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Tibet is situated between the two ancient Civilizations of China and India , but the tangled mountain ranges the Tibetan Plateau and the towering Himalayas serve to distance it from both. The Tibetan Language is a member of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Tibetan history is characterized by a special dedication to the Buddhist religion, both in the eyes of its own people as well as for the Mongol and Manchu peoples. Tibet is nicknamed "the roof of the world" or "the land of snows". PREHISTORY Chinese and "proto-Tibeto-Burman" may have split sometime before 4000 BC, when the Chinese began growing millet in the Yellow River valley while the Tibeto-Burmans remained nomads. Tibetan split from Burman around AD 500.Van Driem, George "Tibeto-Burman Phylogeny and Prehistory: Languages, Material Culture and Genes".Bellwood, Peter & Renfrew, Colin (eds) ''Examining the farming/language dispersal hypothesis'' (2003), Ch 19.. Prehistoric Iron Age Hill Forts and burial complexes have recently been found on the Chang Tang plateau but the remoteness of the location is hampering archaeological research. The initial identification of this culture is as the Zhang Zhung Culture which is described in ancient Tibetan texts and is known as the original culture of the Bön religion. MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGINS The first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsanpo (), is supposed to have descended from the sky, or immigrated to Tibet from India. Because of his strange physical features such as having webbed hands, and eyes which close from below, he is supposed to have been greeted by the locals as a god. The king remained connected to the heavens with a rope and rather than dying ascended the same rope again. The legendary King Drigum Tsenpo (''Dri-gum-brtsan-po'') provoked his groom ''Longam'' (''Lo-ngam'') to fight with him, and during the fight the King's heaven-cord was cut, he was also killed. Drigum Tsenpo and subsequent kings left corpses and were buried.Haarh, ''The Yarluṅ Dynasty''. Copenhagen: 1969. In a later myth, first attested in the Maṇi bka' 'bum the Tibetan people are the progeny of the union of a monkey and rock ogress. The Monkey in fact a manifestation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Tib. ''Spyan-ras-gzigs'') and the ogress in fact the goddess Tara (Tib. '' THE TIBETAN EMPIRE A series of Emperors ruled Tibet from the 7th to the 11th century. At times Tibetan rule extended as far south as Bengal and as far north as Mongolia . First appearance in history Tibet first enters history in the '' Geography Of Ptolemy '' under the name ''batai'' (βαται), a Greek transcription of the indigenous name ''Bod''. Tibet next appears in history in a Chinese text where it is referred to as ''fa''. The first incident from recorded Tibetan history which is confirmed externally occurred when King Namri Löntsän (''Gnam-ri-slon-rtsan'') sent an ambassador to China in the early 7th century.Beckwith, ''C. Uni. of Indiana Diss.'', 1977 Founding of the dynasty Tibet began at the castle named Taktsé (''Stag-rtse'') in the Chingba (''Phying-ba'') district of Chonggyä (''Phyongs-rgyas''). There, According to the ''Old Tibetan Chronicle''
The group prevailed against Zing-po-rje. At this point Namri Löntsän was the leader of a fledgling state that would become the Tibetan Empire. The government of Namri Löntsän sent two embassies to China in 608 and 609, marking the appearance of Tibet on the international scene.Beckwith, Christopher I. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages,'' 1987, Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3, p. 17. The reign of Songtsän Gampo died by poisoning, circa 618,Beckwith, Christopher I. 1987. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3, pp. 19-20 (OTC, vi). Songtsän Gampo took control after putting down a brief rebellion. ]] Songtsän Gampo proved adept at diplomacy as well as on the field. The emperor's minister Myang Mangpoje () defeated Sumpa ca. 627.''Old Tibetan Annals'', hereafter OTA l. 2 Six years later (c. 632-3) Myang Mangpoje was accused of treason and executedOTA l. 4-5Richardson, Hugh E. (1965). "How Old was Srong Brtsan Sgampo," ''Bulletin of Tibetology'' 2.1. pp. 5-8.OTA l. 8-10 He was succeeded by minister Gar Songtsän (''Mgar-srong-rtsan'').
