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A brief chronology of the history of Tibet:
|
A brief chronology of the history of Tibet:
| Year | Notes |
|---|---|
| 173 AD | Birth of Thothori Nyantsen, 28th King of Tibet. |
| 233 | Nyantsen receives a Buddhist scripture, marking the initial introduction of Buddhism into Tibet (Currency from this event was dated). |
| 618–650 | Reign of Songtsen Gampo, 33nd king. He sends scholars to India to study Sanskrit and a Tibetan script is devised. |
| 640 | Tibet invades and occupies Nepal. |
| 641 | Marriage of Gampo to Tang Chinese Princess Wencheng. They spread Buddhism in Tibet and found Jokhang. |
| 645 | Gampo sends a minister to the Court of Tang China requesting permission to build a temple on Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province which is granted. |
| 654–676 | Tibetan Empire conquest of Tu-yu-lun state and annexation of Chinese territories in Central Asia. |
| 704 | Tride Tsugtsen (died 755) becomes king. |
| 710 | Tsugtsen marries Tang Chinese princess Chin-Cheng. |
| 717 | The Tibetans (according to an 11th-century Chinese history) join with the Turkic Türgish to attack Kashgar. |
| 720 | Tibetan troops take Uighur principality of 'Bug-cor in the Dunhuang oasis. |
| 755–797 | Reign of Trisong Detsen, Tsugtsen's son. Reconquest of Central Asia |
| 763 | Tibetans invade the Tang Chinese capital of Chang'an and withdraw 15 days later. |
| 779 | Establishment of Samye Monastery. Buddhism officially recognised as state religion. |
| 783 | Peace treaty signed with Tang China. |
| 785–805 | Tibetan army advances westward to the Pamirs and Oxus River. |
| 797 | Muni Tsangpo, Trisong Detsen's son, becomes king. |
| 799–815 | Reign of Sadneleg |
| 815–836 | Reign of Ralpachen, son of Sadneleg. Great translation of Buddhist texts conducted during this period. |
| 821 | Changqing Treaty of Alliance with Tang China, Tibet retains most of Central Asian territories. |
| 823 | The contents of the Changqing Treaty were engraved on a monument placed in front of Jokhang. The monument says "[Dang dynasty and Tibet] have two emperors but consult issues as one country" (舅甥二主，商议社稷如一，结立大和盟约，永无渝替) |
| 836–842 | Reign of Lang Darma, brother of Ralpachen. Supporter of the traditional Tibetan religion of Bon, he dismantles the burgeoning political power of the Buddhist establishments, but there is no evidence that he persecutes Buddhists as some Buddhist historians have alleged. [1] |
| 842 | Lang Darma ritually murdered by a Buddhist monk. Struggle for power and fragmentation ensues with constant warring and allying. [1] |
| 978 | Rinchen Zangpo, the great translator invites Indian teachers into western Tibet and a Buddhism renaissance begins, with monasteries established in the west. |
| 1040 | Birth of Milarepa (died 1123), great Tibetan poet and mystic. Chetsun Sherab Jungnay founds Shalu Monastery which becomes renowned as a centre of scholarly learning and psychic training. |
| 1042 | Atiśa (died 1054), a great Mahayana teacher from India, arrives in Tibet and conducts missionary activities. |
| 1057 | Establishment of Reting Monastery. |
| 1071 | Founding of Sakya Monastery. |
| 1182 | Birth of Sakya Pandita (died 1251), learned scholar of the Sakya sect. |
| 1207 | Tibetans send delegation to Genghis Khan and establish friendly relations. |
| 1227 | Death of Genghis Khan. |
| 1240s–50s | Mongol invasions of Tibet. |
| 1244 | Sakya Pandita invited to meet Mongol Khan and invested with temporal power over Tibet. |
| 1260 | Kublai Khan grants Pandit's nephew Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235–1280) the title of State Preceptor and supreme authority over Tibet, re-establishing religious and political relations with the Mongols. |
| 1270 | Phagpa received the title of Imperial Preceptor from Kublai Khan. Beginning of Yuan rule of Tibet. |
| 1354 | Fighting breaks out between the Sakyapa sect and the powerful Lang family which founds the Phagmodrupa dynasty. |
