1042-1247 CE
From 1042 to 1247 CE, the Tibetans rebuilt their civilization from the ashes of empire — the old royal dynasty long fallen, but new schools of Buddhism rising from Indian refugees fleeing Muslim conquest. Monasteries became centers of power; lamas became princes; and the fierce debates between Kadampa and Sakya would shape Tibetan religion until the Mongols intervened, choosing the Sakya hierarchs as their priests and regents.