General location of Zhangzhung, with contemporary neighbouring polities c. AD 500
Capital
Kyunglung
Common languages
Zhang-Zhung language
Religion
Bön
Government
Monarchy
Brtsanpo
Historical era
Iron Age? to Classical Antiquity
• Established
c. 500 BC
• Conquest of Songtsen Gampo
625 AD[1]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Neolithic Tibet
Yarlung dynasty
Tibetan Empire
Today part of
China India Nepal
Zhangzhung
Tibetan name
Tibetan
ཞང་ཞུང་
Transcriptions
Lhasa IPA
ɕaŋɕuŋ
Chinese name
Chinese
象雄
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Xiàngxióng
Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung people are mentioned frequently in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of today's western Tibet. Only in the last two decades have archaeologists been given access to do field work in the areas once ruled by the Zhangzhung.
^Aldenderfer, Mark (2007). "Defining Zhang Zhung ethnicity: an archaeological perspective from far western Tibet". In Amy Heller and Giacomella Orofino (ed.). Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalayas: Essays on History, Literature, Archaeology and Art. Tibetan Studies, Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–22. ISBN 978-90-04-15520-6.
Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung culture is associated with the...
in a kingdom called Zhangzhung, located around Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Bonpos hold that Bon was brought first to Zhangzhung, and then to Tibet...
drop in height is 3,256 m. Historically, the river was the centre of the Zhangzhung Kingdom until its fall in the 8th century AD. Sutlej is an antecedent...
Minyakza ("Western Xia wife", Wylie: mi nyag bza'), and a noble woman from Zhangzhung. Well-known even today are his two foreign wives: the Nepali princess...
Gudri Zingpoje (Dgu-gri Zing-po-rje), who was, in turn, a vassal of the Zhangzhung empire under the Lig myi dynasty. The group prevailed against Zingpoje...
Byangsi Dhuleli Chaudangsi Rangas (extinct early 20th century) ZhangzhungZhangzhung, the sacred language of the Bon religion, was spoken north of the...
western Tibet comprised Zhangzhung kingdom(s), which practised the Bon religion. Sandwiched between Kashmir and Zhangzhung, Ladakh is believed to have...
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...
region, and its teachings affected the Bon religion in the Kingdom of Zhangzhung. While some stories depict Buddhism in Tibet before this period, the religion...
Marchen script was a Brahmic abugida which was used for writing the extinct Zhangzhung language. It was derived from the Tibetan script. As per McKay (2003)...
territories of middle Zhangzhung and outer Zhangzhung. The dzong architecture of Dangnuoqiong was the center of middle Zhangzhung, it was located round...
suggestions have been put forward as to its meaning, it appears to be the Zhangzhung word "bodhisattva" (equivalent to Tibetan shégya sempa, Wylie: shes rgya...
and the mountainous regions to the southwest. The western kingdom of Zhangzhung revolted soon after the death of King Mangsong Mangtsen (also known as...
2023. Nagano, Yasuhiko; LaPolla, Randy J., eds. (2001). New research on Zhangzhung and related Himalayan languages. Bon studies. Vol. 3. Osaka: National...
Zhangzhung to a family of nomads. Tapihritsa's principal teacher was Dawa Gyaltsen. Tapihritsa was contemporaneous with Ligmincha, King of Zhangzhung...
precursors of the Rajputs. South Asia 600 CE MORIS PANDYAS LICCHAVIS CHOLAS ZHANGZHUNG CHERAS SAMATATAS GAUDA KAMARUPA VISHNU- KUNDINAS PALLAVAS ALUPAS NEZAKS...
Part of a series on the History of Tibet Neolithic Tibet Zhangzhung Yarlung dynasty Tibetan Empire Era of Fragmentation Yuan rule Phagmodrupa dynasty Rinpungpa...
usually done to avoid division of property and provide financial security. Zhangzhung Kingdom (500 BC – AD 625) Yarlung Dynasty (?–618) (semi-mythological)...
Part of a series on the History of Tibet Neolithic Tibet Zhangzhung Yarlung dynasty Tibetan Empire Era of Fragmentation Yuan rule Phagmodrupa dynasty Rinpungpa...
city of the ancient Zhangzhung kingdom. Scholars and theorists hypothesize that Kyunglung may correspond to what the Zhangzhung people referred to as...
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