| 1357 | Birth of Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa sect. |
| 1391 | Birth of Gedun Truppa, disciple of Tsongkhapa and head of the Gelugpa sect, posthumously named as the First Dalai Lama. |
| 1409 | Establishment of Ganden Monastery. |
| 1416 | Establishment of Drepung Monastery. |
| 1419 | Establishment of Sera Monastery. Death of Tsongkhapa. |
| 1434–1534 | Power struggles between the provinces of Ü and Tsang because of the religious divide between the Gelugpa and Karmapa sects. Rise of the Rinpungpa dynasty. |
| 1447 | Establishment of Tashilhunpo Monastery in Gyantse. |
| 1474 | Death of the 1st Dalai Lama. |
| 1475 | Birth of the 2nd Dalai Lama, Gedun Gyatso. |
| 1542 | Death of the 2nd Dalai Lama. |
| 1543 | Birth of the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. |
| 1565 | Overthrown of the Rinpungpa dynasty by the Tsangpa dynasty. |
| 1578 | The Dalai Lama title was created by Altan Khan at Yanghua Monastery for Sonam Gyatso, the 3rd Dalai Lama. [2] |
| 1582 | Establishment of Kumbum Monastery. |
| 1587 | The 3rd Dalai Lama was promoted to Duǒ Er Zhǐ Chàng (Chinese:朵儿只唱) by the Wanli Emperor, seal of authority and golden sheets were granted. [3] |
| 1588 | Death of the 3rd Dalai Lama. Rebirth as the 4th Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso, great-grandson of Altan Khan and only non-Tibetan in the Dalai Lama lineage. |
| 1616 | Death of the 4th Dalai Lama. |
| 1617 | Birth of the great 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso. Under him, many construction projects begin across Tibet, including the Potala Palace. However, Ü Province falls to Tsang provincial forces and the power of the Karmapa sect grows. |
| 1624–1636 | Jesuit missionaries arrive in western Tibet. |
| 1641–42 | Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Mongols overthrows the King of Tsang and returns the territory to the Dalai Lama. Establishment of the Ganden Phodrang regime by the 5th Dalai Lama with his help. Beginning of Khosut Khanate rule over Tibet until 1717 |
| 1642–1659 | Consolidation of the Tibetan theocracy. Power of the Karmapa sect is reduced once more, and many monasteries handed over to the Gelugpa sect. The Abbot of Tashilhunpo is bestowed the title Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama. |
| 1652 | 5th Dalai Lama visits Ming China. |
| 1682 | Death of the 5th Dalai Lama, kept a secret by the regent. |
| 1683 | Birth of the 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso. |
| 1697 | 6th Dalai Lama enthroned and only now is the death of the 5th Dalai Lama made public. |
| 1705 | The last khan of the Khoshut Khanate, Lha-bzang Khan, invades Tibet and conquers Lhasa. |
| 1706 | The Khan deposes the 6th Dalai Lama and sends him to Ming China but he dies on the way. The Khan declares that the rebellious 6th Dalai Lama was not a true reincarnation and enthrones an eminent monk of his selection until the real one can be found. |
| 1707 | Italian Capuchin monks arrive in Tibet. |
| 1708 | Another reincarnation of the 6th Dalai Lama is found and he takes refuge in Kumbum Monastery. |
| 1716 | Jesuit Father Ippolito Desideri arrives in Lhasa. |
| 1717–1720 | Dzungar Mongols occupy Lhasa, killing Lha-bzang Khan. The Manchu Emperor of China deposes the 6th Dalai Lama and recognizes a claimant from Kumbum named Kelzang Gyatso, who is officially recognised as the 7th Dalai Lama in 1720. Beginning of Qing rule of Tibet. |
| 1733–1747 | Pholhanas (d. 1747) ends internal conflicts, and with Chinese support becomes ruler of Tibet. |
| 1750 | riots break out in Lhasa after the ambans assassination of the regent. |
| 1751 | The 7th Dalai Lama is recognised as ruler of Tibet, without effective political power. |
| 1757 | Death of the 7th Dalai Lama. |
| 1758 | Birth of the 8th Dalai Lama, Jompal Gyatso. |
| 1774–75 | First British Mission to Tibet let by George Bogle |
