Editing History of Nepal (section)

==Ancient history==
{{main|Ancient history of Nepal}}

===Prehistory===
Prehistoric sites of [[Paleolithic|palaeolithic]], [[mesolithic]] and [[neolithic]] origins have been discovered in the [[Sivalik Hills|Siwalik hills]] of [[Dang District, Nepal|Dang district]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_154_02.pdf|title=The Prehistory of Nepal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603155105/https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_154_02.pdf |archive-date=2022-06-03 }}</ref> It is possible that the [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] people whose history predates the onset of the [[Bronze Age]] in the Indian subcontinent (around 3300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the [[Tibeto-Burman]]s and long before [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryans]] from across the border.The Tibeto-Burman peoples were likely the earliest significant settlers in Nepal, especially in the highlands and hilly regions.The Indo-Aryans arrived later, contributing significantly to the cultural and linguistic framework of Nepal, especially in the Kathmandu Valley and lowlands.The Dravidian presence in Nepal is minimal, as they primarily settled in the southern parts of India after Indo-Aryan expansion pushed them southward.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nepal|author=Krishna P. Bhattarai|publisher=Infobase publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aArqOqBGBQC&pg=PA32|isbn=9781438105239|year=2009}}</ref> [[Tharu people|Tharus]] who were Tibeto-Burmans mixed heavily with Indigenous tibes in the southern regions, are natives of the central [[Madhesh Province]] and Terai region of Nepal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brega|first1=A|last2=Gardella|first2=R|last3=Semino|first3=O|last4=Morpurgo|first4=G|last5=Astaldi Ricotti|first5=G B|last6=Wallace|first6=D C|last7=Santachiara Benerecetti|first7=A S|date=October 1986|title=Genetic studies on the Tharu population of Nepal: restriction endonuclease polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA.|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|volume=39|issue=4|pages=502–512|issn=0002-9297|pmc=1683983|pmid=2876631}}</ref> The first documented tribes in Nepal are the [[Kirat people]] is the record of Kirat Kings from [[Kirata Kingdom]] from 800 BC, which shows Kirats were recorded in Nepal last 2000 to 2500 years, with an extensive dominion, possibly reaching at one time to the delta of the [[Ganges]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/miscellaneousess01hodguoft|title=Miscellaneous essays relating to Indian subjects|last=Hodgson|first=B. H. (Brian Houghton)|date=1880|publisher=London, Trübner|others=Robarts - University of Toronto}}</ref> Other ethnic groups of Indo-Aryan origin later migrated to southern part of Nepal from Indo-Gangetic Plain of [[North India|northern India]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0y6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT199|date=15 August 2013|publisher=KW Publishers Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-93-85714-70-2|pages=199–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywY_dN6ad8gC&q=Nepalese+proto-australoid&pg=PA41|title=Populations of the SAARC Countries: Bio-cultural Perspectives|last1=Sarkar|first1=Jayanta|last2=Ghosh|first2=G. C.|date=2003|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=9788120725621|language=en}}</ref>

[[Emperor Ashoka]] was responsible for the construction of several significant structures in Nepal. These include the [[Ramagrama stupa|Ramagrama Stupa]], [[Gotihawa|Gotihawa Pillar of Ashoka]], [[Nigali Sagar|Nigali-Sagar Ashoka Pillar inscription]], and the [[Lumbini pillar inscription]] of Ashoka.The Chinese pilgrims [[Fa-Hien]] (337 CE – c. 422 CE) and [[Xuanzang]] (602–664 CE) describe the Kanakamuni Stupa and the Asoka Pillar of currently Nepal region in their travel accounts. Xuanzang speaks of a lion capital atop the pillar, now lost. A base of a [[Pillar of Ashoka]] has been discovered at [[Gotihawa]], a few miles from Nigali Sagar, and it has been suggested that it is the original base of the Nigalar Sagar pillar fragments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ghosh |first=A. |date=1967 |title=The Pillars of Aśoka - Their Purpose |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29755169 |journal=East and West |volume=17 |issue=3/4 |pages=273–275 |jstor=29755169 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref> In 249 BCE, Emperor Asoka founded Lalitapatan city of Nepal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vincent A. Smith |url=http://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofin0000vinc |title=Early History of India |date=1958-12-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-821513-4 |pages=207 |quote=249 BCE, Pilgrimage of Asoka to Buddhist holy places; erection of pillars at Lumbini Garden and near a stupa of Konakamana; his visit to Nepal, and foundation of Lalita Patan his daughter Charumati becomes a nun.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Gercrude Emerson |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.529188 |title=Pageant Of India's History Vol.1 |date=1948 |publisher=Longmans, Green And Co. New York |pages=131 |quote=Asoka is also credited with having founded two important cities, Srinagar in Kashmir and Lalita Patan in Nepal.}}</ref>

