text: Nevertheless, in 1371 John V returned empty-handed, having humiliated himself and done nothing to improve the deteriorating situation in the Balkans.


title: Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty

text: In 1371, the Serbs mustered their strength and prepared to launch an attack to drive back the Turks from Thrace. In a crushing victory, the Ottomans annihilated the Serbian army at the Battle of Maritsa, and in its aftermath, many surviving lords submitted to the Ottoman Sultan Murad I. Byzantium was in no better position and after taking Serres from the defeated Serbs, John V swore allegiance as a vassal to Murad.


text: John V's rule was an unhappy one, resulting in his vassalage to Murad I. However, it must have been all the more worse when his eldest son and heir to the throne Andronikos IV Palaiologos rebelled against his father in 1373. Curiously, this rebellion coincided with the rebellion of Murad I's son, Savci Celebi and the two worked towards fomenting revolution in their peoples. Consequently, both the Byzantine and Ottoman rulers were facing their sons and as a result, coordinated efforts were made to defeat both. John V had his eldest son, Andronikos IV, along with the latter's son, John VII, partially blinded, while Murad I defeated his son, Savci, and had him executed. Manuel, the second son of John V, was made co-emperor and heir to the throne.


text: Unfortunately for John V, Andronikos IV and his son John VII escaped. With Genoan and Turkish aid, they returned to Constantinople and succeeded in overthrowing John V, imprisoning him and Manuel. In exchange for Ottoman aid, Andronikos IV handed the fortress of Gallipoli over to the Ottomans, thus rendering the only genuine European aid, provided by Amadeo of Savoy, useless. Again, prison break became the next event with John V and Manuel escaping Constantinople, offering the Ottoman Sultan higher tribute than normally paid, in return for help in taking over Constantinople. Andronikos IV, having been beaten yet again, evaded capture and slipped into the Genoese district of Galata with his family and hostages. John V, only interested in securing his throne and stability, came to conclude a pact with Andronikos IV in 1381, recognizing him as heir with John VII as heir apparent, thus removing Manuel from the line of succession.


text: Naturally, Manuel felt betrayed by this move which demoted him from co-emperor. Returning to Thessalonica in 1382, he rebelled and established his rule over Thessaly and Epirus, thus "expanding" the Empire, at least nominally, and thereby catching the Ottoman Sultan's attention. Murad I besieged Thessalonica in 1383, beginning a siege that would last until 1387. Meanwhile, Andronikos IV died and his son, John VII, began quarreling with his grandfather, John V.


text: With Thessalonica surrendering in 1387 and his position rather hopeless, Manuel returned to John V and, with the Sultan's assent, began making conciliatory offers to his father. John V realized that accepting his second son back would cause his grandson to rebel in turn, and therefore he simply kept Manuel in exile in Lemnos. Eventually, John VII did rebel against his grandfather — news of Manuel's arrival at Constantinople and John V's reconciliation talks with him prompted John VII to head to Genoa and then to the new Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid the Thunderbolt, to seek aid in order to topple John V.


text: John VII's rebellion succeeded initially, taking Constantinople from John V, but Manuel countered by rousing the rest of the empire and its few remaining military assets and turned them against John VII. Manuel also received aid from the Knights of St. John stationed at Rhodes, where he "donated" religious relics made of precious metals to them for their support. John refused to give up his right to rule as Emperor of Byzantium until his death in 1408. By then however, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid had recognized Manuel II Palaiologos as co-emperor of Byzantium alongside his father John V, and finally, when John V died in 1391, as sole Emperor.


text: Manuel II's reign saw another temporary respite for the Byzantines. For an Empire in such trouble, he succeeded in retaking some territory and held it to the end of his reign. His limited success largely came through the resurrection of Mongol Power in the East and the great friendship achieved between Manuel II and Mehmed I. However, he lived long enough to see his son undo much of his achievements.


text: Manuel II's first priority was to establish an agreement with Bayezid I. John VII was a favorite of Bayezid so Manuel II was in a dangerous position. He eventually sealed an agreement. However, the Ottoman Sultan became infuriated by Manuel II's attempts to reconcile his nephew John VII. Manuel was concerned that John VII might once again launch a coup against him so wished to end the threat diplomatically. Bayezid ordered Manuel's execution, but then reduced his furious response and instead demanded that Constantinople build another Mosque and that a colony of Turks be established.


text: Manuel's next steps were bold and seemingly foolish — not only did he refuse to pay the Sultan tribute, he refused to answer the Sultan's messages and Bayezid set about laying siege to Constantinople. In 1394, his siege began and would continue for eight years. Manuel II realized that while the city could endure a half-hearted blockade, it did not have the military assets to man the walls of Constantinople. At first, the situation was not so dire — a massive counter-attack by the West was to be launched as the Crusade of Nicopolis. In a titanic battle, Bayezid force-marched his army to a stunning yet costly victory. Thousands were killed, but now Bayezid was able to turn his armies fully against Constantinople.


text: The situation was dire; so much so that John VII, Manuel's dire opponent, was left in charge of Constantinople. He made one grand tour of Europe in 1399, stopping at Venice, Padua, Milan, Paris and London, where he met the English King Henry IV; in England, he was well received and treated to a jousting tournament. However, Manuel was unable to secure any help from Western Christendom.


text: In the end, it would be Eastern Islam that would come to Constantinople's aid — Timur led his army deep into Anatolia, decisively defeating Bayezid and his exhausted army in 1402 near Ankara. The defeat caused a panic amongst the Turks in Anatolia, who frantically began crossing over to Europe, albeit with hired Byzantine ships.


text: Manuel, who was still in Europe, arrived in 1403 to a welcoming sight — Constantinople free from Ottoman siege. John VII remained loyal, handing back the capital and even taking Thessalonica back from the Ottomans.


text: The defeat of the Ottomans considerably changed the mood within Constantinople. The rewards reaped by the Empire were outstanding considering that only a short time had passed since the city (and possibly the Empire itself) stood on the brink of destruction. John VII appeared to have achieved numerous other benefits for Byzantium. The first was a non-aggression treaty between the local Christian powers (who were also free from Ottoman servitude), meaning that the disasters of Andronikos III's later rule would not be repeated. Next were a treaty between Byzantium and the successor of Bayezid, Süleyman who was in Asia Minor, confirming Byzantium's freedom from paying tribute. The Empire also gained Mount Athos and coastal land of the Black Sea from Constantinople to Varna. As an added bonus, Imperial authority was asserted over a number of Aegean Islands. The importance of the latter should not be underestimated as these would serve in the future as refuge for any seeking to escape Ottoman expansion, even if only as a temporary refuge.


text: Bayezid's sons lost no time fighting each other for their father's shattered realm. By 1413, Mehmed I had emerged as the victor. However, the Byzantines had made sure to support the victor and Mehmed I did not forget the kindness of the Byzantines and was able to "control" his Turk subjects from expanding into Byzantine territory.


text: Manuel II Palaiologos was 70 years of age in 1421 and believed that the time had come for him to retire and give his eldest son, John VIII, the opportunity to rule with a more aggressive manner than he had done so. At the same time, a far less restrained Murad II, son of Mehmed I, came to the Ottoman throne in May of that year. With two men uninterested in diplomacy on the thrones of Byzantium and the Ottoman Sultanate, war was inevitable.


text: The Byzantines were the first to make a move when John VIII and his advisors made a risky decision by inciting a rebellion within the Ottoman Sultanate. In August 1421, they backed a man named Mustafa who claimed to be a long lost son of Bayezid the Thunderbolt. In Europe, Mustafa's rebellion worked well and he gathered some support. However, in August 1422, Murad II had this rebellion crushed and Mustafa received the traditional execution (hanging) shortly after, something any rebel would have expected. Murad II was enraged and had an army sent to Constantinople and to Thessalonika, the latter falling in 1430. Murad II was unable to take Constantinople by force. Nonetheless, the situation in the Capital was dire enough for Manuel II to come out of retirement and incite yet another rebellion in Asia Minor under Murad II's brother, Kucuk Mustafa. Initial rebel success, including a siege of Bursa was too much for Murad II to ignore so the siege of Constantinople was lifted to deal with this threat, and to the Byzantines' greatest despair, dealt with it successfully.


text: Manuel II was now out of tricks to save the erroneous rule of his son, John VIII. In September 1423, Thessalonika was surrendered to the Venetians, no doubt hoping to draw in the Western Powers into a new crusade and, if not, at least their wealth would enable them to defend it. In February 1424, Manuel II Palaiologos re-established Byzantium as a vassal of the Ottomans — 300,000 silver coins were to be paid to the Sultan on annual basis. That the Empire managed to accomplish this at its lowest ebb is remarkable. Nonetheless until the 1450s, the Ottomans would not make any concerted efforts to overcome the walls of Constantinople, and the city retained a tenuous security for the next two decades.


text: Manuel II's final years saw his gains wasted and the Empire "status quo ante" 1391. John VIII was still hopeful that he could emulate his Father's success and more. Like his predecessors, his attempts were in vain. And just like his predecessors, he relied too heavily on a Pope not willing to give, but only take; take that is, the Church of a wretched state surrounded by the Ottomans, soon-to-be Christendom's direst foe.


text: Uniting the Church of Byzantium with that of Rome was a simple matter, since all the bargaining chips were in the hands of the Roman Catholic West. John VIII, as the "de facto" head of the Byzantine Church ordered the Byzantine Church to accept Papal primacy and declared that the Filioque dispute arose from semantic confusion. Few on Byzantium's side were impressed with the Union between 1438 and 1439 held in Ferrara and Florence, not only at the terms at which the Byzantine Church had to stoop to, but also at the non-existent aid to Byzantium. One can safely say that the most notable effect of the Union was the increased resentment between Byzantium's populace and the Imperial government.


