious stones."

He was succeeded by his son, Jayadeva II, who married the daughter of the King of the Gauḍa region, in northeastern India, and whose inscriptions range from 713 to 733.

The town was planned in the shape of Manjushree's sword with the tip positioned to north and the base to the south, with the perimeter of Kathmandu defined by building temples of the eight mother goddesses (Ajima); which still exist today.

The important structures built in Kathmandu during this period were the Kasthamandap, amidst temples and narrow streets lined with multi-storey houses around the Durbar Square, with the old royal palace complex occupying the center stage.

The Malla dynasty period (1200–1768) witnessed further boost in enhancing the cultural heritage of Kathmandu by building pagodas, houses decorated with carved windows, exquisite open-air shrines and courtyards filled with brilliant sculptures.

[15] His son, Bhupatindra Malla replaced him after his death in 1696 and was equally as fascinated with architecture, and continued the development of the Dharmsala Palace, its 55 windows and gardens.

[15] After Jayayakshya Malla conquered lands that was far larger than what Nepal had been before him, he decided to create a confederation for his sons so that they could rule the nation more efficiently.

By 1769 enabled Prithvi Narayan Shah, the king of Gorkha, to conquer the valley, forming the foundations for the modern Kingdom of Nepal.

In 1767, a request to the British for help by the traditional valley kings under threat from Gorkha expansion resulted in an ill-equipped and ill-prepared expedition numbering 2,500 led by Captain Kinloch.

To the north however, aggressive raids into Tibet (concerning a long-standing dispute over trade and control of the mountain passes) forced the Chinese emperor in Peking to act.

The Nepalese were forced into signing a humiliating treaty revoking their trading privileges in Tibet and requiring them to pay tribute to Peking every five years.

The recent acquisition of the Nawab of Awadh's lands by the British East India Company brought the region of Gorakhpur into the close proximity of the raja of Palpa – the last remaining independent town within the Gorkha heartlands.

Bhimsen Thapa, Nepalese Prime Minister from 1806 to 1837, installed his own father as governor of Palpa, leading to serious border disputes between the two powers.

Gorkha raids into the flatlands of the Tarai, a much prized strip of fertile ground separating the Nepalese hill country from India, increased tensions – the British felt their power in the region and their tenuous lines of communication between Calcutta and the northwest were under threat.

After the decisive Battle of Makwanpur on 28 February 1816 and the fall of the fort of Hariharpur, the Gurkhas were forced to surrender and as a result the Treaty of Sugauli was ratified on 4 March 1816.

[20] In 1962, King Mahendra adopted a new constitution, the third since 1951, and established the centrally controlled partyless council system of governance called panchayat.

Even with successive changes in executive wing of government in Kathmandu and constitutional revisions, the absolute powers of the monarchy remained solid.

But political unrest simmered as the events testify: In 1963 after Emergency was lifted Panchayat elections were held and the National Guidance Council was formed.

[24][25][26] In April 2004, a mob of some 4,000 people, mainly youths, expressed anger at the killing of 12 Nepalese jobseekers in Iraq, and burned down and vandalised many buildings, including more than a dozen private employment agencies and the city's Jama Masjid Mosque.