The Tibetan Empire exists during the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries CE, and rules an area considerably larger than the Tibetan Plateau that stretches mostly to parts of East Asia, Central Asia and South Asia.At its height, the empire's influence and control of territories stretches from modern day Sikkim, East Turkistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, north Pakistan, north Afghanistan, north India, north Nepal, Bhutan and parts of China.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century.

From the 7th to the 11th century a series of emperors rules Tibet.Throughout the centuries from the time of the emperor Songtsän Gampo, the power of the empire gradually increases over a diverse terrain, so that by the reign of the emperor Ralpacan, in the opening years of the ninth century, its influence extends as far south as Bengal and as far north as Mongolia.The varied terrain of the empire and the difficulty of transportation, coupled with the new ideas that come into the empire as a result of its expansion, helps to create stresses and power blocs that are often in competition with the ruler at the center of the empire.

Thus, for example, adherents of the Bön religion and the supporters of the ancient noble families gradually come to find themselves in competition with the recently introduced Buddhism.