A fortress town on a spur above the Sutlej gorge, some 12 km up the river from Tholing on the coordinates.
It is the royal capital in the later sources and the place the kings of Guge are remembered at. The Red and White Chapels that survive are generally dated to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and are not standing in 1200; what was on the spur in 1200 is not recorded. Whether the king of 1200 sat here or at Tholing is not pinned.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king of Guge, if the later capital was already the seat; not pinned
- Title
- Lord or keeper
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The king of Guge, if the later capital was already the seat; not pinned
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Wikipedia's Tsaparang and Guge pages; the later sources only.
On the map: A point.
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.