History of Tibet
Tibet has a history dating back over 2,000 years. In its long and eventful history, the country has been both independent and occupied at various stages. At times, Tibet extended its rule over neighboring countries, and at times it found itself under the rule of foreign administrations. At the start of the 7th century, Tibet was unified, and Namri Srongtsen, lord of Yarlung, became the first king of Tibet. This period was also known as the Tibetan imperial age when all the divided states came under the rule of a single ruler.
From the 7th to 11th century, a series of emperors ruled Tibet. Among them, the most noted ones are King Srongtsen Gampo, during whose reign many of the famous monasteries and palaces were built Lhasa was made the capital city, along with Trisong Deutsen and Ralpachan. Langdarma was the last ruler of a unified Tibet. During the thirteenth century, Tibet signed an agreement with the Mongol rulers, who, under Genghis Khan, had expanded their empire towards Europe in the west and China in the east. Political allegiance and religious blessings and teachings were exchanged for patronage and protection. It wasn't until the 18th century that Tibet came under foreign influence when British troops occupied Lhasa. From 1911 to 1950, Tibet successfully remained a fully independent state. But in 1949, the People's Liberation Army crossed into Tibet, in the name of liberating it. In 1959, there was a huge explosion of Tibetan resistance, following which hundreds of thousands of Tibetans fled their homeland with the Dalai Lama to India. In 1965, one of Tibet's three provinces was named the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) by Chinese authorities.
