Palace of King
Prithvi Narayan Shah
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MIDDLE PERIOD:
The middle period in Nepalese history is usually considered
coterminous with the rule of the Malla dynasty (10th-18th century)
in Nepal Valley and surrounding areas. Although most of the
Licchavi kings were devout Hindus, they did not impose Brahmanic
social codes or values on their non-Hindu subjects; the Mallas
perceived their responsibilities differently, however, and the
great Malla ruler Jaya Sthiti (reigned c. 1382-95) introduced
the first legal and social code strongly influenced by contemporary
Hindu principles.
Jaya Sthiti's successor, Yaksa Malla (reigned c. 1429-c. 1482), divided his kingdom among his three sons, thus
creating the independent principalities of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktpur (Bhadgaon) in the valley. Each of
these states controlled territory in the surrounding hill areas, with particular importance attached to the trade
routes northward to Tibet and southward to India that were vital to the valley's economy. There were also
numerous small principalities in the western and eastern hill areas, whose independence was sustained through
a delicate balance of power based upon traditional interrelationships and, in some cases, common ancestral
origins (or claims thereto) among the ruling families. By the 16th century virtually all these principalities were
ruled by dynasties claiming high-caste Indian origin whose members had fled to the hills in the wake of Muslim
invasions of northern India.
In the early 18th century one of the principalities--Gorkha
(also spelled Gurkha), ruled by the Shah family--began to assert
a predominant role in the hills and even to pose a challenge
to Nepal Valley. The Mallas, weakened by familial dissension
and widespread social and economic discontent, were no match
for the great Gorkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah. He conquered
the valley in 1769 and moved his capital to Kathmandu shortly
thereafter, providing the foundation for the modern state of
Nepal.
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