text: In the late 1440s, the Ottomans experienced difficulty in bringing their Christian vassals in the Balkans into line. Hungary began launching successful campaigns against the Turks in Serbia, leading to the Serbian Despot and the Albanian resistance leader George Kastrioti Skanderbeg into direct opposition with their former masters. This led to one of the last great Crusades of a united Western Christendom — Crusade of Varna. Murad II was in no position to stop these troublesome westerners since he was overwhelmed with problems by easterners in Anatolia, the core of the Ottoman realm. Therefore, Murad hastily concluded a peace treaty in the Balkans. The Hungarians soon broke the treaty, but at Varna a hastily assembled Ottoman army crushed the Crusaders and left the Balkans at the mercy of Ottoman vengeance.


text: John VIII died in 1448. His reign lasted two decades. His achievement was the continued survival of the Empire. Yet Byzantium was now hanging by a thread. With insufficient military manpower for its own defense, an economy ruined by years of warfare, a depopulated capital, and insufficient territory to provide a basis for recovery, the Empire's position was becoming untenable. John was severely constrained by his circumstances, and proved unable to improve the fortunes of the state. He was succeeded by his brother Constantine XI. The new emperor would be Byzantium's last sovereign ruler.


text: Constantine's reign was short; from 1448 (some sources say 1449) until 1453. Constantine XI, like many of his predecessors who took the Union between Eastern and Western Christendom seriously, lived as a Catholic. Not much is known of his reign, except that he died with his soldiers in the final fight for Constantinople.


text: Constantine XI was the Despot of the Morea before his ascension to the throne. From this position, he had continued the aggressive policies of his father and his brothers against the Ottomans and their vassals, the Duchy of Athens, but had been forced to back down by Murad II. In 1451, Mehmed II succeeded his father Murad. Upon his succession to the throne, he received a demand by Constantine XI for subsidies, coupled with a threat to rebel if these were not met. Mehmed II responded with these bold declarations by building a fortress on the European side of the Bosporus in order to better control traffic through the Bosporus.


text: Mehmed II assembled a huge army to assail Constantinople's landward walls — some sources suggest 80,000 soldiers, while others suggest figures as high as 100,000 or even 200,000, including camp followers. A major feature of the Ottoman army was its high-quality artillery. Among others, it featured a number of "super-cannons" built by Orban, a Hungarian engineer who had originally offered his services to Constantine, who rejected them for lack of money. After the rejection of terms of surrender by Constantine, the siege began on April 2, 1453, with Ottoman cannon firing from April 6. The defenders were few, but the mighty walls allowed them to withstand the siege for some time. Finally however, on May 29, the Ottomans achieved a breach, and the city fell. Constantine XI charged at the oncoming Ottoman army; the last Roman Emperor died fighting, and since his body was never recognized, is assumed to have been buried in a mass grave.


text: Constantine's rule is hard to assess due to the shortness of his reign. As a Despot, he had shown ability, but the fall of the Empire to the Turks was by his time inevitable, no matter how able and energetic an Emperor sat on the throne. What is most remembered of him is the stubborn defence of his city against the odds, and his death in battle, through which he entered popular legend. Despite his Catholic confession, he is viewed as a saint by many Orthodox, and many legends were created about the ultimate fate of the last Constantine.


text: Despite much chaos in the Empire, the Byzantines experienced a revival in culture and art within their domain. Towards the 14th century, as the Empire entered into a phase of terminal crisis, such achievements became less valued. All was not lost for these seemingly rejected scholars — many in Italy who had been opened up to Byzantium by the maritime expansions of Genoa and Venice came to appreciate their achievements, facilitating the Renaissance. As such these scholars found themselves in Italian institutions, expressing their Greco-Roman culture for pay. Immigration to Italy was made less attractive by the idea of abandoning the Orthodox faith to practice Catholicism. Nonetheless, a significant and increasing number of Greeks began travelling to Italy, first temporarily to Italian colonies such as Crete or Cyprus before returning to Byzantium, then as the Empire began to fail horribly, in more permanent manner. The Fall of Constantinople was marked by large numbers of Greek refugees escaping Turkic rule into Europe via Italy and thus accelerating the Renaissance.


text: The Fourth Crusade saw the destruction of many homes in Constantinople and much of the city on fire. It is difficult to determine what books were burned in the libraries of Constantinople, though one can only imagine that few would be available today were it not for the works of Demetrius Triclinius, Manuel Moschopoulos, Thomas Magister and Maximos Planudes. New editions of poets, such as Hesiod and Pindar, were made and their metric systems were reconstructed with competence. They wrote about such works as Scholia and Pindar. Countless works are also included, such as the tragedians of Sophocles and Euripides, Ptolemy's "Geography", Nonnus of Panaopolis' "Dionysiaca", edits and "rediscoveries" on Plutarch and the Greek Anthology of epigrams. Works assembled by Theodore Metochites at the Monastery of Chora can be found in the libraries of Istanbul, Oxford, the Vatican and even Paris.


text: In the past, at its full height, the Byzantine Empire was composed of many territories, stretching from modern-day Iraq to modern-day Spain. As the Empire's borders shrunk, so too had its cultural diversity. By the late 13th century, the Empire consisted almost exclusively of traditionally Greek territory (inhabited by Greeks since Antiquity). Consequently, this Greek culture soon came to dominate the Empire and the works of the Classical age such as those of Sophocles and Theocritus were meticulously copied and annotated.


text: Notable philosophers include Planudes who characterized the interest in Science and Mathematics at the time. Astronomy was also a field of interest, as Nicephorus Gregoras illustrates with his proposal to modify the calendar before changes were put in place by the Gregorian reform.


text: Moreover, some prominent personalities also proposed the change of the Imperial title to 'Emperor of the Hellenes', instead of Romans. This enthusiasm for the glorious past, contained elements that were also present in the movement that led to the creation of the modern Greek state, in 1830, after four centuries of Ottoman rule.


text: At the time, astrologists had to rely on Ptolemy's tables for calculations. However, these proved to be inaccurate when compared to Arab astronomy. As a result, Persian tables were used more often, even if in conjunction with Ptolemy's. The acceptance of Arab astronomy was made harder by the fact that it had to be translated, and only entered through "lowlier social channels", namely by men who travelled between Constantinople and Trebizond. Such men included Gregory Choniades and his follower George Chrysokokkes, who acquainted themselves with this science. By the mid 14th century, when Byzantium was overwhelmed with troubles, the tables of Ptolemy were deemed by professionals as inadequate and slowly abandoned for Persian tables.


text: Despite this, Persian works such as those on astrolabe were translated into Greek as early as 1309. In 1352, Theodore Metochites published his thoughts using Persian and Ptolemaic tables.


text: Such works, while being non-Christian and in many cases non-Hellenistic, were cultivated by the Greek Orthodox ecclesiastics. Both Choniades and Metochites established themselves in the Greek Orthodox Church; the former becoming Bishop of Tabriz and the latter the head of the Patriarchal school.


text: Not all thinkers were welcome in Byzantium. Some who opened their minds to other beliefs would have strayed from the "one true Religion", as the Byzantines would have seen it. One such example is that of Plethon. His works on computational astronomy using Hebrew and Persian tables were overshadowed by the neo-pagan beliefs he adopted in his old age. He proclaimed his belief in the "Seven Wise Men", the message of Zoroaster and Fatalism. Consequently, his work on a modified Greek Pantheon, "The Laws" was burnt by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Plethon's ashes repose in the Tempio Malatestiano of Rimini.


text: Others went so far as to suggest that Byzantium would not live forever — a fundamental belief for every subject of the Byzantine Orthodox Church. Metochites did not see Byzantine civilization as superior to others and even considered the "infidel" Tatars as more enlightened in some aspects, such as morality, than his Christian co-religionists.


text: Philosophers had to find ways of bringing food to the table. The most common occupation in the Byzantine Empire would have either been agriculturally-based or, earlier in the Empire, trade-based. In contrast, philosophers needed patronage in order to survive. The most important source was from the Imperial court, especially before the destructive civil wars that were characterized by Andronikos III and his son John V. Other sources were from minor courts, from the wealthy, and from the Church, if not from individual Church clergy, although only bishops had such resources.


text: As the Empire descended into chaos, it could not spare any finances in its efforts to defend its borders. Study in the fields of science and mathematics naturally disappeared from the minds of those whose lands were raided and seized. It was due to this lack of patronage that led many scholars to flee to the West. Remarkable travels were recorded by John Argyropoulos and Manuel Chrysoloras, who between them had travelled to Florence, Pavia, Rome, Padua and Milan. The end of the Byzantine Empire coincided with the beginning of the Renaissance.


text: The end of the Byzantine Empire did not seem inevitable to contemporaries. As late as 1444, a mere nine years before the Fall of Constantinople, there were high hopes that the Turks would be driven out of Europe. The Byzantines that pinned their dreams of restoration on the West had hoped that they could reap the benefits of another "First Crusade" that would cut a swathe through Asia Minor and allow Byzantine troops to re-occupy the empire's ancient heartlands. However, by the late 14th century, the Byzantine Empire did not possess sufficient resources for the task, and in any case such Western undertakings would have required Byzantium to submit to Rome. If the price for political freedom was religious freedom, certain emperors such as Michael VIII were willing to pay it. In the long run though, the Byzantines were not prepared to surrender their ancient customs and beliefs willingly.


text: The proximate cause of the problem lay in Byzantium's numerous enemies, who combined during the course of the 14th century to overwhelm what remained of the empire's core territories. With each passing decade, the Byzantine Empire became weaker and lost more land. There were fewer resources available to deal with the Empire's opponents. Her power base was consequently ruined. While the empire had experienced difficulties before (in the 8th century much of Byzantium's lands were occupied by Avars and Arabs), by the later 14th century the empire no longer possessed any significant territories (such as Asia Minor) to form the basis of a recovery. As a result, many attempts at driving back the Ottomans and Bulgarians failed, while the lack of territory, revenue and manpower meant that Byzantium's armies became increasingly obsolete and outnumbered.


