Malla era, Period of Nepal’s history when the Kathmandu Valley was ruled by the Malla dynasty (10th–18th century). The Malla ruler Jaya Sthiti (r. c. 1382–95) introduced a legal and social code strongly influenced by contemporary Hindu principles.

In the early 18th century one of Nepal’s independent principalities, Gurkha, began to challenge the Mallas, who were at that time weakened by familial dissension and social and economic discontent. They were overthrown by the Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1769.

During the Malla Era, Newar people have traditionally been noted as architects and artisans, the builders of the famous temples and shrines of Kāthmāndu. From the 10th to the 16th century painting and sculpture flourished among the Newar, along with crafts such as pottery making, paper production, wood carving, and metallurgy.