Harsha: Difference between revisions

In 648, [[Tang dynasty]] emperor [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Tang Taizong]] sent [[Wang Xuance]] to India in response to emperor Harsha having sent an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king Aluonashun (supposedly [[Arunāsva]]) attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bennett |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Bennett (historian) |date=1998 |title=The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare |location=Chicago |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/hutchinsondictio0000benn/page/336 336] |isbn=978-1-57958-116-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hutchinsondictio0000benn/page/336 }}</ref> This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then mounting a joint expendition of over 7,000 [[Nepal]]ese [[mounted infantry]] and 1,200 [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] [[infantry]] and attack on the Indian state on June 16. The success of this attack won Xuance the prestigious title of the "Grand Master for the Closing Court."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blBTHAY_A4wC&dq=%22wang+xuance&pg=PA23 |title=Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations ... By Tansen Sen, pg 23 |access-date=15 March 2023 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417082308/https://books.google.com/books?id=blBTHAY_A4wC&dq=%22wang+xuance&pg=PA23 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frIEAAAAYAAJ&q=%22wang+xuance |title=The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies By International Association of Buddhist Studies |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417082304/https://books.google.com/books?id=frIEAAAAYAAJ&q=%22wang+xuance |url-status=live }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2022}} 2,000 prisoners were taken from Magadha by the Nepali and Tibetan forces under Wang.<ref name="Benn2002">{{cite book|author=Charles D. Benn|title=Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeintradi00benn|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30955-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeintradi00benn/page/38 38]–}}</ref> Tibetan and Chinese writings document describe Wang Xuance's raid on India with Tibetan soldiers.<ref name="Sen2003">{{cite book|author=Tansen Sen|title=Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blBTHAY_A4wC&pg=PA253|date=January 2003|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2593-5|pages=253–}}</ref> Nepal had been subdued by the Tibetan King [[Songtsen Gampo|Songtsen]].<ref name="Sen2003 2">{{cite book|author=Tansen Sen|title=Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blBTHAY_A4wC&q=tibetan+nepal+648&pg=PA22|date=January 2003|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2593-5|pages=22–}}</ref> The Indian pretender was among the captives.<ref name="Yule1915">{{cite book|author=Henry Yule|title=Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqgAb41ifIC&q=tibetan+nepal+648&pg=PA69|year=1915|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1966-1|pages=69–}}</ref><ref name="Pordenone)Ṭabīb1998">{{cite book|author1=Odorico (da Pordenone)|author2=Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb|author3=Francesco Balducci Pegolotti |author4=Joannes de Marignolis |author5=Ibn Batuta |title=Cathay and the Way Thither: Preliminary essay on the intercourse between China and the western nations previous to the discovery of the Cape route|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69UMAQAAMAAJ&q=648|year=1998|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.|page=69|isbn=9788121508391}}</ref> The war happened in 649.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Taizong's grave had a statue of the Indian pretender.<ref name="Bagchi2011">{{cite book|author=Prabodh Chandra Bagchi|title=India and China : interactions through Buddhism and diplomacy ; a collection of essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MB4CHPi7dycC&q=tibetan+nepal+648&pg=PA158|year=2011|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-93-80601-17-5|pages=158–}}</ref> The pretender's name was recorded in Chinese records as "Na-fu-ti O-lo-na-shuen" (Dinafudi is probably a reference to [[Mithila (region)|Tirabhukti)]]<ref>See</ref><ref name="Sircar1990">{{cite book|author=D.C. Sircar|title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC&q=tibetan+nepal+648&pg=PA326|year=1990|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0690-0|pages=326–}}</ref><ref name="Schaik2011">{{cite book|author=Sam Van Schaik|title=Tibet: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RpLAKGG1ZX4C&q=tibetan+nepal+648&pg=PT48|year=2011|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-17217-1|pages=48–}}</ref>

==Religion==