| 1783–84 | British Mission led by Samuel Turner. Chinese troops impose the Peace of Kathmandu following Gurkha incursions into Tibet. |
| 1793 | 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet (欽定藏內善後章程二十九條) was issued. Golden Urn was introduced. |
| 1804 | Death of the 8th Dalai Lama. |
| 1806–1815 | The 9th Dalai Lama. |
| 1811-12 | British explorer Thomas Manning reaches Lhasa. |
| 1816–37 | The 10th Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso. |
| 1838–56 | The 11th Dalai Lama, Khedrup Gyatso. |
| 1841–42 | Dogra–Tibetan War. |
| 1842 | Treaty of Chushul between Qing dynasty and Dogra dynasty |
| 1846 | Lazarist monks, Huc and Gabet, arrive in Lhasa. |
| 1855–56 | Nepalese–Tibetan War |
| 1856–75 | 12th Dalai Lama, Trinley Gyatso. |
| 1876 | Birth of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso. Diplomatic conflict between Britain and Russia over privileges in Tibet. |
| 1890 | British Protectorate over Sikkim. |
| 1904 | British military expedition under Francis Younghusband forces its way into Lhasa, forcing the Dalai Lama to flee to Mongolia. Agreement is made with the abbot of Ganden Monastery. Treaty of Lhasa signed. |
| 1909 | Dalai Lama returns safely to Lhasa. |
| 1910 | Restoration of Chinese control over eastern Tibet and dispatch of troops to Lhasa. |
| 1911 | Xinhai Lhasa turmoil following the Wuchang Uprising of October 1911 which led to the fall of the Qing dynasty. |
| 1912 | Dalai Lama returns to Lhasa from India, ruling without Chinese interference. |
| 1913–14 | Simla Convention between the British, Chinese and Tibetan delegates but the Chinese fail to ratify agreement. |
| 1920-21 | Mission of Sir Charles Alfred Bell to Tibet. |
| 1923 | Panchen Lama flees to China. |
| 1933 | Death of the 13th Dalai Lama. |
| 1934 | Appointment of Regent (abbot of Reting Monastery). |
| 1935 | Birth of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. |
| 1940 | On 26 January 1940, the Regent Reting Rinpoche requested the Central Government to exempt Lhamo Dhondup from lot-drawing process using Golden Urn to become the 14th Dalai Lama. [4] [5] The request was approved by the Central Government. [6] Enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama. |
| 1944 | Arrival of Austrians Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter in Tibet. They reach Lhasa in January 1946. |
| 1947 | Indian independence and end of the British Tibet Policy. |
| 1950 | 6 to 19 October Battle of Chamdo. |
| 1951 | Arrival of the People's Liberation Army in Lhasa following an agreement for liberation with the Central People's Government. |
| 1954 | Dalai Lama attended the National People's Congress in Beijing as a deputy and met Mao Zedong. [7] [8] Establishment of the North-East Frontier Agency in South Tibet, occupied by India. Contents |
| 1959 | After a revolt against acceded reform, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet with the help of CIA, [9] later set up an exile government in India. [10] |
| 1960–62 | Famine, caused by Great Leap Forward and termination of cross-Himalayan trade with India. [11] |
| 1962 | Sino-Indian War. |
| 1964 | Establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. |
| 2011 | The 14th Dalai Lama bequeathed his political power as the head of state and temporal leader of Tibet to the democratically elected prime minister Dr. Lobsang Sangay, marking the end of the Ganden Phodrang theocratic rule to Tibet which lasted for 370 years (1642–2011). |
Dalai Lama is a title given by Altan Khan, the first Shunyi King of Ming China. He offered it in appreciation to the leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, Sonam Gyatso, who received it in 1578 at Yanghua Monastery. At that time, Sonam Gyatso had just given teachings to the Khan, and so the title of Dalai Lama was also given to the entire tulku lineage. Sonam Gyatso became the 3rd Dalai Lama, while the first two tulkus in the lineage, the 1st Dalai Lama and the 2nd Dalai Lama, were posthumously awarded the title.
