theocracy · China, Tibet and Mongolia
Ganden Phodrang
Origins
In 1642 Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Khanate defeated the Tsangpa dynasty and conferred authority over Tibet on the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. The government took its name from the Dalai Lama's residence at Drepung monastery and soon moved to the Potala Palace, built in Lhasa from 1645.
Rule and society
Tibet was governed by the Dalai Lamas or their regents with a council of ministers (the Kashag, formalised in 1751) and a dual service of monk and lay officials. The Gelug school dominated, and monasteries held vast estates. After intervening against the Dzungars in 1720, the Qing Empire stationed ambans in Lhasa and introduced the Golden Urn in 1793, though their real authority fluctuated.
Decline and legacy
The British expedition under Younghusband reached Lhasa in 1904, and Qing troops occupied it in 1910, driving the Thirteenth Dalai Lama into exile in India. After the Qing fell, Tibetans expelled the Chinese garrison in 1912, and the same government continued as Tibet (1912-1951).
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Ganden Phodrang was a vassal of Khoshut Khanate1642 CE – 1717 CE
- Ganden Phodrang was a protectorate of Qing Empire1720 CE – 1912 CE
More states of China, Tibet and Mongolia →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ganden Phodrang. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ganden-phodrang
- MLA
- “Ganden Phodrang.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ganden-phodrang. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Ganden Phodrang.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ganden-phodrang.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ganden Phodrang’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ganden-phodrang (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