born 1723?
died 1775
Founder of the modern state of Nepal.
A member of the ruling Shah family of Gurkha (Gorkha) principality, he conquered the three Malla kingdoms (see Malla era ) and consolidated them. After unifying Nepal, he annexed territory in northern India, as well as large portions of the Plateau of Tibet and of the valleys of the Inner Himalayas. He sealed Nepal's border and maintained peaceful but distant relations with the British.