The project “The Tibetan army of the Dalai Lamas, 1642-1959” (TibArmy, ERC Starting Grant 2015 n°677952, 2016-2023) was hosted by the CNRS at the CRCAO (UMR 8155) in Paris. The PI and her team have undertaken the study of the previously unresearched history of the Tibetan army during the period of the Buddhist government of the Dalai Lamas, the Ganden Phodrang (1642-1959). This government was the heir to a robust military culture with long experience in the defence of Buddhism since the Imperial Period (7th-9th c.); however, from its inception in the 17th century, it decided to partly rely on foreign armies for its protection, while also levying soldiers on its territory according to different means varying at times of peace and war and evolving over the three centuries under consideration. On the basis of two distinctive features of this period—the creation and maintenance of the first Tibetan standing army and the relatively limited number of these permanent troops (3,000 to 13,000)—the project has explored the enduring ambivalence of the Dalai Lamas’ government towards having its own army, as well as its reasons, consequences and expressions in discourses and practices.
The methodology, inspired by the “New military history”, followed a multifaceted approach taking into consideration social, economic, political, legal, religious and cultural aspects. It has also focused on the connected historical context of their evolution and the incorporation of elements from foreign military cultures and models.
Based on written and oral sources in Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, Mongol, Japanese, English, the project was structured along 5 thematic axes:
1. History of the army institution (17th-20th c.): social, economic and political aspects
2. Interactions with Mongol, Sino-Manchu troops and other foreign (mainly Japanese and British) influences on the Tibetan army
3. Cultural and discursive aspects: integration of the army within the Buddhist frame
4. Material culture and photographs: a visual history of the army (photograph exhibition)
5. An online lexicon of military terminology
By analysing the links between Buddhism and the military in Tibet, TibArmy has worked towards a clearer understanding of the links between State building, religion and army, and shed light on the past and current geo-political situation in Asia.
