Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan

by Harrison, Peter; Dennis, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781849083966
• ISBN10: 1849083967
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-24
• Publisher: MACMILLAN

Summary

Buddhism has been influential in the mountain kingdoms of the Himalayas since the 7th century AD, most notably in the kingdom of Tibet where it permeated all aspects and levels of society until the 20th century. From the 9th-century AD onwards, the secular rulers of Tibet sought to extend their influence, and that of Buddhism, throughout the region. To this end, huge stone and mud-brick fortifications, known as dzongs, were constructed to dominate the secular landscape, while massive Buddhist monasteries dominated the religious - both following a very specific style of Tibetan architecture. It has been estimated that as many as 3,000 monasteries were built along with 200 dzongs. Mongol invasions from the 12th century onwards provided another influence, while internecine fighting in the 17th century led to increased fortification of the monasteries and the rise of the Dalai Lama as the head of a theocracy in Tibet, centred on the Potala Palace in Lhasa - a true fusion between secular dzong and religious monastery. Elsewhere in the Tibetan-influenced Himlayas the Buddhist Indian Kashmiri kingdom of Ladakh withstood assaults by both Muslims and Sikhs and developed a style of fortress monastery located on rocky peaks for defence, these often became combined with the fortified palaces of the rulers of Ladakh. With the foundation of Bhutan in the 17th century, further fortified monasteries were created in an effort to protect the new state's independence form the Dalai Lama. These fortifications have survived largely intact through today, as Chinese control over the Tibetan Autonomous Region has led to the destruction of the vast majority of the fortified monasteries and dzongs of that particular area. This title recreates the dramatic and colorful fortifications created in these mountain kingdoms, and recounts their operational history through the foreign incursions, religious conflicts and civil wars that litter their history, right through to the Tibetan uprising and flight of the Dalai Lama form the Potala Palace in 1959

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Chronology	p. 5
Tibetan Culture and its Distinctive Architecture	p. 6
The development of the Tibetan Cultural Region
A brief outline of a distinctive architecture
The Causes and Nature of Warfare in the Tibetan Cultural Region	p. 10
Religious conflicts, civil wars and invasions
The raising of standing forces and militias
Equipment of the armed forces and militias
Training and the method of warfare
Himalayan Fortifications	p. 13
Generic approaches and the principles of defence
The Fortified Monasteries of Tibet	p. 16
The background
The architectural features of the fortress monasteries, exemplified by the southern monastery at Sakya
Chokorgyel Monastery: the Triune, 'three in one', gompa
Gyantse - dzongs, monasteries and the British
The Potala: the holy palace in the snow land
The Fortress Monasteries and Monastic Palace Fortresses of Ladakh	p. 30
The Namgyal Dynasty
The fortress monasteries of the 17th century
The defensive system in the Ladakhi Indus Valley
The hidden valleys of Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti
Nepal	p. 38
The hidden Kingdom of Mustang and the fortified town of Lo Manthang
The other monasteries of Mustang
The Dzongs of Bhutan	p. 41
The Shabdrung and the heavenly abodes of the tantric divinities
The characteristics of Bhutanese dzongs
Aftermath	p. 49
Destruction, neglect and changing circumstances
Tibet
Ladakh and the 'hidden valleys'
Mustang, Nepal
Bhutan
The Sites Today	p. 57
Tibet
Ladakh
Mustang
The fortress monasteries of Bhutan
Further Reading	p. 61
Glossary	p. 62
Index	p. 64
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