History of Leh

In history of Leh, on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet, Kashmir and also between India and China, Leh was a significant stopover for centuries. The major goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, charas or cannabis resin from the Tarim Basin, indigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocade.

Tibetan prince, Skyid lde nyima gon (or Nyima gon) in

history of Leh

, who was grandson of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king, Langdarma (r. c. 838 to 841) occupied Western Tibet. He founded several towns and it appears that he ordered the construction of the main sculptures at Shey. "In an inscription he says he had them made for the religious profit of the Tsanpo (the dynastical name of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that by now in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had moved out." Shey, just 15 km east of modern Leh, was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings in history of Leh.

During the reign of Delegs Namgyal (1660–1685), the Nawab of Kashmir, which was then a province in the Mogul Empire, set for the Mongol army to (temporarily) leave Ladakh (though it returned later). The Nawab made a number of onerous demands in history of Leh, as payment for assisting Delegs Namgyal. One of the least was to construct a large Sunni Muslim mosque in Leh at the upper end of the bazaar in Leh, below the Leh Palace. The mosque reflects a blend of Islamic and Tibetan architecture and can accommodate more than 500 people. This was apparently not the first mosque in Leh; there are two smaller ones which are said to be older.

Several trade routes have traditionally converged on Leh, from all four directions in history of Leh. The most straight route was the one the current highway follows from the Punjab via Mandi, the Kulu valley, over the Rohtang Pass, through Lahaul and on to the Indus Valley, and then down river to Leh. The route from Srinigar was approximately the same as the road that today crosses the Zoji La (pass) to Kargil in history of Leh, and then up the Indus Valley to Leh. From Baltistan there were two difficult routes: the main on ran up the Shyok Valley from the Indus, over a pass and then down the Hanu River to the Indus again below Khalsi (Khalatse). The other ran from Skardu straight up the Indus to Kargil and on to Leh. Then, there were both the summer and winter routes from Leh to Yarkand across the Karakorum in history of Leh. Finally, there were a couple of likely routes from Leh to Lhasa. The first Englishman to reach Leh was William Moorcroft (explorer) in 1820.

The first recorded royal residence in Ladakh, built at the top of the high Namgyal ('Victory') Peak overlooking the present palace and town, is the now-ruined fort built by King Tashi Namgyal. Tashi Namgyal is known to have ruled during the final quarter of the 16th century AD in

Leh history

. The Namgyal (also called "Tsemo Gompa"), a temple, is the main Buddhist centre in Leh. There are some older walls of fortifications behind it which Francke reported used to be known as the "Dard Castle"in Leh history. If it was indeed built by Dards, it must pre-date the establishment of Tibetan rulers in Ladakh over a thousand years ago. Below this are the Chamba and Chenresi monasteries which are of unsure date.