Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang

Last updated

Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang (Tibetan : མི་ཕམ་བསོད་ནམས་དབང་ཕྱུག་གྲགས་པ་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དཔལ་བཟང, Wylie : Mi pham bsod nams dbang phyug grags pa rnam rgyal dpal bzang, died 1671) was a king in Central Tibet. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which reigned in Tibet, or parts of it, from 1354 to the early 17th century, and was the last prince of the dynasty. [1]

Contents

Support for the Dalai Lama

Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang was the eldest son of the prince Kagyud Nampar Gyalwa (died 1623) and the grandson of king Ngawang Drakpa Gyaltsen (died 1603/04). The circumstances around his accession are extremely obscure. The materials worked out by Giuseppe Tucci suggests that he succeeded to the throne by c. 1600. [2] In the early years of the 17th century he is intermittently mentioned in the sources with the ruling title (desi). However, according to the investigation Olaf Czaja, Ngawang Drakpa Gyaltsen was actually succeeded by a scion of a rival branch, Mipham Wanggyur Gyalpo, in 1604. Only some time after the death of the latter in 1613, Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang would have been consecrated as ruler. [3] Whether his father Kagyud Nampar Gyalwa ever ruled in his own name is not clear. [4] Whatever the case, by this time the dynasty had since long been eclipsed by other political and religious centers. However, in the early years of the 17th century the authority of the Phagmodrupa revived somewhat in the Ü region (East Central Tibet). This was due to their good connections with the Gelugpa. [5] The main political division at this time was between the Gelugpa sect, aided by their Mongol allies, and the Karmapa and their patrons of the Tsangpa dynasty. The Phagmodrupa kings were traditionally friendly disposed towards the Gelugpa leaders, the Dalai Lamas.

Defeated by the Tsangpa

The position of the Phagmodrupa was nevertheless fragile. In 1613 their troops carried out a raid in the Lhasa valley. This provoked a swift retaliation by the Tsangpa. [6] From his base in the Tsang region (West Central Tibet), the Tsangpa ruler made repeated incursions into Ü. [7] In 1616 he subjugated the Kyishod area close to Lhasa and forced the Phagmodrupa palace in Nêdong to submit. With this stroke, most of Ü and Tsang was in the hands of the Tsangpa lord Karma Phuntsok Namgyal, who was now arguably the King of Tibet. [8] His triumph was confirmed by a new successful Tsangpa invasion in 1618. Lhasa was taken, and the Gelugpa lost their most important monasteries in Ü and Tsang. [9] Karma Phuntsok Namgyal now moved to eliminate the last possible obstacle to hegemony in Ü, namely the Phagmodrupa of Nêdong. In 1620 he led an expedition that surrounded Nêdong and occupied the entire Yarlung Valley. All resistance was crushed and the Tsangpa took over the fortress at Nêdong. [10] Whether Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang was the ruler at this time is not clear. At any rate he survived under obscure circumstances in the following decades, being forced by the circumstances to side with the Tsangpa. During the Gelugpa-Karmapa struggle in 1635 he was expelled from Lhasa. [11] In the chronicles of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1643), he is still spoken of with a degree of regard. [12]

Under the Dalai Lama regime

With the final triumph of Dalai Lama over the Tsangpa in 1642, the Phagmodrupa regime was at any rate a thing of the past. The ruler was allowed to keep his estates and met a number of times with the Dalai Lama. However, he suffered mental problems and was not respected by the other regional lords. [13] The first ruler of the Qing dynasty, the Shunzhi Emperor, notified the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1657 that the Phagmodrupa lord had recently sent envoys to the Chinese court: "I have been told that the Chanhuawang [Phagmodrupa lord] was originally King of Tibet and then was overthrown by Tsangpa Khan. Tsangpa Khan was overthrown later by Gushri Khan of Oirat. The latter put the Chanhuawang under the Fifth Dalai Lama who again put the prince under the depa [regent] ... Now he [the envoy] has come to ask that the seals and certificate be exchanged without reporting the truth." The Shunzhi Emperor questioned the diplomatic initiative of the Phagmodrupa and asked Dalai Lama to clarify matters. This implies that the imperial court now considered the Phagmodrupa dynasty a concluded chapter. [14] When Mipham Sonam Wangchuk Drakpa Namgyal Palzang died in 1671, no successor to his estate was appointed, and in 1675 Nêdong was given to an outsider. The last known members of the Phagmodrupa line were his son Lozang Khyentse Wangchuk (b. 1625) and grandson Yizhin. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen was the founder of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty that replaced the Mongol-backed Sakya dynasty, ending Tibet under Yuan rule. He ruled most of Tibet as desi (regent) from 1354 to 1364. As a law-giver, politician and religious patron, he created a heritage that lasted centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phagmodrupa dynasty</span> Tibetian regime of 1354 to the early 17th century.

The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru was a dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century. It was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen of the Lang family at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The dynasty had a lasting importance on the history of Tibet; it created an autonomous kingdom after Yuan rule, revitalized the national culture, and brought about a new legislation that survived until the 1950s. Nevertheless, the Phagmodrupa had a turbulent history due to internal family feuding and the strong localism among noble lineages and fiefs. Its power receded after 1435 and was reduced to Ü in the 16th century due to the rise of the ministerial family of the Rinpungpa. It was defeated by the rival Tsangpa dynasty in 1613 and 1620, and was formally superseded by the Ganden Phodrang regime founded by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642. In that year, Güshi Khan of the Khoshut formally transferred the old possessions of Sakya, Rinpung and Phagmodrupa to the "Great Fifth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinpungpa</span> Tibetan regime in 1435 - 1565

Rinpungpa was a Tibetan dynastic regime that dominated much of Western Tibet between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo River under one authority, but their powers receded after 1512.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsangpa</span> Dynasty that dominated large parts of Tibet from 1565 to 1642.

