Tibetan Empire Administrative System

Timeline

1. 630–700Lhasa · TibetAfter Songtsen Gampo unified the Tibetan tribes, he set up posts such as grand minister and general, enfeoffed kinsman nobles with territories, established a central administrative framework with the tsenpo as supreme authority, and created the Tibetan script to strengthen the transmission of government orders.
2. 750–800Tibetan Plateau · TibetThe empire divided its territory into five ru military districts, each led by a ru-head commanding soldiers and civilians; meanwhile it implemented the rank-badge system, using plaques of gold, jade, copper, wood and other materials to mark officials' ranks and regulate administrative order.
3. 800–842Lhasa and the Hexi Corridor · ChinaIn the early 9th century CE, the Tibetan administrative system reached its height; the relay station network spanned the plateau inside and out, dealing with the Tang, Uyghurs and other powers. Trisong Detsen promoted Buddhism as a state religion, and monasteries were incorporated into the administrative management system.
4. 842–1000Lhasa · TibetAfter Langdarma's assassination the empire disintegrated, the central administrative system collapsed, and Tibet entered centuries of fragmentation. Yet the Tibetan script, legal traditions and Buddhist administrative experience profoundly influenced the construction of later local Tibetan regimes.