The time of the earlier Malla kings is not one of consolidation but is instead a period of upheaval in and around Nepal.

In the twelfth century, Muslim Turks set up a powerful kingdom in India at Delhi, and in the thirteenth century they expand their control over most of northern India.

During this process, all of the regional kingdoms in India undergo a major reshuffling and considerable fighting before they eventually fall under Delhi's control.

This process results in an increasing militarization of Nepal's neighbors and sections of Nepal as well.

For example, in western Nepal, around Dullu in the Jumla Valley, an alternative seat of political and military power grows up around a separate dynasty of Mallas (who are not related to the Mallas of the Kathmandu Valley), who reign until the fourteenth century.

These Khasa kings expand into parts of western Tibet and send raiding expeditions into the Kathmandu Valley between 1275 and 1335.

In 1312 the Khasa king, Ripumalla, visits Lumbini and had his own inscription carved on Ashoka's pillar.

He then enters the Kathmandu Valley to worship publicly at Matsyendranath, Pashupatinath, and Svayambhunath.

These acts are all public announcements of his overlordship in Nepal and signify the temporary breakdown of royal power within the valley.

At the same time, the rulers in Tirhut to the south lead raids into the valley until they are in turn overrun by agents of the Delhi Sultanate.

The worst blow comes in 1345-46, when Sultan Shams ud-din Ilyas of Bengal leads a major pillaging expedition into the Kathmandu Valley, resulting in the devastation of all major shrines.

In fact, none of the existing buildings in the valley proper date from before this raid.