Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It is sometimes referred to as the roof of the world.
During Tibet's history, it has been an independent country, divided into different countries, and a part of China, each for a certain amount of time. Tibet was first unified under King Songtsän Gampo in the seventh century. A government nominally headed by the Dalai Lamas, a line of spiritual leaders, ruled a large portion of the Tibetan region at various times from the 1640s until 1950s. During most of this period, the Tibetan administration was subordinate to the Chinese empire of the Qing Dynasty. The 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed Tibet independent in 1913, but this declaration was not accepted by China, nor was Tibet officially recognized as an independent nation by any country through diplomatic channels. Only three of the fourteen Dalai Lamas have actually ruled Tibet; regents ruled during 77% of the period from 1751 until 1960. The Communist Party of China gained control of central and western Tibet (the Tibet area controlled by the Dalai Lama) after a decisive military victory at Chamdo in 1950. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India after the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Today, Tibet is administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Beijing and the Government of Tibet in Exile disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether the incorporation into China of Tibet is legitimate according to international law. Since what constitutes Tibet is a matter of much debate, neither its size nor population are simple matters of fact, due to various entities claiming differing parts of the area as a Tibetan region.
"Tibet" names and definitions are linguistically and politically loaded language.
The modern Standard Tibetan endonym (or autonym) Bod means "Tibet" or "Tibetan Plateau", although it originally meant the central region "Ü-Tsang". The standard pronunciation of Bod, is transcribed Bhö or Phö. Some scholars believe the first written reference to Bod "Tibet" was the ancient "Bautai" people recorded in the (ca. 1st century) Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and (ca. 2nd century) Geographia.
The two Standard Mandarin exonyms for "Tibet" are classical Tubo or Tufan and modern Xizang(which now specifies the "Tibet Autonomous Region"). Xizang was coined during the Qing Dynasty period of the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820). The People's Republic of China government equates Xizang with the Xizang Zizhiqü "Tibet Autonomous Region".
The English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to 1827. While historical linguists generally agree that "Tibet" names in European languages are loanwords from Arabic Tibat or Tobatt, they disagree over the original etymology. Many sources propose Tibetan Stod-bod (pronounced tö-bhöt) "Upper Tibet", some suggest Turkic Töbäd "The Heights" (plural of töbän), and a few favor Chinese Tubo or Tufan.