The Central Tibetan Administration is the Tibetan government in exile, based in Dharamshala, India. It is composed of a judiciary branch, a legislative branch, and an executive branch, and offers support and services to the Tibetan exile community.
The 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, was the first in the tulku lineage to be entitled formally as the Dalai Lama. In 1578 Altan Khan presented the spiritual title of Dalai Lama, in honor of Sonam Gyatso's profound teachings conferred in Mongolia, which soon became a Tibetan Buddhist country. He founded Kumbum Monastery, Lithang Monastery, and Namgyal Monastery. The spiritual title was retrospectively given to his two tulku lineage predecessors, the 1st Dalai Lama and the 2nd Dalai Lama.
While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the creation of Tibetan script in the 7th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung as the precursor of later Tibetan kingdoms and the originators of the Bon religion. While mythical accounts of early rulers of the Yarlung dynasty exist, historical accounts begin with the introduction of Tibetan script from the unified Tibetan Empire in the 7th century. Following the dissolution of the empire and a period of fragmentation in the 9th-10th centuries, a Buddhist revival in the 10th–12th centuries saw the development of three of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Altan Khan of the Tümed, whose given name was Anda, was the leader of the Tümed Mongols de facto ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols, and the first Ming Shunyi King (顺义王). He was the grandson of Dayan Khan (1464–1543), a descendant of Kublai Khan (1215–1294), who had managed to unite a tribal league between the Khalkha Mongols in the north and the Chahars (Tsakhars) to the south. His name means "Golden Khan" in the Mongolian language.
The 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso was recognized as the 5th Dalai Lama, and he became the first Dalai Lama to hold both Tibet's political and spiritual leadership roles. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being the key religious and temporal leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibet. He is credited with unifying all of Tibet under the Ganden Phodrang, after Gushri Khan's successful military interventions. As an independent head of state, he established priest and patron relations with both Mongolia and the Qing dynasty simultaneously, and had positive relations with other neighboring countries. He began the custom of meeting early European explorers. The 5th Dalai Lama built the Potala Palace, and also wrote 24 volumes' worth of scholarly and religious works on a wide range of subjects.
Taktser or Tengtser or Hongya Village is a village in Shihuiyao Township, Ping'an District, Haidong, in the east of Qinghai province, China. Tibetan, Han and Hui Chinese people populate the village which is notable as the birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951 in Tibet. He is often known simply as Ngapo in English sources.
State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, officially named Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, is an order passed during a conference of the State Administration for Religious Affairs on 13 July 2007, marked for implementation on 1 September 2007.
The Golden Urn is a method introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793 for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a golden urn. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet, which included regulations on selecting lamas. The Golden Urn was ostensibly introduced to prevent cheating and corruption in the process but it also positioned the Qianlong Emperor as a religious authority capable of adducing incarnation candidates. A number of lamas, such as the 8th and 9th Panchen Lamas and the 10th Dalai Lama, were confirmed using the Golden Urn. In cases where the Golden Urn was not used, the amban was consulted. Lhamo Dhondup was exempted from the Golden Urn to become the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940.