Circa 639, after Songtsän Gampo had a dispute with his younger brother Tsänsong (''Brtsan-srong''), the younger brother was burnt to death by his own minister Khäsreg (''Mkha’s sregs'') (presumably at the behest of his older brother the emperor).Richardson, Hugh E. (1965). "How Old was Srong Brtsan Sgampo," ''Bulletin of Tibetology'' 2.1. pp. 5-8.OTA l. 8-10 The Chinese princess Wencheng ( Tibetan ''Mung-chang Kung-co'') departed China in 640 to marry Songtsän Gampo, she arrived a year later. Peace between China and Tibet prevailed for the remainder of Songtsän Gampo's reign. Songtsän Gampo’s sister Sämakar (''Sad-mar-kar'') was sent to marry Lig-myi-rhya the king of Zhang Zhung . However, when the king refused to consummate the marriage, she then helped her brother to defeat Lig myi-rhya and incorporate Zhang Zhung into the Tibetan Empire. In 645, Songtsän Gampo overran the kingdom of Zhang Zhung in what is now Western Tibet. Songtsän Gampo died in 650, he was succeeded by his infant grandson Trimang Lön (''Khri-mang-slon''). Real power was left in the hands of the minister Gar Songtsän. The reign of Trimang Löntsän (650-677) The minister Gar Songtsän died in 667, after having incorporated Azha into Tibetan territory. Between 665-670 Kotan was defeated by the Tibetans. Emperor Trimang Löntsen (''Khri-mang-slon-rtsan'') married Thrimalö (''Khri-ma-lod''), a woman who would be of great importance in Tibetan history. The emperor died in the winter of 676-677, and Zhang Zhung revolts thereafter. In the same year the emperor's son, Tridu Songtsän (''Khri-'dus-srong-rtsan''), was born.Beckwith, Christopher I. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages,'' 1987, Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3, p. 14, 48, 50. The reign of Tridu Songtsän (677-704) Emperor Tridu Songtsän ruled in the shadow of his powerful mother Thrimalö on the one hand and the influential Gar (''Mgar'') clan on the other hand. In 685, the minister, Gar Tännyädombu (''Mgar Bstan-snyas-ldom-bu'') died and his brother, Gar Thridringtsändrö (''Mgar Khri-‘bring-btsan brod'') was appointed to replace him.Beckwith 1987: 50 In 692, the Tibetans lost the Tarim Basin to the Chinese. Gar Thridringtsändrö defeated the Chinese in battle in 696, and sued for peace. Two years later in 698 emperor Tridu Songtsän invited the Gar clan (over 2000 people) to a hunting party and had them executed. Gar Thridringtsändrö then committed suicide, and his troops loyal to him joined the Chinese. This brought to end the power of the Gar family.Beckwith, Christopher I. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages,'' 1987, Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3, p. 14, 48, 50 From 700 until his death the emperor remained on campaign in the north-east, absent from Central Tibet, while his mother Thrimalö administrated in his name.Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in 704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087. In 702 China and Tibet concluded peace. At the end of that year, the Tibetan imperial government turned to consolidating the administrative organization () of the northeastern Sumru () area, which had been the Sumpa country conquered 75 years earlier. Sumru was organized as a new "horn" of the empire. During the summer of 703 , Tridu Songtsän resided at Öljag (''‘Ol-byag'') in Ling (''Gling''), which was on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River , before proceeding with an invasion of Jang (''‘Jang''). In 704 , he stayed briefly at Yoti Chuzang (''Yo-ti Chu-bzangs'') in Madrom (''Rma-sgrom'') on the Yellow River . He then invaded Mywa but died during the prosecution of that campaign.Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in 704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087. The reign of Tride Tsuktsän (704-754) Gyältsugru (), later to become King Tride Tsuktsän (''Khri-lde-gtsug-brtsan''), was born in 704 . Upon the death of Tridu Songtsen, his wife Thrimalö ruled as regent for the infant Gyältsugru.Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in 704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087. The following year the elder son of Tridu Songtsen, by the name of Lha Balpo (''Lha Bal-pho'') contested the succession of his one-year-old brother but, at Pong Lag-rang, Lha Balpo was "deposed from the throne" (རྒྱལ་ས་ནས་ཕབ་).Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in 704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087. Thrimalö had arranged for a royal marriage to a Chinese princess. The Princess Jincheng (金成) arrived in 710 , but it is somewhat unclear whether she married the seven year old GyältsugruYamaguchi 1996: 232 or the deposed Lha Balpo.Beckwith 1983: 276. Gyältsugru was officially enthroned with the royal name Tride Tsuktsän in 712 ,Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in 704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087. the same year that dowager emperess Thrimalö died. The Arabs and Turgis became increasingly prominent during 710 - 720 . The Tibetans were allied with the Arabs and eastern Turks. Tibet and China fought on and off in the late 720 s. At first Tibet (with Turgis allies) had the upper hand, but then started losing battles. After a rebellion in southern China, and a major Tibetan victory in 730 , the Tibetans and Turgis sued for peace. In 734 the Tibetans married their princess Dronmalön (''‘Dron ma lon'') to the Turgis Qaghan. The Chinese allied with the Arabs to attack the Turgis. After victory and peace with the Turgis, the Chinese attacked Tibet by surprise. The Tibetans suffered several defeats in the east, despite strength in the west. The Turgis empire collapsed from internal strife. In 737, the Tibetans launched an attack against the king of Bru-za ( Gilgit ), who asked for Chinese help, but was ultimately forced to pay homage to Tibet. In 747, the hold of Tibet was loosened by the campaign of general Gao Xianzhi , who tried to re-open the direct communications between Central Asia and Kashmir. By 750 the Tibetans had lost almost all of their central Asian colonial possessions to the Chinese. However, after Gao Xianzhi's defeat against the Qarluqs and Arabs on the Talas river (751), Chinese influence decrease rapidly and Tibetan influence resumed. In 755 Tride Tsuktsän was killed by the ministers Lang and Bal. Then Tagdra Lukong (''Stag-sgra Klu-khong'') presented evidence to prince Song Detsän (''Srong-lde-brtsan'') that "they were disloyal, were causing dissension in the country, and were about to injure him also. … Subsequently, Lang and ‘Bal really did revolt, they were killed by the army, their property was confiscated, and Klu khong was, one assumes, richly rewarded."Beckwith 1983: 273 The reign of Trisong Detsän (756-797) In 756, Prince Song Detsän was crowned Emperor with the name Trisong Detsän ( Wylie ''Khri sron lde brtsan'') and took control of the government after a one-year interregnum during which there was no emperor. In 755 China had been greatly weakened by internal rebellion, which would last until 763. In contrast, Trisong Detsän's reign was characterized by the reassertion of Tibetan influence in Central Asia and against China. Early in his reign regions to the West of Tibet paid homage to the Tibetan court. From that time onward the Tibetans pressed into the territory of the Tang emperors, reaching the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xian ) by 763/764. Tibetan troops occupied Chang'an for fifteen days and installed a puppet emperor while Emperor Daizong Of Tang was in Luoyang . In the meantime, the Kyrgyz negotiated an agreement of friendship with Tibet and other powers to allow free trade in the region. An attempt at a peace treaty between Tibet and China was made in 787, but hostilities were to last until the Sino-Tibetan treaty of 821 was inscribed in Lhasa in 823 (see below). At the same time, the Uyghurs , nominal allies of the Tang emperors, continued to make difficulties along Tibet's Northern border. Toward the end of this king's reign, in fact, Uyghur victories in the North caused the Tibetans to lose a number of their allies in the Southeast.Beckwith 1987: 144-157. Recent historical research indicates the presence of Christianity In Tibet in as early as the sixth and seventh centuries, a period when the White Huns had extensive links with the Tibetans.Palmer, Martin, ''The Jesus Sutras,'' Mackays Limited, Chatham, Kent, Great Britain, 2001) A strong presence existed by the eighth century when Patriarch Timothy I (727-823) in 782 calls the Tibetans one of the more significant communities of the eastern church and wrote of the need to appoint another bishop in ca. 794.Hunter, Erica, "The Church of the East in Central Asia," ''Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester'', 78, no.3 (1996) The reign of Mune Tsänpo (797-799) The reign of Mune Tsenpo ( Wylie ''Mu ne btsanpo'') is scantily recorded. The reign of Tride Songtsän (799-815) Under Tride Songtsän (Khri lde srong brtsan) there was a protracted