No Bhutan exists in 1200.
The western valleys (Paro, Haa, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue) hold Mon (Monpa) farmers, Nyingma lamas and, since 1194, the Lhapa Kagyu mission of Nyo Lhanangpa. The History of Bhutan page says small monarchies ruled by a deb began to form by the early ninth century, 'Bumthang the most prominent', and that no central government existed; it also says no outside power has governed Bhutan since the tenth century 'apart from nominal tributary status'. The dzongs of the 1630s and after are not yet.
The Drukpa under Phajo Drugom Zhigpo arrive in 1224 to challenge the Lhapa.
Who holds it
- Name
- Nyo Lhanangpa (Drikung pupil) is the one lama named; no headman is named
- Title
- Mon headmen and Lhapa lamas of the western valleys
- Since
- 1194 for Nyo Lhanangpa
- Born
- 1164 (Nyo Lhanangpa)
- Confidence
- low
En Wikipedia (Drikung Kagyu): Nyo Lhanangpa went to Bhutan in 1194. The History of Bhutan page names no chief.
Overlord
none known; nominal tributary status to Tibet at most (en Wikipedia, History of Bhutan)
What it holds
- Paro, Thimphu, Punakha and Haa valleys (Paro valley, Thimphu valley, Punakha valley, Haa valley)
- The Lhapa mission (Lhapa Kagyu of Bhutan)
Allies and rivals
The Lhapa and the Nyingma lamas; no quarrel is recorded in 1200.
How things stand that morning
Valley communities under local headmen, with one Kagyu lama six years on the ground.
Wealth
No source we could open gives figures; the usual base is estates and serfs, herds, pass tolls, trade in salt, wool, tea and barley, and the gifts of patrons.
Military
No standing army; the house or lord calls on retainers, tenants and kin. No troop numbers are given by any source we could open.
Customs
Mon traditions (a nature-based, shamanistic religion per en Wikipedia, Monyul), Nyingma temples and, from 1194, the Lhapa Kagyu; no custom or law of 1200 is described.
Assemblies
not described; the valleys are said to follow local headmen and lamas.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1224Phajo Drugom Zhigpo reaches western Bhutan and begins the Drukpa rivalry with the Lhapa.Depends on: The Phajo page's date and the roads. Stopped by: A closed road.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Bhutan page is largely tradition; the Drikung page gives one date (1194). Treasury of Lives, the Blue Annals, the Red Annals, Petech, Sorensen and Hazod and Davidson could not be opened in this session (treasuryoflives.org and rigpawiki.org refused the fetch; the archive.org full texts were refused or cut off), so facts marked 'recalled' are from memory of those works and unchecked.
On the map: Bhutan's modern gewogs split at 90.25 E; there is no historical Bhutanese boundary.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.