Tsangpa was a dynasty that dominated large parts of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. It was the last Tibetan royal dynasty to rule in their own name. The regime was founded by Karma Tseten, a low-born retainer of the prince of the Rinpungpa dynasty and governor of Samdrubtsé in Tsang since 1548.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gongma Drakpa Gyaltsen</span>

Gongma Drakpa Gyaltsen was a King of Tibet who ruled in 1385–1432. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading regime in Tibet between 1354 and 1435. His reign was comparatively tranquil, but he was also the last ruler of the dynasty to wield full powers over the central parts of Tibet.

Tsokye Dorje was a regent of Tibet who ruled in 1491–1499. He belonged to the Rinpungpa family and headed the central government in Nêdong during the minority of the heir of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty.

Ngawang Tashi Drakpa was a king of Tibet who ruled in 1499–1554 and 1556/57–1564. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which was the dominating regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435 and maintained a degree of authority until the early 17th century. His rule is sometimes considered to be the last of importance in the history of the dynasty.

Drowai Gonpo was a king who wielded power in parts of Central Tibet from 1524 to 1548. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa dynasty which reigned over Tibet or parts of it from 1354 to the early 17th century.

Ngawang Drakpa (Gyaltsen) (Tibetan: ངག་དབང་གྲགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, Wylie: Ngag dbang grags pa rgyal mts'an, d. 1603 or 1604) was a king in Central Tibet who ruled from 1554 to 1556/57, and again from 1576 to 1603/04. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which held power in Tibet or parts of it from 1354 to the early 17th century. Due to the internal family feuds that preceded his reign most of the powers of his predecessor slipped from his hands.

Kagyud Nampar Gyalwa was a prince in Central Tibet. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa dynasty which reigned in Tibet or parts of it from 1354 to the early 17th century. He is sometimes represented as the penultimate ruler of the line, although the circumstances about his political position are ill-recorded.

Norzang (1403–1466), in full Norbu Zangpo, was the founder of the power of the Rinpungpa Dynasty in Central Tibet.

Donyo Dorje was the third and most powerful prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that held power in much of Central Tibet from 1479 to 1512.

Ngawang Namgyal was a prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that dominated Tsang in West Central Tibet between 1435 and 1565. He reigned from 1512 to 1544.

Dondup Tseten Dorje was the penultimate prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty which held power in Tsang between 1435 and 1565. The details about his reign, and his exact years in power, are relatively obscure.

Ngawang Jigme Drakpa was the last ruling prince of Tsang of the Rinpungpa Dynasty. He was also a renowned author. His increasingly chaotic reign ended in 1565, when the Tsangpa dynasty deprived the Rinpungpa of their main possessions.

Karma Tseten, also known as Zhingshak Tseten Dorje was a king of Upper Tsang in West Central Tibet. He was the founder of the Tsangpa Dynasty, that had an important role in the history of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. Karma ruled during the period 1565–1599.

Karma Phuntsok Namgyal was a king of Tibet who ruled from 1618 to 1620. He belonged to the Tsangpa Dynasty that held power in Tsang since 1565 and was the foremost political and military power in Tibet until 1642.

Karma Tenkyong, in full Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, was a king of Tibet who ruled from 1620 to 1642. He belonged to the Tsangpa Dynasty which had been prominent in Tsang since 1565. His reign was marked by the increasingly bitter struggle against the Gelugpa sect and its leader the Dalai Lama. The outcome was the crushing of the Tsangpa regime and the establishment of the Dharma-based Tibetan state that endured until 1950.

Mipham Wanggyur Gyalpo was a king in Central Tibet who ruled in 1604–1613 and belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty. His largely nominal reign saw increasing political tumult in Tibet which was related to the political ambitions of the rival Tsangpa Dynasty.

References

  1. ↑ Sarat Chandra Das, 'Contributions on the religion history &c, of Tibet', Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1881, p. 242.
  2. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome 1949, Vol. II, Genealogical table VI.
  3. ↑ Olaf Czaja, Medieval rule in Tibet, II Vols. Wien 2013, Vol I, pp. 304, 312-20.
  4. ↑ The king-list in Sarat Chandra Das, 1881, p. 242, has the succession Nan-Wan Grags-po [Ngawang Drakpa] - Namber-Gyalpo [Nampar Gyalwa] - bSod-nams Wan-phyug [Sonam Wangchuk], and does not mention Mipham Wanggyur Gyalpo.
  5. ↑ David Snellgrove & Hugh Richardson, A cultural history of Tibet. Bloomington 1968, p. 193.
  6. ↑ Olaf Czaja, 2013, Vol. I, pp. 311-2.
  7. ↑ David Snellgrove & Hugh Richardson, 1968, p. 193.
  8. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, 1949, Vol. I, pp. 55–6. Possibly, the 1616 intervention is a duplicate of the similar Tsangpa invasion in 1618.
  9. ↑ Laurent Deshayes, Histoire du Tibet. Paris 1997, p. 142.
  10. ↑ Olaf Czaja, 2013, Vol. I, p. 315.
  11. ↑ Günther Schulemann, Geschichte der Dalai-Lamas. Leipzig 1958, p. 230.
  12. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, 1949, Vol. II, p. 641.
  13. ↑ Olaf Czaja, 2013, Vol. I, p. 335.
  14. ↑ Ya Hanzhang, Biographies of the Tibetan Spiritual leaders Panchen Lamas. Beijing 1994, p. 386.
  15. ↑ Olaf Czaja, 2013, Vol. I, pp. 327-42.


Preceded by Ruler in Tibet
17th century		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.