war with Arab powers to the West. Early on it appears that Tibetans captured a number of Arab troops and pressed them into service on the Eastern frontier in 801. Tibetans were active as far West as Samarkand and Kabul . Arab forces began to gain the upper hand, and indeed, the Tibetan governor of Kabul submitted to the Arabs and became a Muslim about 812 or 815. The Arabs then struck East from Kashmir , but were held off by the Tibetans. In the meantime, the Uyghurs attacked Tibet from the Northeast. Strife between the Uyghurs and Tibetans continued for some time.Beckwith 1987: 157-165 The reign of Ralpacan (815-838) The reign of Ralpacan ( temple in Lhasa.''A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions''. H. E. Richardson. Royal Asiatic Society (1985), pp. 106-143. ISBN 0-94759300/4. The reign of Langdarma (838-842) The reign of Langdarma ( Wylie ''Glang dar ma'', whose regal title was in fact Tri Uidumtsaen ''Khri 'U'i dum brtsan'' was plagued by external troubles. The Uyghur state to the North collapsed under pressure from the Kyrgyz in 840, and many displaced persons fled to Tibet. Langdarma himself was assassinated, apparently by a Buddhist hermit, in 842.Beckwith, Christopher I. 1987. ''The Tibetan empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages''. Princeton University Press, pp. 168-169. ISBN 0-691-02469-3.Shakabpa, p. 54. TIBET DIVIDED Upon the death of Langdarma, there was a controversy over whether he would be succeeded by his alleged postumous heir Yumtän (Wylie: Yum brtan), or by another postumous son (or nephew) Ösung (Wylie: 'Od-srung) (either 843-905 or 847-885). A civil war ensued which effectively ended centralized Tibetan administration until the Sa-skya period. Ösung's allies managed to keep control of Lhasa, but Yumtän was forced to go to Yalung where he established a separate line of kings. Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa, ''Tibet, a Political Hstory'' (New Haven: Yale, 1967), 53. In 910 the tombs of the emperors were defiled. The son of Ösung was Pälkhortsän (Wylie: Dpal 'khor brtsan) (either 893-923 or 865-895). The latter apparently maintained control over much of central Tibet for a time and sired two sons Trashi Tsentsän (Wylie: Bkra shis brtsen brtsan) and Thrikhyiding (Wylie: Khri khyi lding, also called Kyide Nyigön Skyid lde nyi ma mgon in some sources). Thrikhyiding emigrated to the western Tibetan region of upper Ngari (Wylie: Stod Mnga ris) and married a woman of high central Tibetan nobility, with whom he founded a local dynasty. Petech, L. The Kingdom of Ladakh. (Serie Orientale Roma 51) Rome: Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1977: 14-16 After the break-up of the Tibetan empire in 842, Nyima-Gon, a representative of the ancient Tibetan royal house founded the first Ladakh dynasty. Nyima-Gon's kingdom had its centre well to the east of present-day Ladakh. Kyide Nyigön's eldest son became ruler of the Mar-yul ( Ladakh ) region, and his two younger sons ruled western Tibet, founding the Kingdom of Guge and Pu-hrang. At a later period the king of Guge's eldest son Kor-re, also called Jangchub Yeshe Ö (Byang Chub Ye shes' Od), became a Buddhist monk. He sent young scholars to Kashmir for training and was responsible for inviting Atisha to Tibet in 1040, and thus ushering in the so called Chidar (Phyi dar) phase of Buddhism in Tibet. The younger son, Srong-nge, administered day-to-day governmental affairs; it was his sons who carried on the royal line. Hoffman, Helmut, "Early and Medieval Tibet", in Sinor, David, ed., ''Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 388, 394. Shakabpa, 56. Central rule was largely nonexistent over the Tibetan region from 842 to 1247, yet Buddhism survived surreptitiously in the region of Kham . Durhing the reign of Langdarma three monks had escaped from the troubled region of Lhasa to the region of Mt. Dantig in Amdo . Their disciple Muzu Saelbar (Mu-zu gSal-'bar), later known as the scholar Gongpa Rabsal (Dgongs-pa rab-gsal) (832-915), was responsible for the renewal of Buddhism in Northeastern Tibet and is counted as the progenitor of the Nyingma (Rnying ma pa) school of Tibetan Buddhism. Meanwhile, according to tradition, one of Ösung's descendants, who had an estate near Samye sent ten young men to be trained by Gongpa Rabsal. Among the ten was Lume Sherab Tshulthrim (Klu-mes Shes-rab Tshul-khrims) (950-1015). Once trained, the young men were ordained to go back into the central