The Valley of the Kings (; ) or Chongye Valley branches off the

Yarlung Valley The Yarlung Valley is formed by Yarlung Chu, a tributary of the Tsangpo River in the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet region of China. It refers especially to the district where Yarlung Chu joins with the Chongye River, and broadens out into a la ...

to the southwest and contains a series of graveyard

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

, approximately south of

Tsetang Tsetang () or Zedang (), is the fourth largest city in Tibet and is located in the Yarlung Valley, southeast of Lhasa in Nedong District of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet region of China. It is the capital of Shannan Prefecture (which i ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, near the town of Qonggyai on Mure Mountain in Qonggyai County of the

Shannan Prefecture ShannanThe official spelling according to (), also romanized from Tibetan as Lhoka (; ), is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö Mon ...

. The site has eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings.

"According to Tibetan tradition all the kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as the site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from '' Srong-brtsan-sgam-po'' to '' Khri-lde-srong-brtsan'', including two princes . . . ."

Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include

Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepal ...

(the founder of 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 38 ...

), Nansong Mangsten,

Tridu Songtsen Tridu Songtsen (), Tridu Songtsen or Dusong Mangban, (b.668 – 704d.; r. 676–704 CE) was an emperor of the Tibetan Empire from 676 to 704. Ascent to throne 'Dus-rong ascended the Tibetan throne after the death of his father, Mangsong Mangtsen ...

, Gyangtsa Laban, Tride Tsugtsen,

Trisong Detsen Tri Songdetsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and th ...

, Muni Tsangpo and Tritsu Detsen.

Features

The largest of the mounds, located near the north bank of the Qonggyai (Chonggye) River, has a reconstructed 13th-century temple dedicated to

.Dorje (1999), p. 204. The temple was rebuilt with restored murals in 1983 and is maintained by three monks. Gampo's statue sits in the centre of the temple's altar, surrounded by statues of his Chinese wife,

Wen Cheng Princess Wencheng (; ) was a member of a minor branch of the royal clan of the Tang Dynasty who married King Songtsen Gampo of the Tibetan Empire in 641. She is also known by the name Gyasa or "Chinese wife" in Tibet. Some Tibetan historians cons ...

, and his Nepalese wife, Tritsun, who holds a crystal ball. Eminent ministers stand to the side, including Sambhota, a noted Tibetan philologist held to be the founder of Tibetan writing. Behind this altar statue display is a crowned

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

with two

Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

s and a mural on the right wall depicting Indian deities of the 8th century AD. SongstenGampoandwives

A number of scholars have raised doubts that this is the actual place where Gampo was laid to rest, given that it has not been formally excavated; others have speculated that he was actually interred in

Jokhang The Jokhang (, ), also known as the Qoikang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery and Zuglagkang ( or Tsuklakang), is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tibetans, in ...

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

. According to the ancient ''

Tibetan Annals The ''Tibetan Annals'', or ''Old Tibetan Annals'' (''OTA''), are composed of two manuscripts written in Old Tibetan language found in the early 20th century in the "hidden library", the Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang in northwestern Gansu province ...

'' and Tibetan tradition, however, his tomb is believed to be located deep beneath the ground in a central, subterranean chamber in a silver coffin, with nine smaller chambers filled with treasures. According to the funeral rites listed in the annals, on the left side was a suit of armor worn by Songtsen Gampo on expedition, and on the right side were knights and battle horses made of solid gold which had been sacrificed with the king. Other sources indicate that the Tibetan Annals document has the inner part of the tomb having five halls and a central tomb chamber that is about 100 square meters in area and 13.4 meters (about 44 feet) high. Gampo's silver coffin is believed to be surrounded statues of him Anders of Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara. Buried at the head of the coffin is a coral statue of Lord Loyak Gyalo, who is intended to give light to the dead king; at the foot of the coffin is a cache of pears weighing 35 kilograms, wrapped in silk, that symbolize Gampo's share of wealth. The tomb is, notably, believed to contain an extensive number of large gold and silver utensils, reliquary and commemorative artifacts.

Further tombs

According to Tibetan history books such as the ''Grand Ceremonies of the Wise'', ''Chronicle of Tibetan Kings and Officials'', and ''Chronicles of Tibetan Kings and Clansmen'', there were believed to be a total of 35 tombs of Tibetan Kings and concubines from the 29th Tuboking to the last, divided into groups, with each group centred in a separate area in the Valley of Kings.

Footnotes

References

* Dorje, Gyurme (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan''. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. . * Snellgrove, David L. and Richardson, Hugh. (1968) ''A Cultural History of Tibet''. F. A. Praeger; 1st American edition. * Stein, R. A. (1972). ''Tibetan Civilization''. Stanford University Press. (cloth); {{ISBN, 0-8047-0901-7. Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Tibet Cemeteries in China Valleys of Tibet Buildings and structures in Tibet

Features

Further tombs

See also

Footnotes

References