Ngawang Tashi Drakpa

Ngawang Tashi Drakpa (Tibetan: ངག་དབང་བཀྲ་ཤིས་གྲགས་པ, Wylie: Ngag dbang bkra shis grags pa, 1488–1564) was a king of Tibet who ruled in 1499–1554 and 1556/57–1564. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which was the dominating regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435 and maintained a degree of authority until the early 17th century. His rule is sometimes considered to be the last of importance in the history of the dynasty.

The earliest years of Ngawang Tashi Drakpa's life was also a time when the political authority of the Phagmodrupa regime was at its nadir. The dynasty originally wielded strong executive power over Central Tibet (Ü and Tsang), but after 1435 the various fiefs gained an autonomous position. In particular the royal court in Nêdong was overshadowed by the Rinpungpa family, whose principal stronghold was Samdrubtse (Shigatse in Tsang, West Central Tibet). This family acted as patrons to the Karmapa lama, whose religious influence in Ü (East Central Tibet) was greatly enhanced when the Rinpungpa captured Lhasa in 1498. The ties between Karmapa and Rinpungpa were not unconditional, however, since the former did not wish to see their activities and decisions determined by a secular hegemon. Later on, this led the Karmapa and Shamarpa hierarchs to support a revival of Phagmodrupa power.

Ngawang Tashi Drakpa was born in 1488 as the only son of King Ngagi Wangpo and his consort Lady Dsongkhama. His mother died when he was only one year old, followed by the father in 1491. Due to his minority a regent was appointed at the Nêdong court. The person chosen was Tsokye Dorje, a member of the increasingly powerful Rinpungpa. In 1499, after a turbulent regency, Tsokye Dorje handed over powers to Ngawang Tashi Drakpa who was enthroned as king (gongma, "the high one", "superior"). Five years later the young ruler married a Rinpungpa lady out of political expediency. This consort, Legtso Gyalmo, bore him two sons, namely Drowai Gonpo (1508-1548) and Drakpa Jungne (1508-1570). He later married Sangye Pal Dzomma of the house of Nelpa, a strong-willed woman who actively assisted her husband in expanding their common power base. She was, in a modern assessment, "one of the most powerful and fascinating female rulers in Tibet".

...
Wikipedia