The traditional list of the ancient Tibetan rulers consists of 42 names.[1] The first 26 rulers may belong to the realm of legend, as there is insufficient evidence of their existence, but modern scholars believe that the kings from no. 27 to no. 32 were historical.[2] The rulers from no. 33 to no. 42 are well-documented in many reliable Tibetan and foreign sources.
A unified Tibetan state did not exist before the times of the kings no. 31, 32, and 33. The earlier rulers, known as the Yarlung dynasty, were probably just local chiefs in the Yarlung valley area, certainly not emperors of Tibet.[3]
In the list the common transliteration is given first, the academic one in brackets.
^ Haarh, Erik: Extract from "The Yar Lun Dynasty", in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 144.
^ Haarh, Erik: Extract from "The Yar Lun Dynasty", in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 147; Richardson, Hugh: The Origin of the Tibetan Kingdom, in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 159 (and list of kings p. 166-167).
^ Kirkland, Russell: The Spirit of the Mountain, in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 183.
