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"When we asked (Trungpa) about what meaning Gesar had in terms of the Shambhala teachings, Rinpoche exclaimed: “Gesar is the vanguard of Shambhala.” (It should be noted that in other contexts, the Vidyadhara indicated that the Shambhala terma had originated with the Rigden kings, Shiwa Ökar, or Gesar of Ling.).....http://nalandatranslation.org/projects/articles/gesar-supplication/
"Tazig: appears to signify Persia. 13 days horseback ride from Ling, at a place called Memoyu Thang." (David-Neel: Gesar: 1981..pg 239).....(at 20 miles per day it was about 260 miles from Ling to Persia)
"The success of the Turk Fromo Kesaro in overwhelming an intrusive Arab army, sometime between 739-745, may have formed the historic core behind the Gesar epic in Tibet. In the records of the earliest rulers of Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgit, whose countries were later overrun by incursive Tibetans, royal ancestry is connected to the Bactrian Gesar."......Harmatta, J.; Litvinsky, B. A. (1999). "Tokharistan and Gandhara under Western Türk rule (650-750)". In Dani, Ahmad Hasan. History of civilizations of Central Asia 3. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 367–402. ISBN 978-81-208-1540-7.......Vohra, Rohit (1996). "Early History of Ladakh: Mythic Lore % Fabulation: A preliminary note on the conjectural history of the 1st millennium A.D.". In Osmaston, Henry; Denwood, Philip. Recent research on Ladakh 4 & 5: proceedings of the fourth and fifth international colloquia on Ladakh. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 216–234. ISBN 978-81-208-1404-2. .
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"........"the Four Sons of Heaven, the rulers of the four great countries of the Asiatic world: China, India, Iran, Throm in the north with King Gesar." (Stein:1972, pg280...Stein Aurel M. 1929. On Alexander's Track to the Indus: Personal Narrative of Explorations on the North - west Frontier of India. London. Reprint: New York, Benjamin Blom, 1972.)...
"...Numismatic evidence and some accounts speak of a Bactrian ruler Phrom-kesar, specifically in the Turkish dynasty in Gandhāra, which was ruled by a Turkish Phrom-kesar ("Caesar of Rome"), who was father-in-law of the king of Khotan, around the middle of the 8th century CE......Vohra 1996, pp. 216–17 writes that Gesar is mentioned in a Khotan text, the Tibetan Li-yul-lun-bstan-pa, ("Prophecy of the Li Country") of the 9th-10th century, and Phrom long identified with a country northeast of Yarkand. Recent opinion identifies the land either with the Turkish Küūsen or the Kushan territories of Gandhāra and Udayana. Gesar may be either someone of Turkish stock or a non-Tibetan dynastic name. The Khotan king Vijaya Sangrama's consort Hu-rod-ga (Hu-rong-ga) was Phrom Gesar's daughter. The Padma-thang-yig records a Tibetan army subduing Gesar, something also mentioned in the Rygal-po'i-bka'i-than-yig ("Pronouncements concerning Kings").".....Vohra, Rohit (1996). "Early History of Ladakh: Mythic Lore % Fabulation: A preliminary note on the conjectural history of the 1st millennium A.D.". In Osmaston, Henry; Denwood, Philip. Recent research on Ladakh 4 & 5: proceedings of the fourth and fifth international colloquia on Ladakh. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 216–234. ISBN 978-81-208-1404-2. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
743 AD...."....the supremacy of the Umayyad caliph al-Mahdi and the true conquest of Kabul did not
take place until the end of the ninth century. ......An important recent discovery has provided a surprising insight into the events of this epoch. On the coins of some Arab governors, a Bactrian text overstruck on the rim has been discovered...... The reading of the text is as follows: (ppofio Kijaapo fiayo xoaSr/o
klSo /So xaz iicavo /opyo o<5o crao /3o oa/3ayo aro i /xo /Jo yaivSo ( Fromo Kesaro,
the Majestic Sovereign [is] who defeated the Arabs and laid a tax [on them]. Thus they sent
it.)...... These coins formed part of the tax paid by the Arabs to Fromo Kesaro and were over-
struck with a legend telling of his victory over them. Obviously, this event occurred during
the reign of Fromo Kesaro (739-746) and may have contributed to his transformation in
later historical tradition 44 into the Tibetan national hero Phrom Ge-sar, whose figure still
survives today in the folklore of the territory of ancient Gandhara."...... HistoryOfCivilizationsOfCentralAsia
Numismatic evidence[Vohra, 1996] and some accounts speak of a Bactrian ruler Phrom-kesar,[Samuel, Geoffrey, 2005] specifically in the Turkish dynasty in Gandhāra, which was ruled by a Turkish Phrom-kesar ("Caesar of Rome"),[Martin 2011] who was father-in-law of the king of Khotan, around the middle of the 8th century CE.[Maconi 2004][Vohra 1996]...In early Bön sources, Phrom-kesar is always a place name, and never refers, as it does later, to a ruler.[23]....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_King_Gesar
Numismatic evidence....Vohra 1996, p. 217 writes that these coins with the title Fromo Kesaro appear to refer to the successor of Sahi Tegin (700-738 CE:Chinese:烏散特勤灑:MC:uo-sân d'ɘk-g'iɘn ṣai=*Horsān tegin šāhi 'Tegin, king of Khurasan'), ruler of the Second Turki Śāhi dynasty at Kapisa-Udyana, whose reign was between 738 and 745 C.E., and who is identified with the 'Frōm Kēsar' (拂菻罽婆: Fúlǐn jìpó:North Western Tang pfvyr-lḭum-kḭe-sâ) of the Tang shu. SeeHarmatta & Litvinsky 1999, pp. 376,380)....Vohra, Rohit (1996). "Early History of Ladakh: Mythic Lore % Fabulation: A preliminary note on the conjectural history of the 1st millennium A.D.". In Osmaston, Henry; Denwood, Philip. Recent research on Ladakh 4 & 5: proceedings of the fourth and fifth international colloquia on Ladakh. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 216–234. ISBN 978-81-208-1404-2. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
Bactrian ruler.....Samuel, Geoffrey (2005). Tantric revisionings: new understandings of Tibetan Buddhism and Indian religion. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-2752-3.
