Some aspects of regent titles in Tibet (XVII-XVIII)

Historical sources provide variety of Tibetan and Mongolian terms that were related to the position of regent in the Tibetan government of the XVII-XVIII centuries: desrid, deba, gyaltsab, gyalpo, miwang, nominhan and others. Probably, such a variety is associated not only with the constant changes of regent role and functions in some periods of Tibetan history, but also with the specifics of the relationship between politics and religion in a Buddhist state, as well as with the influence of Qing Empire. An analysis of the listed items in the context of the Tibetan system of government will allow classifying them by meaning and historical periods, to identify differences from the classical European concept of “regent”. It also helps to study some details of the regency history in Tibet, which has only few researches at the moment.