The Dawson Ledger
Event

Dzungar Conquest of Tibet (1716–1717)

Dzungar Khanate seizes Lhasa and deposes the Tibetan regent's regime, prompting the Qing intervention of 1720 (Perdue 2005; Petech 1950).

Tibetan

Event Details

  • Date: 1716–1717
  • Type: conquest
  • Civilizations: tibetan

Description

Dzungar Khanate seizes Lhasa and deposes the Tibetan regent's regime, prompting the Qing intervention of 1720 (Perdue 2005; Petech 1950).

Quantitative facts and their sourcing

  • Date note: sources differ on the start year. Petech (2nd rev. ed., Brill 1972, pp. 35-36; read in the Internet Archive open copy; petech1972-china-tibet-2nd-rev) says Cering Donduk "started for Tibet in the 11th month (December 1716-January 1717)"; Qing shi gao 525 (read) dates the Dzungar expedition to Kangxi 56 (1717).
  • The wider campaign ran 1717–1720 CE (Qing shi gao 525).
  • Span 1716-1720; result per infobox: Dzungar victory (initial conquest of Lhasa, 1717).
  • Wikipedia (stub): Dzungar force ~6,000-10,000; opposing Tibetan/Qing-allied force ~14,500-16,000; casualties "light" (Dzungar) and "heavy" (opponents). Numbers uncited quality; low confidence.
  • PRIMARY-SOURCE (read 2026-10-12): Qing shi gao 525 (Tibet): Kangxi 56 (1717) Tsewang Rabtan sent Tsering Dondub with 6,000 troops across the Gobi and the snow mountains south of Khotan; Lhazang Khan fought for two months, fell back to the Potala and was killed; the Dzungars sent temple treasures to Ili. Kangxi 59 (1720) Qing two-route advance; the Dzungars broke and "fewer than half" got back to Ili. Draft official history (1928).

Confidence

low-medium (dates/outcome medium; numbers low). Numbers marked "Wikipedia-compiled (stub)" come from a secondary aggregator and must be upgraded to page-level scholarly citations before any Official use.

Citations

  • qsg-525-wikisource-zh [PRIMARY-READ] Zhao Erxun et al. (compilers) (1928). Qing shi gao juan 525 (Fanbu 8: Tibet), Chinese text, zh.wikisource revid 2592006; read. Draft official history compiled 1914-1928. Wikisource (zh). https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B8%85%E5%8F%B2%E7%A8%BF/%E5%8D%B7525. Read 2026-10-12; location: Kangxi 56 and 59 entries.
  • perdue2005-china-marches-west [formal] Peter C. Perdue (2005). China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia. Harvard University Press / Belknap. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17456405W. Verified 2026-10-11 (Open Library record found; edition exists, page-level not checked).
  • petech1972-china-tibet-2nd-rev [PRIMARY-READ] Luciano Petech (1972). China and Tibet in the Early 18th Century, 2nd revised edition. E. J. Brill, Leiden. https://archive.org/details/china-and-tibet-in-the-early-18th-century-history-of-the-establishment-of-chines. Read 2026-10-13 (Internet Archive open copy); location: pp. 35-36.
  • petech1950-china-tibet [formal] Luciano Petech (1950). China and Tibet in the Early 18th Century: History of the Establishment of Chinese Protectorate in Tibet. Brill. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1318645W. Verified 2026-10-11 (Open Library record found; edition exists, page-level not checked).
  • wp-dzungar-conquest-of-tibet [STUB (secondary aggregator)] Wikipedia contributors (2026). Dzungar conquest of Tibet (Wikipedia; secondary aggregator, stub-grade). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzungar_conquest_of_Tibet. Verified 2026-10-11 (resolves).

Review status

SOFT draft. Not Official. Needs editor review of CAD tags (estimated) and page-level citation upgrade.

About this entry

A draft entry preserved from civilization.study. Evidence grade: low. 4 of 5 listed sources are fully documented; the rest are names only. Method and sources

Conflict card

This card is generated from Civitas's war record and carries the same evidence badge as every other conflict card.

How to read the evidence badges
Primary text read
Civitas read the ancient or primary text for at least one figure on this card. Other figures may still be Wikipedia-compiled and are labelled.
Generic placeholder: an advancing line for a war or campaign. Not an image of this event.
conquest · 1716–1717

Dzungar Conquest of Tibet (1716–1717)

Dzungar Khanate seizes Lhasa and deposes the Tibetan regent's regime, prompting the Qing intervention of 1720 (Perdue 2005; Petech 1950).

Evidence: Primary text read Draft estimate

What the record says

  • Primary text Date note: sources differ on the start year. Petech (2nd rev. ed., Brill 1972, pp. 35-36; read in the Internet Archive open copy; petech1972-china-tibet-2nd-rev) says Cering Donduk "started for Tibet in the 11th month (December 1716-January 1717)"; Qing shi gao 525 (read) dates the Dzungar expedition to Kangxi 56 (1717).
  • Note The wider campaign ran 1717–1720 CE (Qing shi gao 525).
  • Note Span 1716-1720; result per infobox: Dzungar victory (initial conquest of Lhasa, 1717).
  • Unverified (Wikipedia-compiled) Wikipedia (stub): Dzungar force ~6,000-10,000; opposing Tibetan/Qing-allied force ~14,500-16,000; casualties "light" (Dzungar) and "heavy" (opponents). Numbers uncited quality; low confidence.
  • Primary text PRIMARY-SOURCE (read 2026-10-12): Qing shi gao 525 (Tibet): Kangxi 56 (1717) Tsewang Rabtan sent Tsering Dondub with 6,000 troops across the Gobi and the snow mountains south of Khotan; Lhazang Khan fought for two months, fell back to the Potala and was killed; the Dzungars sent temple treasures to Ili. Kangxi 59 (1720) Qing two-route advance; the Dzungars broke and "fewer than half" got back to Ili. Draft official history (1928).

Confidence. low-medium (dates/outcome medium; numbers low).

Where it sits

Sources and evidence

No page-level citation is claimed for any source. Figures marked unverified come from a Wikipedia aggregator and are not for Official use.

Link to this conflict

Art: Patterns of Civilization chronicle art, made with AI: illustrations, not historical evidence. Entries are drafts preserved from civilization.study. Method and sources.