text: However, the most serious problems arose from the internal political and military organisation of the empire. The empire's political system, based as it was around an autocratic and semi-divine emperor who exercised absolute power, had become obsolete, while the civil wars the system produced severely weakened the empire from within, leaving it disastrously exposed to outside attack. Furthermore, the empire's military system had become increasingly disorganised and chaotic, following the demise of the theme system in the 11th–13th centuries. The result was persistent failure and defeat on every frontier.


text: Byzantium could only lose and decline for so long before it destroyed her; by the late 14th century, the situation had become so severe that Byzantium surrendered her political independence. By the mid 15th century, restoring both the religious and the political freedom of Byzantium was ultimately an impossible cause.


title: History of Nepal

text: The history of Nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and East Asia.


title: History of Nepal

text: Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual country. The most spoken language is Nepali followed by several other ethnic languages.


title: History of Nepal

text: The Kingdom of Nepal was established in 1768 and started a campaign of unifying what would form the modern territories of Nepal. Some former territories had been lost due to the Sino-Nepalese War. The conflict ended with both victories and losses with the kingdom ultimately accepting tributary status with the Qing dynasty of China from 1792 to 1865. The Anglo-Nepalese War ended in British victory and ceded some Nepalese territory. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, the Nepalese parliament voted to abolish the monarchy in June 2006. Nepal became a federal republic on 28 May 2008 and was formally renamed the 'Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal' ending the 200-year-old reign of the Shah monarchs.


title: History of Nepal

text: In a Licchavi-era inscription found in Tistung, the local people have been addressed as the 'Nepals'. Experts are of the opinion that some or all of the inhabitants of Nepal in the ancient period were likely called 'Nepals', which meant that the word 'Nepal' was used to refer to both the land and its population. These Nepals are considered the progenitors of modern-day Newars. Nowadays 'Nepali' is one of the more respectful terms, alongside the terms 'Nepal' and 'Newar', which are variations of the same term. Other variants found in medieval texts are 'Nepar' and 'Newal'.


title: History of Nepal

text: Prehistoric sites of palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic origins have been discovered in the Siwalik hills of Dang district. The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be people from the Indus Valley civilisation. It is possible that the Dravidian people whose history predates the onset of the Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent (around 3300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the Tibeto-Burmans and Indo-Aryans from across the border. Tharus, Tibeto-Burmans who mixed heavily with Indians in the southern regions, are natives of the central Terai region of Nepal. The first documented tribes in Nepal are the Kirat people is the record of Kirat Kings from Kirata Kingdom from 800 BC, which shows Kirats were recorded in Nepal last 2000 to 2500 years, with an extensive dominion, possibly reaching at one time to the delta of the Ganges. Other ethnic groups of Indo-Aryan origin later migrated to southern part of Nepal from Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India.


title: History of Nepal

text: Stella Kramrisch ( 1964 ) mentions a substratum of a race of Pre - Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu.


title: History of Nepal

text: Although very little is known about the early history of Nepal, legends and documented references reach far back to the 30th century BC. Also, the presence of historical sites such as the Valmiki ashram, indicates the presence of "Sanatana" (ancient) Hindu culture in parts of Nepal at that period.


title: History of Nepal

text: According to legendary accounts, the early rulers of Nepal were the "Gopālavaṃśi ("Gopal Bansa) or "cowherd dynasty", who presumably ruled for about five centuries. They are said to have been followed by the "Mahiṣapālavaṃśa" or "buffalo-herder dynasty", established by a Yadav named Bhul Singh.


title: History of Nepal

text: The Shakya clan formed an independent oligarchic republican state known as the "'Śākya Gaṇarājya"' during the late Vedic period (c. 1000 – c. 500 BCE) and the later so-called second urbanisation period (c. 600 – c. 200 BCE). Its capital was Kapilavastu, which may have been located either in present-day Tilaurakot, Nepal. Gautama Buddha (c. 6th to 4th centuries BCE), whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism, was the best-known Shakya.


title: History of Nepal

text: He was known in his lifetime as "Siddhartha Gautama" and "Shakyamuni" (Sage of the Shakyas). He was the son of Śuddhodana, the elected leader of the Śākya Gaṇarājya.


title: History of Nepal

text: The context of Kirat Dynasty ruling in Nepal before Licchavi dynasty and after Mahispal (Ahir) dynasty are depicted in different manuscripts. Delineating the area between the Sun Koshi and Tama Koshi rivers as their native land, the list of Kirati kings is also given in the Gopal genealogy. The Mahisapala dynasty was a dynasty established by Abhira that ruled the Kathmandu Valley. They took control of Nepal after replacing the Gopala dynasty. Three kings of Mahisapala dynasty ruled the valley before they were overthrown by the Kirata dynasty. They were also known as Mahispalbanshi. By defeating the last king of the Avir dynasty Bhuwansingh in a battle, Kirati King Yalung or Yalamber had taken the regime of the valley under his control. In Hindu mythological perspective, this event is believed to have taken place in the final phase of Dvapara Yuga or initial phase of Kali Yuga or around the 6th century BC. Descriptions of 32, 28 and 29 Kirati kings are found according to the Gopal genealogy, language-genealogy and Wright genealogy respectively. By means of the notices contained in the classics of the East and West, the Kiranti people were living in their present whereabouts for the last 2000 to 2500 years, with an extensive dominion, possibly reaching at one time to the delta of the Ganges.


title: History of Nepal

text: During the time of the Gupta Empire, the Indian emperor Samudragupta recorded Nepal as a "frontier kingdom" which paid an annual tribute. This was recorded by Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, which states the following in lines 22–23.


title: History of Nepal

text: The kings of the Lichhavi dynasty (originally from Vaishali in modern-day India) ruled what is the Kathmandu valley in modern-day Nepal after the Kirats. It is mentioned in some genealogies and Puranas that the "Suryavansi Kshetriyas had established a new regime by defeating the Kirats". The "Pashupati Purana" mentions that "the masters of Vaishali established their own regime by confiding Kiratis with sweet words and defeating them in war". Similar contexts can be found in "'Himbatkhanda"', which also mentions that "the masters of Vaishali had started ruling in Nepal by defeating Kirats". Different genealogies state different names of the last Kirati king. According to the Gopal genealogy, the Lichhavis established their rule in Nepal by defeating the last Kirati King 'Khigu', 'Galiz' according to the language-genealogy and 'Gasti' according to Wright genealogy.


title: History of Nepal

text: The Thakuri dynasty were Rajputs. After Aramudi, who is mentioned in the Kashmirian chronicle, the Rajatarangini of Kalhana (1150 CE), many Thakuri kings ruled over parts of the country up to the middle of the 12th century CE. Raghava Deva is said to have founded a ruling dynasty in 879 CE, when the Lichhavi rule came to an end. To commemorate this important event, Raghava Deva started the 'Nepal Era' which began on 20 October, 879 CE. After Amshuvarma, who ruled from 605 CE onward; the Thakuris had lost power and they could regain it only in 869 CE.


title: History of Nepal

text: Gunakama Deva, who ruled from 949 to 994 CE, commissioned the construction of a big wooden shelter, built from the wood of a single tree, called "Kasthamandapa." The name of the capital, 'Kathmandu', is derived from this. Gunakama Deva founded the town Kantipur (modern-day Kathmandu). The tradition of Indra Jatra started during his reign. Bhola Deva succeeded Gunakama Deva. The next ruler was Laxmikama Deva who ruled from 1024 to 1040 CE. He built the Laksmi Vihara and introduced the tradition of worshiping the Kumari; young prepubescent girls believed to be manifestations of the divine female energy or devi. He was succeeded by his son, Vijayakama Deva, who introduced the worship of the "Naga" and "Vasuki". Vijaykama Deva was the last ruler of this dynasty. After his death, the Thakuri clan of Nuwakot occupied the throne of Nepal.


title: History of Nepal

text: Bhaskara Deva, a Thakuri from Nuwakot, succeeded Vijayakama. He is said to have built Navabahal and Hemavarna Vihara. After Bhaskara Deva, four kings of this line ruled over the country. They were Bala Deva, Padma Deva, Nagarjuna Deva and Shankara Deva. Shankara Deva (1067–1080 CE) was the most illustrious ruler of this dynasty. He established the image of 'Shantesvara Mahadeva' and 'Manohara Bhagavati'. The custom of pasting the pictures of Nagas and Vasuki on the doors of houses on the day of Nagapanchami was introduced by him. During his rule, the Buddhists wreaked vengeance on the Hindu Brahmins (especially the followers of Shaivism) for the harm they had received earlier from the Shankaracharya. Shankara Deva tried to pacify the Brahmins harassed by the Buddhists.


title: History of Nepal

text: Bama Deva, a descendant of Amshuvarma, defeated Shankar Deva in 1080 CE. He suppressed the Nuwakot-Thankuris with the help of nobles and restored the old Solar Dynasty rule in Nepal for the second time. Harsha Deva, the successor of Bama Deva was a weak ruler. There was no unity among the nobles and they asserted themselves in their respective spheres of influence. Taking that opportunity Nanya Deva, a Karnat dynasty king, attacked Nuwakot from Simraungarh. The army successfully defended and won the battle. After Harsha Deva, Shivadeva the third ruled from 1099 to 1126 CE. He founded the town of Kirtipur and roofed the temple of Pashupatinath with gold. He introduced twenty-five paisa coins. After Sivadeva III, Mahendra Deva, Mana Deva, Narendra Deva II, Ananda Deva, Rudra Deva, Amrita Deva, Ratna Deva II, Somesvara Deva, Gunakama Deva II, Lakmikama Deva III and Vijayakama Deva II ruled Nepal in quick succession. Historians differ about the rule of several kings and their respective times. After the fall of the Thakuri dynasty, a new dynasty was founded by Arideva or Ari Malla, known as the 'Malla dynasty'.


