Battle of Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur (alternative names: Khwopa Desa ख्वप देस, Bhadgaon) was one of the three capital cities in the Malla confederacy of Nepal, the other two being Kathmandu and Lalitpur. The eastern boundary of the kingdom of Bhaktapur extended to a distance of five-six days' journey to the east. The city contained 12,000 households.{{cite book |title= Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |first= Father |last= Giuseppe |publisher= Vernor and Hood |location= London|year= 1799|page=308 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307}}

The Gorkhalis desired the Kathmandu Valley due to its rich culture, trade, industry and agriculture.{{cite book |last= Raj |first= Yogesh|title= Expedition to Nepal Valley: The Journal of Captain Kinloch (August 26-October 17, 1767)|publisher= Jagadamba Prakashan | location= Kathmandu |year=2012|page=7|chapter=Introduction| isbn=9789937851800}} In 1736, the Gorkhali king Nara Bhupal Shah launched an attack on Nuwakot, a border town and fort in the northwest of the valley, and was roundly defeated.Northey, William Brook and Morris, Charles John (1928). The Gurkhas: Nepal-Their Manners, Customs and Country. Asian Educational Services. {{ISBN|9788120615779}}. Pages 30-31. His son Prithvi Narayan Shah became king in 1742 and resumed the campaign.{{cite book |title=Prithwinarayan Shah in the light of Dibya Upadesh |first=Ludwig F. |last= Stiller|publisher= Catholic Press|year= 1968|page= 39}}{{cite book |title= Nepal: Refugee to Ruler: A Militant Race of Nepal|first=Nagendra Kr |last= Singh|publisher= APH Publishing|year= 1997|isbn= 9788170248477|page=125 |access-date=December 6, 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aaog6bnQlNYC}}

As Shah knew he would not be able to take the valley by force, he decided to impose an embargo with a view to starve it. His forces occupied strategic passes in the surrounding hills, and strangled the vibrant trade between Tibet and India that passed through the valley. Blockade runners found with salt or cotton on them were hanged on the road.{{cite book |title= Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |first= Father |last= Giuseppe |publisher= Vernor and Hood |location= London|year= 1799|page=317 |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307}}

In 1744, the Gorkhalis took Nuwakot on the trans-Himalayan trade route.{{cite news|last= Shrestha|first= Sanyukta|title= Nepali history from new perspectives|url= http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=38665|access-date= 23 November 2012|newspaper= Republica|date= 27 July 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120805164223/http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=38665|archive-date= 5 August 2012|url-status= dead}} In 1762 and 1763, they overran Makwanpur and Dhulikhel respectively, surrounding the Kathmandu Valley from the west, south and east.{{cite book |last= Raj |first= Yogesh|title= Expedition to Nepal Valley: The Journal of Captain Kinloch (August 26-October 17, 1767)|publisher= Jagadamba Prakashan | location= Kathmandu |year=2012|page=5|chapter=Introduction| isbn=9789937851800}}

In a bid to cause a famine, Shah prevented any grain from passing into the valley, and blockade runners were hanged from the trees on the roads.{{cite book |title= Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |first= Father |last= Giuseppe |publisher= Vernor and Hood |location= London|year= 1799|page=317 |access-date=14 November 2013 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307}} The prolonged siege forced the king of Kathmandu to appeal to the British East India Company for help. In August 1767, Captain George Kinloch led a British force towards the valley to rescue its beleaguered inhabitants.{{cite book |last=Chatterji |first=Nandalal |title=Verelst's Rule in India |publisher=Indian Press |year=1939 |page=21 |chapter=The First English Expedition to Nepal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oW4BAAAAMAAJ |access-date=14 November 2013}} He reached within 75 km of Kathmandu and captured the forts at Sindhuli and Hariharpur, but was forced to retreat after supplies ran out and his troops mutinied.{{cite book |last= Raj |first= Yogesh|title= Expedition to Nepal Valley: The Journal of Captain Kinloch (August 26-October 17, 1767)|publisher= Jagadamba Prakashan | location= Kathmandu |year=2012|pages=13–14|chapter=Introduction| isbn=9789937851800}}{{cite news|last= Shrestha|first= Sanyukta|title= Nepali history from new perspectives|url= http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=38665|access-date= 14 November 2013|newspaper= Republica|date= 27 July 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234755/http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=38665|archive-date= 2 December 2013|url-status= dead}}