Tibetan regions of U and Tsang. The young scholars were able to link up with Atisha shortly after 1042 and advance the spread and organization of Buddhism in Lhokha . In that region the faith eventually coalesced again with the foundation of the Sakya Monastery in 1073.Grunfeld, A. Tom, ''The Making of Modern Tibet'', 1996, p37-38. Hoffman, 393. Shakabpa, 54-55. Over the next two centuries Sakya monastery grew to a position of prominence in Tibetan life and culture. The Tsurpu monastery, home of the Karmapa sect of Buddhism, was founded in 1155. THE MONGOLS AND THE SAKYA SCHOOL (1236-1354) Tibetans learned in 1207 that Genghis Khan was conquering the Tangut empire. The first documented contact between the Tibetans and the Mongols occurred when Genghis Khan met Tsangpa Dunkhurwa (Gtsang pa Dung khur ba) and six of his disciples, probably in the Tangut empire in 1215. Petech, L. Central Tibet and The Mongols. (Serie Orientale Roma 65). Rome: Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente 1990: 6. Shakabpa, 61. After the Mongol Prince Köden took control of the Kokonor region in 1239, in order to investigate the possibility of attacking Song China from the West, he sent his general Doorda Darqan on a reconnaissance mission into Tibet in 1240. During this expedition the Kadampa monasteries of Rwa-sgreng and Rgyal-lha-khang were burned, and 500 people killed. The death of Ögödei the Mongol Qaghan in 1241 brought Mongol military activity around the world temporarily to a halt. Mongol interests in Tibet resumed in 1244 when Prince Köden sent an invitation to Sakya Paṇḍita, the leader of the Sakya sect, to come to his capital and formally surrender Tibet to the Mongols. Sakya Paṇḍita arrived in Kokonor with his two nephews Drogön Chögyal Phagpa ('' When Möngke became Qaghan in 1251, he assigned the various districts of Tibet as appanages to his relatives. Kublai Khan was appointed by Möngke Khan to take charge over the Chinese campaigns in 1253. Since Sakya Paṇḍita had already died by this time Kublai took Drogön Chögyal Phagpa into his camp as a symbol of Tibet's surrender. Kublai was elected Qaghan in 1260 following the death of his brother Möngke, although his ascendance was not uncontested. At that point he named Drogön Chögyal Phagpa 'state preceptor'. In 1265 Drogön Chögyal Phagpa returned to Tibet and for the first time made an attempt to impose Sakya hegemony with the appointment of Shakya Bzang-po (a long time servant and ally of the Sakyas) as the Dpon-chen ('great administrator') over Tibet in 1267. A census was conducted in 1268 and Tibet was divided into 13 myriarchies. In 1269 Drogön Chögyal Phagpa returned to Kublai's side at his new capital Khanbaliq (modern day Beijing). He presented the Qaghan with a new script designed to represent all of the languages of the empire. The next year he was named ''Dishi'' ('imperial preceptor'), and his position as ruler of Tibet (now in the form of its thirteen myriarchies) was reconfirmed. The Sakya hegemony over Tibet continued into the middle of the 14th century, although it was challenged by a revolt of the Drikung Kagyu sect with the assistance of Hülegü Khan of the Ilkhanate in 1285. The revolt was suppressed in 1290 when the Sa-skyas and eastern Mongols burned Drikung Monastery and killed 10,000 people.Wylie, Turnell V. (1977) "The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet Reinterpreted," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 37.1: 103-133. RISE OF THE PHAGMODRU (1354-1434) The Phagmodru (Phag mo gru) myriarchy centered at Neudong (Sne'u gdong) was granted as an appanage to Hülegü in 1251. The area had already been associated with the Lang (Rlang) family, and with the waining of Ilkhanate influence it was ruled by this family within the Mongol-Sakya framework headed by the Mongol appointed Pönchen (Dpon chen) at Sakya. The areas under Lang administration were continually encroached upon during the late 13 and early 14 centuries. Janchub Gyaltsän (Byang chub rgyal mtshan, 1302-1364) saw these encroachments as illegal and sought the restoration of Phagmodru lands after his appointment as the Myriarch in 1322. After prolonged legal struggles the struggle became violent when Phagmodru was attacked by its neighbours in 1346. Jangchub Gyaltsän was arrested and released in 1347. When he latter refused to appear for trial, his domains were attacked by the Pönchen in 1348. Janchung Gyaltsän was able to defend Phagmodru, and continued to