Introduction 3
between the 6th and the early 14th century, the period when Buddhism became
the dominant religious and cultural force in this region until its gradual decline
with the advent of Islam in Eastern Central Asia, including the Transhimalayan
region. However, the chapters presented in this volume are confined to roughly
the 7th to 13th centuries as a result of the specific materials discussed.
Within the time span of the envisioned research agenda, Central Asian
cultures survived two serious crises triggering major economic, political and
cultural changes, which affected every important Eurasian state and location
more or less simultaneously: (1) in the mid-8th century successful political
revolts occurred in many Eurasian empires, e.g. the Abbasid, the Uyghur Turkic,
and the anti-Tang (Chinese) rebellions, which further coincided with the Sino-
Abbasid battle of Talas in 751 (for the location of the Talas River see map 1.1).
This battle divided Central Asia for centuries to come into an Islamic bloc to
its West and a Buddhist bloc to its East—it is the latter, Eastern Central Asia,
which is of concern for the present research; (2) a crisis in the mid-9th cen-
tury which resulted in the collapse of the ancient routes of communication in
Central Asia: that is, the fall of the East Uyghur Empire (roughly 744–840) to
the Kirghiz in 840, the demise of the Tibetan Empire in 842, the Buddhist per-
secutions in China (beginning in 842) and the final demise of the Chinese Tang
Empire (618–907, 唐), a little more delayed, in 907.4 As an immediate result
of the almost simultaneous breaking up of the three neighbouring empires
(Uyghur, Tibetan, Chinese) around the mid-9th to early-10th centuries, Eastern
Central Asia, the Buddhist bloc, transformed into a mosaic of fragmented
political regimes whose legitimacy was based partially on their imperial her-
itage (real or imaginary) and partially on Buddhist political concepts. The
ensuing progress of history was characterised by the balance of local king-
doms or fiefdoms in the Tarim basin around the Taklamakan desert with the
power exerted between the Chinese Song (960–1279, 宋), Khitan (907–1125, 遼)
and Tangut (c. 1032–1227, 西夏) empires which emerged and stabilised from
the 10th century onward East of the Tarim basin; similar local kingdoms
ruled the Transhimalayan region in Kashmir, Zangskar and in Western Tibet
(e.g. the Purang-Guge Kingdom) during roughly the same time. This equilib-
rium was destroyed when the Mongols conquered large parts of the Eurasian
continent around the early 13th century. From the Buddhist perspective one
can generally observe during this time of political reorganisation of large parts
of Central Asia a process of accumulation of religious knowledge and, more
4 Beckwith, Christopher I., The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great
Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1987), 192.