Tibet under Yuan rule

Tibet under Yuan rule
Tibet under Yuan rule
1244–1354
	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	1244
• Disestablished	1354
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Mongol Empire
Phagmodrupa dynasty

Tibet under Yuan rule refers to the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty's rule over Tibet from 1244 to 1354. During the Yuan dynasty rule of Tibet, the region was structurally, militarily and administratively controlled^{[note 1]} by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.^[1] 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.^[2] It is also called the Sakya dynasty (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^[3] 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.^[4] 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).^[4]

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^ Grunfeld, A.T., Reassessing Tibet Policy, Foreign Policy in Focus, "Tibet’s status has been intertwined with China since the 7th century through marriages, wars, and treaties. Mongol conquests in the 13th century made Tibet part of a Mongol-ruled Chinese state, and four centuries later the ethnic Manchu Q’ing dynasty further incorporated Tibet into China."
^ Wylie 1977, p. 110.
^ Wylie 1977, p. 104: 'To counterbalance the political power of the lama, Khubilai appointed civil administrators at the Sa-skya to supervise the Mongol regency.'
^ ^a ^b Norbu 2001, p. 139

[2] Grunfeld, A.T., Reassessing Tibet Policy, Foreign Policy in Focus, "Tibet’s status has been intertwined with China since the 7th century through marriages, wars, and treaties. Mongol conquests in the 13th century made Tibet part of a Mongol-ruled Chinese state, and four centuries later the ethnic Manchu Q’ing dynasty further incorporated Tibet into China."

[FOOTNOTEWylie1977110-3] Wylie 1977, p. 110.

[4] Wylie 1977, p. 104: 'To counterbalance the political power of the lama, Khubilai appointed civil administrators at the Sa-skya to supervise the Mongol regency.'

[Norbu_p.139-5] Norbu 2001, p. 139

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