The Sutlej gorge country round Tholing and Tsaparang, where the kings of Guge raised the temples of the Second Spreading.
The roads out of it go to Kashmir by Spiti, to Kumaon and Garhwal by the Mana and Niti passes, and to Purang. The kingdom is small and its strength is patronage.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not known for 1200
- Title
- King of Guge
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
See the Guge king record.
What it holds
- Tholing
- Tsaparang
- the Sutlej valley farms
- the Mana and Niti pass roads on the Tibetan side
How things stand that morning
No event is dated.
Wealth
Barley, wool, borax, tolls.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Customs
Tibetan Buddhist; painters in the Kashmiri manner.
Assemblies
The royal court; no council recorded.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Vitali's list is the best there is; 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: The northern and eastern limits are not pinned.
Primary sources for Guge and Maryul
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. Read online
- History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
- The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. Read online
- The Sakya genealogy, and the works of the Sakya hierarch of 1200, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam (the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629). Sakya in 1200 was ruled by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third of the five founders, with his nephew Kunga Gyaltsen (later Sakya Pandita, born 1182) under his teaching. Read online
- Indo-Tibetica (the temples and inscriptions of western Tibet), with the Royal Genealogy of Ngari, Giuseppe Tucci (editor and translator); the genealogy by Ngawang Drakpa (Ngag dbang grags pa) (the inscriptions and temple records of the 11th to 15th centuries; Indo-Tibetica published 1932 to 1941; the genealogy about 1497). Guge, Purang and Ladakh in 1200 are among the least documented kingdoms in the atlas. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (English): Guge
- Wikipedia (English): Tholing Monastery
- Roberto Vitali, The Kingdoms of Gu.ge Pu.hrang, Dharamsala 1996 (cited on Wikipedia, not read directly)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.