Tibetan Empire

State · 623–849 CE · at its largest around 830 CE

Songtsen Gampo united the plateau's clans, and tradition credits his Chinese and Nepalese queens with bringing Buddhism and founding Lhasa's Jokhang temple. A Tibetan script was created from Indian models, and Trisong Detsen founded Samye, Tibet's first monastery.

On its lands while it lasted

Suyab (c. 555–749 CE): Capital of Göktürk Khaganate (555–586), Türgesh (704–749).
Harsha (c. 590 CE – 647 CE): Emperor who ruled much of northern India from Kannauj; his court was described by the poet Bana and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.
Songtsen Gampo (c. 605 CE – 649 CE): King who unified Tibet, moved the capital to Lhasa and is credited with introducing Buddhism and writing.
Tibetan Empire (c. 618–842 CE): Empire founded by the Yarlung dynasty that dominated the Tibetan Plateau and at times much of Central Asia.
Lhasa (c. 623 CE): Capital of Tibetan Empire (623–842), Khoshut Khanate (1650–1695).
Srinagar (c. 625 CE): Capital of Karkota Dynasty (625–859), Kashmiri Sultanate (1344–1586), Kashmir and Jammu (1846–1947).
Jokhang (c. 647 CE): Temple in Lhasa founded under Songtsen Gampo, the most sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism.
Li Bai (701 CE – 762 CE): Tang dynasty poet celebrated for romantic and imaginative verse; one of the most famous Chinese poets.
Du Fu (712 CE – 770 CE): Tang dynasty poet whose verse on war and social suffering earned him the title "Poet-Historian".
Kathmandu (723 CE): Capital of Nepal (2008–today).
Kara-Khanid Khanate (c. 840–1212 CE): Turkic dynasty that ruled Transoxiana and the Tian Shan region and was among the first Turkic states to adopt Islam.