Tibet’s history can be traced back to the 7th century to the reign of the 33rd Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo of the Tsanpo dynasty. It was at this time that Buddhism gained a foothold in Tibet and the Tibetan script was first developed. Songtsan Gampo came from a long line of rulers who had kept an iron hold over the local populace, but never did much for their subjects, beyond feathering their own nests. Gampo is considered the greatest of the rulers for he unified the country and made Lhasa the capital and was responsible for the construction of the magnificent Potala Palace (in Lhasa) and the Temple of Jokhang. The golden age of Tibet didn’t last long, though, for his successors were not as benevolent. The last of the Tsanpo dynasty died in 842 AD, assassinated by a lama.

By 1260, the Buddhist clergy had become very powerful, and the thin line between state and religion was almost non-existent. The Mongol Kublai Khan had established the Yuan Empire in China, and the abbot of the Sakya monastery ceded Tibet as a vassal state to the Khan. Tibet soon split up into a number of petty principalities, all now officially a part of China. Local rulers, however, continued to rule, in succession from the regions of Sakya, Pagdu and Tsang- a phase that continued till 1642.

In 1642, the Tsang ruler finally ceded power to the Dalai Lama, whose successors continued to rule over Tibet till 1951, when Tibet was liberated.  Tibet was declared an Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, in 1959, and the Dalai Lama, who had led a rebellion against the Chinese and continues to crusade for Tibet’s independence, was exiled from the region. The Dalai Lama moved to India, and today heads an international movement for the freedom of Tibet.