title: History of Nepal

text: Early Malla rule started with Ari Malla in the 12th century. Over the next two centuries, his kingdom expanded widely, into much of the Indian subcontinent and western Tibet, before disintegrating into small principalities, which later came to be known as the Baise Rajya.


title: History of Nepal

text: Jayasthiti Malla, with whom commences the later Malla dynasty of the Kathmandu valley, began to reign at the end of the 14th century. Malla dynasty was the longest ruling dynasty in Nepalese history, ruling from the 12th century to the 18th century (about 600 years). This era in the valley is eminent for the various social and economic reforms such as the 'Sanskritization' of the valley people, new methods of land measurement and allocation, etc. In this era, new forms of art and architecture was introduced. The monuments in Kathmandu valley which are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites were built during Malla rule. In the 14th century, before Kathmandu was divided into 3 princely states, Araniko was sent to China upon the request of Abhaya Malla for representing the skill of art and architecture, and he introduced the Pagoda style of architecture to China and subsequently, whole of Asia. Yaksha Malla, the grandson of Jayasthiti Malla, ruled the Kathmandu valley until almost the end of the 15th century. After his demise, the valley was divided into three independent kingdoms—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan—in about 1484 CE. This division led the Malla rulers into internecine clashes and wars for territorial and commercial gains. Mutually debilitating wars gradually weakened them, which facilitated the conquest of the valley by Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha. The last Malla rulers were Jaya Prakash Malla, Teja Narasingha Malla and Ranjit Malla of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur respectively.


title: History of Nepal

text: The Simroun, Simroon, Karnat or Dev dynasty originated with an establishment of a kingdom in 1097 CE headquartered at present-day Simroungarh in [[Bara as follows:


title: History of Nepal

text: In 1324 CE, [[Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq|Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq]] attacked Simroungarh and demolished the fort. The remains are still scattered across the Simroungarh region. The king, Harisingh Dev, fled northwards where his son, Jagatsingh Dev, was married to the widowed princess of Bhaktapur, Nayak Devi.


title: History of Nepal

text: [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] (c. 1768–1775) was the ninth generation descendant of [[Dravya Shah]] (1559–1570), the founder of the ruling house of Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father [[Nara Bhupal Shah]] to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 CE. King Prithvi Narayan Shah was quite aware of the political situation of the valley kingdoms as well as of the [[Baise rajya|Baise]] and [[Chaubisi rajya|Chaubise]] principalities. He foresaw the need for unifying the small principalities as an urgent condition for survival in the future and set himself to the task accordingly.


title: History of Nepal

text: His assessment of the situation among the hill principalities was correct, and the principalities were subjugated fairly easily. King Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory march began with the conquest of Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha, in 1744. After Nuwakot, he occupied strategic points in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley. The valley's communications with the outside world were thus cut off. The occupation of the [[Nyalam Tong La|Kuti Pass]] in about 1756 stopped the valley's trade with Tibet. Finally, Prithvi Narayan Shah entered the valley. After the victory in [[Battle of Kirtipur|Kirtipur]], King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British and the then [[East India Company]] sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain Kinloch in 1767. The British force was defeated in Sindhuli by the Gorkhali army. This defeat of the British completely shattered the hopes of King Jaya Prakash Malla. On 25 September 1768, as the people of Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indra Jatra, the Gorkhali army marched into the city. Prithvi Narayan Shah sat on a throne put on the palace courtyard for the king of Kathmandu, proclaiming himself the king. Jaya Prakash Malla somehow managed to escape and took asylum in Patan. When Patan was captured a few weeks later, both Jaya Prakash Malla and Tej Narsingh Malla, the king of Patan took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was captured on the night of 25 November 1769. The Kathmandu valley was thus conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who proclaimed himself King with Kathmandu as the royal capital of the [[Kingdom of Nepal]].


title: History of Nepal

text: King Prithvi Narayan Shah was successful in bringing together diverse religio-ethnic groups under one rule. He was a true nationalist in his outlook and was in favor of adopting a closed-door policy with regards to the British. Not only his social and economic views guided the country's socio-economic course for a long time, his use of the imagery of "a yam between two boulders" in Nepal's geopolitical context formed the principal guideline of the country's foreign policy for future centuries.


title: History of Nepal

text: [[Image:Kings Palace Gorkha Nepal.jpg|thumb|250px|The old king's palace on a hill in [[Gorkha district|Gorkha]]]]


title: History of Nepal

text: After decades of rivalry between the medieval kingdoms, modern [[Kingdom of Nepal|Nepal]] was unified in the latter half of the 18th century, when [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]], the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill high states. After the death of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Shah dynasty began to expand their kingdom into much of the Indian subcontinent. Between 1788 and 1791, during the [[Sino-Nepalese War]], Nepal invaded [[Tibet]] and robbed [[Tashi Lhunpo Monastery|Tashilhunpo Monastery]] in [[Shigatse]]. Alarmed, the [[Qianlong Emperor]] of the Chinese [[Qing Dynasty]] appointed [[Fuk'anggan]] commander-in-chief of the Tibetan campaign; Fuk'anggan signed a treaty to protect his troops thus attaining a draw.


title: History of Nepal

text: After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed. The rivalry between Nepal and the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] over the princely states bordering Nepal and British-India eventually led to the [[Anglo-Nepalese War]] (1814–16), in which Nepal suffered substantial losses due to lack of guns and ammunitions against the British-Indian forces with advanced weapons. The [[Treaty of Sugauli]] was signed in 1816, ceding large parts of the Nepalese controlled territories to the British. In 1860 some parts of western Terai, known as "[[Naya Muluk]]" (new country) was restored to Nepal. The four noble families involved largely in the active politics of the kingdom were the [[Shah dynasty|Shah rulers]], the [[Thapa dynasty|Thapas]], the [[Basnyat family|Basnyats]], and the [[Pande family|Pandes]] before the rise of the [[Rana dynasty]]. From beginning to the mid of 18th century, the Thapas and Pandes had extreme dominance over Nepalese Darbar politics alternatively contesting for central power amongst each other.


title: History of Nepal

text: [[Jung Bahadur Rana]] was the first ruler from this dynasty. Rana rulers were titled ""Shree Teen"" and ""Maharaja"", whereas Shah kings were ""Shree Panch"" and ""Maharajadhiraja"". Jung Bahadur codified laws and modernized the state's bureaucracy. In the coup d'état of 1846, the nephews of Jung Bahadur and [[Ranodip Singh Kunwar|Ranodip Singh]] murdered Ranodip Singh and the sons of Jung Bahadur, adopted the name of Jung Bahadur and took control of Nepal. Nine Rana rulers took the hereditary office of Prime Minister. All were styled (self proclaimed) Maharaja of [[Lamjung District|Lamjung]] and [[Kaski District|Kaski]].


title: History of Nepal

text: The Rana regime, a tightly centralized [[autocracy]], pursued a policy of isolating Nepal from external influences. This policy helped Nepal maintain its independence during the British colonial era, but it also impeded the country's economic development and modernisation. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British and assisted the British during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] and later in both [[World war|World Wars]]. At the same time, despite Chinese claims, the British supported Nepalese independence at the beginning of the twentieth century. In December 1923, Britain and Nepal formally signed a "[[Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923|treaty of perpetual peace and friendship]]" superseding the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 and upgrading the British resident in Kathmandu to an envoy.


title: History of Nepal

text: Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924 under premiership of [[Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana|Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana]].


title: History of Nepal

text: Following the [[German invasion of Poland]], the Kingdom of Nepal [[Nepal in World War II|declared war on Germany]] on September 4, 1939. Once Japan entered the conflict, sixteen battalions of the [[Nepali Army]] fought on the [[Burma campaign|Burmese front]]. In addition to military support, Nepal contributed guns, equipment as well as hundreds of thousand of pounds of tea, sugar and raw materials such as timber to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied war effort]].


title: History of Nepal

text: The [[revolution of 1951]] started when dissatisfaction against the family rule of the Ranas started emerging from among the few educated people, who had studied in various South Asian schools and colleges, and also from within the Ranas, many of whom were marginalized within the ruling Rana hierarchy. Many of these Nepalese in exile had actively taken part in the [[Indian independence movement|Indian Independence struggle]] and wanted to liberate Nepal as well from the autocratic Rana occupation. The political parties such as the [[Nepal Praja Parishad|Praja Parishad]] and [[Nepali Congress]] were already formed in exile by leaders such as [[B. P. Koirala]], [[Ganesh Man Singh]], [[Subarna Shamsher Rana|Subarna Sumsher Rana]], [[Krishna Prasad Bhattarai]], [[Girija Prasad Koirala]], and many other patriotic-minded Nepalis who urged the military and popular political movement in Nepal to overthrow the autocratic Rana regime. The Nepali Congress also formed a military wing [[Nepali Congress's Liberation Army]]. Among the prominent martyrs to die for the cause, executed at the hands of the Ranas, were [[Dharma Bhakta Mathema]], [[Shukraraj Shastri]], [[Gangalal Shrestha]], and [[Dashrath Chand|Dasharath Chand]] who were the members of the Praja Parisad. This turmoil culminated in [[Tribhuvan of Nepal|King Tribhuvan]], a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fleeing from his "palace prison" in 1950, to India, touching off [[1951 Nepalese revolution|an armed revolt]] against the Rana administration. This eventually ended in the return of the Shah family to power and the appointment of a non-Rana as prime minister following a tri-partite agreement signed called '[[Delhi Accord|Delhi Compromise]]'. A period of quasi-constitutional rule followed, during which the monarch, assisted by the leaders of fledgling political parties, governed the country. During the 1950s, efforts were made to frame a constitution for Nepal that would establish a representative form of government, based on a British model. A 10-member cabinet under Prime Minister [[Mohan Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana|Mohan Shumsher]] with 5 members of the Rana family and 5 of the Nepali Congress was formed. This government drafted a constitution called the 'Interim Government Act' which was the first constitution of Nepal. But this government failed to work in consensus as the Ranas and Congressmen were never on good terms. So, on 16 November 1951, the king formed a new government of 14 ministers under [[Matrika Prasad Koirala]], which was later dissolved.


