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The history of ancient Nepal is somewhat of a mystery, pieced together mainly from ancient Indian records and legends. Neolithic tools have been found in the Kathmandu Valley, but not much is known about the people who might have lived in the area during that time. The Kiratas, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group, loosely ruled the Kathmandu Valley region around 500 B.C. and are mentioned not only in Indian histories, but in Greek histories as well. The Mauryan Empire of northern India was a large influence on all of South Asia, especially during the reign of Ashoka from 268 to 231 B.C., and although Nepal was undoubtedly included in the commercial network that stretched from Asia to Europe at the time, it was not actually a part of the empire. History in Nepal remains sketchy until the fifth century when the Licchavi rulers began to keep records.
Mt. Everest c.563 B.C. - Siddhartha Guatama, a prince of the Sakya clan, was born in the Lumbini area of Nepal. He would later become the Buddha. For the next few centuries, Buddhism spread throughout Nepal. 400 – 750 - Kingdom of the Licchavis, founded sometime late in the fourth century. 464 – Earliest surviving record from the Licchavis. Most of the Licchavi records are reports of religious donations to mainly Hindu temples and the language of the records is Sanskrit. Temple in Kathmandu 7th century – A brief interruption of Licchavi rule occurred when the Abhira Gupta family took over power. From 605 to 641, the Prime Minister, Amsvarman, ruled the country, which in reality was the Kathmandu Valley and a few neighboring valleys. After this period of rule, the Licchavis once again took over. Kathmandu 750-1000 – A transition time after the wane of the Licchavi Kingdom and before the medieval period. 879 – Possibly a new era founded by the Newar people. Very little is known about this time period, though records remain of donations to religious institutions. 1178 – 1185 – Rule of Somesvaradeva. 1200 – 1216 – Rule of Arimalla. He was the first king to add the term malla to his name, which denoted a powerful person. Subsequent kings would also add the term to their names; a tradition carried on until the 18th century. 1345 - 1346 – Sultan Shams ud-din Ilyas of Bengal raided the Kathmandu Valley from the south and destroyed all the major shrines in the area. There are presently no buildings that survive from before this time.
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The copyright of the article Timeline of Ancient Nepal in Asian History is owned by Maria Christensen. Permission to republish Timeline of Ancient Nepal in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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