![Kirtipur, 1950 - 1955](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Kirtipur%2C_1950_-_1955.jpg)
The Battle of Kirtipur (
Nepal bhasa
Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...
bhasa: कीर्तिपुरयाउ युद्ध) occurred in 1767 during the
Gorkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
conquest of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, and was fought at
Kirtipur
Kirtipur (Nepal Bhasa: किपू ''Kipoo'') is a Municipality and an ancient city of Nepal. The Newars are the natives of Kipoo (Kirtipur) that is believed to be derived from Kirati King Yalamber. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley 5 km ...
, one of the principal towns in the
Kathmandu Valley
The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...
. Kirtipur was then a walled town of 800 houses and part of the kingdom of
Lalitpur. It is spread along the top of a ridge.
The battle between the
Newars
Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation ...
of the valley and the invading Khasa/Gorkhalis marked a turning point in the war of expansion launched by Gorkhali king
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...
. It led to his subjugation of the rest of the coveted valley and the end of Newar rule.
The blockade
The Gorkhalis desired the Kathmandu Valley due to its rich culture, trade, industry and agriculture. In 1736, the Gorkhali king
Nara Bhupal Shah
Nara Bhupal Shah ( ne, नरभूपाल शाह) (1697–1743) was a king of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lies in modern day Nepal; and the father of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nara Bhupal Shah was the son of Birbhadra Shah, the grandson of Prithvi ...
launched an attack on
Nuwakot, a border town and fort in the northwest of the valley, to probe its defences. His troops were badly defeated.
His son
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...
became king in 1742 and resumed the campaign. Convinced he would not be able to take Kathmandu with strength, Shah sought to subdue the valley by choking its commerce and supply lines. His forces occupied strategic passes in the surrounding hills, and strangled the vital trade links with
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
In 1744, he took Nuwakot, which gave him a foothold in Nepal and allowed him to stop its trade with Tibet as it lay on the trans-Himalayan
trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
. In 1762 and 1763, the Gorkhalis overran
Makwanpur
Makwanpur District( ne, मकवानपुर जिल्ला; , a part of Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Hetauda as its district headquarter, as well ...
and
Dhulikhel
Dhulikhel is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Two major highway B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway passes through Dhulikhel. Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city with Tibet's border town of Kodari. Dhulikhel ...
respectively, surrounding the Kathmandu Valley from the west, south and east.
In a bid to cause a famine, he mounted a blockade preventing any grain from passing into the valley. Blockade runners were hung from the trees on the roads. The prolonged siege forced the king of Kathmandu to appeal to the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
for help. In August 1767, Captain George Kinloch led a British force towards the valley to rescue its beleaguered inhabitants. He reached within 75 km of Kathmandu and captured the forts at
Sindhuli and Hariharpur, but the Gorkhalis attacked them on their way and the Party retreated to Bettiah.
First assault
The Gorkhalis had set up a base on Dahachok, a hill on the valley's western rim, from where they mounted their assaults on Kirtipur. They were armed with swords, bows and arrows and
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
s.
During the first assault in 1757, the Gorkhali army was badly beaten. As they advanced towards Kirtipur, the Newars went to meet them under the command of Kaji Danuvanta. The two forces fought on the plain of Tyangla Phant in the north-west of Kirtipur. The Newars defended their town ferociously. The Gorkhali commander
Kalu Pande
Vamshidhar Pande ( ne, वंशीधर पाँडे) known by Alias Kalu Pande ( ne, कालु पाँडे) was a Nepalese politician and military general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. i ...
was killed, and the Gorkhali king himself barely escaped with his life into the surrounding hills disguised as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
.
Second assault
Having no hope of taking Kirtipur by force, Shah mounted a blockade in an effort to starve the population into submission. The embargo was enforced by putting to death anybody found on the road with salt or cotton. But the Newars held out.
In 1764, Shah ordered his troops to storm the town a second time. The Gorkhalis attacked at night under the command of Shah's brother
Suruparatna (alternative name: Surpratap). The people of Kirtipur beat off the Gorkhalis again, raining stones on the invaders from the town walls. In the fighting, Surpratap was struck by an arrow in the eye and blinded.
Third assault
In 1767, the king of Gorkha sent his army to attack Kirtipur a third time under the command of
Surpratap. In response, the three kings of Malla Confederacy joined forces and sent their troops to the relief of Kirtipur, but they could not dislodge the Gorkhalis from their positions. A noble of Lalitpur named Danuvanta crossed over to Shah's side and treacherously let the Gorkhalis into the town.
After the surrender of the town, Shah ordered the ears and noses of the inhabitants cut off. This incident is reported in eyewitness accounts by
Capuchin monks and corroborated in at least two Nepali sources. According to historian John Whelpton, the Capuchins had reason to dislike Shah, but it is unlikely that they fabricated the account of this incident.
See also
*
Battle of Kathmandu
The Battle of Kathmandu ( ne, काठमाडौंको युद्ध) or Siege of Kathmandu or Siege of Kantipur is a battle which occurred during the Unification of Nepal. It was fought in Kathmandu in 1768, and resulted in the defeat ...
*
Battle of Lalitpur
The Battle of Lalitpur in 1768 ended with the Gorkha conquest of Lalitpur, one of the three kingdoms in Nepal centered in the Kathmandu Valley, and the loss of the rule of the native Newars.
Exhausted by a prolonged siege and much bloody figh ...
*
Battle of Bhaktapur
The Battle of Bhaktapur was the final campaign in the Gorkha conquest of Nepal. It took place in Bhaktapur in 1769, and resulted in the victory of the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah, giving him control of the entire Kathmandu Valley and adjoi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirtipur
Battles involving Nepal
Battles of the Early Modern period
Newar
Sieges
Conflicts in 1767
1767 in Asia
Battles of the Unification of Nepal
Gurkhas
1767 in Nepal