Namri Songtsen (), also known as "Namri Löntsen" () (died 618) was according to tradition, the 32nd King of Tibet of the

Yarlung dynasty The Yarlung dynasty (;, is a Tibet, Tibetan dynasty of List of emperors of Tibet, 42 kings, dating from 127 BCE to 842 CE. This dynasty gave rise to the Tibetan Empire period from 614 CE to 848 CE, credited to the 33rd king Songtsen Gampo, and la ...

. (Reign: 570 – 618) During his 48 years of reign, he expanded his kingdom to rule the central part of the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

. He also had a good diplomatic partnership with other tribes and Empires. His actions were decisive in the setting up of the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

(

7th century The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622 ...

), to which he can be named co-founder with his son,

Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo (Classical , pronounced ) (; (601–683 CE, reign 614-648) was the 33rd Tibetan king of the Yarlung dynasty and the founder of the Tibetan Empire. The first of three Dharma Kings of Tibet, he formally introduced Buddhism to Tib ...

. He had reportedly conquered the Kingdom of Sumpa in the early 7th century.

Diplomatic relations

The Kingdom of southern Tibet, was said to have once donated 20,000 households to Namri Songtsen, to maintain its

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

Context

Namri Songtsen was a member of the Yarlung tribe, located to the southeast of

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

, in the fertile

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

Kolmaš, 1967, p.5 where the Tsangpo (known in India as the

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...

) supported both agriculture and human life. The

Tibetan plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

was, at this time, a mosaic of clans of mountain shepherds with simple nomadic organizations where intertribal fighting and razzia sorties were part of the local economy. Each clan had several chiefs. These clans had few materials and cultural exchanges due to topography, climate, and distance, so each clan, located in a specified network of valleys, had its own culture with little in common with other clans. These "proto-Tibetans" were isolated from relations with the outside world, though some mountain groups to the east in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

and the 'Azha kingdom dwelt in border areas contiguous with, or within, the Chinese empire. Early Chinese sources appear to mention proto-Tibetan peoples in a few rare cases, if the Qiang and Rong do indeed refer to them. This changed dramatically by the beginning of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, when the Tibetan kingdom becoming a powerful player in the military history of Eastern and Central Asia. Several Tibetan historical accounts say that it was in Namri Songtsen's time that Tibetans obtained their first knowledge of astrology and medicine from China. Others associate the introduction of these sciences with his son. In the period, knowledge of these and other sciences came from a variety of countries, not only from China, but also from Buddhist India, Byzantium, and Central Asia.

Upbringing and life

Around 600 CE, Namri Songtsen, one of the Yarlung tribal chieftains, became the uncontested leader of the several Yarlung clans. Using shepherd-warriors he subdued the neighbouring tribes one after another. Expanding his rule to all of modern Central Tibet, including the Lhasa region allowed him to rule over many groups, and to begin the establishment of a centralized and strong state, with skilled troops who gained experience in their many battles in the early 7th century. This formed an important base for the later conquests by his son, which unified the whole of the Tibetan plateau. Furthermore, Namri Songtsen relocated the capital of his kingdom to the Gyama Valley, where he built the Gyama Palace. According to Beckwith, Namri Songtsen sent the first diplomatic missions to open relations with China, in 608 and 609.Beckwith, C. Uni. de l'Indiana Diss. 1977

Military campaigns

Namri Songtsen was once said to have lead 10,000 soldiers to

Sumpa The Sumpa () were a tribe living in northeastern Tibet from ancient times. Chinese historical sources refer to them as " Qiang", a term for people living in what is now southwest China, and their actual ethnic identity is not known. Their territory ...

to conquer it , After achieving this remarkable feat, Namri Songtsen granted the influential nobles of sumpa; various territories and slaves to gain their immediate loyalty. Subsequently the Yarlung Dynasty became the largest power in the

, and by integrating central and southern Tibet into one, it achieved the effects of population increase, economic development, and military strength, and finally transformed from a tribal state into an imperial one.

Assassination and succession

Namri Songtsen was assassinated by poisoning in 618 or 629/630, by a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

which eventually failed, being crushed by Namri Songtsen's son, who developed his heritage, completing the submission of the

, and, according to later histories, introduced a unified legal code, a Tibetan writing system, an archive for official records, an army, and relations with the outside world.

Notes

Sources

* Josef Kolmaš, ''Tibet and Imperial China, A Survey of Sino-Tibetan Relations up to the End of the Madchu Dynasty in 1912''. Occasional paper No. 7, The Australian National University, Centre of Oriental Studies, Canberra, 1967. Page 7-11/67.
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appuyer sur F11 pour l'affichage plein écran) *Stein, R. A. (1972). ''Tibetan Civilization''. Faber and Faber, London; Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. (cloth); . {{DEFAULTSORT:Songtsen, Namri Tibetan kings 7th-century monarchs in Asia 7th-century Tibetan people 6th-century births 629 deaths Year of birth unknown 7th-century murdered monarchs