Dorji Namgyal

"Namgyal Dorji" redirects here. For other uses, see Namgyal Dorji (disambiguation).

Dorji Namgyal ནམྒྱལདོརྗི
Zhabrung ཞབས་དྲུང
Dorji Namgyal in traditional attire, in exile in Euclea
Zhabrung of Duran
Reign	13th May 1876 - 2nd August 1882
Predecessor	Rinchen Namgyal
Successor	Lhamo Namgyal
Regent	Gyatso Lama
Zhabrung of Duran
Reign	8th August 1935 - 12th October 1935
Predecessor	Lhamo Namgyal
Successor	Kalsang Jigme Namgyal
Born	(1861-09-07)7 September 1861 Chenpodrang
Died	12 October 1935(1935-10-12) (aged 74) Chenpodrang
Burial	Cremated at Tsachen Monastery
Wives	Amrita Namgyal Pema Namgyal Tashi Namgyal
Issue	Kalsang Jigme Namgyal Others
Dynasty	Namgyal
Father	Rinchen Namgyal

Dorji Namgyal (Namkha: ནམྒྱལདོརྗི Namgyal Dorji) was the Zhabrung of Duran from the 13^th of May 1876 to the 2^nd of August 1882, before his deposition in a palace coup in favour of his sister Lhamo Namgyal, who was favoured by the Heavenly Shangean Empire. Living in exile at first in Ajahadya between 1882 and 1900, and then in EUCLEAN STATES until 1935, he claimed to represent the rightful government of Duran and lobbied foreign powers to intervene to back his claim. He would return to power after the signing of the Treaty of Keisi in 1935, but died on the 12^th of October 1935, just months after reclaiming his crown.

Dorji inherited the Lotus Throne at the age of 15, following his father's unexpected death in 1876, and for the first year of his rule was overseen by a regent, the Pönchen Gyatso Lama. A nationalist, Dorji defended traditional Duranian culture and governance during his reign. This set him at odds with the Shangean merchant class, who desired a reformist leader who would protect their interests. In 1882, the Snow Petal Society of Shangean elites backed a palace coup, allegedly at the behest of the Xiyong Emperor himself, which removed Dorji from power in favour of his younger sister Lhamo, who was herself educated in Baiqiao. Forced to flee the country with a small group of loyal retainers and as much wealth as he could take, Dorji moved first to Ajahadya where he would unsuccessfully petition the Raja for military support. Realising the Raja was aligned with the Heavenly Shangean Empire, Dorji fled to Senria, and then following the revolution to Euclea. For the next few years, Dorji became a notable figure in Euclean courts and high society as he attempted to gain support for his cause. While he gained little concrete aid, the romanticism attached with the "Exiled Southron King" as he was called gained him audiences and the Euclean Society for Duranian Independence formed.

The outbreak of the Great War would prove a windfall for Dorji. Where his cause had before been a source of Australist fancy, it was now viewed as a potential tool against Entente-aligned Shangea. Correspondance between Dorji and Grand Alliance leaders intensified, and Dorji's supporters in Occupied Duran began to cause unrest in the kingdom. Though this was not significant militarily, it was enough to grant Dorji's return to power as a provision of the Treaty of Keisi. Dorji returned home following the signing of the treaty, but was by now an old man. He died just two months after returning to Duran, where he was cremated at the traditional royal monastery. He was succeeded by his son, Kalsang Jigme Namgyal, who oversaw the crucial postwar period in Duran.

Life in Duran

Youth and upbringing

The eldest child of Zhabrung Rinchen Namgyal, Dorji was born into an elite milieu of Duranian society and from a young age recieved education in statecraft and religious matters. Unlike his father, who was widely viewed as being a Zohist in name only, Dorji showed an affinity with religious affairs and formed an especially close bond with his teacher Gyatso Lama, a Zohist clergyman and scholar. Living in the royal palace of Chenpodrang, Dorji was insulated from the daily struggles of the Duranian people and courtly intrigue of the palace, instead devoting his time to reading about Duran's history and culture. He saw little of his father during this formative period, which has been associated by some with his strong aversion to modernising reforms as his father had placed such projects above him.

In 1876, Rinchen Namgyal passed away due to alcohol-related complications, leaving Dorji to ascend to the throne at the age of 15. His father had been a controversial ruler, leading many to claim that he had been poisoned either by Shangean agents or by reactionary nobles who resented his reforms. For the first years of his rule, Duran was effectively controlled by his teacher Gyatso, himself highly reactionary.

First reign and deposition

Gyatso Lama and his Nyingpa clique, who dominated Dorji's reign.

The initial period of Dorji's reign was profoundly influenced by his steward's beliefs. A member of the ultra-traditionalist Nyingpa faction, Gyatso Lama was intent on reversing Rinchen's reforms to society such as his mandating of northern dress and his expansion of foreign relations. Dorji was acquiescent, if not entirely supportive of such decisions, to this political direction, and throughout his reign would attempt to limit foreign influences within Duran. This placed him at odds with the Shangean population, who were dominant within the mercantile classes and had profited from Rinchen's decision to expand foreign trade. The Heavenly Shangean Empire was in ascendence, and while Dorji was occupied with internal matters he ignored the threat growing to his south.

Having grown up secluded from the squabbles of the court and the influence of the various factions which had emerged amongst the Duranian population, Dorji remained oblivious to the tensions which were building within his kingdom. His education had informed him that the Zhabrung's rule was absolute and unquestioned, while Gyatso Lama had insulated him from factional politics in order to ensure the dominance of his Nyingpa faction in court appointments. The modernist Sarpa faction came to resent his rule and instead turn their attention to his younger sister Lhamo Namgyal, who had been educated in Shangea and was seen to be more malleable. The Snow Petal Society, a secretive club of Shangean business interests, also began to pin their interests to Lhamo with the hopes that they could secure the steward's position and extend Shangean dominance over Duran. By 1881, these two factions had begun to see common cause and, with assurances that Duranian sovereignty would be maintained under a Shangean protectorate, the Sarpa faction backed the Snow Petal Society's conspiracy.

