Chronicles of Ladakh
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The ''Ladakh Chronicles'', or ''La-dvags-rgyal-rabs'' (), is a historical work that covers the
history of Ladakh Ladakh has a long history with evidence of human settlement from as back as 9000 b.c. It has been a crossroad of high Asia for thousands of years and has seen many cultures, empires and technologies born in its neighbours. As a result of thes ...
from the beginnings of the first Tibetan dynasty of Ladakh until the end of the Namgyal dynasty. The chronicles were compiled by the Namgyal dynasty, mostly during the 17th century, and are considered to be the main written source for Ladakhi history. It remains one of only two surviving pre-19th century literary sources from Ladakh. Only seven original manuscripts of the chronicles are known to have existed, of which two survive to the modern day.


Background

Until the early 19th century, European historians believed that there were no written histories from Ladakh. After reports to the contrary, Alexander Cunningham found the first known manuscript of the chronicles (''Ms. Cunningham'') during his stay in Ladakh in 1847. The origin, intent, and time of the authorship of the ''Ladakh Chronicles'' remains unknown to modern historians. It remains one of only two surviving pre-19th century literary sources from Ladakh.


Manuscripts

There are seven extant manuscripts of the ''Ladakh Chronicles'': * ''Ms.S'' Bodleian Library in Oxford,
MS.Tibet. c.7.
': This manuscript belonged to the former King of Ladakh and was stored in the library of the sTog palace. The original manuscript has since disappeared, but its contents were copied in 1856 and later published by
Emil Schlagintweit Emil Schlagintweit (7 July 1835 – 29 October 1904) was a German scholar noted for his work on Buddhism in Tibet. Life Schlagintweit was the youngest of the five Schlagintweit brothers of Munich. His father Joseph Schlagintweit was a wealthy ...
together with a German translation as ''Die Könige von Tibet''. * ''Ms.A'': This manuscript only covers the history up until the reign of
Sengge Namgyal Sengge Namgyal (''Sen-ge-rnam-rgyal'', c. 1570–1642) was a 17th-century Namgyal dynasty King of Ladakh, India from 1616 to his death in 1642. A Buddhist, he was noted for his immense work in building monasteries, palaces and shrines in Ladakh ...
(r. 1616–1642). The original manuscript no longer survives but its text was partly published and translated by missionary
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
. They were published posthumously in the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
between 1891 and 1902. * ''Ms.B'': This manuscript consists of only four pages about the Namgyal dynasty and its conquest by the
Dogra dynasty The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820 ...
of Jammu and Kashmir. The original manuscript no longer exists. * ''Ms.C'': This manuscript was compiled at the end of the 19th century by Ladakhi scholar Munshi dPal-rgyas and includes three appendices about the Dogra conquest. The original no longer exists. * ''Ms.L''
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, Oriental Collection 6683: This manuscript covers Ladakhi history until the reign of Deldan Namgyal (r. 1642–1694) and also contains a plain list of subsequent rulers until the Dogra conquest. * ''Ms.Cunningham'': Covers the history from the reign of Tsewang Namgyal I (r. 1575–1595) until at least the reign of
Delek Namgyal The Namgyal dynasty was a dynasty whose rulers were the monarchs of the former kingdom of Ladakh that lasted from 1460 to 1842 and were titled the Gyalpo of Ladakh. The Namgyal dynasty succeeded the first dynasty of Maryul and had several conf ...
(r. 1680–1691). The manuscript was translated into Urdu for Alexander Cunninhgam during his stay in Ladakh in 1847, from which parts were even reproduced in his English works; he did not consider the story after the end of the 17th century to be important and omitted those parts. The original manuscript and its Urdu translations are lost. * ''Ms.Sonam'': Consists of approximately 40 pages and covers the entire history of the two Ladakhi dynasties until the Dogra conquest. The manuscript is a modernized and shortened version of ''Ms.C'' until events c. 1825, after which it contains extra details that are not covered by the other manuscripts. Its owner also added appendices and minor changes not originally contained in the manuscript, and it is known to be in the private possession of a 'Bri-guh-pa monk, named Sonam, at the
Lamayuru Monastery Lamayuru or Yuru Monastery ( "Eternal Monastery") is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Lamayouro, Leh district, Ladakh, India. It is situated on the Srinagar- Leh highway east of the Fotu La at a height of . History A. H. Francke states that ...
.


