The Fall of the Tibetan Empire | The Animated History of Tibet | Episode 3

The Tibetan Empire was once one of the most powerful political and economic forces in the ancient world. However, in the mid-9th century, the entire empire suddenly collapsed, fracturing into minor kingdoms and warring border states. Why did the Tibetan Empire collapse? And how did the fall of the Tibetan Empire change the Buddhist cultural world? Using primary sources and recent historical research, this episode explores those questions, focusing on the reign of Tibet's last great Emperor, Tritsuk Detsen, also known as Ralpachen (802-838), who's controversial reign and untimely death would plunge the empire into civil war.

To learn more about the Tibetan Empire, check out episode one and two of The Animated History of Tibet.

The writer and director of the series, Dr. Alexander K. Smith, holds a PhD in Tibetan and Himalayan history from the University of Paris, France, and an MA from Oxford University.

Western-language Works Cited
Below you'll find a number of the major secondary sources that we used in writing this episode. There are, however, a significant number of historical articles, book chapters, and primary Tibetan-language sources that have also contributed to our understanding of Tibetan imperial history. Due to limited space (YouTube only gives you 5,000 characters!), these are not referenced below. If you are interested in learning more about Tibetan history, I recommend visiting our Patreon where you will find expanded reading lists and annotated bibliographies for each episode (none of which are paywalled and are all free to use). The complete reading list for this episode will be up on Patreon shortly!

Davidson, Ronald M. 2005. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture. Columbia University Press.

Dotson, Brandon. 2009. The Old Tibetan Annals: An Annotated Translation of Tibet’s First History. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Kapstein, Matthew T. 2000. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory. Oxford University Press.

Kapstein, Matthew T. 2006. The Tibetans. Blackwell Publishing.

Schaeffer, Kapstein, and Tuttle (eds). 2013. Sources of Tibetan Tradition. Columbia University Press.

Schaik, Sam van. 2011. Tibet: A History. Yale University Press.

Smith, Warren W., Jr. 1996. Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations. Westview Press.

Sørensen, Per K. 1994. Tibetan Buddhist Historiography: The Mirror Illuinating the Royal Genealogies: An Annotated Translation of the XIVth Century Tibetan Chronicler: rGyal-rabs gsal-ba’i me-long. Harrassowitz Verlag.

Stein, R. A. 1972. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford University Press.

Takeuchi, Tsuguhito. 1995. Old Tibetan Contracts from Central Asia. Tokyo: Daizo Shuppan.

0:00 Introduction
1:04 The limits of the Tibetan Empire under Ralpachen
2:30 The patronage and importance of Buddhism in the late empire
3:43 Warfare and conquest - the Tang and Uyghur wars of the 9th century
4:56 The 821/822 Pillar Inscription
5:40 The unexpected economic consequences of peace
7:01 Anti-Buddhist factions emerge in the aristocracy
7:49 Langdarma's coup and the assassination of Ralpachen
8:41 The persecution of Buddhism under the reign of Langdarma
9:50 The assassination of Langadarma by the culture hero Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje
10:45 Dynastic wars of succession split the empire
11:30 The fall of the Tibetan empire
12:38 The long-lasting legacy of the Tibetan Empire
14:00 Credits and Patreon plug

#animatedhistory #history #tibet

[ArmchairAcademics]

Thanks for watching! Feel free to ask questions about the time period covered in the episode (there's a wealth of history that we can't include in this format and we'd love to share). Also remember to check below in the pinned comment for corrections.

[corrections]
@ 8:30 - I should note that according to traditional accounts Langdarma actually used his bare hands to kill the sitting emperor and not a knife. Incorporating a weapon in this scene is an artistic choice that we made in the early stages of the episode's production.

[sanneoi]

I love the dedication to use detailed and original animation. It's not common to see that, but I prefer it to other things. Can't overstate how much I love it, wish more people would make videos with that.

[maddyindian]

Amazing work... Loved the animation and your narration. Being a tibetan it's such a pleasure to relive our ancestors lives. Thank you

[nahlene]

cant believe such quality content is free these days, thank u

[wannabe]

This is so well done. I am proud of the production team and the way you guys have decided to put your best work in these series. Katrin Che 🙏🏻

[willumpfirst]

Tibetan renaissance is such a interesting topic. How did it start? What did the people want after decades of no Buddhism? Who ignited the renaissance? Hopefully they are answered!

[michaelsilver]

It's amazing how hard the center cut of Eurasia, from Western Europe and Northern Africa all the way over to China and Japan, moves in a surprisingly consistent, hemisphere wide cycle. All the countries in the beginning are moving from chaos to order: the Tibetan Empire has just reformed following civil unrest, T'ang China has just put down the An Lusan rebellion, the Uygur Khagante has just formed from formerly warring nomadic tribes, and the Abbasids in expansion. This is happening at the same time as the Carolingian Renaissance in Western Europe, the heptarchy in England is starting to move towards consolidation, and if memory serves me correctly this is also about when the first Russian state begins to form as well, centered on Kiev. I might be off on some those but the consistency is pretty cool to think about across a map

[pintsotshering]

This is the first time that I am listening to the Tibetan history as a Buddhist I can relate to a lot of things . I love it so much ❤

[saraaamber]

Omg the music and sfx tie everything together so well 💗

[theoff]

Amazing series. Can't wait for part 2.

[bakdakal]

Thank you this was great. I have a big sympathy for the Tibetans. I wished there was a total war game where you can play as those factions and and on a map of the geography which is mentioned in the video.

[mickeybubzx]

Your pronunciation of the names is pretty good! Good job it really shows you did the research really appreciate it!

[lordsotelo_]

Wow, I’m actually surprised at the quality of this, great video and amazing animations. Surprised because this should absolutely have more views

[teddlodoe]

Love from Karnataka keep up the good work

[enclavesoldier]

Do you know where I can find the music used or made for this? This was some excellent work, I genuinely haven’t known y’all existed til now, I am most grateful for the erudition.

[youareinflames]

Very nice video and thank you for covering the history of Tibet, although I would say not everything is accurate. This is more like beginning of how the Tibetan empire fell and then - Enter the Mongols to save TIbet - who drove the tartars all the way to Constantinople turning into present day Istanbul. The Uyghur Khaganate was northwest of Tibet and not directly North. It is Mongolia which is directly north from Tibet especially Songzen Gampo's time the borders were shared with Mongolian Tartars.

[PlumbKrzy]

Are you making what happens to Tibet after this?

[lasangtamang]

Please someone help me watching the video in order..
I want to watch in order

[JEEToonz]

the animations are smooth and calming, can i ask who is the animator ?

[educlectic]

Talk about the Khoshut Khanate. It was the Mongol Empire that was based in Lhasa and unified all of Tibet under one banner again and even expanded Tibet’s borders.