The Shah dynasty ( ne, शाह वंश), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise

Thakuri Thakuri ( ne, ठकुरी) is a sub-caste of Khasas tribes in Nepal. It consists of the historical ruling class, and is made up of the descendants of the Great Khasa Malla kingdom rulers of the Baisi and Chaubisi principalities. The former r ...

dynasty ; and the founder of

Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing s ...

from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu kin ...

from 1768 to 28 May 2008. The Shah dynasty traces their historical ancestor to King of Kaski,

Kulamandan Shah Khand Kulamandan Khand 'Shah' ( ne, कुलमण्डन खाँण 'शाह') was the first king of Kaski district and ancestor of the great king Prithivi Narayan Shah of Nepal. Kulamandan conquered Kaski Kingdom and received the title of "' ...

, whose grandson Dravya Shah captured the throne of Ligligkot from Khadka kings with the help of accomplices from six resident clans of Majhkot and Ligligkot. Dravya Shah named his new kingdom Gorkha.

Origins

The Shah descendants claimed to be of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

origin. However, they are ranked as

s. He argues that: He further contended on Shah family that:

Coronation of Dravya Shah

Dravya Shah was the youngest son of Yasho Brahma Shah,

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

(King) of Lamjung and grandson of Kulamandan Shah Khad,

(King) of Kaski. He became the king of

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

with the help of accomplices namely Kaji Ganesh Pandey. He ascended the throne of Gorkha on 1559 A.D. The loose translation of the Nepali work known as the "Wright Chronicle" describes the coronation of Dravya Shah thus:

Absolute monarchy (1768–1846)

In 1743,

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 the ruler of Gorkha. He declared war with other principalities, defeating them one by one. In September 1768, he established the unified kingdom of Gorkha. He became the first king of large Gorkha Kingdom. He, his sons and their successors continued fighting and defeating other kingdoms and enlarging the kingdom of Gorkha. In 1814, the Anglo–Nepalese War between

and the

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 Sout ...

began. By 1815, the Shah king had been thoroughly defeated. By 1816, Gorkha had lost one-third of its territory. The Shah kings continued to rule as an absolute monarch until 1846 when the political order changed from

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...

to a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...

Hereditary prime ministers (1846–1951)

In 1846, the

Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

gained power in Nepal. The Ranas became prime ministers and reduced the King's status to a figurehead position. The Ranas ruled Nepal as hereditary prime ministers though in the name of the figurehead king. In 1950, the Shah king

King Tribhuvan Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his ...

went into exile in India. He and his family, including the crown prince

Mahendra Mahendra is a Sanskrit compound word deriving from Maha (Highest position) and Indra Deva (the King of Gods) from Hindu mythology.{{Citation needed, date=April 2022 It has been used in compound royal styles. History and politics Royalty * M ...

, later returned. After India became a secular state in 1950, and the remaining rajas retired, Nepal was the only remaining Hindu kingdom. In 1951, with the help of India, a popular politician common man Matrika Prasad Koirala became the prime minister of Nepal. Tribhuvan returned to Kathmandu. The Shah dynasty regained control and the prime minister,

Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field-Marshal Shree Shree Shree Maharaja Sir Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana ( ne, मोहन शम्शेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा), GCB, GCIE, GBE (23 December 1885 – 6 January 1967) was the prime minister ...

, resigned.

ruled until 1955 and King

ruled until 1972. Mahendra's son, Birendra, became king.

Constitutional monarchy (1990–2008)

In 1990, under King Birendra, Nepal became a

after a mass movement from people forced Birendra Shah to restore democracy.

Massacre of the royal family

On 1 June 2001, some members of the Shah dynasty were murdered in the royal palace. A High Commission report concluded that the royal family was slaughtered by Crown Prince Dipendra. This remains controversial. Among the dead were the Crown Prince's father, King Birendra and his brother, Prince Nirajan. After the attack, Dipendra was in a coma and was declared king for a short time. He died a few days later. Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Dipendra's uncle, took the throne. In February 2005, he dismissed the parliament in order to govern in his own right.

Abolition of the Shah monarchy

On 24 December 2007, Nepal's Provisional Parliament met. It was decided that the monarchy would be abolished in 2008 after the

Constituent Assembly election Constituent or constituency may refer to: Politics * An individual voter within an electoral district, state, community, or organization * Advocacy group or constituency * Constituent assembly * Constituencies of Namibia Other meanings * Const ...

s."Nepalese monarchy to be abolished."
BBC 24 December 2007 Accessed 25 December 2007. The motion enjoyed overwhelming support in the chamber, passing by a 270-vote majority. Of the 329 sitting members of parliament, only three voted against abolishing the monarchy.Sharma, Gopal, “Nepal parliament votes to end monarchy”, ''Reuters'', (December 28, 2007). www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSSP27532120071228. Retrieved March 9, 2021. It was decided that for the time being, Gyanendra would retain his title and continue residing in the Royal Palace, albeit stripped of all political power and authority. On 28 May 2008, following scheduled elections, the

1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly The first Nepalese Constituent Assembly was a unicameral body of 601 members that served from May 28, 2008, to May 28, 2012. It was formed as a result of the first Constituent Assembly election held on April 10, 2008. The Constituent Assembly ( ...

declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic and the monarchy was abolished, removing the Shah dynasty from power. Kul Bahadur Gurung said of the 601 member assembly, 560 voted in favour, 4 were against and 37 were absent or abstained. Following an Assemby agreement involving the

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...

and both Nepalese Communist parties, (the Leninists and the much larger Maoist faction), Gyanendra stepped down. Gyanendra vacated the palace in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

which later became a museum. Until they could find permanent accommodation, the royal couple were offered residence as commoners at the Nagarjuna Palace, a former royal summer residence. The Nagarjuna palace lies in forested hills about eight kilometres (five miles) northwest of Kathmandu.

Monarchs of Shah dynasty (1559–2008)

Monarchs of Shah dynasty of Gorkha (1559–1768)

The following is list of all ten kings of Gorkha hill principality.

Monarchs of Shah dynasty of Patan (1761–1765)

Monarchs of Shah dynasty of Nepal (1768–2008)

Paternal roots of Shah dynasty

Family tree of the all Shah kings of Nepal (not of previous

) except

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Gyanendra Shah ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह, born 7 July 1947) is a former monarch who was the last King of Nepal, reigning from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuv ...

, brother of King

Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was the tenth Shah Ruler and the King of N ...

References

Footnotes

Notes

Books

* *

External links

Royal Court of Nepal
Nepalese government website. * Gregson J. "Massacre at the palace; the doomed royal dynasty of Nepal." 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Dynasty Nepalese monarchy Hindu monarchs Kingdom of Nepal Rajput rulers Gurkhas History of Nepal 16th-century establishments in Asia 2008 disestablishments in Nepal Old Royal Families of Nepal Dynasties of Nepal 16th-century establishments in Nepal