Publisher's Synopsis
Tibet Culture, Religion, Tradition. Tibetan history dates from the fourth century when the first kingdoms were established at Yarlung, in what is now South-Central Tibet. Later, in the seventh century, the center of Tibetan civilization shifted to the valley of Lhasa, "Gods' Place," where the first Buddhist kingdoms were established. Tibet maintained independent political relations with both China and Nepal; and though the Tibetan form of Buddhism was influenced by all of its Buddhist neighbors, Tibet was the only country in the region to develop and preserve, to a remarkably late date, a functional Buddhist theocracy
