Muné Tsenpo () was the 39th

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

(r. 797?-799?). This period of Tibetan history, towards the end, and after the reign of

Trisong Detsen Tri Songdetsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and th ...

is very murky and the sources give conflicting stories and dates. Mune Tsenpo is a

Zhangzhung Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient culture and kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philosophie ...

name meaning Namkha Tsenpo or 'Sky King'. Trisong Detsen is said to have had four sons. The eldest, Mutri Tsenpo, apparently died young. When Trisong Detsen retired (c. 797) to take up residence at the Nyugmakhar Palace (sMyug ma mkar) in Zungkhar (Zung mkhar), he handed power to the eldest surviving son, Muné Tsenpo. Most sources say that Muné's reign lasted only about a year and a half, while many Western scholars believe this would have been too short and some have suggested he reigned from 797 to 804. The ''Deb-ston'', however, records a reign of 17 years, but this has been attributed to a misreading of the Chinese accounts. The '' dBa' bzhed'' claims that Muné Tsenpo insisted that his father's funeral be performed according to Buddhist rather than the

Bon ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

rites. Tibetan sources say he tried three times unsuccessfully to ensure the equitable distribution of land and property; but each time the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. He established four major places to worship the Tripitaka and the abhisambodhi. After a short reign, Muné Tsenpo, was supposedly poisoned on the orders of his mother, Tsephongsa, who was jealous of his beautiful young wife, Queen Phoyongsa. After his death,

Mutik Tsenpo Mutik Tsenpo () or Murug Tsenpo () is sometimes considered to have been one of the emperors of Tibet. This is, however, very questionable. Moreover, the whole period between the reigns of Trisong Detsen and Sadnalegs is very unclear, with several ...

was next in line to the throne. However, Sadnalegs elder brother, Mutik Tsenpo, had been apparently banished to Lhodak Kharchu (lHo-brag or Lhodrag) near the

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

ese border for murdering a senior minister, although some people believe he ruled for an indeterminate period. Whatever the case, the youngest brother,

Sadnalegs Tridé Songtsen (), better known by his nickname Sénalek Jingyön () or Sadnalegs () for short, was the youngest son of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet (reigned 800–815 CE – though various accounts give the beginning of his reign as 797 or 804 ...

, was definitely ruling by 804 CE.Richardson, Hugh. ''A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions'' (1981), p. 44. Royal Asiatic Society, London. .

References

Sources

Central Asian Studies (Germany)
*http://dabase.org/padma-lb.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Mune Tsenpo Tibetan emperors Buddhist monarchs 8th-century rulers in Asia 8th-century Tibetan people 8th-century births Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 8th-century Buddhists