| Songtsen Gampo | |
| Tsenpo | |
| Succession: | 33rd King of Tibetan Empire |
| Reign: | 618 – 650 |
| Era Dates: | 6th century & 7th century |
| Regnal Name: | Khri Songtsen Gampo |
| Issue-Type: | Children |
| Native Lang1: | Tibetan |
| Native Lang1 Name1: | |
| Native Lang2: | Wylie transliteration |
| Native Lang2 Name1: | Srong-btsan sGam-po |
| Native Lang3: | THL |
| Native Lang3 Name1: | Songtsen Gampo |
| Predecessor: | Namri Songtsen |
| Successor: | Gungsong Gungtsen or Mangsong Mangtsen |
| House: | Yarlung dynasty |
| Father: | Era of Fragmentation Namri Songtsen |
| Mother: | Driza Thökar |
| Spouse: | Belmoza Tritsün (aka Bhrikuti, from Nepal) Gyamoza Münchang (aka Princess Wencheng, from Tang China) Minyakza Gyelmotsün (from Tangut) Litikmen (from Zhangzhung) Mongza Tricham |
| Spouse-Type: | Wives |
| Issue: | Gungsong Gungtsen |
| Native Lang5: | Lönchen |
| Native Lang5 Name1: | Nyang Mangpoje Shangnang Gar Mangsham Sumnang Khyungpo Pungse Sutse Gar Tongtsen Yülsung |
| Birth Name: | Songtsen |
| Birth Date: | 557 to 569 approximately |
| Birth Place: | Maizhokunggar, Tibet |
| Death Date: | 649 (aged 79-92 years) approximately |
| Death Place: | Zelmogang, Penyül, Tibet (in modern Lhünzhub County) |
| Date Of Burial: | 651 |
| Place Of Burial: | Muri Mukpo Mausoleum, Valley of the Kings |
| Religion: | Tibetan Buddhism |
Songtsen Gampo[1] (Classical pronounced as /bod/, pronounced pronounced as /bod/) (; 569–649/650), also Songzan Ganbu, was the 33rd Tibetan king of the Yarlung dynasty and he established the Tibetan Empire. As the first of three Dharma Kings of Tibet, he formally introduced Buddhism to Tibet, and built the Jokhang with the influence of his Nepali queen Bhrikuti, of Nepal's Licchavi dynasty. He unified several Tibetan kingdoms, conquered lands adjacent to Tibet, and moved the capital to the Red Fort in Lhasa. His minister Thonmi Sambhota created the Tibetan script and Classical Tibetan, the first literary and spoken language of Tibet.[2]
His mother, the queen, is identified as Driza Thökar .[3] The exact date of his birth and his enthronement are not certain, and in Tibetan accounts it is generally accepted that he was born in an Ox year of the Tibetan calendar. He ascended the throne at age thirteen, circa 618.
There are difficulties with the ascension dates, and several earlier dates for the birth of Songtsen Gampo have been suggested, including 569, 593 or 605.
It is said that Songtsen Gampo was born at Gyama in Meldro, a region to the northeast of modern Lhasa, the son of the Yarlung king Namri Songtsen. The book The Holder of the White Lotus says that it is believed that he was a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, of whom the Dalai Lamas are similarly believed to be a manifestation. His identification as a cakravartin and incarnation of Avalokiteśvara began in earnest in the indigenous Buddhist literary histories of the 11th century.
Songtsen Gampo's mother, the queen, is identified as a member of the Tsépong clan (Tibetan Annals), which played an important part in the unification of Tibet. Her name is recorded variously but is identified as Driza Tökar ("the Bri Wife named White Skull Woman",, Tibetan Annals).
Songtsen Gampo had six consort queens, of whom four were Tibetan and two were foreign born. The highest-ranking consort was Pogong Mongza Tricham (also called Mongza, "the Mong clan wife", who is said to have been the mother of Gungsong Gungtsen. Other notable wives include a noble woman of the Western Xia known as Minyakza ("Western Xia wife",