Tibet is one of the most controversial regions of the Himalayas and also much talked about region in the non-Tibetan / Chinese world. We now know that Tibet claims itself to be illegally occupied by People's Republic of China while the Chinese claim it as an integral part of its history. There was a time when even today's nation of Mongolia was claimed under China as well, but its independence was formally recognised by China in 1946. But the faith of Tibet is still under China's grip. Here's a brief history of this majestic Himalayan land that seems peaceful, but apparently is not.
Referred to as Tufan in its initial times, the relation between Tibet and China has always been bittersweet since its origin in the 7th century AD. The names of Tibet varied from Tufan, Thibet, Tubbat etc. and the Tibetan version of their land as Bod (can be found on many modern maps). The golden era of China under the T'ang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD; that covered all today's China except Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Yunnan and added some parts of Central Asia and Vietnam) was the time when Tibet's history started getting shaped in the hands of the Chinese. The peaceful ties between the two kingdoms broke in 670 AD and a raid on the Chinese capital at Ch'ang-an (today's X'ian, Shaanxi province of PRC) was pursued by Tibet in 763 AD. In 824 AD, the disintegration of Tibetan kingdom took place into various fragments, such as:
- Maryul (today's Ladakh)
- Zanskar (in today's Jammu & Kashmir)
- Guge-Purang (in today's Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and stretching to portions of Tibet)
- Khasa (in today's northwestern Nepal)
- Mangyul (in Nepal)
- Kunlun (in Tibet)
- Qaidam (in today's Qinghai, China)
- Tsongkha (in today's Qinghai, China)
- Gangchen Dzonga (in today's Sikkim)
- Chorten Nyima
- Gang Rinpoche
- Chomolangma
- Lapchi
- Tsanglha Budar
- Tago
- Nyenchen Tanglha
- Yarlha Shampo
- Dakpa Shelri
- Bonri
- Minyak Gangkar
- Risum Gompa
- Emei Shan
- Murdo
- Nyanpo Yurtse
- Amnye Machen

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