===Legends and ancient times===
Although very little is known about the early history of Nepal, legends and documented references reach far back to the 30th century BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=9616436150&searchurl=tn=kirates+ancient+india&sortby=17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1|title=Kirates in Ancient India by G.P. Singh/ G.P. Singh: South Asia Books 9788121202817 Hardcover - Revaluation Books|website=abebooks.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}</ref> Also, the presence of historical sites such as the [[Valmiki Ashram|Valmiki ashram]], indicates the presence of ''Sanatana'' (ancient) Hindu culture in parts of Nepal at that period.

According to legendary accounts, the early rulers of Nepal were the ''Gopālavaṃśi (''[[Gopal Bansa|Gopal Vansha]]) or "cowherd dynasty", who presumably ruled for about five centuries. They are said to have been followed by the ''Mahiṣapālavaṃśa'' or "buffalo-herder dynasty", established by a [[Yadav]] named Bhul Singh.<ref>[[Shaha, Rishikesh]]. ''Ancient and Medieval Nepal'' (1992), p. 7. Manohar Publications, New Delhi. {{ISBN|81-85425-69-8}}.</ref>

The [[Shakya]] clan formed an independent oligarchic republican state known as the ''Śākya Gaṇarājya'' during the late [[Vedic period]] (c. 1000 – c. 500 BCE) and the later so-called [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|second urbanisation]] period (c. 600 – c. 200 BCE).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Groeger|first1=Herbert|last2=Trenkler|first2=Luigi|date=2005|title=Zen and systemic therapy: Similarities, distinctions, possible contributions of Zen theory and Zen practice to systemic therapy|url=http://www.jugendberatung.at/download/kunden/00009162.pdf|journal=Brief Strategic and Systematic Therapy European Review.|volume=2|pages=2}}</ref> Its capital was [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], which may have been located in present-day [[Tilaurakot]], [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Srivastava|first1=K.M.|title=Archaeological Excavations at Priprahwa and Ganwaria and the Identification of Kapilavastu|date=1980|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/viewFile/8511/2418|journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies|volume=3|issue=1|page=108}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Tuladhar|first=Swoyambhu D.|title=The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited|date=November 2002|url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf|journal=Ancient Nepal|issue=151|pages=1–7}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Huntington|first=John C|title=Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus|date=1986|url=http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/resources/downloads/jchArticles/Part%205.pdf|journal=Orientations|volume=September 1986|pages=54–56|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128233735/http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/resources/downloads/jchArticles/Part%205.pdf|archive-date=28 November 2014}}</ref> [[Gautama Buddha]] (c. 6th to 4th centuries BCE), whose teachings became the foundation of [[Buddhism]], was the best-known Shakya.
He was known in his lifetime as "Siddhartha Gautama" and "Shakyamuni" (Sage of the Shakyas). He was the son of [[Śuddhodana]], the elected leader of the Śākya Gaṇarājya.

