Gyurme Namgyel
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Tibetan script :
འགྱུར་ མེད་ རྣམ་ རྒྱལ་
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Wylie transliteration : 'gyur med rnam rgyal
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Pronunciation in IPA : [
cuːme namcɛː ]
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Official transcription of the PRCh : Gyurmê Namgyai
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THDL transcription : Gyurmé Namgyel
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Other spellings: Gyurme Namgyel
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| Chinese name |
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Traditional :
珠 爾默特 那 木 劄勒
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Simplified :
珠 尔默特 那 木 札勒
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Pinyin : Zhū'ěrmòtè Nàmùzhálè
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Gyurme Namgyel (* 18th century ; † November 11, 1750 in Lhasa ) ruled Tibet as the successor to his father Miwang Pholhane Sönam Tobgye from 1747 to 1750. He was murdered in 1750 by the Chinese and Manchurian Ambanen Fucin and Labdon. After his death in 1751, the 7th Dalai Lama took over government power in a newly organized Manchu-Chinese protectorate of Tibet, which then existed for over 150 years.
Successor to Miwang Pholhane
Gyurme Namgyel, also called Dalai Batur by the Tibetans, was the second eldest son of the Tibetan ruler Miwang Pholhane Sönam Tobgye, who ruled Tibet from 1729 to 1747.
The only possible natural successor to Pholhane was his eldest son Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten (Tib .: 'gyur med ye shes tshe brtan ), to whom his father had transferred control of western Tibet in 1729 . Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten had great military experience in the civil war of 1727–1728 and also acquired administrative experience through his leadership position in Ngari .
His health deteriorated so much in the 1840s that Pholhane excluded him from his successor. In addition, Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten exhibited an outlook on life that his veteran father did not seem to like. Although he was married to two women and had several children, he mostly wore the clothes of a lama and had very close relationships with Buddhist clergymen.
His younger brother Gyurme Namgyel, on the other hand, was the commander of the Tibetan army, led a division of the cavalry with several thousand Mongols and appeared to the outside world like a rulership of the usual nobles. This is probably one of the reasons why Pholhane preferred him.
After Pholhane had chosen Gyurme Namgyel as his successor, this succession plan was confirmed by the Chinese emperor on January 28, 1746.
Start of government activity and conflict with older brother
After the death of Miwang Pholhane Sönam Tobgye on March 12, 1747, Gyurme Namgyel's takeover of power went smoothly. The new ruler took over his father's government team, in which Gashi Pandita Gönpo Ngödrub Rabten (tib .: dga 'bzhi pandita mgon po dngos grub rab brtan ), a nephew of Khangchenne , worked as minister (tib .: bka' blon ). Gyurme Namgyel's reign was initially overshadowed by his attempt to eliminate his brother Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten, who ruled in Ngari. In 1748 he made his first plans to send an army to western Tibet to have his brother arrested. This plan failed due to the determined resistance of his Council of Ministers.
He then accused the brother of the Chinese emperor of suppressing the monasteries in Ngari, robbing traders and cutting off trade links with central Tibet. When the Chinese imperial court did not respond appropriately for him, he sent a memorandum in which he accused his brother of having taken a border town to Tsang with 700 soldiers .
When Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten suddenly died on January 25, 1750, Gyurme Namgyel spread the news that his brother had died of his illness and had costly death rituals performed for the deceased. After Gyurme Namgyel was murdered by the Ambane, the Chinese spread the claim that Gyurme Namgyel had his brother murdered.
The conflict with his brother Gyurme Yeshe Tsheten must be seen against the background that, with a pro-Chinese military power in the west, Gyurme Namgyel's action against the Chinese representation in Lhasa must appear problematic. It was only immediately after his brother's death that Gyurme Namgyel made concrete preparations to take action against the Ambane.
Conflict with Chinese supremacy
In fact, Gyurme Namgyel's policies were essentially anti-Chinese. His political goal was to put an end to Chinese domination in Tibet.
In 1748 he tricked the Chinese emperor into reducing the Chinese garrison in Lhasa from 500 to 100 men. Given a professional Tibetan army of 25,000 men, which was spread over the entire Tibetan highlands, this means that the Chinese Ambane in Lhasa were practically defenseless.
1747/1748 of the Chinese emperor foolishly allowed a mission of Zungars to travel to Tibet. The Djungarian mission arrived in Lhasa at the end of January 1748 and was given a festive welcome. The contacts established with Gyurme Namgyel meant that he was able to conduct correspondence with the Djungarians and asked the Djungars to advance to Tibet via Ladakh.
On July 19, 1750, the Ambane in Lhasa received news of Gyurme Namgyel's preparations to move 1,500 men of the Tibetan army from Kongpo with 49 loads of ammunition to Lhasa and to station them there. Shortly afterwards, Gyurme Namgyel gathered 2,000 regular troops in Tsang under his command. In November 1750, Gyurme Namgyel gave orders to cut off the use of the Tibetan postal service by the Chinese so that the Ambane had no communication link with China.
Assassination of Gyurme Namgyel by the Chinese Ambane
At the same time, Gyurme Namgyel went to Lhasa. Obviously he did not know that his plans had been betrayed to the Chinese by Tibetan informants. The Ambane, who justifiably feared for their lives, invited him to the Chinese residence on the pretext of wanting to hold a conference.
The two Ambane asked the unsuspecting Gyurme Namgyel, who had arrived with company, in a separate room for a personal conversation. Here Fucing showered him with wild accusations. Before Gyurme Namgyel could answer, Fucing jumped up, clutching his arm while Labdon pierced him with a sword. Gyurme Namgyel's companions waiting in the anteroom were then massacred.
Only Lobsang Trashi (tib .: blo bzang bkra shis ), a steward of Gyurme Namgyel, was able to save his life by jumping out the window. He then unleashed a short-lived uprising against the Chinese, in which Fucing and Labdon, along with numerous other Chinese, were killed.
literature
- Luciano Petech: China and Tibet in the Early XVIIIth Century. History of the Establishment of Chinese Protecturate in Tibet. 2nd rev. edition. Brill, Leiden 1972, ( Tʿoung pao monograph 1).
- Luciano Petech: Aristocracy and Government in Tibet. 1728-1959 . Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, Rome 1973, ( Orientale Roma 45 series).
- Dieter Schuh: Basics of Tibetan sealing knowledge. An investigation into Tibetan seal inscriptions in 'Phags-pa script . VGH-Wissenschaftsverlag, Sankt Augustin 1981, ( Monumenta Tibetica historica 3, 5).
Web links
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Gyurme Namgyel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 'gyur med rnam rgyal; Dalai Batur |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Tibetan ruler (king) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 11, 1750 |
| Place of death | Lhasa |