title: History of Nepal

text: The first democratic elections were held [[1959 Nepalese legislative election|in 1959]], and B. P. Koirala was elected prime minister. But declaring parliamentary democracy a failure, [[Mahendra of Nepal|King Mahendra]] carried out a royal coup 18 months later, in 1960. He dismissed the elected Koirala government, declared that a "partyless" system would govern Nepal, and promulgated a new constitution on December 16, 1960. Subsequently, the elected prime minister, members of parliament and hundreds of democratic activists were arrested.


title: History of Nepal

text: The new constitution established a "partyless" [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat system]] which King Mahendra considered to be a democratic form of government, closer to Nepalese traditions. As a pyramidal structure, progressing from village assemblies to the [[Rastriya Panchayat]], the Panchayat system constitutionalized the absolute power of the monarch and kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the cabinet (council of ministers) and the parliament. One-state-one-language became the national policy in an effort to carry out state unification, uniting various ethnic and regional groups into a singular Nepali nationalist bond. The [[Back to the Village National Campaign|Back to Village Campaign]] () launched in 1967, was one of the main rural development programs of the Panchayat system.


title: History of Nepal

text: King Mahendra was succeeded by his 27-year-old son, King [[Birendra of Nepal|Birendra]], in 1972. Amid student demonstrations and anti-regime activities in 1979, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide on the nature of Nepal's government; either the continuation of the Panchayat system along with democratic reforms or the establishment of a multiparty system. The referendum was held [[1980 Nepalese governmental system referendum|in May 1980]], and the Panchayat system gained a narrow victory. The king carried out the promised reforms, including selection of the prime minister by the Rastriya Panchayat.


title: History of Nepal

text: People in rural areas had expected that their interests would be better represented after the adoption of parliamentary democracy in 1990. The [[Nepali Congress]] with the support of the [[United Left Front (Nepal, 1990)|United Left Front]] decided to launch a decisive agitational movement, the [[1990 Nepalese revolution|Jana Andolan]], which forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament. In May 1991, Nepal held its [[1991 Nepalese legislative election|first parliamentary elections in nearly 50 years]]. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats and formed the first elected government in 32 years.


title: History of Nepal

text: In 1992, in a situation of economic crisis and chaos, with spiraling prices as a result of the implementation of changes in policy of the new Congress government, the radical left stepped up their political agitation. A Joint People's Agitation Committee was set up by the various groups. A [[hartal|general strike]] was called for April 6. Violent incidents began to occur on the eve of the strike. The Joint People's Agitation Committee had called for a 30-minute 'lights out' in the capital, and violence erupted outside [[Bir Hospital]] when activists tried to enforce the 'lights out'. At dawn on April 6, clashes between strike activists and police, outside a police station in Pulchowk, [[Lalitpur, Nepal|Lalitpur]], which left two activists dead. Later in the day, a mass rally of the Agitation Committee at [[Tundikhel]] in the capital [[Kathmandu]] was attacked by police forces. As a result, riots broke out and the [[Nepal Telecom]]munications building was set on fire; police opened fire at the crowd, killing several persons. The Human Rights Organisation of Nepal estimated that 14 persons, including several onlookers, had been killed in police firing.


title: History of Nepal

text: When promised land reforms failed to appear, people in some districts started to organize to enact their own land reform and to gain some power over their lives in the face of usurious landlords. However, this movement was repressed by the Nepali government, in "[[Operation Romeo (Nepal)|Operation Romeo]]" and "Operation Kilo Sera II", which took the lives of many of the leading activists of the struggle. As a result, many witnesses to this repression became radicalized.


title: History of Nepal

text: In March 1997, the [[Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)|Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)]] started a bid to replace the parliamentary monarchy with a new people's democratic republic, through a Maoist revolutionary strategy known as the [[people's war]], which led to the [[Nepalese Civil War]]. Led by Dr. [[Baburam Bhattarai]] and [[Pushpa Kamal Dahal]] (also known as "Prachanda"), the insurgency began in five districts in Nepal: [[Rolpa District|Rolpa]], [[Rukum]], [[Jajarkot]], [[Gurkha|Gorkha]], and [[Sindhuli]]. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) established a provisional "people's government" at the district level in several locations.


title: History of Nepal

text: On June 1, 2001, [[Dipendra of Nepal|Prince Dipendra]], went on a [[Nepalese royal massacre|shooting-spree]], assassinating 9 members of the royal family, including [[Birendra of Nepal|King Birendra]] and [[Aishwarya of Nepal|Queen Aishwarya]], before shooting himself. Due to his survival, he temporarily became king before dying of his wounds, after which [[Gyanendra of Nepal|Prince Gyanendra]] (King Birendra's brother) inherited the throne, as per tradition. Meanwhile, the rebellion escalated, and in October 2002 the king temporarily deposed the government and took complete control of it. A week later he reappointed another government, but the country was still very unstable.


title: History of Nepal

text: Large parts of Nepal were taken over by the rebellion. The Maoists are driving out representatives of parties close to the government, expropriating local "capitalists" and implementing their own development projects. They also run their own prisons and courts. In addition to coercive measures, the guerrillas are gaining a foothold because of their popularity with large sectors of Nepalese society, particularly women, untouchables and ethnic minorities. Caste discrimination was abolished, women received equal inheritance rights and forced marriages were prohibited. In addition, the Maoists provided free health care and literacy classes.


title: History of Nepal

text: In the face of unstable governments and a siege on the Kathmandu Valley in August 2004, popular support for the monarchy began to wane. On February 1, 2005, King Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers, declaring a [[state of emergency]] to quash the revolution. Politicians were placed under house arrest, phone and internet lines were cut, and freedom of the press was severely curtailed.


title: History of Nepal

text: The king's new regime made little progress in his stated aim to suppress the insurgents. Municipal elections in February 2006 were described by the European Union as "a backward step for democracy", as the major parties [[election boycott|boycotted the election]] and some candidates were forced to run for office by the army. In April 2006 [[2006 Nepalese revolution|strikes and street protests in Kathmandu]] forced the king to reinstate the parliament. A [[Seven Party Alliance|seven-party coalition]] resumed control of the government and stripped the king of most of his powers. On December 24, 2007, seven parties, including the former Maoist rebels and the ruling party, agreed to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a federal republic. In the [[2008 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election|elections held on 10 April 2008]], the Maoists secured a simple majority, with the prospect of forming a government to rule the proposed 'Republic of Nepal'.


title: History of Nepal

text: From 1996 to 2006, the war resulted in approximately 13,000 deaths. According to the NGO Informal Sector Service Centre, 85 per cent of civilian killings are attributable to government actions.


title: History of Nepal

text: On May 28, 2008, the newly elected [[1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]] declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy. The motion for the abolition of the monarchy was carried by a huge majority: out of 564 members present in the assembly, 560 voted for the motion while 4 members voted against it. On June 11, 2008, the deposed King Gyanendra left the palace. [[Ram Baran Yadav]] of the Nepali Congress became the first [[President of Nepal|President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal]] on [[2008 Nepalese presidential election|July 23, 2008]]. Similarly, the Constituent Assembly elected Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) of the [[Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)|Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)]] as the first [[List of prime ministers of Nepal|Prime Minister]] of the republic on August 15, 2008, favoring him over [[Sher Bahadur Deuba]] of the Nepali Congress.


title: History of Nepal

text: After failing to draft a constitution before the deadline, the existing Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the government on 28 May 2012 and a new interim government was formed under the premiership of the [[Chief Justice of Nepal]], [[Khil Raj Regmi]]. In the [[2013 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election|Constituent Assembly election]] of November 2013, the Nepali Congress won the largest share of the votes but failed to get a majority. The [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)|CPN (UML)]] and the Nepali Congress negotiated to form a consensus government, and [[Sushil Koirala]] of the Nepali Congress was elected as prime minister. The [[Constitution of Nepal]] was finally adopted on 20 September 2015.


title: History of Nepal

text: On 25 April 2015, [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake|a devastating earthquake]] of [[Moment magnitude scale|moment magnitude]] of 7.8[[Moment magnitude scale|M]] killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000. It was the worst natural disaster to strike the country since the [[1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake]]. The earthquake also triggered [[2015 Mount Everest avalanches|an avalanche on Mount Everest]], killing 21. Centuries-old buildings including the UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s in the Kathmandu valley were destroyed. [[May 2015 Nepal earthquake|A major aftershock]] occurred on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 NST with a moment magnitude (M) of 7.3, killing more than 200 people and over 2,500 were injured by this aftershock, and many were left homeless. These events led to a [[Nepal humanitarian crisis (2015-2017)|major humanitarian crisis]] which affected the reconstruction after the earthquake.


title: History of Nepal

text: Minority ethnic groups like [[Madhesi people|Madhesi]] and [[Tharu people|Tharu]] protested vigorously against the constitution which came into effect on 20 September 2015. They pointed out that their concerns had not been addressed and there were few explicit protections for their ethnic groups in the document. At least 56 civilians and 11 police died in clashes over the constitution. In response to the Madhesi protests, [[2015 Nepal blockade|India suspended vital supplies to landlocked Nepal]], citing insecurity and violence in border areas. The then prime minister of Nepal, [[KP Sharma Oli]], publicly accused India for the blockade calling the act more inhumane than war. India has denied enacting the blockade. The blockade choked imports of not only petroleum, but also medicines and earthquake relief material. The then [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|United Nations Secretary-General]], [[Ban Ki-moon]], alleged that the denial of petroleum and medicine to Nepal constituted a violation of human rights, adding to the humanitarian crisis.


