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{{Short description|Early-medieval kingdom of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal}}
{{About||the clan that lasted until the 3.5th century BCE|Licchavis of Vaishali}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox former country
| common_name = Licchavi
| conventional_long_name = Licchavis of Nepal
| image_map = {{South Asia in 600 CE|center||{{Annotation|172|80|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|42px]]}}||none}}
| image_map_caption = Fragmented South Asian polities circa 600 CE, after the retreat of the [[Alchon Huns]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=26,146 |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=063 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112181611/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=063 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| year_start = c. 450 CE
| year_end = c. 750 CE
| government_type = [[Monarchy]]
| capital =
| p1 = Soma dynasty
| p2 = Mahisapala dynasty
| p3 = Gopala Dynasty
| s1 = Thakuri dynasty
| s2 = Katyuri kings
| s3 = Khasa Kingdom
| s4 = Malla dynasty (Nepal){{!}}Malla dynasty
| today = [[Nepal]]
| image_coat = Amshuverma of Nepal.jpg
| coa_size = 290px
| symbol_type = Coinage of Licchavi king [[Amshuverma]] (605–621 CE). '''''Obverse''''': winged lion, with [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] legend ''[[Shri|Śri]] Amśurvarma'' "Lord Amshurvarma". '''''Reverse''''': Bull with Brahmi legend ''Kāmadēhi'' ("Incarnation of [[Kamadeva|Kāma]]").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Vincent Arthur |last2=Edwardes |first2=Stephen Meredyth |authorlink2=Stephen Edwardes |title=The early history of India : from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan conquest, including the invasion of Alexander the Great |date=1924 |publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press |page=Plate 2 |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofi00smit/page/76/mode/2up}}</ref>
}}

The '''Licchavis of Nepal''' ({{langx|ne|लिच्छवि}}, also ''Lichchhavi'', ''Lichavi'') ruled over a kingdom in the [[Kathmandu Valley]] of [[Nepal]] from approximately 450 to 750 CE. The Licchavi clan originated from a branch of the [[Licchavis of Vaishali]], who ruled in the territory of modern-day [[Bihar]] and who later conquered the Kathmandu Valley.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ch4YAAAAYAAJ&q=Licchavi+kingdom+of+Vai%C5%9B%C4%81li&pg=RA1-PA147 |title=Journal |date=1902 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaplan |first1=Robert B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dboOAtK3Nv4C&dq=licchavi+kingdom&pg=PA173 |title=Language Planning and Policy in Asia: Japan, Nepal, Taiwan and Chinese characters |last2=Baldauf |first2=Richard B. |date=2008 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-095-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=India) |first=Asiatic Society (Kolkata |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-DRAAAAMAAJ&dq=licchavi+kingdom&pg=PA147 |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1902 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal |language=en}}</ref> The Licchavis were ruled by a ''maharaja'', aided by a prime minister and other royal officials, but in practice local communities were controlled by [[caste panchayat|caste councils]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet: Nepal|page=32|publisher=Anoml Publications|year=2007|editor=Anil Kathuria}}</ref>

The ruling period of this dynasty was called the Golden Period of Nepal. A table of the evolution of certain Gupta characters used in Licchavi inscriptions prepared by Gautamavajra Vajrācārya can be found online.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/kailash/1_2_1.html |title=Gautamavajra Vajrācārya, "Recently Discovered Inscriptions of Licchavi Nepal", ''Kathmandu Kailash - Journal of Himalayan Studies.'' Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 117-134) |access-date=20 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927204420/http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/kailash/1_2_1.html |archive-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Records==
It is believed that a branch of the [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavi]] clan, having lost their political fortune and military power in [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]] ([[Bihar]]),<ref>{{Cite book |last=India) |first=Asiatic Society (Kolkata |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-DRAAAAMAAJ&dq=licchavi+kingdom&pg=PA147 |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1902 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal |language=en}}</ref> came to [[Kathmandu]] and intermarried with the family of the ruling Queen, Mandeva Shree Vogini of the [[Nagavanshi|Nagvanshi]] clan, thus beginning their rule in Nepal.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Virupaksha | url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_92-97_01.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406020633/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_92-97_01.pdf | archive-date=2012-04-06}}</ref> They also battled with local militias in [[Chyasal]] to gain control of Nepal.

The earliest known physical record of the kingdom is an inscription of [[Mānadeva]], which dates from 464. It mentions three preceding rulers, suggesting that the Licchavi dynasty began in the late 4th century.

==Government==
The Licchavis were ruled by a ''[[Maharaja]]'' ("great king"), who was aided by a prime minister, in charge of the military and of other ministers. Nobles, known as ''[[samanta]]'' influenced the court whilst simultaneously managing their own landholdings and militia. At one point, between approximately 605 and 641, a prime minister called [[Amshuverma]] assumed the throne.

