ABSTRACT
It was in the seventh century Ce that Tibet emerged as a formidable military and political entity on to the world scene. The same century also witnessed the formal introduction of Buddhism and the beginning of historical records. Our knowledge about religious beliefs and historical events in Tibet prior to the seventh century remains very limited and it is derived mainly from legendary and quasi-historical accounts. The earliest literary sources suggest that the Tibetan Plateau was first occupied by semi-nomadic groups of people who in the course of time formed into rival factions. These factions were led by chieftains who established their headquarters in fortified strongholds in the major valleys of the central and eastern tributaries of the Tsangpo River (i.e. Brahmaputra). To the north of those valleys a nomadic pattern of life seems to have persisted up to modern times. The darkness of legends began to yield to apparently more historical accounts when some of those local chiefs joined together to recognise the chief who controlled the Yarlung Valley as their leader. This valley is situated to the south of Lhasa which later became the main city in Tibet.
