History of Guge Kingdom

According to historical records, after the last king of the Tupo Dynasty, Glang Darma, was assassinated in 843, the royal family began to fight for the throne. Gyide Nyimagun, Long Darma's descendent, lost the war and ran away to Ngari, where he established a small kingdom. Later, Gyide Nyimagun divided Ngari into three parts and gave them to his three sons. Dezogun, Gyide Nyimagun’s third son, ruled the Guge Kingdom. His regime ran for more than 700 years before being destroyed in a war.

According to the Annals of Kings and Officials of Tibet, altogether 16 kings ruled the Guge Kingdom.
In the middle 17th century, civil strife happened in Guge Kingdom. The King’s brother asked the Ladakh Kingdom (the present Kashmir) to send armies to attack Guge kingdom, which was destroyed and annexed by Ladakh Kingdom. Later the Tibetan government led by Dalai Lama took over the control of the region.

The center of Guge Kingdom was in the valley of the Zhada Xiangquanhe River. The Kingdom reached Rutog in the north, and the northernmost part was Mt Sinowu of the present Kashmir. Guge bordered India to the south, Ladakh to the west. The Kingdom once expanded to the Gangdise Mountains to the east. Zhabran, the capital was located by the southern bank of Xiangquanhe River, 18 km from the present county town of Zhada.

Guge Kingdom advocated Buddhism. Several people were sent to Kashmir to learn Buddhism. Altogether 108 sutras were translated into Tibetan.

Guge has a very significant position in the history of economic and cultural development of Tibet. Many significant Buddhist doctrines of ancient India were passed on to hinterland Tibet via Guge. Guge was also one of the important commercial ports linking ancient Tibet with the outside world. After the Tupo Dynasty died out, Tibet entered a 400-some year period of isolation. Guge was always a large and powerful kingdom. Even the dust of time cannot hide its prosperity and past glory.

Read more about Guge Kingdom