Wearing down the Newars with a continuous embargo and propaganda campaign, Shah captured Kirtipur, Kathmandu and Lalitpur in succession. He then marched upon Bhaktapur in 1769. The kings of Kathmandu and Lalitpur, Jaya Prakash Malla and Tej Narasingh Malla, had sought refuge in Bhaktapur after losing their kingdoms. The three kings joined forces to do battle with the Gorkhali army, but they were defeated, again due to betrayal by the nobles.

The soldiers of the treacherous nobles opened the city gates and let the Gorkhalis in. Shah's troops possessed muskets, in addition to swords and bows and arrows. There was fierce fighting in front of the palace, but the invaders finally broke through the gates.{{cite book |title= History of Nepal |first= Daniel |last= Wright |publisher= Asian Educational Services |location= New Delhi|year= 1990|page=255 |access-date=December 7, 2012 |url= https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOfNepal/HistoryOfNepaldanielWright#page/n39/mode/2up}}

According to the journal kept at the monastery of Jana Baha, Kathmandu, Shah's troops captured Bhaktapur on the night of November 25, 1769. They killed 2,001 people and set 501 houses on fire.{{cite book |title=Jana Baha Dyah ya Shanti Saphu (Ghatanavali) |first= Raja |last= Shakya |publisher= Premdharma Pithana |location= Kathmandu|year= 2005|isbn=99946-56-97-X|page=60 }}

Ranajit Malla was allowed to leave for Varanasi because of his age. Jaya Prakash died from a bullet wound while Tej Narasingh was kept in chains till his death.{{cite book |title= Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |first= Father |last= Giuseppe |publisher= Vernor and Hood |location= London|year= 1799|page=322 |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307}}

The conquest of Bhaktapur marked the end of the Malla dynasty and the rise of the Shah dynasty in Nepal. The Shahs' reign lasted until 2008 when the country became a republic.{{cite news|title= Nepal's Gorkha kingdom falls |url= http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-06-02/rest-of-world/27770497_1_narayanhity-dipendra-prithvi-narayan-shah |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130411033226/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-06-02/rest-of-world/27770497_1_narayanhity-dipendra-prithvi-narayan-shah |url-status= dead |archive-date= 11 April 2013 |access-date=11 February 2013|newspaper= The Times of India |date= 2 June 2008}}

King Ranajit Malla of Bhaktapur was so distressed that he was driven to compose a lament filled with regret at having trusted the Gorkhali king. According to eyewitnesses, Malla wept uncontrollably when he paused at the hilltop of Chandragiri on the valley rim for one last look at his former kingdom. From Chandragiri, the route descends south and exits the valley to continue on to India.{{cite news|last= Dhungel|first=Ramesh K. |title= Anguished Cry of a Defeated Ruler: A Raga Song Composed by Ranajit Malla |url= https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:i102tgni8nYJ:himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/contributions/pdf/CNAS_34_01_07.pdf+cry+of+an+anguished+ruler&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjrQkDc0dQoGNZbIJTVIzhlZSg-C9ZbEuvvuDLK2R78Qaiy3utDzrEILgumdmKQLmYhxIn-DOmbYmrgH0_NAkHp9XLjjn8DrTplTax_CJnhfv2yphDqW1hTmJiFGOfSMFA69Nqg&sig=AHIEtbRx36zDXqiVOmhoA2LyxHrn2cc1YA |access-date=22 February 2013|newspaper= Contributions to Nepalese Studies |date= January 2007}} Pages 95-102.

• Battle of Kathmandu
• Battle of Lalitpur
• Battle of Kirtipur

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Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur

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Category:1769 in Asia

Bhaktapur

Category:1769 in Nepal