Vajra Publications Inc.

The Tibetan manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang at the turn of the last century lay buried under the sands of a forgotten Silk Road oasis for a thousand years. As authentic and unaltered records of events in Pugyal Tibet, these documents comprise the earliest and most reliable sources on the Tibetan dynasty, providing us with a valuable window into the social structure, politics, legal system, military and economic matters, religion, and culture of Pugyal Tibet. In addition, they contain ample material on alliances, disputes, and other relations between Tibet and her neighboring countries and peoples. The first survey of its kind based on ancient manuscripts from Dunhuang and told in a modern Tibetan voice, A History of the Tibetan Empire starts with an examination of the dynasty’s prehistoric origins and then proceeds to trace the line of Pugyal tsenpo, or emperors, from the founding emperor Nyatri Tsenpo in the 5th century BCE, until the empire’s collapse following the assassination of the last emperor Uidum Tsenpo (Lang Darma) in the 9th century CE. Along the way, H.H. the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang presents authoritative glosses of archaic terms and renders the original texts into simple, modern language. This volume brings together full-color images of the manuscripts with the author’s commentary in an English translation aimed at a nonspecialist audience, while yet retaining the rigorous detail that will be appreciated by scholars in Tibetan studies. The appendices include bibliographic compilations of publications in Tibetan, Chinese, and Western languages, providing a unique resource to those engaged in the study of Tibetan history.