Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It is sometimes referred to as the roof of the world.
During Tibet's history, it has existed as a region of separate sovereign areas, a single independent entity and as a vassal under Chinese suzerainty or sovereignty. Tibet was first unified under King Songtsän Gampo in the 7th century. At various times from the 1640s until the 1950s, a government nominally headed by the Dalai Lamas, a line of spiritual political leaders, ruled a large portion of the Tibetan region. During some of this period, the Tibetan administration was subordinate to the Qing Dynasty.
In the chaos in China following the Xinhai Revolution in 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama expelled Qing's representatives and troops from what is now the Tibet Autonomous Region and governed it autonomously.Neither the new Republic of China, nor any other foreign state or the United Nations recognized this as legal Tibetan independence.In 1950, the People's Republic of China, emerging victoriously from the Chinese Civil War, quelled the 14th Dalai Lama's army and successfully negotiated for an acknowledgment of Chinese sovereignty. Since what constitutes Tibet is a matter of much debate (see map, right), neither its size nor population are simple matters of fact, due to various entities claiming differing areas as part of "Tibet"
