(TibetanReview.net, Aug12’24) – The general narrative on the demise of the Tibetan empire, which pervaded across Central Asia and beyond during the period of 7th to 9th centuries AD, even sacking China’s Tang dynasty capital Chang’an—modern day Xian—in 763, is pretty straightforward: It followed the assassination of its Yarlung dynasty King Langdarma and the disintegration of the empire due to the absence of a central authority. However, scientists are said to see the explanation for the collapse of the Tibetan empire lying elsewhere, namely climate change.
The period of its heyday fell on 618-877 AD. However, then it began to fade, and then completely disappeared. For a long time, scientists could not understand what exactly led to the death of the state, noted newsyou.info Aug 12.
In order to finally solve the mystery of the collapse of an ancient civilization, scientists from the Tibetan Highlands Research Institute turned to the geological data of lake sediments. As a result, they came to the conclusion that the fading occurred due to changed natural conditions, the report said, citing a vsviti.com.ua report.
Warm and humid weather trends were strong during the heyday of the Tibetan empire. This contributed to the development of agriculture and cattle breeding. But later, despite everything, there was a severe drought that coincided with the collapse of the state, the authors of the work were stated to have noted.
The researchers have based their opinion on the remains of microscopic unicellular algae found in one of the lakes of Tibet. They drew attention to clear signs of the transition from planktonic species (drifting inside the lake, closer to the surface) to benthic forms (living near the bottom of the reservoir). This means that its level was once much higher. That is, later the lake partially dried up.
During the analysis of other reservoirs in the region, the authors of the work were stated to have come to the conclusion that climatic changes affected the entire highlands, and were not limited to the place under study.
The drought probably lasted for 60-70 years. This would have caused crop failures, and food shortages in those days often led to social unrest, as well as religious and political problems, the researchers were stated to have concluded.