=== Kirat dynasty ===
{{main|Kirata Kingdom}}
The context of [[Kirata Kingdom|Kirat Dynasty]] ruling in Nepal before Licchavi dynasty and after Mahispal (Ahir) dynasty are depicted in different manuscripts. Kirat dynasty was the longest ruling dynasty in Nepalese history, ruling from the 800 BC–300 AD for about 1,225 years. They ruled kathmandu valley before delineating the area between the [[Sunkoshi River|Sun Koshi]] (Pronounced exactly as written) and [[Tamakoshi River|Tama Koshi]] (Tāmā Koshi) rivers as their native land, the list of Kirati kings is also given in the Gopal genealogy. The [[Mahisapala dynasty]] was a dynasty established by [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]] that ruled the [[Kathmandu Valley]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vaidya|first=Tulasī Rāma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofU6AAAAMAAJ&q=mahispal|title=Crime and Punishment in Nepal: A Historical Perspective|date=1985|publisher=Bini Vaidya and Purna Devi Manandhar|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Regmi|first1=D. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cEBAAAAMAAJ&q=mahisapala|title=Ancient Nepal|last2=Studies|first2=Nepal Institute of Asian|date=1969|publisher=Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Shaha|first=Rishikesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmwwAQAAIAAJ|title=An Introduction to Nepal|date=2001|publisher=Ratna Pustak Bhandar|pages=39|language=en}}</ref> They took control of Nepal after replacing the [[Gopala Dynasty|Gopala dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=G. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ff2gk27p9oC&dq=abhira&pg=PA391|title=Researches Into the History and Civilization of the Kirātas|date=2008|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|isbn=978-81-212-0281-7|language=en}}</ref> Three kings of Mahisapala dynasty ruled the valley before they were overthrown by the [[Kirata Kingdom|Kirats]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khatri|first=Tek Bahadur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1K3Hzk2HNkC&q=mahispal+dynasty|title=The Postage Stamps of Nepal|date=1973|publisher=Sharada Kumari K.C.|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Khatri|first=Shiva Ram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIPeAAAAMAAJ&q=mahispal|title=Nepal Army Chiefs: Short Biographical Sketches|date=1999|publisher=Sira Khatri|language=en}}</ref> They were also known as Mahispalbanshi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ḍhakāla|first=Bāburāma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoENAQAAMAAJ&q=mahispal|title=Empire of Corruption|date=2005|publisher=Babu Ram Dhakal|isbn=978-99946-33-91-3|language=en}}</ref> By defeating the last king of the Avir dynasty Bhuwansingh in a battle, Kirati King Yalung or [[Yalambar]] had taken the regime of the valley under his control. In Hindu mythological perspective, this event is believed to have taken place in the final phase of [[Dvapara Yuga]] or initial phase of [[Kali Yuga]] or around the 6th century BC. Descriptions of 32, 28 and 29 Kirati kings are found according to the Gopal genealogy, language-genealogy and Wright genealogy respectively.<ref name="renamed_from_0_on_20220321144102">{{Cite web|title=The Lichhavi and Kirat kings of Nepal|url=http://telegraphnepal.com/national/2014-02-19/the-lichhavi-and-kirat-kings-of-nepal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210020933/http://telegraphnepal.com/national/2014-02-19/the-lichhavi-and-kirat-kings-of-nepal|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-12-10|access-date=2017-12-09|website=telegraphnepal.com}}</ref> By means of the notices contained in the classics of the East and West, the [[Kirati people|Kiranti people]] were living in their present whereabouts for the last 2000 to 2500 years, with an extensive dominion, possibly reaching at one time to the delta of the [[Ganges]].<ref name=":1" />

===Under the Guptas===
[[File:Napala in the Allahabad Pillar inscription.jpg|thumb|"Nēpāla" in the late [[Brahmi script]], in the [[Allahabad Pillar inscription]] of [[Samudragupta]] (350-375 CE).<ref name="archive.org">{{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3 |date=1888 |pages=6–10 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403/page/n213/mode/2up}}</ref>]]
During the time of the [[Gupta Empire]], the Indian emperor [[Samudragupta]] recorded Nepal as a "frontier kingdom" which paid an annual tribute. This was recorded by Samudragupta's [[Allahabad Pillar inscription]], which states the following in lines 22–23.

{{blockquote|"Samudragupta, whose formidable rule was propitiated with the payment of all tributes, execution of orders and visits (to his court) for obeisance by such frontier rulers as those of Samataṭa, [[Ḍavāka]], [[Kamarupa|Kāmarūpa]], [[Nepala|Nēpāla]], and [[Kartṛipura]], and, by the [[Malavas|Mālavas]], [[Arjunayanas|Ārjunāyanas]], [[Yaudheyas|Yaudhēyas]], [[Mādrakas]], [[Abhiras|Ābhīras]], Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas and other nations"|Lines 22–23 of the [[Allahabad Pillar|Allahabad pillar inscription]] of [[Samudragupta]]  (r.c.350-375 CE).<ref name="archive.org"/>}}

=== Licchavi dynasty ===
{{main|Licchavi (kingdom)}}
The kings of the [[Licchavi (kingdom)|Lichhavi dynasty]] (originally from [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]] in modern-day India) ruled what is the Kathmandu valley in modern-day Nepal after the Kirats. It is mentioned in some genealogies and Puranas that the "Suryavansi Kshetriyas had established a new regime by defeating the Kirats". The ''Pashupati Purana'' mentions that "the masters of Vaishali established their own regime by confiding Kiratis with sweet words and defeating them in war". Similar contexts can be found in ''Himbatkhanda'', which also mentions that "the masters of Vaishali had started ruling in Nepal by defeating Kirats". Different genealogies state different names of the last Kirati king. According to the Gopal genealogy, the Lichhavis established their rule in Nepal by defeating the last Kirati King 'Khigu', 'Galiz' according to the language-genealogy and 'Gasti' according to Wright genealogy.<ref name="renamed_from_0_on_20220321144102" />