The Tibetan Empire was once one of the most powerful political and economic forces in the ancient world.
However, in the mid-9th century, the entire empire suddenly collapsed, fracturing into minor kingdoms and warring border states.
Why did the Tibetan Empire collapse?
And how did the fall of the Tibetan Empire change the Buddhist cultural world?
Using primary sources and recent historical research, this episode explores those questions, focusing on the reign of Tibet's last great Emperor, Tritsuk Detsen, also known as Ralpachen (802-838), who's controversial reign and untimely death would plunge the empire into civil war