For a chronology of Tibetan history, see Timeline of Tibetan history.
Part of a series on the
History of Tibet
Neolithic Tibet
Zhangzhung
Yarlung dynasty
Tibetan Empire
Era of Fragmentation
Yuan rule
Phagmodrupa dynasty
Rinpungpa dynasty
Tsangpa dynasty
Khoshut Khanate
Ganden Phodrang
Ming–Tibet relations
Qing rule
13th and 14th Dalai Lama
PRC rule
See also
Timeline
Historical money
List of rulers
European exploration
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While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung (c. 500 BCE – 625 CE) 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 Buddhism from Nepal in the 6th century and the appearance of envoys 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.
After a period of control by the Mongol Empire and Yuan dynasty, Tibet became effectively independent in the 14th century and was ruled by a succession of noble houses for the next 300 years. In the 17th century, the senior lama of the Gelug school, the Dalai Lama, became the head of state with the aid of the Khoshut Khanate. In the early 18th century, the Dzungar Khanate occupied Tibet and a Qing dynasty expeditionary force attacked them, conquering Tibet in 1720. It remained a Qing territory until the fall of the dynasty. In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama went into exile in India in response to hostilities with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC annexation and flight of the Dalai Lama created several waves of Tibetan refugees and led to the creation of Tibetan diasporas in India, the United States, and Europe.
The Tibet Autonomous Region was established following the PRC annexation, although Tibetan independence and human rights emerged as international issues, gaining significant visibility alongside the 14th Dalai Lama in the 1980s and 1990s. Chinese authorities have sought to assert control over Tibet and has been accused of the destruction of religious sites and banning possession of pictures of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan religious practices. During the crises created by the Great Leap Forward, Tibet was subjected to mass starvation due to the appropriation of Tibetan crops and foodstuffs by the PRC government. The PRC disputes these claims and points to their investments in Tibetan infrastructure, education, and industrialization as evidence that they have replaced a theocratic feudal government with a modern state.
most ofTibet'shistory went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung...
instead of Tibetan characters. Tibet (/tɪˈbɛt/ ; Tibetan: བོད, Lhasa dialect: [pʰøːʔ˨˧˩] Böd; Chinese: 西藏; pinyin: Xīzàng), or Greater Tibet, is a region...
conjuncts instead of Tibetan characters. The Tibet Autonomous Region, officially the Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is an...
article lists the rulers ofTibet from the beginning of legendary history. Included are regimes with their base in Central Tibet, that held authority over...
subsequently took over the whole ofTibet. Likewise, the Qinghai (Amdo) Tibetans view the Tibetans of Central Tibet (Tibet proper, ruled by the Dalai Lamas...
Tibet under Qing rule refers to the Qing dynasty's rule over Tibet from 1720 to 1912. The Qing rulers incorporated Tibet into the empire along with other...
serfdom in Tibet controversy is a prolonged public disagreement over the extent and nature of serfdom in Tibet prior to the annexation ofTibet into the...
use of historical money in Tibet started in ancient times, when Tibet had no coined currency of its own. Bartering was common, gold was a medium of exchange...
The location ofTibet, deep in the Himalaya mountains, made travel to Tibet extraordinarily difficult at any time, in addition to the fact that it traditionally...
the 7th century, and the verbal historyofTibet was thus written after their periods of rule. While there is a lack of contemporaneous biographical manuscripts...
invasions ofTibet. The earliest is the alleged plot to invade Tibet by Genghis Khan in 1206, which is considered anachronistic; there is no evidence of Mongol-Tibetan...
of the Tibet Frontier Commission, whose purported mission was to establish diplomatic relations and resolve the dispute over the border between Tibet...
whether Tibet was independent or subordinate to China during certain periods of its recent history. It is generally believed that China and Tibet were independent...
Neolithic Tibet refers to a prehistoric period in which Neolithic technology was present in Tibet. Tibet has been inhabited since the Late Paleolithic...
The flag ofTibet (Standard Tibetan: བོད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་དར།, lit. 'Tibetan national flag'), also known as the "Snow Lion flag" (gangs seng dar cha), depicts...
revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital ofTibet, which had been under the effective control of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since the Seventeen Point...
The sinicization ofTibet includes the programs and laws of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to force cultural assimilation...
Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. In the historyofTibet, Mongol rule was established after Sakya Pandita got power in Tibet from the Mongols in 1244...
officially the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government ofTibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation ofTibet, was an agreement...
British trade agency at Gyantse at the beginning of the 20th century. More football was played in Tibet since the British built a military training facility...