A short history of Sanothimi, Thimi and Bhaktapur

The Kathmandu Valley was once a lake. Geologists agree that a large lake filled the valley in the distant past, and legend agrees too: the bodhisattva Manjushri is said to have cut a gorge at Chobhar with his sword to drain it, making the land habitable. The rich lake-bed soil that remained is one reason the valley became one of the most fertile and densely settled places in the Himalaya.

Licchavi beginnings

The first well-documented rulers of the valley were the Licchavi kings, from roughly the 4th to the 9th centuries CE. They left stone inscriptions, sculptures and temples, and the pillar inscription of King Manadeva I at Changu Narayan, dated 464 CE, is the oldest dated record found in Nepal. Settlements existed in the area that is now Bhaktapur and Thimi during this period, though the towns we see today took shape later.

The Malla age

From about the 12th or 13th century the Malla dynasty rose to power. Tradition credits King Ananda Dev Malla with founding Bhaktapur as a planned city. For about three centuries Bhaktapur served as the capital of the whole valley. Under Yaksha Malla in the 15th century the kingdom reached its greatest extent; he is associated with the palace, Siddha Pokhari and the Dattatreya temple.

After Yaksha Malla's death in the late 15th century, the valley was divided among his heirs into three kingdoms: Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan (Lalitpur). For the next three hundred years these city-states competed in politics, war, trade and above all art. Kings tried to outdo one another in building temples, palaces and squares. This rivalry produced the three Durbar Squares that are now World Heritage sites.

Thimi, lying between Bhaktapur and Kathmandu, was usually part of the Bhaktapur kingdom and served as an important frontier town and market. Its people were farmers, potters and traders, and its festivals developed in close connection with those of Bhaktapur.

The golden age of Bhaktapur

The late 17th and early 18th centuries were Bhaktapur's golden age. King Jagat Prakash Malla built temples and wrote plays and poetry. King Bhupatindra Malla, who ruled around 1696 to 1722, built Nyatapola, enlarged the Bhairavnath temple and rebuilt the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows. The last king, Ranjit Malla, added the Golden Gate and the great bell.

The Gorkha conquest

In the mid-18th century Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of the small hill kingdom of Gorkha, set out to unify the many kingdoms of the Himalaya. After years of blockades and battles, he captured Kathmandu in 1768 and Patan soon after. Bhaktapur fell in 1769. Ranjit Malla was allowed to go into exile in Varanasi. The valley became the heart of the new Kingdom of Nepal, with Kathmandu as its capital, and Bhaktapur lost its royal status.

A town that kept its character

Ironically, losing its political importance helped Bhaktapur preserve its character. While Kathmandu grew and modernised rapidly in the 20th century, Bhaktapur remained a mostly agricultural Newar town, keeping its festivals, crafts and dense traditional architecture. Thimi likewise remained a town of farmers and potters.

The 1934 earthquake

On 15 January 1934 (Magh 2, 1990 BS) a massive earthquake struck Nepal and northern India. Bhaktapur was among the worst-hit places: many temples and houses collapsed and thousands died across the valley. Some temples in Durbar Square were never rebuilt, which is why the square has so many empty platforms today. Nyatapola, remarkably, survived.

Conservation and the Bhaktapur Development Project

In the 1970s the Bhaktapur Development Project, supported by West Germany, restored Pujari Math and many other buildings, paved streets, and improved drainage and water supply. It helped set standards for heritage conservation in Nepal. In 1979 the Kathmandu Valley, including Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Changu Narayan, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bhaktapur's municipality later introduced an entry fee for foreign visitors, using the revenue for conservation and services.

The road and Sanothimi

The Araniko Highway, completed in the 1960s with Chinese assistance, connected Kathmandu to the Tibetan border and passed right through the fields between Kathmandu and Thimi. Sanothimi grew along it. Government offices for education were established here, and from the 1990s the area urbanised rapidly as Kathmandu expanded. In 1997 (Chaitra 2053 BS) Madhyapur Thimi Municipality was formed, bringing together Thimi, Sanothimi, Bode, Nagadesh, Nikosera and surrounding villages.

The 2015 earthquake and rebuilding

On 25 April 2015 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Nepal, followed by powerful aftershocks. In Bhaktapur and Thimi many old houses collapsed and people lost their lives; Vatsala Durga and other temples fell. Communities, government, and national and international organisations worked for years to rebuild. The process was sometimes slow and contested — balancing safety, tradition and people's need for homes — but most major monuments have now been reconstructed.

Today

Today Sanothimi is a busy urban area, Thimi a living craft town and Bhaktapur a UNESCO city that is also home to tens of thousands of people. Their history is not only something in museums: it is present in every festival, every carved window and every clay pot drying in the sun.