The name “Nepal” first appears in texts from the Vedic period of ancient India, a time when Hinduism emerged as the main religion of the region. During the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, who founded Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Northern Nepal was culturally connected with Tibet, while the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal was influenced by Indo-Aryan culture and was the center of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The valley’s traders controlled the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road, leading to the development of unique traditional art and architecture in the region.