Combined edition and scholarship

In 1926, Tibetologist August Herman Francke published a non-critical translation of the chronicle, in what was the first detailed history of Ladakh. His edition was based on five manuscripts (''Ms.S'', ''Ms.A'', ''Ms.B'', ''Ms.C'', ''Ms.L''). Francke's edition would become the standard edition for all future studies on the pre-Dogra Ladakh. In the later part of the 20th century, research on the ''Ladakh Chronicles'' were complemented by further studies by Joseph Gergan,
Luciano Petech Luciano Petech (8 June 1914, Trieste – 29 September 2010, Rome) was an Italian scholar of Himalayan history and the early relations between Tibet, Nepal and Italy. He was Chair of History of Eastern Asia at the University of Rome from 1955 to 1 ...
, and Zahiruddin Ahmad. Petech, in a comparative study with other texts, notes an abundance of omissions and mistakes; he warns against trusting the chronicle blindly. Other scholars have also warned about gaps in the chronicles' treatment of the period before the 17th century.


Contents

The ''Ladakh Chronicles'' were split into three main sections: the first two sections are about the history of central Tibet; the third section is specifically about Ladakh. The principal chronicle is the ''Royal Genealogy of Ladakh''. The chronicles refers to several dynasties of kings, mentioning that some were descended from the mythological Tibetan hero Gesar.
Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
controlled the area from 663, and it was controlled by the
Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...
until 842, after which the area was described by the chronicles as splintering into several principalities plagued by warfare and raiding. The chronicles then describe the establishment of Maryul by descendants of the central Tibetan monarchy in the 10th century. The chronicles describe the period of conflicts with the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
during the late 14th to 16th centuries in Ladakh and Baltistan. The chronicles then describe the development of the Namgyal dynasty and its expansion to Purig in the west and the Tibetan lands of Guge in the east. The latter parts of the ''Ladakh Chronicles'' in manuscripts ''Ms. C'' and ''Ms. Sonam'' contain details about the surprise Dogra invasion of Ladakh. The chronicles also cover the first-millennium presence of Buddhism, the growth of Buddhism in the first half of the second millennium, and the introduction of Islam in the 16th century.


Treaty of Tingmosgang (1684)

The first publication of the ''Ladakh Chronicles'' summary of the 1684 Treaty of Tingmosgang appeared as an appendix to a book by Henry Ramsay. It is held that Prime Minister
Desi Sangye Gyatso Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653–1705) was the sixth regent (''desi'') of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) in the Ganden Phodrang government. He founded the School of Medicine and Astrology called Men-Tsee-Khang on Chagpori (Iron Mountain) in 1694 an ...
of Tibet and the King
Delek Namgyal The Namgyal dynasty was a dynasty whose rulers were the monarchs of the former kingdom of Ladakh that lasted from 1460 to 1842 and were titled the Gyalpo of Ladakh. The Namgyal dynasty succeeded the first dynasty of Maryul and had several conf ...
of Ladakh agreed on the Treaty of Tingmosgang (sometimes called the Treaty of Temisgam) in the fortress of Tingmosgang at the conclusion of the
Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War The Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War of 1679–1684 was fought between the Central Tibetan Ganden Phodrang government, with the assistance of Mongol khanates, and the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh with assistance from the Mughal Empire in Kashmir. Back ...
in 1684. The original text of the Treaty of Tingmosgang no longer survives, but its contents are summarized in the ''Ladakh Chronicles''.The summary contained in the ''Ladakh Chronicles'' includes six main clauses of the treaty: #A general declaration of principle that the region of Guge (''mNa'-ris-sKorgSum'') was divided into three separate kingdoms in the 10th century; #The Tibetan recognition of the independence of Ladakh and the restriction for the King of Ladakh from inviting foreign armies into Ladakh; #The regulation of trade of goat-wool, subdivided into two subclauses, for Guge and the northern plain of Tibet (''Byaṅ-thaṅ''); #A clause fixing the Ladakh-Tibet frontier at the Lha-ri stream at Demchok, but granting Ladakh an enclave at Men-ser; #Another clause regulating Ladakh-Tibet trade; #The arrangement of a fee to Mi-'pham dBaṅ-po (then-regent of Ladakh) for his cost in arranging the treaty. The trade regulations provided for Ladakh's exclusive right to trade in
pashmina Pashmina (, ) refers to, depending on the source, a term for cashmere wool of the Changthangi cashmere goat,Janet Rizvi: ''Pashmina: The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond''. Marg Foundation, 2009. ISBN 978-8185026909. for fine Indian cashmere woolRobert ...
wool produced in Tibet, in exchange for brick-tea from Ladakh. Ladakh was also bound to send periodic missions to
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
carrying presents for the Dalai Lama. The fee in the sixth clause was later paid by
Desi Sangye Gyatso Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653–1705) was the sixth regent (''desi'') of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) in the Ganden Phodrang government. He founded the School of Medicine and Astrology called Men-Tsee-Khang on Chagpori (Iron Mountain) in 1694 an ...
to Mi-'pham dBaii-po in the form of three estates in Tibet sometime between the autumn of 1684 and 1685.


Notes


References

{{reflist 18th-century books History books about India History books about China History books about Pakistan