Songtsän Gampo was the founder of the Tibetan Empire, by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese records, his name is given as Songzan Ganbu or Qizong Longzan . His mother, the queen, is identified as ‘Bri-bza’ Thod-dkar-ma. The dates of his birth and when he took the throne are not certain. In Tibetan accounts, it is generally accepted that he was born in in an ox-year, which means one of the following dates: 557, 569, 581, 583, 605 or 617 CE.
