Town · The Tibetan lands: houses, monasteries and clan chiefs, with no king · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Dege

The valley that becomes the seat of the Dege kings and the great printing house (1729), at 3,260 m with a town area of 431.6 square kilometres (Wikipedia, Derge).

The Dege Gonchen of 1448, the printing house and the kingdom are later. In 1200 the valley has chiefs and Katok monastery, 1159, in the Baiyu side valley. Nothing about this place is dated in the sources we could reach for 1200; the picture is the general pattern of a Khampa valley, marked as such.

Who holds it

Title
The valley chiefs of Dege and the patrons of Katok (see Dege valley chiefs).
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
not known
Confidence
low

Wikipedia's Derge page for geography; the 1200 picture is the general pattern.

Lord in 1200

The valley chiefs of Dege and the patrons of Katok (see Dege valley chiefs).

How things stand that morning

Self-governing; no dated event.

Military

No numbers survive for 1200.

Militia

No numbers survive for 1200.

Places of note

  • Dege: The place.

Where the sources disagree

  • The gazetteer's 'Dege' resolves to another Dege (32.92 N, 101.63 E, in Aba); this point is 31.81 N, 98.58 E.

Evidence: Wikipedia's Derge page for geography; the 1200 picture is the general pattern.

On the map: Marker only; a place, not a district.

Primary sources for Tibet (centre)

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia, Derge (read this session)
  2. Wikipedia, Kham (read this session)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.