Tibet under Yuan rule

Tibet under Yuan rule
c. 1270–1354
Tibet within the Yuan dynasty
Capital	Drigung Gompa (1240–1264) Sakya Monastery (1268–1354)
Government	Shakya Lama theocracy Administrated under the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs
History
• Established	c. 1270
• Disestablished	1354
Preceded by Succeeded by Mongol Empire Phagmodrupa dynasty

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History of Tibet
Neolithic Tibet Zhangzhung Yarlung dynasty Tibetan Empire Era of Fragmentation Yuan rule Phagmodrupa dynasty Rinpungpa dynasty Tsangpa dynasty Khoshut Khanate Ganden Phodrang Ming–Tibet relations Qing rule 13th and 14th Dalai Lama PRC rule
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Tibet under Yuan rule refers to the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty's rule over Tibet from approximately 1270 to 1354.^[1][2] During the Yuan dynasty rule of Tibet, the region was structurally, militarily and administratively controlled^{[note 1]} by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. In the history of Tibet, Mongol rule was established after Sakya Pandita got power in Tibet from the Mongols in 1244, following the 1240 Mongol conquest of Tibet led by the Mongol general with the title doord darkhan.^[3] It is also called the Sakya dynasty (Tibetan: ས་སྐྱ་, Wylie: sa skya, Chinese: 薩迦王朝; pinyin: Sàjiā Wángcháo) after the favored Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The region retained a degree of political autonomy under the Sakya lama, who was the de jure head of Tibet and a spiritual leader of the Mongol Empire. However, administrative and military rule of Tibet remained under the auspices of the Yuan government agency known as the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs or Xuanzheng Yuan, a top-level administrative department separate from other Yuan provinces, but still under the administration of the Yuan dynasty. Tibet retained nominal power over religious and political affairs, while the Yuan dynasty managed a structural and administrative^[4] rule over the region, reinforced by the rare military intervention. This existed as a "diarchic structure" under the Yuan emperor, with power primarily in favor of the Mongols.^[5] One of the department's purposes was to select a dpon-chen, usually appointed by the lama and confirmed by the Yuan emperor in Dadu (modern-day Beijing).^[5]

Tibet formed a special and close relationship with the Mongols. The traditional Tibetan priest and patron relationship coexisted with Tibet's political subordination to the Yuan dynasty.^[6] The arrangement from the priest and patron relationship was mutually advantageous: the Tibetans retained autonomy and received protection from invasions, while the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty gained further legitimacy for their rulers and embraced profound Buddhist philosophical teachings and moral principles.^[7] The lamas also made effective regents through whom the Mongols ruled Tibet.^[8]

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