Alchi is a temple group on a flat above the Indus, and its builders were not kings but a Tibetan noble house with the means to hire painters from Kashmir.
The Dukhang (assembly hall) was built by the uncle of Tsultrim O after 1140; the Sumtsek, three storeys of clay images and wall paintings in the Kashmiri manner, is the work of Tsultrim O himself and is dated to about 1200 to 1230 by the inscription's last priest, Jigten Gonpo of Drikung. On 1 January 1200 the Dukhang stands, the Sumtsek is begun or yet to be begun (it is not finished), and the Manjushri Temple (about 1225) and the chortens (early thirteenth century) are not yet built.
Who he is
- Name
- Tsultrim O (Tshul khrims 'od), with his unnamed paternal uncle and Kal-dan Shes-rab
- Title
- Lord (a Tibetan noble house) of Alchi
- Since
- not pinned; the Dukhang is 'no earlier than 1140'; the Sumtsek is early thirteenth century
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Tsultrim O's genealogy is carved in the Alchi 'Garland of Butter Lamps' inscription (Wikipedia, citing Luczanits); Kal-dan Shes-rab is the Tibetan noble to whom the Dukhang inscription is attributed.
- Confidence
- medium
Wikipedia's Alchi page: 'The Dukhang was built no earlier than 1140 by an unnamed uncle of Tsultrim O; the Sumtseg is early thirteenth century, inferred from the last inscribed priest's name, Drigungpa Jigten Gonpo (1143-1217)'; one inscription credits an unnamed king and queen with founding the monastery. Luczanits' 2023 translation with Goepper and Poncar is the main authority.
What it holds
- Alchi (Chos-'khor)
- the villages of the Alchi flat
- the Alchi temples and their endowment
Allies and rivals
The king of Maryul, to whom they presumably answer; the Drikung lamas, whose name enters the Sumtsek; the Kashmiri painters and the Zoji La road.
How things stand that morning
Building: the Sumtsek may be under construction. The road from Kashmir carries the painters.
Wealth
Land, a share of the Indus trade, and the patronage rank that built the temples.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
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.
- c. 1200 to 1230The Sumtsek is completed and its inscriptions record Jigten Gonpo of Drikung.Depends on: The patron's means and Kashmiri-trained artists. Stopped by: A break in the Zoji La road.
Places of note
- Alchi: Temple group.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry alchi-choskor: 'Specialists divide over whether the main shrine belongs to the eleventh century or the thirteenth, so whether it exists on this date is genuinely open': Wikipedia, citing the 2023 translation, puts the Dukhang after 1140 and the Sumtsek in the early thirteenth century, so the Dukhang exists in 1200 and the Sumtsek is at best unfinished. The campaign board gives 'The Loharas of Kashmir' as the power; Alchi is in Maryul.
Evidence: Inscriptions and a recent translation, as summarised on Wikipedia.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: Small; the extent of the lordship is not known.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.