Mutik Tsenpo the 39th king of Tibet had several names: formally ''Tridé Tsenpo'' (), and his nickname ''Sadnalegs'' (). He was the third and youngest son of King

Trisong Detsen Trisong Detsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 37th king of Tibet. As the 38th king, he ruled from AD 755 until 797. Trisong Detsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet — Songsten Gampo, Trisong Detsen, Rapalchen — honored f ...

. He reigned between the disputed king of Tibet, Mune Tsenpo, and the 40th king, Ralpachen, making the dates of his reign from 800 to 815 CE. After Trisong Detsen retired to live at Zungkar, he passed the throne to his second son, Muné Tsenpo, who reigned from in 797 to 799. It is said that Muné Tsenpo was poisoned by his mother.

Buton Rinchen Drub Butön Rinchen Drup (), (1290–1364), 11th Abbot of Shalu Monastery, was a 14th-century Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school), Sakya master and Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist leader. Shalu was the first of the major monasteries to be built by nob ...

states that Muné Tsenpo's throne was passed to his brother Mutik Tsenpo, who was later "known by the surname of Sen-na-le (fn. 1351, Sadnalegs)."Buton Rinchen Drub, 1356. ''History of Buddhism''. Translated by E. Obermiller, 1932. Heidelberg: University of Heidelberg, pgs. 1-233 Both the '' Chronicle of Ba'', other Tibetan sources, and the ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'' agree that since Muné Tsenpo had no heirs, the throne passed to his younger brother, Mutik Tsenpo (Sadnalegs) in 800, and he was coronated by 804 CE. Although Mutik Tsenpo was only four years of age, after the poisoning of Muné Tsenpo, the Buddhist monk Nyang Tingngezin proposed to enthrone Mutik Tsenpo as the king. He was so young that most of the ministers doubted his ability to be the king. In order to test the majesty of the young prince, the ministers let him sit on a seat and put many precious ornaments on his head. His body couldn't carry such a weight, so he tilted his neck and wobbled, which was considered very dignified. Finally he inherited the throne. Sadnalegs was assisted by four experienced ministers, two of whom were also Buddhist monks. They followed the policies of the previous kings. Sadnalegs had four wives from different Tibetan clans and five sons while the number of his daughters is unknown.

Support for Buddhism

Indian scholars were invited to

Samye Samye Monastery (, ), full name Samye Migyur Lhundrub Tsula Khang (Wylie: ''Bsam yas mi ’gyur lhun grub gtsug lag khang'') and Shrine of Unchanging Spontaneous Presence, is the first Tibetan Buddhist and Nyingma monastery built in Tibet, during ...

Monastery to help translate Buddhist texts. Sadnaleg had the temple of Skar-cung (Karchung) built near Lhasa. Due to opposition to Buddhism, the king called a meeting with delegates and vassals from all over the kingdom and drew up a document pledging support for Buddhism which was signed by all who attended. An inscribed pillar with an account of this pledge was erected in front of the Karchung which still exists and has been translated into English. In 816, he also

standardized Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

the literary Tibetan language used in translating the Buddhist scriptures from India, resulting in its transformation into

Classical Tibetan Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 7th century until the modern day (along with Arabic, Ge'ez, and New Persian, it is one of the handful of 'living' ...

Political and military activities

Although Tibetan forces were fighting the Chinese between 799 and 803, with battles in Yanzhou (鹽州, present day Yanchi County,

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

), Lingzhou (麟州, Zoigê County,

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

), Weizhou (維州, Li County, Sichuan), Yazhou (雅州,

Ya'an Ya'an ( zh, s=雅安, p=Yǎ'ān, w=Ya-an) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau. The city is home to Sichuan Agricultural University, the only Project 211, 211 Project ...

, Sichuan) and Suizhou (巂州,

Xichang Xichang ( Northern Yi: /o̝˨˩dʐo̝˧/) is a city in and the seat of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Sichuan, China. History The Qiongdu were the local people at the time of contact with China. The county of Qiongdu is ...

, Sichuan), envoys began travelling regularly from 804 onwards between Lhasa and China, although no formal treaty was signed. When Emperor Dezong died in 805,

Ralpacan Tritsuk Detsen (), better known by his nickname Ralpachen () (c. 802 CE–838), was the 40th king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet. He reigned after the death of his father, Sadnalegs, in c. 815, and grew the empire to its largest extent. He wa ...

sent gifts of gold, silver, cloth, oxen and horses for the funeral. The Tibetan army continued to attack the Arabs to the west and, according to al-Ya'qubi, they besieged

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, the capital of

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

at the time. Finally, the Tibetan governor of Turkestan presented a statue made of gold and precious stones to the Arab

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

(r. 813–833). This statue was later sent to the

Ka'ba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is consi ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

.Shakabpa, Tsepon W. D. ''Tibet: A Political History'' (1967), p. 48. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.

Death and succession

Sadnalegs probably died in 815 (though the '' Blue Annals'' give 814). He had five sons, the first became a monk, the last two died in childhood. When Sadnaleg died,

Langdarma Darma U Dum Tsen (), better known as Langdarma (, "Mature Bull" or "Darma the Bull"), was the 41st and last king of the Tibetan Empire who in 838 killed his brother, King Ralpachen, then reigned from 841 to 842 CE before he himself was assas ...

was bypassed as he was anti-Buddhist and hot tempered and the royal power was given to

. An impressive stone pillar with an inscription commemorating Sadnalegs stand in the burial ground of the Tibetan kings near 'Phyong-rgas. It is partially illegible but confirms a number of historical events. It is of importance in dating Sadnalegs' reign as it states that warfare with China began when he took power. The '' Tang Annals'' report that the Chinese and Tibetans were fighting continuously between 799 and 803 CE, so it seems likely that Sadnalegs came to the throne c. 800–804 CE.Richardson, Hugh. ''A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions'' (1981), pp. 84–91. Royal Asiatic Society, London. .

References

{{authority control Emperors of Tibet Buddhist monarchs 9th-century monarchs in Asia 8th-century Tibetan people 9th-century Tibetan people 8th-century births 815 deaths Child monarchs from Asia Date of birth unknown 8th-century Buddhists 9th-century Buddhists Language reformers