have military successes until by 1351 he was the strongest political figure in the country. Military hositlities ended in 1354 with Jangchub Gyaltsän as the unquestioned victor. He continued to rule central Tibet until his death in 1364, although he left all Mongol institutions in place as hollow formalities. Power remained in the hands of the Phagmodru family until 1434. Petech, L. Central Tibet and The Mongols. (Serie Orientale Roma 65). Rome: Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente 1990: 85-143 RISE OF THE GELUK SCHOOL - 1682 ) was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political power over central Tibet. The 5th Dalai Lama is known for unifying Tibet under the control of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism , after defeating the rival Kagyu and Jonang sects and the secular ruler, the prince of Shang, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from Gushi Khan , a powerful Oirat military leader. The Jonang monasteries were either closed or forcibly converted, and that school remained in hiding until the latter part of the 20th Century . In 1652 the Fifth Dalai Lama visited the Manchu emperor, Shunzhi . He was not required to kowtow and received a seal. The fifth Dalai lama initiated the construction of the Potala Palace in Lhasa , and moved the centre of government there from Drepung . The death of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1680 was kept hidden for 15 years by his assistant, confidant, and possibly son Desi Sangay Gyatso (''De-srid Sangs-rgyas Rgya-'mtsho''). The Dalai Lamas remained Tibet's titular heads of state until 1959 . During the rule of the Great Fifth, the first Europeans visited Tibet. Two . Other Christian missionaries spent time in Tibet, with equal lack of success, until all were expelled in 1745 . In the late 17th century, Tibet entered into a dispute with Bhutan , which was supported by Ladakh . This resulted in an invasion of Ladakh by Tibet. Kashmir i help restored Ladakhi rule on the condition of that a mosque be built in Leh and that the Ladakhi king convert to Islam . The Treaty of Temisgam in 1684 settled the dispute between Tibet and Ladakh, but its independence was severely restricted. 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES See Also: History of European exploration in Tibet The Sixth Dalai Lama enjoyed a lifestyle that included drinking, the company of women, and writing love songs. Declaring him to be unworthy as a monk, Mongol leader Lha-bzang Khan invaded Tibet with the approval of China's Kangxi emperor in 1705. The Dalai Lama died soon afterwards, probably killed by some one. Tibetans angrily rejected the spurious Dalai Lama candidate Lha-bzang brought with him and turned to the Dzungar (or Oyrat) Mongols for relief. The Dzungars defeated and killed Lha-bzang, but then proceeded to sack Lhasa and loot the tomb of the fifth Dalai Lama. They stayed until a Chinese expedition expelled them in 1720. The Chinese were hailed as liberators and patrons of Kelzang Gyatso, who they installed as the seventh Dalai Lama. Following the Qing withdrawal from central Tibet in 1723, there was a period of civil war. Amdo, meanwhile, was declared a Chinese territory under the name Koko Nor (blue lake). (This became the province of Qinghai in 1929.) China began posting two high commissioners, or Amban s, to Lhasa in 1727. Pro-Chinese historians argue that the ambans' presence was an expression of Chinese sovereignty, while those favouring Tibetan claims tend to equate the ambans with ambassadors. "The relationship between Tibet and (Qing) China was that of priest and patron and was not based on the subordination of one to the other," according to the 13th Dalai Lama. "Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIII (1913)" Pho-lha-nas ruled Tibet with Chinese support in 1728-47. He moved the Dalai Lama from Lhasa to Litang to make it more difficult for him to influence the government. After Pho-lha-nas died, his son ruled until he was killed by the ambans in 1750 . This provoked riots during which the ambans were killed. A Chinese army entered the country and restored order. In 1751, the Qianlong emperor issued a 13-point decree which abolished the position of regent (''desi''), put the Tibetan government in the hands of a four-man ''kashag,'' or council of ministers, and gave the ambans formal powers. The Dalai Lama moved back to Lhasa to preside over the new government. In 1788 the Gurkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah invaded Tibet. Unable to defeat the Gurkhas alone, the Tibetans called upon reinforcements from the Chinese Qing Dynasty . The Qing-Tibetan army defeated the Gurkhas. The Qianlong emperor was disappointed with the results of his 1751 decree and the performance the ambans. "Tibetan local affairs were left to the willful actions of the Dalai Lama and the shapes members ," he said. "The Commissioners were not only unable to take charge, they were also kept uninformed. This reduced the post of the Residential Commissioner in Tibet to name only." Wang Lixiong , "Reflections on Tibet" , ''New Left Review'' 14, March-April 2002 In 1792, the emperor issued a 29-point decree which appeared to tighten Chinese control over Tibet. It strengthened the powers of the ambans, who were in theory put on a par with the Dalai and Panchen Lamas and given authority over financial, diplomatic and trade affairs. It also outlined a new method to select both the Dalai and Panchen Lama by means of a lottery administered by the ambans in Lhasa. In this lottery the names of the competing candidates were written on folded slips of paper which were placed in a golden urn.Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State'', Berkeley, 1989, p44, n13 The tenth, eleventh and twelfth Dalai Lamas were selected by the golden urn method.W.D. Shakabpa's "''Tibet: A Political History''"(1967) claimed that the tenth Dalai Lama was not selected by the mean of the lottery. J. Wang and Nyima Gyaincain, however, provided totally different accounts in "Historical Status of China's Tibet"(1997) controverting Shakabpa's statement . According to Shakabpa, the twelfth Dalai Lama was selected by the Tibetan method but was confirmed by the mean of the lottery. See Smith, Warren, "''Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations''", p140, n59 The ninth, thirteen, and fourteenth Dalai Lamas, however, were selected by the previous incarnation's entourage, or ''labrang,'' with the selection being approved after the fact by Beijing. The British forced the Tibetans to withdraw from Nepal. In the 19th Century , the power of the Qing government declined. As Chinese soldiers posted to Lhasa began to neglect their military duties, the ambans lost influence. After the invasion of Tibet by General Zorawar Singh wars were fought with the Indian Kingdom of Jammu and were concluded with peace treaties at Ladakh in 1841 with Maharaja Gulab Singh . "Ladakhi Letter of Agreement (1842)" and Nepal in 1856 "Treaty Between Tibet and Nepal (1856)" without the involvement of Beijing. According to Chinese source, Nepal was a tributary state to China from 1788 to 1908.Jiawei Wang, The Historical Status of China's Tibet PP239-240 Chinese government claimed that in the 1856 treaty, both Nepal and Tibet claimed to be allegiance to China.Treaty between Nepal and Tibet, 1856 The 1856 treaty provided for a Nepalese mission in Lhasa which later allowed Nepal to claim a diplomatic relationship with Tibet in its application for United Nations membership in 1949.Walt van Praag, Michael C. van. ''The Status of Tibet: History, Rights and Prospects in International Law'', Boulder, 1987, pp. 139-40 BRITISH INTERVENTION AND OCCUPATION Main article: '' British Expedition To Tibet '' The authorities in ", a period rivalry between Russia and Britain, the British desired a representative in Lhasa to monitor and offset Russian influence. In 1904 , they sent an Indian military force under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Younghusband , which, after some fighting, occupied Lhasa. In response, the Chinese foreign ministry asserted that China was sovereign over Tibet, the first clear statement of such a claim.Walt van Praag, Michael C. van. ''The Status of Tibet: History, Rights and Prospects in International Law'', Boulder, 1987, p. 37. When the British mission reached Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had already fled to Urga in Mongolia , Younghusband found the option of returning to India empty-handed untenable, he proceeded to draft a treaty unilaterally, and have it signed in the Potala by the regent, Ganden Tri Rinpoche, and any other Tibetan officials he could gather together as an ''ad hoc'' government. The Tibetan ministers whom Younghusband dealt with had apparently, unknown to him, just been appointed to their posts. The regular ministers had been imprisoned for suspected pro-British leanings and it was