Historically, for centuries the Kingdom of Nepal was divided into many principalities. East was ruled by Kirats, the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley, while Gurungs and Magars occupied the mid-east. During the reign of Kirats emperor Ashoka arrived from India to build a pillar at Lumbini in memory of Lord Buddha. The Kirats were followed by the Lichhavis whose descendents 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. After the Lichhavi dynasty, Malla Kings came to power in 1200 AD. They also contributed a lot to Nepal's art and culture. However, the kings were not united among themselves.

After almost 600 years of rule, during the late 18th century Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha, conquered Kathmandu and united Nepal into one Kingdom. Because of the threat of the British Raj in India, he dismissed European missionaries from the country and for more than a century, Nepal was isolated from rest of the world.

Jung Bahadur Rana became Nepal's first Prime Minister to wield absolute power during the mid 19th century. He set up an oligarchy and the Shah Kings remained figureheads. In the early 1950s the Ranas were overthrown in a democracy movement.

At present, Nepal enjoys a multiparty democratic system with a constitutional Monarch.

Nepal is now a federal democratic republic.[3] Its recent history has involved struggles for democratic government with periods of direct monarchic rule.

Politics