The decision which sealed Dorji's fate was his decision to raise export and import tariffs on cross-border trade with Shangea. Facing a significant decrease in earnings, and with the tacit support of the Shangean government which was by now fully informed of their plans, the Snow Petal Society put their plans into place. A group of bribed guards and discontented soldiers marched on the Lari Dzong, forcing the Kashag to dismiss Dorji and recognise his sister Lhamo as the Zhabrung. Dorji was alerted of the coup in advance by an insider in the group, and was advised to assemble his most trusted retainers and flee the country. He convened his family and a group of 40 followers, primarily nobles and monks, before fleeing under the cover of darkness the night before the coup took place. The conspirators allowed him to flee, as they believed that his flight would disenhearten any of his supporters. Dorji made his way north, seeking asylum at the Duranian embassy in the Rajadom of Ajahadya.

Years abroad

Exile in Ajahadya

Being a monarchic state bordering Duran, Ajahadya was the exiled Zhabrung's first port of call. Due to Gyatso Lama's screening of courtly positions its ambassador was a fervent traditionalist and welcomed Dorji with open arms. Dorji's arrival attracted attention in Banabadura, but the Raja was ambivalent towards his plight and permitted his stay so long as it did not actively inconvenience his own goals. Dorji was granted a royal reception, but was unable to gain any concrete promises for support like he had hoped. He established a government-in-exile out of the former embassy, which was frequented by the Duranian diaspora but received no official recognition by the government of Ajahadya.

The presence of Dorji's government in exile was initially no more than a curiosity for the Raja, but with the province deemed pacified Shangea was able to turn its attention towards his exiled government. From 1886, the Shangean government began to call for the closure of the Duranian embassy, stating that "Duran is not a nation and therefore has no need for a foreign delegation". As ties between Ajahadya and Shangea grew, so to did the issue of Dorji's government in exile become more of a thorn in the Raja's side. In 1898, following Shangean demands, the embassy was closed and Dorji was forced to leave the country. He moved to Senria, which lacked an existing Duranian presence but which was strongly opposed to Shangea and therefore welcomed his arrival.

Exile in Senria

Dorji Namgyal in Senria, 1917

Dorji's reception in Senria was warmer, if less convenient, than in Ajahadya as the political situation was considerably opposed to Shangea. Though Duran and Senria had not shared diplomatic relations outside of basic correspondance before Dorji's deposition, they were willing to recognise his reign and grant nominal support to any efforts to reinstate his rule. Dorji was able to live a reasonably comfortably lifestyle because of his own personal fortune which had been smuggled from Duran, as well as financial support which was sent to him by supporters both in Duran and Senria. Dorji was granted several audiences with the Emperor of Senria, forming a genuine friendship with the other monarch. He is reputed to have acquired a reasonable proficiency in Senrian whilst in the country, and learnt traditional games such as Shōgi which he would play with nobles at the court. Dorji also began to meet with other embassies, particularly those of Euclean states in a bid to arrange support for an anti-Shangean coalition which would not be realised until the great war.

However,

Return to Duran and death

Tsachen Monastery, where Dorji was cremated.

Though the importance of Dorji's followers' resistance against Shangea during the Great War was negible, it granted him a major concession at the Treaty of Keisi. The victors were eager to strip Shangea of its territories, and Dorji's friendliness with the global north and Senria gave him the image of a reliable friend who would stem Shangean interests in the region. The Treaty of Keisi stipulated his return to power and reinstatement of the Duranian Constitution of 1874, as well as the restitution of his assets and those of other nobles. His return to Chenpodrang in 1935 was accompanied by great celebration among the population of the country, who saw it as a sign of their nation's revival. The years of Shangean occupation had meant that only the older generation remembered independent Duran, and nostalgia for the past had helped to gloss over many of the unsavory details of the Ancien Régime. Most of the palaces had been maintained by the occupying government purely as touristic sites or as mansions for the Shangean elite, and were reinhabited swiftly.

However, not all of the population were happy about the return of the monarchy which had been absent for more than 50 years. A large portion of the population had been swayed by republicanism and socialism, and instead had hoped for an independent Duranian republic. These activists, centred upon the Duranian Popular Republican Movement of radical socialist Ugyen Lhundrub, began to demonstrate against the monarchy and advocate for a democratic state. They organised protests in urban areas, which led to disorder and violence in the streets. This shocked Dorji, by now an old and frail man, and is believed to have accentuated his already present illness. On the tenth of October, barely two months after returning to power after hs exile, Dorji passed away in his sleep. He was succeeded by his son Kalsang Jigme Namgyal.

Legacy

Dorji Namgyal's position in Duranian history is important, despite his short time in power. His initial rule is widely regarded as weak, having made few steps to improve Duran's position in the world and instead pursuing a romanticised image of traditional society. His inadequacy when dealing with court politics allowed Gyatso Lama and the Nyingpa society to dominate politics, which helped contribute to his overthrowing. However, during his time in exile. Dorji was the face of Duranian culture in the world. He was able to attract significant attention to himself, as well as a great degree of sympathy from several benefactors. Duran was cemented as an almost mythical state, a heaven in the mountains which would later contribute to the state's tourism reputation. His time in exile has been the subject of much attention in literature, being compared to something out of a Roman austral.