The Potala Palace is a fortress and palace complex on the Red Hill above Lhasa, in Tibet. Tradition holds that the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo built a palace on the site in 637 CE, but the present buildings date mainly from the 17th century, when the Fifth Dalai Lama began reconstructing it in 1645 as the seat of his government. It has a White Palace, which was used for administration and as living quarters, and a Red Palace, devoted to religious study and containing the tombs of previous Dalai Lamas. The palace was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas until the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959. It is now a museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a symbol of Tibetan Buddhism.
Before and after
- from 633 CE to 654 CEMuslim conquest of Persia
- 23 August 634 CEDeath of Abu Bakr
- from December 635 CE to March 636 CESiege of Emesa
- from 16 November 636 CE to 19 November 636 CEBattle of al-Qadisiyyah
- 637 CEConstruction of Potala Palace
- from August 637 CE to October 637 CESiege of Aleppo
- from 639 CE to 642 CEArab conquest of Egypt
- from 641 CE to 1168Origins of El-Fustat
- from 642 CE to 744 CEArab conquest of Armenia
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 691 CEConstruction of Dome of the Rock
- 8th centuryConstruction of Borobudur Temple
- 1066Construction of Tower of London
- from 1206 to 1368Mongol Empire
- 1239Construction of Alhambra
- 1473Construction of Sistine Chapel
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 7th century.