602                  Namri Songtsen, lord of Yarlung, becomes the first king of Tibet.

 

620-49             Reign of King Songsten Gampo; Tibet grows into an empire.

 

670                  Prolonged warfare between Tibet and Tang China begins.

 

763                  Tibet captures Changan, the Tang capital; tribute paid to Tibet.

                        Tibetan king invites Buddhist teachers from India and China.

 

792                  Exponents of Indian and Chinese Buddhism debate at Samye monastery;

                        the Indian representative is declared to have won the contest.

 

821                  China-Tibet Peace Treaty: "Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China".

 

842                  King Langdarma assassinated; Tibet fragments into several states.

 

1073                Sakya monastery founded.

 

1206                Chingis Kham elected first ruler of united Mongol clans.

 

1234                Mongols led by Ogodai Khagan defeat Junchen and conquer north China.

 

1247                Grand Lama of Sakya submits to Mongols;

                        beginning of priest/patron relationship between lama and khan.

 

1261                Tibet reunited with the Grand Lama of Sakya as king.

 

1279                Final defeat of Sung by Mongols; Mongol conquest of China complete.

 

1350                King Changchub Gyaltsen ousts Sakya and founds a new secular dynasty.

 

1368                China regains its independence from the Mongols under Ming dynasty.

 

1409                Tibetan monk Tsongkhapa founds the Gelugpa sect.

 

1578                Gelugpa leader receives the title of "Dalai Lama" from Altan Khan.

 

1640                Gushri Khan, leader of Qoshot Mongols, invades and conquers Tibet.

 

1642                Gushri Khan enthrones the 5th Dalai Lama as temporal ruler of Tibet.

 

1644                Manchu overthrow Ming, conquer China, and establish the Qing dynasty.

 

1653                "Great Fifth" Dalai Lama meets Qing Emperor Shunzhi near Beijing.

 

1682                Fifth Dalai Lama dies; death is concealed for the next 14 years.

 

1717                Dzungar Mongols invade Tibet and sack Lhasa; 5th DL's tomb looted.

 

1720                Qing forces drive out Dzungars and install Kesang Gyatso as 7th DL.

 

1721                Qing emperor declares Tibet a tributary state; first Ambans sent to Lhasa.

 

1724                A Qing territorial government is created for Kokonor (Amdo).

 

1792                Qing troops enter Tibet to drive out Gorkha (Nepalese) invaders.

                        A ban on visitation by non-Chinese foreigners is imposed.

 

1854-56           Nepal defeats Tibet; peace treaty requires Tibet to pay tribute

 

1904                British troops under Colonel Younghusband enter Tibet & occupy Lhasa.

 

1910-12           A Qing army led by General Zhao Erfeng invades and occupies Tibet.

 

1912                Last Qing emperor abdicates; Republic of China claims Mongolia, Tibet.

 

1913                Dalai Lama proclaims Tibet independent; paper money and coins issued.

                        Mongolia and Tibet conclude a treaty of mutual recognition.

 

1914                Britain and Tibet agree to McMahon Line in a treaty signed in Simla,

                        (the border claimed by India today).

 

1918                Tibetan army, led by British-trained officers, defeats Chinese army.

                        Tibet and China sign a peace treaty; China refuses to ratify treaty.

 

1933                13th Dalai Lama dies; Reting Rimpoche selected as Tibetan regent.

 

1937                Britain publishes Simla Convention and begins enforcing McMahon Line.

 

1940                14th Dalai Lama is enthroned; Chinese delegation attends ceremony.

 

1943                Britain affirms that Tibet is "already self-governing and determined to retain [its] independence".

 

1947-49           Tibetan Trade Mission travels to India, Britain, U.S., and China;

                        the mission is received by the British Prime Minister Attlee.

 

1949                People's Republic of China is proclaimed by Chinese Communist Party.

 

1950                Radio Beijing announce: "The task of the People's Liberation Army for 1950 is to liberate Tibet."

                        40,000 Chinese troops invade Tibet in October, unprovoked and with no accepted legal basis for claims of                                       sovereignty.

                        Fifteen-year-old Tenzin Gyatso given full powers to rule as the 14th Dalai Lama - the Tibetans' spiritual and                                       temporal leader.

 

1951                China undertakes 17-Point Agreement to refrain from interfering with Tibet's government and society following                                   negotiation by the Dalai Lama.

 

1953                Mao Zedong promises the Dalai Lama that the Chinese will leave Tibet once 'liberation' is complete.

 

1959                National Uprising - explosion of Tibetan resistance resulting in severe crackdown by the Chinese and widespread                           brutality.

                        An estimated 430,000 Tibetans are killed (Chinese estimate: 87,000 killed).

                        One hundred thousand Tibetans flee with Dalai Lama into exile in India.

 

1960 - 1962     340,000 Tibetan peasants and nomads die in Tibet's first recorded famines following the destabilisation of the                                   economy after an influx of Chinese settlers and forced agricultural modernisation.

 

1965                Chinese formally inaugurate one of Tibet's three provinces as the 'Tibet Autonomous Region' (TAR).
                        (See map below.)

1966                Thousands of Buddhist monasteries destroyed

 

 

Late 1970s      The Dalai Lama starts to make political speeches abroad and international support for Tibet starts to grow.

 

1979                Following death of Mao and Deng Xiaoping’s coming to power, Tibetan exiles send three delegations to investigate                           the situation in Tibet.

                        First personal contacts between Tibetans in Tibet and those in exile for 20 years.

 

1980                Period of liberalisation in Tibet inaugurated by Hu Yao Bang.

 

1987                Tibetans begin a new era of protest. Police fire on a massive pro-independence demonstration in Lhasa.

 

1988                The Dalai Lama puts forward the 'Strasbourg proposal' in which he calls for genuine autonomy for Tibet rather than                         independence.

                        Qiao Shi, China's security chief, visits Tibet and vows to "adopt a policy of merciless repression".

 

1989                The Dalai Lama receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

1992                China declares Tibet "open" to foreign investment.

                        Chen Kuiyuan is named CCP leader for Tibet and calls for a purge of those party members who "act as internal                               agents of the Dalai Lama clique".

 

1995                Six year-old Gendun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, and his family                                 disappear.

                        China selects and enthrones another child.

                        Gendun's location and safety remain unknown.

 

1996                China launches a patriotic re-education campaign, removing photos of the Dalai Lama from monasteries.

 

1999                The 40th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising marked by protest in Lhasa.

 

2000                The 17th Karmapa flees Tibet.

 

2002                Formal contacts are re-established between the Tibetan government in exile and China.

 

2005                Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's offered to hold talks with the 14th Dalai Lama on the Tibet issue, provided he drops                           the demand for independence.

 

2006                Gormo-Lhasa Railway opened.

 

2007                State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 makes it illegal for lamas to reincarnate without
Chinese government approval.

                       Dalai Lama awarded US Congressional Gold Medal.

2008               Biggest protests in Tibet for over 20 years

                       China's Olympic torch is met by worldwide protests over Tibet.

                       During the Beijing Olympic Games, protesters highlight the Tibet issue as China continues to prevent access to Tibet.