Caesar of Rome.....Martin 2011, p. 127:"He received this laudatory epithet because he, like the Byzantines, was successful at holding back the Muslim conquerors."....Martin, Dan (2011). "Greek and Islamic Medicines' Historical Contact with Tibet". In Akasoy, Anna; Burnett, Charles; Yoeli-Tlalim, Ronit. Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. pp. 117–144. ISBN 978-0-7546-6956-2. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
King of Khotan.....Vohra 1996, pp. 216–17 writes that Gesar is mentioned in a Khotan text, the Tibetan Li-yul-lun-bstan-pa, ("Prophecy of the Li Country") of the 9th-10th century, and Phrom long identified with a country northeast of Yarkand. Recent opinion identifies the land either with the Turkish Küūsen or the Kushan territories of Gandhāra and Udayana. Gesar may be either someone of Turkish stock or a non-Tibetan dynastic name. The Khotan king Vijaya Sangrama's consort Hu-rod-ga (Hu-rong-ga) was Phrom Gesar's daughter. The Padma-thang-yig records a Tibetan army subduing Gesar, something also mentioned in the Rygal-po'i-bka'i-than-yig ("Pronouncements concerning Kings")......Vohra, Rohit (1996). "Early History of Ladakh: Mythic Lore % Fabulation: A preliminary note on the conjectural history of the 1st millennium A.D.".
King of Khotan.....Maconi 2004.....Maconi, Lara. (2004). "Theatrical Gesar de Pékin? Le sort du Roi Gesar de Gling, héros épique tibétain, en Chinese (post-)maoïste". In Judith. Formes modernes de la poésie épique: nouvelles approches. Bruxelles: Peter Lang. pp. 371–419. ISBN 978-90-5201-196-7.
"...Coins and Tamgas connected with Gesar Certain emissions of coins bearing the title Fromo Kesaro have been identified with the successor of Sahi Tegin.."...Osmaston, Henry, and Philip Denwood, eds.1995. Recent Research on Ladakh 4 & 5. Proceedings of the Fourth and Fifth International Colloquia on Ladakh. Bristol 1989 & London 1992. London: SOAS Studies. ISBN 0 7286 0241 5. 429 pages. Available from the Publications Department, SOAS. Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, U.K.
Fromo Kesaro........"One year later, in 739, Tegin Shah abdicated the throne of Gandhara in favour of his son, Fu-lin-chi-p'o (also known as Fromo Kesaro, the Bactrian form of his name)......The Coins reads in Bactrian script: "The Glory Increased! The Majestic Sovereign!"...this victory occurred during the Reign of Fromo Kesaro (739-746 AD) and may have contributed to his transformation in later historical tradition into the Tibetan national hero Phrom Ge-sar, whose figure still survives today in the folklore of the territory of ancient Gandhara."......History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations....edited by Ahmad Hasan Dan
Fromo Kesaro....." “Who is Gesar?” and “Where is Gesar?” or perhaps “Where is From Gesar (Phrom Ge-sar)?”.....I do believe the Tibetan evidence for Phrom Ge-sar is very likely to prove relevant to Fromo Kesaro as found in some coin inscriptions...One fairly early academic discussion somehow at least moderately relevant to the problem of Fromo Kesaro / Phrom Ge-sar is in Bailey’s article, at p. 427. Bailey considers the idea that a Khotanese name/title rrispurä kheysarä, ‘Prince Kheysara,’ really has ‘Caesar’ behind it. And he mentions the Phrom Ge-sar of Tibetan documents. He notices in this connection kesarî (maned one, lion) and kesara (filament of a flower) as two Sanskrit words that were borrowed into Khotanese, getting slightly altered in the process. He finally concludes that the personal name Caesar is not to be found in Khotanese.....have a look at the discussion of Phrom and Ge-sar by F.W. Thomas in Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan, Part III (London 1955), pp. 79-82. It’s still worth considering what he had to say there. The late Ron Emmerick’s Tibetan Texts Concerning Khotan (p. 69) has a translation from a Tanjur text that does something very exceptional in calling ’Phrom Ge-sar a ‘king’ (rgyal-po). This King From Gesar's daughter Huronga (Hu-rong-ga) married the Khotanese king and had two daughters who became nuns......TIBETO-LOGIC
MORE-OR-LESS MONTHLY MUSINGS ON MAINLY ANTIQUARIAN TOPICS OF TIBET-RELATED INTEREST......http://tibeto-logic.blogspot.com/2010/02/from-gesar-place-this-time.html
"... The territory was defined by natural boundaries: the Hindu Kush mountain range ... Beyond the foothills north of Gandhara was the ancient region of Udayana...The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art By Kurt A. Behrendt, 2007