feared they would be too accommodating to Younghusband.Grunfeld, A. Tom, ''The Making of Modern Tibet.'' ISBN 1-56324-713-5, p57 A Treaty was concluded which required Tibet to open its border with British India, to allow British and Indian traders to travel freely, not to impose Customs Duties on trade with India, a demand from British that Lhasa had to pay 2.5 million rupees as indemnity and not to enter into relations with any foreign power without British approval. Convention Between Great Britain and Thibet (1904) The Anglo-Tibetan treaty was accordingly confirmed by a Sino-British treaty in is a nation which has certain authority over a dependency. both nations "engage not to enter into negotiations with Thibet except through the intermediary of the Chinese Government." In 1910 , the Qing government sent a military expedition of its own to establish direct Chinese rule and deposed the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict. The Dalai Lama once again fled, this time to India. "By going in and then coming out again, we knocked the Tibetans down and left them for the first comer to kick," wrote Charles Albert Bell , a British diplomatic officer stationed in Sikkim and a Critic of the Liberal government's policy. CHINESE MILITARY EXPELLED Following a in 1913 recognizing each other's independence; however there is no way to verify the existence of such document.There was not, at the time, nor has there been since, any official publication of the treaty's text by either party. Moreover, a Tibetan official pointed out years later that " [was no need for a treaty, we would always help each other if we could." Bell, Charles, ''Tibet and Her Neighbours'', 1937, pp. 435-436; For the English text, please see Michael C. Van Praag, ''The Status of Tibet'', pp. 320-321. According to his British advisor Charles Bell, the 13th Dalai Lama denied the existence of such a treaty. The Tibetan leader told Bell that he has never ratified, or appointed any Plenipotentiary to sign, any treaty with Mongolia. Bell, Charles, ''Tibet Past and Present'', 1924, p. 151 In 1913-14, conference was held in Simla between Britain, Tibet, and the Republic Of China . The British suggested dividing Tibetan-inhabited areas into an Outer and an Inner Tibet (on the model of an earlier agreement between China and Russia over Mongolia). Outer Tibet, approximately the same area as the modern Tibet Autonomous Region, would be autonomous under Chinese suzerainty. In this area, China would refrain from "interference in the administration." In Inner Tibet, consisting of eastern Kham and Amdo, Lhasa would retain control of religious matters only. "Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, Simla (1914)" In 1908-18, there was a Chinese garrison in Kham and the local princes were subordinate to its commander. In a session attended by Tibetan representatives, British chief negotiator Henry McMahon drew a line on a map to delineate the Tibet-Indian border. Later Chinese governments claimed this McMahon Line illegitimately transferred a vast amount of territory to India. The disputed territory is called Arunachal Pradesh by India and South Tibet by China. The British had already concluded agreements with local tribal leaders and set up the Northeast Frontier Tract to administer the area 1912. The Simla Convention was initialed by all three delegations, but was immediately rejected by Beijing because of dissatisfaction with the way the boundary between Outer and Inner Tibet was drawn. McMahon and the Tibetans then signed the document as a bilateral accord with a note attached denying China any of the rights it specified unless it signed. The British-run Government of India initially rejected McMahon's bilateral accord as incompatible with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention.Goldstein, 1989, p80 "Convention Between Great Britain and Russia (1907)" By 1918 , Lhasa had regained control of Chamdo and western Kham . A truce set the Yangtze River the border. At this time, the government of Tibet controlled all of Ü-Tsang as well as Kham west of the Yangtze River , roughly the same borders as the Tibet Autonomous Region has today. Eastern Kham was governed by local Tibetan princes of varying allegiances. In Amdo ( Qinghai ), ethnic Hui and pro- Kuomintang warlord Ma Bufang controlled the Xining area. The rest of the province were under local control. {Link without Title} |
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