title: History of Nepal

text: In June 2017, [[Nepali Congress]] leader [[Sher Bahadur Deuba]] was elected the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal, succeeding Prime Minister and Chairman of [[CPN (Maoist Centre)]] [[Pushpa Kamal Dahal]]. Deuba had been previously Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005. In November 2017, Nepal had its [[2017 Nepalese general election|first general election]] since the civil war ended and the monarchy was abolished. The main alternatives were centrist Nepali Congress Party and the alliance of former Maoist rebels and the [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)|Communist UML]] party. The alliance of communists won the election, and UML leader [[Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli]] was sworn in February 2018 as the new Prime Minister. He had previously been Prime Minister since 2015 until 2016.


title: History of Nepal

text: In March 2018, President [[Bidya Devi Bhandari]], the candidate of the then-ruling Left alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre), was re-elected for a second term. The presidential post is mainly ceremonial.


title: History of Nepal

text: In July 2021, Prime Minister Oli was replaced by [[Sher Bahadur Deuba]] after a constitutional crisis.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The 1991 Indian economic crisis was an economic crisis in India resulting from a balance of payments deficit due to excess reliance on imports and other external factors. India's economic problems started worsening in 1985 as imports swelled, leaving the country in a twin deficit: the Indian trade balance was in deficit at a time when the government was running on a huge fiscal deficit.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The collapse of the Soviet Bloc, with which India had rupee exchange in trade, also caused problems. By the end of 1990, in the run-up to the Gulf War, the dire situation meant that the Indian foreign exchange reserves could have barely financed three weeks' worth of imports. Meanwhile, the government came close to defaulting on its own financial obligations. By July that year, the low reserves had led to a sharp depreciation/devaluation of the rupee, which in turn exacerbated the twin deficit problem.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The Chandrasekhar government could not pass the budget in February 1991 after Moody downgraded India's bond ratings. The ratings further deteriorated due to the unsuccessful passage of the budget. This made it impossible for the country to seek short term loans and exacerbated the existing economic crisis. The World Bank and IMF also stopped their assistance, leaving the government with no option except to mortgage the country's gold to avoid defaulting on payments.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: In an attempt to seek an economic bailout from the IMF, the Indian government airlifted its national gold reserves.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The crisis, in turn, paved the way for the liberalisation of the Indian economy, since one of the conditions stipulated in the World Bank and IMF loan (structural reform), required India to open itself up to participation from foreign entities in its industries, including its state-owned enterprises.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The program of economic policy reform which was put in place in 1990 has yielded good results, dramatically improving the quality of life in India. It also resulted in a large increase in inequality with the income share of the Top 10% of the population increasing from 35% in 1991 to 57.1% in 2014. Likewise, the income share of the Bottom 50% decreased from 20.1% in 1991 to 13.1% in 2014.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The crisis was caused by currency overvaluation; the current account deficit, and investor confidence played significant role in the sharp exchange rate depreciation.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The economic crisis was primarily due to the large and growing fiscal imbalances over the 1980s. During the mid-eighties, India started having the balance of payments problems. Precipitated by the Gulf War, India’s oil import bill swelled, exports slumped, credit dried up, and investors took their money out. Large fiscal deficits, over time, had a spillover effect on the trade deficit culminating in an external payments crisis. By the end of the 1980s, India was in serious economic trouble.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The gross fiscal deficit of the government (centre and states) rose from 9.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1980-81 to 10.4 percent in 1985-86 and to 12.7 percent in 1990-91. For the centre alone, the gross fiscal deficit rose from 6.1 percent of GDP in 1980-81 to 8.3 percent in 1985-86 and to 8.4 percent in 1990-91. Since these deficits had to be met by borrowings, the internal debt of the government accumulated rapidly, rising from 35 percent of GDP at the end of 1980-81 to 53 percent of GDP at the end of 1990-91. The foreign exchange reserves had dried up to the point that India could barely finance three weeks worth of imports.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: In mid-1991, India's exchange rate was subjected to a severe adjustment. This event began with a slide in the value of the Indian rupee leading up to mid-1991. The authorities at the Reserve Bank of India took partial action, defending the currency by expanding international reserves and slowing the decline in value. However, in mid-1991, with foreign reserves nearly depleted, the Indian government permitted a sharp devaluation that took place in two steps within three days (1 July and 3 July 1991) against major currencies.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: With India’s foreign exchange reserves at $1.2 billion in January 1991 and depleted by half by June, barely enough to last for roughly 3 weeks of essential imports, India was only weeks away from defaulting on its external balance of payment obligations.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: Government of India's immediate response was to secure an emergency loan of $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund by pledging 67 tons of India's gold reserves as collateral security. The Reserve Bank of India had to airlift 47 tons of gold to the Bank of England and 20 tons of gold to the Union Bank of Switzerland to raise $600 million.  The van transporting the gold to the airport broke down en route due to tyre burst and panic followed . The airlift was done with secrecy as it was done in the midst of the 1991 Indian General elections. National sentiments were outraged and there was public outcry when it was learned that the government had pledged the country's entire gold reserves against the loan. A chartered plane ferried the precious cargo to London between 21 May and 31 May 1991, jolting the country out of an economic slumber. The Chandra Shekhar government had collapsed a few months after having authorised the airlift. The move helped tide over the balance of payment crisis and kick-started P. V. Narasimha Rao's economic reform process.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: P. V. Narasimha Rao took over as Prime Minister in June, and appointed Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister. The Narasimha Rao government ushered in several reforms that are collectively termed as liberalisation in the Indian media.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The reforms formally began on 1 July 1991 when RBI devalued Indian Rupee by 9% and by a further 11% on 3 July. It was done in two doses to test the reaction of the market first by making a smaller depreciation of 9%. There was significant opposition to such reforms, suggesting they were an "interference with India's autonomy". Then Prime Minister Rao's speech a week after he took office highlighted the necessity for reforms, as New York Times reported, "Mr. Rao, who was sworn in as Prime Minister last week, has already sent a signal to the nation—as well as the I.M.F.—that India faced no "soft options" and must open the door to foreign investment, reduce red tape that often cripples initiative, and streamline industrial policy. Mr. Rao made his comments in a speech to the nation Saturday night." The foreign reserves started picking up with the onset of the liberalisation policies and reached an all-time high US $530.268 billion as on 13 November 2020


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The program of economic policy reform which was put in place in 1990 has yielded amazing results, dramatically improving the quality of life in India.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: Trade liberalisation in India has also corresponded with a dramatic rise in inequality and associated social issues.


title: 1991 Indian economic crisis

text: The Indian GDP rose from $266 billion in 1991 (inflation adjusted) to $3 trillion in 2019 (1100% increase) while its purchasing power parity rose from $1 trillion in 1991 to $12 trillion in 2019 (1100% increase).


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: Li is noted for her roles in "The Dream of Red Mansions" (2010), "The Founding of a Party" (2011), "White Deer Plain" (2017), "Princess Agents" (2017), "Joy of Life" (2019), "Jade Dynasty" (2019), "The Captain" (2019), "The Song of Glory" (2020), "The Wolf" (2020), "Warm Hug" (2020), "My Dear Guardian" (2021), and "Tears in Heaven" (2021).


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: Li was born in Bacheng Town of Kunshan city, Jiangsu province on September 27, 1990. At the age of 11, Li studied Chinese traditional opera in Shipai Central School.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: She graduated from the Affiliated Chinese Opera School of Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2008, majoring in "kunqu".


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: Li first rose to prominence in 2010 for playing Xue Baochai in the television series "The Dream of Red Mansions", based on the novel by the same name by Cao Xueqin. She won the Best New Actress award at the TVS Award Ceremony for her performance.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2011, Li made her film debut in "The Founding of a Party", playing Yang Kaihui. She was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards. She again played Yang Kaihui in "China in 1921", another patriotic tribute production.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2012, Li starred in the romantic melodrama television series "The Watchful Sky", which won the Gold Angel Award at the 9th Sino-US Film Festival. In 2013, Li starred in romance dramas "Shining Days" and "The Return of a Princess ", both of which attained high ratings during their respective runs.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2014, Li starred in romance drama "If I Love You", and was named the Most Promising Actress at the China TV Drama Awards for her performance. In 2015, Li starred in her first historical drama "My Amazing Bride", playing a quirky and adorable heiress.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2017, Li starred in the television adaptation of the classic novel "White Deer Plain". Her performance as Tian Xiao'e was a "pitch-perfect illustration of a rural woman's miserable life" according to critics, and stood in sharp contrast to her previous performances as youthful and innocent characters. Li was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award at the Magnolia Awards for her performance. The same year, Li starred in the historical action drama "Princess Agents", playing a princess of a befallen kingdom. The drama was a major success and led to increased popularity of Li. That year, Li entered "Forbes" China Celebrity 100 list for the first time, ranking 100th.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2018, Li was nominated at the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Yang Kaihui in the patriotic film "The Founding of an Army". The same year, she played the role of Fragrant Concubine in the palace drama "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace". "Forbes China" listed Li under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2019, Li played the female lead Lu Xueqi in the film adaptation of the xianxia novel "Zhu Xian", titled "Jade Dynasty". She then co-starred in the aviation disaster film "The Captain" as a flight attendant, and received the Best Supporting Actress award at the Gold Crane Awards held by the Tokyo International Film Festival. The same year, she starred in the historical political drama "Joy of Life", and gained attention for her role as the drumstick lady.


