Besting the Best: Warriors and Warfare in the Cultural and Religious Traditions of Tibet: A Historical, Ethnographic and Archaeological Survey of Martialism over the Last Three Millennia
Acknowledgements xv General Introduction 1 Overview 1 A chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the major themes and theses of the book 7 Tibet and war in the global setting 12 A chronology of the archaeological resources utilized 18
CHAPTER ONE Violence and War in Buddhism 25 The doctrinal foundation 25 The ritual application of bellicosity 27 The visionary call to arms 31
CHAPTER TWO Violence and Martialism in Tibetan Societies 35 The democratization of belligerence 35 The warlike proclivities of pastoralists in the northern grasslands 36 The arrow 48
CHAPTER THREE The Divine Companions of Warriors 59 The tradition of warlike protector deities 59 Old Tibetan antecedents of the mountain gods 67 The martial splendor of mountain gods 79
CHAPTER FOUR The Quintessential Warrior Spirits 89 The dgra-lha protectors of males 89 The dgra-bla in Old Tibetan literature 91 The sgra-bla in Yungdrung Bon literature 95
CHAPTER FIVE Imperial Warriors and Warfare in Tibetan Literature 105 The imperial polity 105 Imperial military organization 113 The accoutrements of the warrior in the time of empire 154
CHAPTER SIX Prehistoric Martial Traditions in Tibetan Literature 175 The martial foundations of the Tibetan political dispensation 175 The warlike deeds of prehistoric kings and priests 183
CHAPTER SEVEN Armaments of Upper Tibet and Other Martial Symbols in the Late Prehistoric Era 191 Weapons discovered in Far Western Tibet and related types 191 Tibetan copper alloy armed and horseback riding fi gures 215 The shared idiom of armaments in Inner Asia 225
CHAPTER EIGHT Warriors, Warfare and Related Archaeological Sites of Upper Tibet in the Late Prehistoric Era 239 Hor ses, monuments, war, and sociopolitical complexity in Inner Asia 239 Long stone grid necropolises in Upper Tibet 248 Hilltop fortifi cations in Upper Tibet 275
CHAPTER NINE Martialism and Combat in the Rock Art of the Tibetan Plateau and North Inner Asia 305 The lineaments of martial subjects in the rock art of Inner Asia 305 Combat-related rock art on the Tibetan Plateau 317 1. Bi-triangular anthropomorphs in Upper Tibet and Ladakh 320 2. Armed Mascoids in Upper Tibet and Ladakh 332 3. Combat-related rock art in Ladakh 337 4. Combat-related rock art in Spiti 347 5. Combat-related rock art in Yul-shul 351 6. Combat-related rock art in northern Amdo 355 Combat-related rock art on the Tibetan Plateau and North Inner Asia 356 1. Chariots 357 2. Mushroom-headed fi gures 375 3. Horsemen with banners 385 4. Structures and sensibilities in combat-related rock art 390
Conclusion 399 Catalogue of Rock Art Images 405 Introduction to the rock art catalogue 405 Gallery of images 414 Bibliography 507 Index 547
