Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigeneous home to the Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World".
Existing as a separate nation for centuries, Tibet is today administered mostly under the People's Republic of China. Tibet is also officially claimed by the Republic of China (Taiwan). However in the Tibetan sovereignty debate, the government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Tibet in Exile disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether this incorporation into China is legitimate according to international law.
The Tibetan Empire came into existence in the seventh century when Emperor Songtsän Gampo united many areas and tribes of the region. Since the early 1600s a lineage of allegedly reborn (tulku) magistrates, known as the Dalai Lamas have administrated Tibet, and the fourteen Dali Lama's are believed to be the incarnations of Avalokite?vara ("Chenrezig" [spyan ras gzigs] in Tibetan), the bodhisattva of compassion.
Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, administering religious and administrative authourity over a large portion of the country from the traditional capital Lhasa, regarded as Tibet's holiest city.