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: In 2020, Li appeared in CCTV New Year's Gala for the first time, performing the song item "Hello 2020". The same year, she starred in the historical drama "The Song of Glory" as the daughter of a military family. She also starred in the comedy film "Warm Hug".


title: Li Qin (actress)

text: Since 2021, Italian-inclusive luxury brand Furla has announced that Li will serve as the brand's spokesperson. In 2021, she was also become the first brand spokesperson for Laura Mercier Cosmetics in the Asia-Pacific region.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Adam Nyerere Bahner (born May 21, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday or as "Chocolate Rain Guy", is an American YouTube personality, singer-songwriter, and voice actor. He is known for his bass singing voice.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain" became a viral video in July 2007. As of December 2022, "Chocolate Rain" has over 134 million views on YouTube.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday was born Adam Nyerere Bahner in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is of half African-American descent. He is the youngest of three children, and his parents were both teachers. He attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy but dropped out before graduating. Zonday graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2004.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday enrolled in the University of Minnesota American studies PhD program in 2004, studying the history of theater and social change, with the intention of becoming a professor. After the viral success of "Chocolate Rain", he left university with a master's degree in 2008 and moved to Los Angeles, California. He used a stage name because he wanted a separation between his academic and entertainment career. Bahner chose "Tay Zonday" because he thought it was catchy and nobody had claimed the name yet, according to a Google search.


title: Tay Zonday

text: While a PhD student in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Zonday began performing at open mic nights in 2006. Looking for more feedback, he began uploading his performances online the next year.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday released "Chocolate Rain", a viral song on race and race politics, on April 22, 2007. He was soon making appearances on national television. He appeared on the "Opie & Anthony Show", G4TV's "Attack of the Show!", VH1's "Best Week Ever", "Lily Allen and Friends", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "Tosh.0" and "Maury" where he performed "Chocolate Rain" on national television a little over three months after he posted his composition on YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday's "Los Angeles Times" on August 12, 2007, with additional features in The "Toronto Star", The "Chicago Tribune"'s "RedEye", The "Star Tribune" and "People" and has appeared on CNN for a televised interview. On February 12, 2008, he appeared on the television show "Lily Allen and Friends" on BBC Three, and performed a cover of Lily Allen's debut "Smile". In March 2008, the video won a YouTube award in the category "Music".


title: Tay Zonday

text: The Australian "Daily Telegraph" newspaper wrote: "Tay Zonday has written perhaps the most listened-to song in the world right now". "People" said: "He's scored a YouTube hit with his repetitive, keyboard-driven 'Chocolate Rain', and after a recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", Tay Zonday's star is shining even brighter". The article also noted that celebrity musicians paid tribute to the song as its popularity rapidly peaked in August 2007. John Mayer reportedly copied Zonday's keyboard riff with his guitar in concert, along with appearing on "Best Week Ever" improvising a parody to the tune of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right". Green Day drummer Tré Cool recorded a parody of "Chocolate Rain" which he posted on YouTube. Zonday also became the subject of thousands of other parodies and remixes on YouTube. A clip of his video was also shown on The CW's short-lived series, "Online Nation". Zonday has also been interviewed twice on "Good Morning America", in March and November 2008.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday starred in a commercial for Comedy Central's "Last Laugh 07", hosted by Lewis Black. He released a video called "Cherry Chocolate Rain", in a promotion with Dr Pepper. He starred alongside Leslie Hall in a commercial for Firefox web browser singing a song called "Users Against Boredom" in a parody of "We Are the World". Zonday has said that his voice is often compared to Paul Robeson, Barry White, James Earl Jones, and Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies. He appeared in-person at Intel's Consumer Electronics Show booth, rendering the source files of the "Chocolate Rain" YouTube video in Sony Vegas.


title: Tay Zonday

text: The Grammy Award-winning music video for rock band Weezer's single "Pork and Beans" featured Zonday, along with other YouTube celebrities. As well, in May 2008, Zonday performed an acoustic version of the song with Brian Bell of Weezer, spoofing his own performance in "Chocolate Rain".


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday was featured on the "Jace Hall Show", where he was comically interviewed at a famous Hollywood restaurant in a play on the dissonance between Internet fame and the traditional entertainment industry.


title: Tay Zonday

text: In February 2010, he cameoed in a Vizio Super Bowl commercial opened by Beyoncé. In October 2010, he appeared on Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars autism charity event during a musical number with Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.


title: Tay Zonday

text: In August 2011, Zonday appeared on "America's Got Talent" and performed 15 seconds of his song "Chocolate Rain". Zonday was also featured in Dave Days' YouTube video spoof of Justin Bieber's song "Baby", which has over 16 million views. He had a cameo in "The Guild" season 5 episode 3 "Megagame-o-ramacon!", which aired on August 9, 2011. In November he uploaded "Mama Economy (The Economy Explained)" in response to an economic crisis in the United States. "Mama Economy" features Lindsey Stirling playing the violin.


title: Tay Zonday

text: On June 22, 2012, Zonday uploaded a cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's number one single "Call Me Maybe", which as of 2022 has reached over 6.7 million views. It was featured on "The 10 Best 'Call Me Maybe' Covers" on Billboard.com. He is seen performing the single in front of a microphone in what he claimed to be "as low as I could [sing]".


title: Tay Zonday

text: As a voice actor, he voiced part of a multimedia presentation built to celebrate 50 years of NASA history.


title: Tay Zonday

text: He also voiced a Count Chocula-inspired parody of himself in Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken", in the 16th episode of the fourth season, "The Ramblings of Maurice." In the sketch, Zonday performs a spoof of his viral hit "Chocolate Rain", entitled "Chocolate Grain".


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday voiced "The King" in the "Happy Wheels" animated series based on the video game of the same name, which premiered on Go90 in November 2016.


title: Tay Zonday

text: In July 2017, Machinima, Inc. and Hasbro cast several YouTube personalities, including Zonday, for the animated series "" on Go90 to garner online attention. Zonday was cast as "Chorus of the Primes".


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday voiced the character “Surge” in the YouTube movie "Mega64 Version 4.1 Revengurrection" which premiered on YouTube in December 2021.


title: Tay Zonday

text: Zonday has stated that he has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome as a teenager, resumed psychiatric care at age 37, and has been re-diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. In April 2021, he stated that he has debilitating hyperacusis.


title: Quotient

text: In arithmetic, a quotient (from 'how many times', pronounced ) is a quantity produced by the division of two numbers. The quotient has widespread use throughout mathematics, and is commonly referred to as the integer part of a division (in the case of Euclidean division), or as a fraction or a ratio (in the case of proper division). For example, when dividing 20 (the "dividend") by 3 (the "divisor"), the "quotient" is "6 with a remainder of 2" in the Euclidean division sense, and formula_1 in the proper division sense. In the second sense, a quotient is simply the ratio of a dividend to its divisor.


title: Quotient

text: The quotient is most frequently encountered as two numbers, or two variables, divided by a horizontal line. The words "dividend" and "divisor" refer to each individual part, while the word "quotient" refers to the whole.


title: Quotient

text: The quotient is also less commonly defined as the greatest whole number of times a divisor may be subtracted from a dividend—before making the remainder negative. For example, the divisor 3 may be subtracted up to 6 times from the dividend 20, before the remainder becomes negative:


title: Quotient

text: A rational number can be defined as the quotient of two integers (as long as the denominator is non-zero).


title: Quotient

text: The existence of irrational numbers—numbers that are not a quotient of two integers—was first discovered in geometry, in such things as the ratio of the diagonal to the side in a square.


