A Midnight Royal Summons Ended Nepal's Monarchy in One Violent Night

The Untold Story

The Kot massacre took place on 14 September 1846 in Kathmandu Nepal following a royal summons.

Queen Rajya Laxmi Devi ordered court officials to assemble at the Hanuman Dhoka Kot armory after General Gagan Singh Bhandari was murdered.

Courtiers gathered at the Kot courtyard where troops loyal to Jung Bahadur controlled the entrances.

Between 30 and 40 officials including Prime Minister Chautariya Fateh Jung Shah were killed in the Kot massacre.

Jung Bahadur Kunwar became prime minister and founded the Rana dynasty following the Kot massacre. Subscribe for more hidden history.

Historical Discussion

In 1846, a single night in a Kathmandu courtyard changed Nepal’s government for over a century. Would you have survived the royal summons?

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What the Record Shows

5 sourced claims in this story, resting on 4 sources. Numbers link to the bibliography below.

• The Kot massacre took place on 14 September 1846 in Kathmandu Nepal following a royal summons - sources: 1, 3, 4
• Queen Rajya Laxmi Devi ordered court officials to assemble at the Hanuman Dhoka Kot armory after General Gagan Singh Bhandari was murdered - sources: 1, 3
• Courtiers gathered at the Kot courtyard where troops loyal to Jung Bahadur controlled the entrances - sources: 1, 3
• Between 30 and 40 officials including Prime Minister Chautariya Fateh Jung Shah were killed in the Kot massacre - sources: 1, 3
• Jung Bahadur Kunwar became prime minister and founded the Rana dynasty following the Kot massacre - sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Image Credits

• Scene 1: Portrait of Jung Bahadur Rana painted in 1849 by Bhajuman Chitrakar - Bhaujaman Citrakar (active 1849), Public domain (source)
• Scene 2: Oldfield painting 1850 Hanuman Dhoka Kathmandu - Henry Ambrose Oldfield, CC0 (source)
• Scene 3: Hanuman Dhoka palace courtyard Nasal Chowk Kathmandu - Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Scene 4: Historical illustration depicting the Kot massacre of 1846 - Saugatpoudel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Scene 5: King Rajendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev portrait painted in 1831 - Ratna Muni Shakya Bhikshu, Public domain (source)

Verified Archival Sources & Bibliography

Every claim in this account has been fact-checked against primary archives and scholarly repositories:

1. Wikipedia: Kot massacre (reference)
2. Wikipedia: Jung Bahadur Rana (reference)
3. Library of Congress Country Studies: Nepal and Bhutan (book)
4. Diplomacy of Jung Bahadur Rana: A Strategic Adaptation in 19th Century Nepal (book)

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