kingdom · South Asia
Gorkha Kingdom
Origins
In 1559 Drabya Shah, a younger son of the ruler of the Kingdom of Lamjung, seized the hilltop village of Gorkha and founded a new principality among the Chaubise Rajya of central Nepal. His descendants, the Shah dynasty, slowly enlarged the kingdom and Ram Shah became known for codes of justice.
Rule and society
Gorkha was a poor but well-organised state whose kings relied on a militarised peasantry of Khas, Magar and Gurung soldiers. Prithvi Narayan Shah, who took the throne in 1743, blockaded the Kathmandu Valley's trade, took the Kingdom of Makwanpur in 1762 and Kirtipur in 1767, and armed his soldiers with muskets.
Decline and legacy
In 1768 Prithvi Narayan Shah captured Kathmandu, followed by Patan and Bhaktapur, and moved his capital there, creating the Kingdom of Nepal. Gorkha remained the dynasty's ancestral seat, and its name was given to the Gurkha soldiers.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (5)
- Kingdom of Makwanpur was conquered by Gorkha Kingdom1762 CE
- Kingdom of Kantipur was conquered by Gorkha Kingdom1768 CE
- Kingdom of Lalitpur was conquered by Gorkha Kingdom1768 CE
- Kingdom of Bhaktapur was conquered by Gorkha Kingdom1769 CE
- Kumaon Kingdom was conquered by Gorkha Kingdom1791 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Gorkha Kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/gorkha-kingdom
- MLA
- “Gorkha Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/gorkha-kingdom. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Gorkha Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/gorkha-kingdom.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Gorkha Kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/gorkha-kingdom (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