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2000 BCE
ANTIQUITIES
In ancient times, the region around present-day *NEPAL (landlocked country in South Asia) consisted of the *TAMANG and SHERPA ethnicities (Tibetan ethnic groups of the region), who spoke the *VEDIK SANSKRIT language (language belonging to Indo-Aryans) c. 1500 - 600 BCE. The original religion of Nepal, dating back to 2,000 BCE, was **BUDDHISM (belief in *KARMA (cause & effect) and *SAMSARA (cycle of life, death, and reincarnation). Later, in 400 BCE, Hinduism was practiced as well. -
623 BCE
Birth of the Buddha
The Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Nepal. Buddha was born in *LUMBINI (a sacred garden in Nepal). He is considered *ENLIGHTENED (when a Buddhist finds the truth about life and stops being reborn because they have reached Nirvana) by Buddhists, so they follow his example. By introducing structure into Nepal's society, it affected Nepal's language and religion. Buddhism presented a universal ethic rather than ethical codes based on a caste system. -
400
The Licchavi period
The area now known as Kathmandu valley was ruled by the Licchavi kingdom between 400 and 750 AD. Originating in India, they used *SANSKIRT (classical language of South Asia) as a court language and issued Indian-style coins. There's a limited number of historical records from this period. The majority of what is known about the Licchavi comes from buildings and stone inscriptions. In 250 AD, Licchavis migrated from northern India to Nepal, but it took some time for them to establish a kingdom. -
Period: to
Modern Nepal
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Anglo-Nepalese War
Both Nepal and the British East India company claimed states, which led to the Anglo-Nepalese War, in which Nepal suffered a terrible loss. With the Treaty of Sugauli, the war was ended in 1816. There was a great deal of chaos in Nepal after this. As a result, Nepal was split up among different groups of people, which affected its religion. -
Period: to
Anglo-Nepalese War
The Anglo-Nepalese War, also known as the Gorkha War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal and the British forces of the East India Company. Both sides had ambitious expansion plans for the mountainous north of the Indian subcontinent. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 AD.
Directly Cited: “Anglo-Nepalese War.” Google Arts & Culture, artsandculture.google.com/entity/anglo-nepalese-war/m02q8j7?hl=en. Accessed 1 Mar. 2022. -
Period: to
Current Modern Nepal
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TODAY
There are several ethnic groups who speak *Nepali [a language descended from Sanskrit] and practice Hinduism around present-day Nepal. Today, the Sherpa and Tamang are Nepal's two largest ethnic groups. Among the other groups are the Tharu and the Newar. Buddhism and Hinduism are the only religions practiced in Nepal. Nepalese is a Sanskrit-speaking country.