Tibet+-+Fall+-+Essay





The fall of the Tibetan Dynastic Empire was the result of disunity between those peoples living within the empire. Through rise of the empire, religion provided a way to unify the people of Tibet. Over time, as Tibet progressed through rulers and emperors, they began to feel threatened by the spiritual authority that came with the religion that built their empire. When the government proceeded to intervene with the religion that unified their empire, it led to the very collapse of it. __One can learn from the fall of the Tibetan Empire, that the controlling of religion by government can lead to the collapse of an empire’s structure and unity.__

When the Tibetan Dynastic Empire began it was assisted by the path of religion. The Bon religion was the most primarily practiced religion in the rise of Tibet (Tibet, Britannica Online, 2009). The third ruler of Tibet was credited with the introduction of Buddhism (Beckwith, 1987) . As the religions built off each other and influenced each other, new rulers took over. The government became involved with religion controlling the spread of it and even when it was allowed to be used. These factors led to the beginning of a decline for the Tibetan Dynastic Empire. 

When the government began to intervene with the religion that built their empire, it lead to disunity. Although Khri-srong-Ide-brtsan initially prohibited Buddhism, in 761 he lifted the restriction (Tibet, Britannica Online, 2009), leading to confusion among the people and even their armies commanding generals. In 843 Glandar-ma ordered the suppression of Buddhism (Tibet, Britannica Online, 2009). It became apparent that kings did not like the spiritual and religious authority that religion provided. The kings and rulers felt that it was a huge risk to their very own authority. As kings began to patronize Buddhism and claimed their own beliefs to be divine theories, people began to break apart from each other. The government lead itself to its own decline by trying to overshadow religion. 

The constant repression of Buddhism caused disunity between the people, government, and even leading generals and commanders ** (Tibet (xizang) Grolier Online, 2009) **. These army commanders and generals began their own rivalries involving religion. Eventually these Tibetan generals and chieftains on the eastern border established themselves in separate territories. They even began their own separate lordships apart from the Tibetan empire. Even though particular rulers disliked Buddhism and prohibited it, other rulers kept bringing it back and taking it away. As the government tried over and over again to control the religion that ran their culture, it lead to a fall of their Empire. 

The fall of the Tibetan Dynastic Empire teaches us that government and religion do not work together. The effect and power that religion has on people is strong enough to change the ways people view and live their lives. Whereas government has the power to control how everyone lives. When these two forces disagree when one and another, it can lead to a decline of an empire or nation. We can learn from the fall of the Tibetan Empire, that __the controlling of religion by government can lead to the collapse of an empire’s structure and unity.__ 

  __**Citations:**__  Beckwith, Christopher I. Tibetan Empire in central Asia a history of the struggle for great power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the early Middle Ages. Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP, 1987.

 <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">"Buddhism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 02 May. 2009 < <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">>. <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">"Tibet (autonomous region, China) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. 22 Apr. 2009 < <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">>. <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">"Tibet (Xizang)." Encyclopedia Americana. 2009. Grolier Online. 26 Apr. 2009 < <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">[|__http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0386030-02__] <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">>.