page_title: Kingdom of Nepal
section_title: Expansion
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Nepal / 18th century / Expansion
caption_attribution_description: English: Former King's Palace in Gorkha, Nepal
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Nepal, also known as the Kingdom of Gorkha or Gorkha Empire or Asal Hindusthan, was a Hindu kingdom on the Indian subcontinent, formed in 1768, by the unification of Nepal. Founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkhali monarch of Rajput origin from medieval India, it existed for 240 years until the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy in 2008. During this period, Nepal was formally under the rule of the Shah dynasty, which exercised varying degrees of power during the kingdom's existence.
  After the invasion of Tibet and plundering of Digarcha by Nepali forces under Prince Regent Bahadur Shah in 1792, the Dalai Lama and Chinese Ambans reported to Chinese administration for military support. The Chinese and Tibetan forces under Fuk'anggan attacked Nepal but went for negotiation after failure at Nuwakot. Mulkaji Damodar Pande, who was the most influential among the four Kajis appointed after removal of Bahadur Shah even though Chief Kaji was Kirtiman Singh Basnyat, tried to protect king Girvan Yuddha Shah and keep the former king Rana Bahadur Shah away of Nepal.
context_section_description: King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, initially drafted the Gorkhali Army. The Chief of the Gorkhali Army were drawn from Chhetri noble families of Gorkha such as Pande family, Basnyat family and Thapa dynasty before the rule of the Rana dynasty. However, the first civilian army chief was Kaji Kalu Pande who had significant role in the campaign of Nepal. He was considered as an army head due to the undertaking of duties and responsibilities of the army but not by the formalization of the title.
caption: The king's palace on a hill in Gorkha
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