Songtsen Gampo

Songtsen Gampo became the 33rd King of Tibet somewhere between 618 and 629, likely ascending around age thirteen as was customary. He unified the fractured Tibetan Plateau and conquered adjacent lands, establishing the Tibetan Empire. Under the influence of his Nepalese queen Bhrikuti, he built the Jokhang and brought Buddhism formally into Tibet, becoming the first of the "Three Dharma Kings." He moved the capital to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. His minister Thonmi Sambhota created the Tibetan script and Classical Tibetan, giving Tibet its first written language. He reigned until his death in…