Unification of Nepal - King Prithvi Narayan Shah

King Prithvi Narayan Shah

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was born to the royal house of Shah dynasty of Gorkha on 11 January 1723 (27 Poush 1779 B.S.), and he had ascended to the throne of his dynasty's kingdom (which had not yet united Nepal into its modern-day form) on 3 April 1743. It was noted that he had a great interest in politics since he had been young. He was interested in diplomacy and had interests in both visiting and conquering other countries since his days as prince. While he was successful at conquering the Kathmandu valley and the Sen kingdoms further east of the Kathmandu valley, his efforts were limited to the west of his homeland. He was able to conquer some of the 22 principalities or kingdoms, know as the baisi rajya, and some of the 24 kingdoms (the chaubasi rajya), which were two sets of allies west of the King's homeland of Gorka, in what is now called western Nepal.

Soon after he ascended the throne of Gorkha, Shah tricked his way into the royal household of Bhaktapur for a number of months. He wanted the rich agricultural soil of the valley, and the strategic point of the Kathmandu valley as a transit point for expanding trade with both Tibet and India. Then he planned the conquest of the valley. To this end, he decided to first capture Nuwakot, which belonged to the state of Kantipur, as a strategic point. He also foresaw that taking over Nuwakot would significantly strengthen the position of his Gorkha nation and weaken the states occupying the Kathmandu Valley. Nuwakot held strategic importance, as there was already a fort there, and it had remained as a connecting pass the valley and Tibet.