Chaubisi Rajya, Chaubise Rajya or Chaubisye Rajya (, ), were sovereign and intermittently allied

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...

s ruled by the

Thakuri The Thakuri (Nepali: ठकुरी) . This term is Nepalese title ""Thakuri"", which translates to 'master of the estate'. The term denotes the royal descendants of kings of Baise Rajya and Chaubisi Rajya. During the height of their influence ...

kings located at the intersection of

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. One of these kingdoms,

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

, annexed the others, becoming the present-day country of Nepal. This conquest began soon after

Prithvi Narayan Shah Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...

ascended to the Gorkha throne in 1743 AD. The Chaubisi Rajya were annexed during the unification of Nepal from 1744 to 1816 AD. A parallel group of 22 small kingdoms, Baisse Rajya (), existed to the west of the Gandaki Basin. The Shah Kingdom was founded by Drabya Shah, the youngest son of Yasho Brahma Shah, king of Kaski and

Lamjung Lamjung District ( ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Besisahar as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 167,724. lies in the mid-hills of Nepal spa ...

, his eldest son became the king of Kaski and Lamjung which created a fight for supremacy. Palpa was one of the biggest and most powerful kingdoms; the rulers were able to create independent kingdoms in

Tanahu Tanahun District ( , or ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district lies in central Nepal, with Damauli as its district headquarters. It covers an area of and has a population (2011) of 323,288. ...

Makwanpur Makwanpur District (; ), in Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The city of Hetauda serves as the district headquarters and also as the provincial headquart ...

and Vijaypur. Many rulers from Nepal wanted to consolidate the principalities. The first battle took place in Nuwakot. Prithvi Narayan Shah commanded Kaji

Biraj Thapa Magar Kaji Biraj Thapa Magar (died 1721) played an important role in the Gorkha Kingdom. His leadership, prudence and courage all exhibit that he was one of the important Gorkha Bhardars (गोरखाली भारदार) that helped Narba ...

of Gorkha to attack but he delayed his invasion. Shah sent another force led by

Maheshwar Panta Maheshwar Panta or Manohar Pant (Nepali: महेश्वर पन्त) was the teacher and later Army Chief of King Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775 AD). With Bhanu Aryal, he trained King Prithvi Narayan. When Biraj Thapa Magar failed to ...

to attack but they were badly defeated. For preparation, the king obtained new weapons from

Banaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

, increased military strength, and made

Kalu Pande Vamshidhar Pande () known by Alias Kalu Pande () was a Nepalese politician and general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. in a Gorkha family. He was the commander of the Gorkhali forces during the Un ...

his chief minister who helped him with planning. Chief of Nuwakot Jayanta Rana Magar (former Kaji of Gorkha) was defending a Nuwakot and knowing that Gorkha is going to attack them in near future had gone to take help from

Jaya Prakash Malla Jaya Prakash Malla (Newar: ) was the last king of Kantipur () which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746 after succeeding his father Jagajjaya Malla, and then from 1750 until his death in 1769. Early life Jayapraka ...

. Meanwhile, on September 1744

led the surprise attack on Nuwakot. While Jayanta Rana Magar was away, his son Commander of Nuwakot Sankha Mani Rana Magar tried to defend, but lost. In 1744, Shah conquered Nuwakot, then went on to win a battle against Belkot ( Jayanta Rana Magar second

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

) . Not much is known about these principalities but these kingdoms played a pivotal role in the modern history of Nepal. The unified

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...

continued to be ruled by the

Shah dynasty The Shah dynasty (), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise Thakuri dynasty and the founder of the Gorkha Kingdom from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified Kingdom of Nepal from 1768 to 28 May ...

, with the Rana dynasty ''de facto'' ruling the country from 1846 to February 1951 AD. In 2006, a democracy movement broke out that overthrew the monarchy and transitioned to the Federal Democratic Republic.

List of kingdoms

References

{{Reflist Nepal history-related lists Unification of Nepal Former monarchies of Nepal 18th-century disestablishments in Nepal 19th-century disestablishments in Nepal Former kingdoms

List of kingdoms

See also

References