While some western authors conjecture that the kukri was based on similar European weapons and brought to South Asia by Alexander the Great, researchers give it a much longer history tracing back to the domestic sickle and the prehistoric bent stick used for hunting and later in hand-to-hand combat [REF].
The kukri came to be known to the Western world when the East India Company came into conflict with the growing Gorkha Kingdom, culminating in the Gurkha War of 1814-1816.