title: Quotient

text: Outside of arithmetic, many branches of mathematics have borrowed the word "quotient" to describe structures built by breaking larger structures into pieces. Given a set with an equivalence relation defined on it, a "quotient set" may be created which contains those equivalence classes as elements. A quotient group may be formed by breaking a group into a number of similar cosets, while a quotient space may be formed in a similar process by breaking a vector space into a number of similar linear subspaces.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: Colossal Cave Adventure (also known as Adventure or ADVENT) is a text-based adventure game, released in 1976 by developer Will Crowther for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. It was expanded upon in 1977 by Don Woods. In the game, the player explores a cave system rumored to be filled with treasure and gold. The game is composed of dozens of locations, and the player moves between these locations and interacts with objects in them by typing one- or two-word commands which are interpreted by the game's natural language input system. The program acts as a narrator, describing the player's location and the results of the player's attempted actions. It is the first well-known example of interactive fiction, as well as the first well-known adventure game, for which it was also the namesake.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: The original game, written in 1975 and 1976, was based on Crowther's maps and experiences caving in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, the longest cave system in the world, and was intended in part to be accessible to non-technical players such as his two daughters. Woods' version expanded the game in size and increased the number of fantasy elements present in it, such as a dragon and magic spells. Both versions, typically played over teleprinters connected to mainframe computers, were spread around the nascent ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, which Crowther was involved in developing.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: "Colossal Cave Adventure" was one of the first teletype games and was massively popular in the computer community of the late 1970s, with numerous ports and modified versions being created based on Woods' source code. It directly inspired the creation of numerous games, including "Zork" (1977), "Adventureland" (1978), "Mystery House" (1980), "Rogue" (1980), and "Adventure" (1980), which went on to be the foundations of the interactive fiction, adventure, roguelike, and action-adventure genres. It also influenced the creation of the MUD and computer role-playing game genres. It has been noted as one of the most influential video games, and in 2019 was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame by The Strong and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: "Colossal Cave Adventure" is a text-based adventure game wherein the player explores a mysterious cave that is rumored to be filled with treasure and gold. The player must explore the cave system and solve puzzles by using items that they find to obtain the treasures and leave the cave. The player types in one- or two-word commands to move their character through the cave system, interact with objects in the cave, pick up items to put into their inventory, and perform other actions. The allowable commands are contextual to the location, or room, the player is in; for example, "get lamp" only has an effect if there is a lamp present. There are dozens of rooms, each of which has a name such as "Debris Room" and a description, and may contain objects or obstacles. The program acts as a narrator, describing to the player their location in the cave and the results of certain actions. If it does not understand the player's commands, it asks for the player to retype their actions. The program's replies are typically in a humorous, conversational tone, much as a Dungeon Master would use in leading players in a tabletop role-playing game.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: The original 1976 version of the game contains five treasures which can be collected. Although it is based on a real cave system, it contains a few fantasy elements such as a crystal bridge, magic words, and axe-wielding dwarves. The player can die by falling into a pit or being killed by the dwarves, but otherwise the game has no ending or goal beyond finding the treasures. The 1977 version of the game, upon which later versions were based, adds ten more treasures and more fantasy elements. It also adds a points system, whereby completing certain goals earns a predetermined number of points. The ultimate goal is to earn the maximum number of points—350, in the 1977 version—which involves finding all the treasures in the game and safely leaving the cave.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: "Colossal Cave Adventure" was originally created by William Crowther in 1975 and 1976. Crowther and his ex-wife Patricia were both programmers and cavers and had extensively explored Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, the longest cave system in the world, in the early 1970s as part of the Cave Research Foundation. In 1972, Patricia led the expedition that found a connection between Mammoth Cave and the larger Flint Ridge Cave System. In addition to caving, the pair produced vector map surveys of the cave: they transcribed the survey data of the cave from "muddy little books" into a teleprinter terminal in their house, which could send and print messages from programs running on the central computer and was connected to a PDP-1 mainframe computer at Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) where William Crowther worked. This data was then fed into a program developed by the pair that generated plotting commands onto punched tape, which were then fed into a Honeywell 316 minicomputer attached to a Calcomp drum plotter at BBN to print paper maps. These maps were some of the earliest computer-drawn maps of caves.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: In 1975, after he and Patricia divorced, William Crowther stopped caving with the Cave Research Foundation. Driven by what he later described as an increase in spare time combined with missing his two daughters, he began working on a text-based game in Fortran on BBN's PDP-10 mainframe, interfacing through a teletype printer, that they could play. He combined his memories and maps of the Mammoth Cave system, particularly a 1975 map of the Bedquilt area of the caves, including Colossal Cavern, with elements of the "Dungeons & Dragons" campaigns that he played with friends to design a game around exploring a cave for treasure. Crowther wanted the game to be accessible and not intimidating to non-technical players such as his children, and so developed a natural language input system to control the game so that it would be "a thing that gave you the illusion anyway that you'd typed in English commands and it did what you said". Crowther later commented that this approach allowed the game to appeal to both non-programmers and programmers alike, as in the latter case, it gave programmers a challenge of how to make "an obstinate system" perform in a manner they wanted it to. This approach was also developed to allow the game to be played on a teletype printer, rather than rely on user interface elements used in programs designed for monitors.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: The initial version of the game was about 700 lines of code, plus another 700 lines of data such as descriptions for 66 rooms, navigational messages, 193 vocabulary words, and miscellaneous messages. Once the game was complete, in early 1976, Crowther showed it off to his co-workers at BBN for feedback, and then considered his work on the game finished, leaving the compiled game on the mainframe before taking a month off for vacation. According to one of Crowther's then-coworkers in 2007, "once it was working, Will wasn't very interested in perfecting or expanding it." Crowther's work at BBN was in developing ARPANET, one of the first networks of computers and a precursor to the Internet, and the PDP-10 mainframe was part of that network. During his vacation, others found the game and it was distributed widely across the network to computers at other companies and universities, which surprised Crowther on his return. The game did not have an explicit title in it, simply stating "WELCOME TO ADVENTURE!!" as a part of the opening message and having a file name of ADVENT; it was referred to as both "Adventure" and "Colossal Cave Adventure", with the latter becoming the more common name over time. Most computer terminals at the time did not have monitors, and players would instead play the game over teleprinters connected to the mainframe.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: One person who discovered the game was Don Woods, a graduate student at Stanford University. Woods found the game on a PDP-10 at the Stanford Medical School and wanted to expand upon the game. He contacted Crowther to gain access to the source code by emailing "crowther" at every domain that existed on the ARPANET. Woods built upon Crowther's code, introducing more high fantasy-related elements such as a dragon. He changed the puzzles, adding new elements and complexities, and added new puzzles and features such as a pirate that roams the map and steals treasure from the player or objects that could exist in multiple states. He also introduced a scoring system within the game and added ten more treasures to collect in addition to the five in Crowther's original version. According to cavers who have played the game, much of Crowther's original version matches the Bedquilt section of Mammoth Cave with some passages removed for gameplay purposes, though Woods' additions do not as he had never been there. According to William Mann, a caving compatriot of Crowther who played both versions when they were developed, Crowther was focused on creating the cave system as a setting for a game, while Woods was interested in making a game and not in replicating the feeling of caving.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: Woods' version, released in 1977, expanded Crowther's game to approximately 3,000 lines of code and 1,800 lines of data, growing to 140 map locations, 293 vocabulary words, and 53 objects. Woods also added access controls to the game, allowing mainframe administrators to restrict the game from running during business hours. Woods began working on the game in March 1977; by May his version was complete enough to release, and was soon attracting attention around the United States. Woods continued releasing updated editions in Fortran until 1995. Crowther later said that Woods' bringing fantasy elements earlier into the gameplay was an improvement to his version, though Crowther's daughters also recall him telling them when they were frustrated at puzzles in the game that it was one of Woods' additions, not his.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: Crowther did not distribute the source code to his version to anyone else, and it was later believed to be lost until it was rediscovered on an archive of Woods' student account at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in 2005. Woods, however, distributed the code to his version alongside the compiled executable. Woods' 1977 version became the more recognizable and widespread version of "Colossal Cave Adventure", in part due to its wider code availability, as it led to several other variants of the game being produced.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: Both Crowther's and Woods' version were designed to run on the PDP-10 and used features unique to that architecture, meaning that the program could not be easily moved to other systems, even those that could run Fortran programs. One of the first efforts to port the code to other languages or systems was by RAND Corporation researcher James Gillogly in 1977. Gillogly, with agreement from Crowther and Woods, spent several weeks porting the code to the C programming language to run on the more generic Unix architecture. It can still be found as part of the BSD Operating Systems distributions, or as part of the "bsdgames" package under most Linux distributions, under the command name "adventure". Bob Supnik of Digital Equipment Corporation also ported the game in Fortran to the PDP-11 minicomputer in mid-1977, spreading it to other minicomputer systems. Afterwards, numerous other ports were made of the game to different languages and systems, sometimes identified by the number of points available in the game. There were enough ports and variants and alternate takes of the game by 1982 that an article in "Your Computer" described the entire set of games wherein the player enters short commands to move between set locations as ""Adventure" games", and provided code for the ZX81 computer for an "Adventure-writing kit" program that could be used to generate a game with that gameplay. In 2017, Eric S. Raymond created a port for modern computers of Woods' 1995 version of the game as "Open Adventure" and released the source code under an open-source license with permission from Crowther and Woods.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: Commercial versions of the game were also released. Microsoft published a version titled "Microsoft Adventure" in 1979 for the Apple II Plus and TRS-80 computers, and again in 1981 for MS-DOS as a launch title for IBM PCs, one of the few software programs and the only game at launch. The Software Toolworks released "The Original Adventure" for IBM PCs in 1981; endorsed by Crowther and Woods in exchange for a nominal payment, it was the only version for which they received any money. Level 9 Computing released multiple versions of the game for different computer platforms under the name "Colossal Adventure", beginning with a version in 1982 for the Nascom that includes an entire extra section where the player saves elves from flooding caves, as well as later versions that include pictures of the areas.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: In 2022, Ken and Roberta Williams, co-founders of Sierra Entertainment, announced that their new company Cygnus Entertainment was making a 3D version of the game, under the title "Colossal Cave 3D Adventure". It is planned for release on January 19, 2023, for Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch, and will support the Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset. The game was started as a hobby project by the pair during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is intended by designer Roberta to be a recreation of how playing the game felt like to her in 1979.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: "Colossal Cave Adventure" is considered one of the most influential video games. In 2019, it was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame by The Strong and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. The game is the first well-known example of interactive fiction and established conventions that have since become standard in interactive fiction titles, such as the use of shortened cardinal directions for commands like "e" for "east", as well as inspiring the contents of the fiction titles themselves. The game is the namesake and the first well-known example of an adventure game, as it combined the interactivity of computer programs with the storytelling of literature or role-playing games such as "Dungeons & Dragons", despite its lack of linear plot. The only text adventure game known to precede it is "Wander" from 1974, which did not have the spread or influence of "Adventure".


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: "Colossal Cave Adventure" was immensely popular among the small computer-using population of the time. Historian Alexander Smith described it as "ubiquitous" on computer networks by the end of 1977, alongside "Star Trek" and "Lunar Lander". Computer game programmers of the time were greatly inspired by the game; according to game designer and creator of the Inform interactive fiction language Graham Nelson, "for the five years to 1982 almost every game created was another 'Advent'". Several of these games were the initial releases of companies that would go on to become key innovators for the early adventure game genre. These included "Zork" (1977)—which began development within a month of the release of Woods' version—by the team of Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, Tim Anderson, and Bruce Daniels at MIT and eventually forming Infocom; "Adventureland" (1978) by Scott Adams of Adventure International; and "Mystery House" (1980) by Roberta and Ken Williams of On-Line Systems. The 1980 Atari 2600 video game "Adventure" was an attempt to create a graphical version of "Colossal Cave Adventure", and itself became the first known example of an action-adventure game and introduced the fantasy genre to video game consoles. "Carmen Sandiego", an early educational game series begun in 1985, was inspired by transforming the idea of moving around the caverns of "Colossal Cave Adventure" looking for treasure into moving around the globe searching for clues.


title: Colossal Cave Adventure

text: In addition to inspiring adventure games, as described by Matt Barton in "Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games", "Colossal Cave Adventure" demonstrated the "creation of a virtual world and the means to explore it", and the inclusion of monsters and simplified combat. For this, it is considered a precursor of computer role-playing games, though it was lacking several elements of the genre. Glenn Wichman and Michael Toy name the game as an influence for their game "Rogue" in 1980, which went on to become the namesake of the roguelike genre. "Colossal Cave Adventure" also inspired the development of online multiplayer games like MUDs, the precursors of the modern-day massively multiplayer online role-playing game.