Kingdom of Nepal

In this episode, we explore the history of the Kingdom of Nepal, a Hindu monarchy that began with the unification campaigns of Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768 and lasted until the abolition of the monarchy in 2008. Emerging from the Gorkha Kingdom, Nepal expanded into a powerful Himalayan state while navigating internal rivalries among noble families such as the Pandes, Thapas, and Ranas. The episode traces the rise of the Rana dynasty, whose hereditary prime ministers dominated the country for over a century, reducing the Shah kings to symbolic rulers until democratic movements in the 1950s restored royal authority. We also examine Nepal’s turbulent modern era, including constitutional reforms, the Maoist civil war, the 2001 royal massacre, and the political unrest that ultimately led to the creation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, ending more than 240 years of Shah rule.