"Gesar of Ling is considered the world's last living epic. In primarily oral traditions, specific people (such as the bards of the ancient Celts) are charged with the duty of remembering and narrating the legend. In the case of the Tibetan epic, it requires someone who can recall a song that is 25 times the length of The Iliad of ancient Greece. ..... there is no single version of King Gesar's deeds. The Gesar repertoire, known throughout the vast Himalayan region, contains material that could fill 37 volumes. And, like the Homeric epics, it existed in the oral tradition for generations before it was ever written down. Aspiring balladeers would learn the words and melody by heart from the lips of an experienced, older singer...... there are a number of different versions, but interestingly the Ladakhi one (West Tibetan cultural area) and the Khampa (East Tibetan) are quite similar. One translation, Gessar Khan, a West Tibet version (first appeared in German in 1836) makes reference to Persian non-Buddhist deities. The "Foreward" also mentions the Kalmyk Little Gesser (Riga, 1804.) ....The name, Gesar, is evocative of the Latin Caesar, from which we get the German Kaiser, and also the Russian word for "king," Tsar.) Noted mythologist Joseph Campbell (1968, 107) also had this impression, but pointed out that, although some think the Gesar material refers to "the glories that were Rome," there is also a commonality in the pre-Islamic Persian word for "sovereignty" which is sahr. ....Gesar is said to have ruled the land of Phrom from a city called Rum. ".......http://www.khandro.net/langnlit_Gesar.htm
'Hor' was an ethnonym that originally referred to the Uyghurs, and from the 12th century CE to the Mongols…..….Stein, Rolf A. (1959, pp. 188–9). Recherches sur l'épopée et le Barde au Tibet. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Vohra 1996, pp. 216–17 writes that Gesar is mentioned in a Khotan text, the Tibetan Li-yul-lun-bstan-pa, ("Prophecy of the Li Country") of the 9th-10th century, and Phrom long identified with a country northeast of Yarkand. Recent opinion identifies the land either with the Turkish Küūsen or the Kushan territories of Gandhāra and Udayana. Gesar may be either someone of Turkish stock or a non-Tibetan dynastic name. The Khotan king Vijaya Sangrama's consort Hu-rod-ga (Hu-rong-ga) was Phrom Gesar's daughter. The Padma-thang-yig records a Tibetan army subduing Gesar, something also mentioned in the Rygal-po'i-bka'i-than-yig ("Pronouncements concerning Kings")……Vohra, Rohit (1996). "Early History of Ladakh: Mythic Lore % Fabulation: A preliminary note on the conjectural history of the 1st millennium A.D.". In Osmaston, Henry; Denwood, Philip. Recent research on Ladakh 4 & 5: proceedings of the fourth and fifth international colloquia on Ladakh. Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 216–234. ISBN 978-81-208-1404-2. Retrieved 16 July 2011
Hor gling g.yul 'gyed ("The War of Hor and Gling"). Meanwhile the three demon-kings of Hor, led by Gur dkar, overcome Gling and abduct 'Brug mo, who becomes the mother of Gur dkar's child. Ge sar is eventually aroused from his drugged state, returns to Gling and leads a successful campaign to defeat Hor, which becomes an ally of Gling……http://www.thlib.org/encyclopedias/literary/genres/genres-book.php#!book=/studies-in-genres/b21/dn2/
The Hor gling episode…..…For Samuels, the Gesar epic lies towards the shamanic pole in the continuum of Tibetan culture and religion, which he sees as evincing a constant tension between 'clerical' and 'shamanic' Buddhism, the latter grounded in its earlier Bön substrate….. Samuel, Geoffrey (1993). Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-1-56098-620-1.
The 18 fortresses (rdzong chen bco brgyad). Gesar sets out to conquer the 18 great forts (Tib.: rdzong). They are listed differently according to singers and texts, but these battles nearly always include Tajik (Tib.: Stag-gzig) and Khache Muslim adversaries.
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Click on the map to enlarge.....http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/art-in-iran-vi-pre-islamic-eastern-iran-and-central-asia
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John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2013
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