The population provided land taxes and conscript labour (''vishti'') to support the government. Most local administration was performed by village heads or leading families. Many kings ruled but the popular ones were [[Manadeva]], [[Amshuverma]] etc.

==Economy==
The economy was agricultural, relying on [[rice]] and other grains as staples. Villages (''grama'') were grouped into ''dranga'' for administration. Lands were owned by the royal family and nobles. Trade was also very important, with many trading settlements.

==Geography==

===Domain===
Settlements already filled the entire valley during the Licchavi period. Further settlement extended east toward [[Banepa]], west toward [[Tistung Deurali]], and northwest toward present-day [[Prithbinarayan|Gorkha]].

==Rulers==
The following list was adapted from The Licchavi Kings, by Tamot & Alsop,<ref>[http://www.asianart.com/articles/jaya/kings.html Tamot, Kashinath and Alsop, Ian. "A Kushan-period Sculpture, The Licchavi Kings", Asianart.com]</ref> and is approximate only, especially with respect to dates.
[[File:Nepal30008.JPG|thumb|Copper coin of Jishnu Gupta (c. 622–633) of the Nepalese Licchavi Dynasty. Obverse. The inscription above the winged horse is ''Sri Jishnu Guptasya'']]
[[File:Nepal30009.JPG|thumb|Copper coin of Jishnu Gupta (c. 622–633) of the Nepalese Licchavi Dynasty. Reverse]]
*185 Jayavarmā (also ''Jayadeva I'')
*Vasurāja (also ''Vasudatta Varmā'')
*c. 400 [[Vrsadeva|Vṛṣadeva]] (also ''Vishvadeva'')
*c. 425 Shaṅkaradeva I
*c. 450 Dharmadeva
*464-505 [[Mānadeva]] I
*505-506 Mahīdeva (few sources)
*506-532 Vasantadeva
*Manudeva (probable chronology)
*538 Vāmanadeva (also ''Vardhamānadeva'')
*545 Rāmadeva
*Amaradeva
*Guṇakāmadeva
*560-565 Gaṇadeva
*567-c. 590 Bhaumagupta (also ''Bhūmigupta'', probably not a king)
*567-573 Gaṅgādeva
*575/576 Mānadeva II (few sources)
*590-604 [[Shivadeva I]]
*605-621 [[Amshuvarma|Aṃshuvarmā]]
*621 Udayadeva
*624-625 Dhruvadeva
*631-633 Bhīmārjunadeva, Jiṣṇugupta
*635 Viṣṇugupta - Jiṣṇugupta
*640-641 Bhīmārjunadeva / Viṣṇugupta
*643-679 [[Narendradeva]]
*694-705 [[Shivadeva II]]
*713-733 [[Jayadeva II]]
*748-749 Shaṅkaradeva II
*756 Mānadeva III
*826 Balirāja
*847 Baladeva
*875–879 Mandeva IV<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shrestha|first=Nanda R.|title=Historical dictionary of Nepal|date=2003|publisher=Scarecrow Press|others=Keshav Bhattarai|isbn=0-8108-4797-3|location=Lanham, Md.|oclc=51931102}}</ref>

==See also==
{{HistoryofNepal}}
*[[History of Nepal]]
*[[Nepal]]
*[[Mahajanapadas]]
*[[Vaishali (ancient city)]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |author=Ashvini Agrawal |title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRjC5IaJ2zcC&pg=PA315 |year=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0592-7}}
* {{cite book |author=R. C. Majumdar |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=A Comprehensive History of India |volume=3, Part I: A.D. 300-985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRBuAAAAMAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |oclc=34008529 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.asianart.com/articles/jaya/kings.html Tamot, Kashinath and Alsop, Ian. "A Kushan-period Sculpture, The Licchavi Kings", Asianart.com]
* [http://www.thamel.com/htms/history.htm ''History of Nepal,'' Thamel.com]
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+np0015) "Nepal: The Early Kingdom of the Licchavis, 400–750", Library of Congress Countryreports.org (September, 1991)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080927204420/http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/kailash/1_2_1.html Vajrācārya, Gautamavajra, "Recently Discovered Inscriptions of Licchavi, Nepal", ''Kailash – Journal of Himalayan Studies,'' Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 117–134)]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Licchavi kingdom| ]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 5th century]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 8th century]]
[[Category:Dynasties of Nepal]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Nepal]]
[[Category:8th-century disestablishments in Nepal]]
[[Category:4th-century establishments in Nepal]]

Licchavis of Nepal - Revision history

CarmenCarey59 at 16:15, 1 January 2026