| HISTORY
 For
centuries the Kingdom of Nepal remained divided into many principalities.
Kirats ruled in the east, the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley, while
Gurungs and Magars occupied the mid-west. The Kirats ruled from
300 BC and during their reign, emperor Ashoka arrived from India
to build a pillar at Lumbini in memory of Lord Buddha. The Kirats
were followed by the Lichchhavis whose descendants today are believed
to be the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley. During this period, art
thrived in Nepal and many of the beautiful woodcarvings and sculptures
that are found in the country belong to this era. With the end of
the Lichchhavi dynasty, Malla kings came to power in 1200 AD and
they also contributed tremendously to Nepal's art and culture. However,
after almost 600 years of rule, the kings were not united among
themselves and during the late 18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah,
King of Gorkha, conquered Kathmandu and united Nepal into one kingdom.
Recognizing the threat of the British Raj in India, he dismissed
European missionaries from the country and for more than a century,
Nepal remained in isolation. During the mid-19th century Jung Bahadur
Rana became Nepal's first prime minister to wield absolute power.
He set up an oligarchy and the Shah kings remained figureheads.
The Ranas were overthrown in a democracy movement of the early 1950s.
Today,
Nepal enjoys a multiparty democratic system with a constitutional
Monarch.
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