The Ming dynasty considered Tibet to be part of the Western Regions. While the Ming dynasty at its height had some degree of influence in Tibet, the exact nature of their relations is under dispute by modern scholars. Analysis of the relationship is further complicated by modern political conflicts and the application of Westphalian sovereignty to a time when the concept did not exist. The Historical Status of China's Tibet, a book published by the People's Republic of China, asserts that the Ming dynasty had unquestioned sovereignty over Tibet by pointing to the Ming court's issuing of various titles to Tibetan leaders, Tibetans' full acceptance of the titles, and a renewal process for successors of these titles that involved traveling to the Ming capital. Scholars in China also argue that Tibet has been an integral part of China since the 13th century and so it was a part of the Ming Empire. However, most scholars outside China, such as Turrell V. Wylie, Melvyn C. Goldstein, and Helmut Hoffman, say that the relationship was one of suzerainty, Ming titles were only nominal, Tibet remained an independent region outside Ming control, and it simply paid tribute until the Jiajing Emperor, who ceased relations with Tibet.
Trülku Drakpa Gyeltsen (1619–1656) was an important Gelugpa lama and a contemporary of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682). His Seat was the upper residence of Drepung Monastery, a famous Gelug gompa located near Lhasa.
The Changkya Khutukhtu was the title held by the spiritual head of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Mongolia during the Qing dynasty.
Sönam Rapten, initially known as Gyalé Chödze and later on as Sönam Chöpel, was born in the Tholung valley in the Central Tibetan province of Ü. He started off as a monk-administrator of the Ganden Phodrang, the early Dalai Lamas' residence at Drepung Monastery, outside Lhasa, Tibet. From around or before the age of 20 he became the Treasurer and the "Chagdzo" of the Fourth (1589-1617) and, subsequently, the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682). He presided as the most senior official of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism for over 40 years.
Ngawang Sungrab Thutob (1874–1952) was the third Taktra Rinpoche, and regent of Tibet. As regent, he was responsible for raising and educating the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In 1941, he succeeded the fifth Reting Rinpoche, Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen. The Reting Rinpoche later rebelled, was captured, and died imprisoned in the Potala Palace under mysterious circumstances.
Following the Tibetan Buddhism belief in the principle of rebirth, the Dalai Lama is believed by adherents to be able to choose the body into which he is reincarnated. That person, when found, will then become the next Dalai Lama. In 1793, the Qianlong Emperor introduced the Golden Urn to eliminate cheating and corruption in the selection process, and to prevent greedy family with multiple reincarnated rinpoches and lamas. The government of China has promulgated procedural requirements for this process, but there is disagreement among supporters and opponents of that government about the applicability of those rules.
Norbu, with the later title of Depa and also known as Nangso Norbu, was a Tibetan government official born in the Central Tibetan province of Ü around the end of the 16th century. In 1644 he was appointed Governor of Shigatse, a post he held until 1659 when he succeeded his elder brother, Desi Sonam Rapten as de facto ruler of Tibet on behalf of Lobzang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama. After a brief reign he rebelled unsuccessfully against the latter and was banished. His last recorded activity was in 1660.
Jaisang Depa was born as Trinle Gyatso in the Ü province of Tibet around the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was also known as Drongmene meaning the person from Drongme village. A monk of the Geluk tradition, he served as Personal Assistant to Lobzang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama from 1632 to 1660. In 1660 he was appointed as Regent, de facto Ruler of Tibet, by Lobzang Gyatso, who renamed him at that point as Trinle Gyatso. In this post he succeeded Depa Norbu and retained it until his death in 1668. He was the Fifth Dalai Lama's third Regent out of a total of six and was succeeded by Lobzang Tutop.
Lobsang Sandan, one of the three reincarnated rinpoches in one family, is the third brother of the 14th Dalai Lama. He is 2 years older than the 14th Dalai Lama, he was recognized as 16th Ngari Rinpoche.