Kingdom of Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan is an obscure mountainous realm within the Eastern Himalayan mountains, Buddhist since the 7th century. The region has been described as the land of the thunder dragon. Despite the land's topographical isolation, it provides many trade goods that are transported to the market of Koch Bihar during the dry season.

The Kingdom covers an area of 42 hexes and has a population of 116,059. It borders on Tibet, Towang, Ahom, Koch Hajo, Dooars, Gorkhaland and Sikkim.

Geography

The region's southern boundary shares the lush subtropical plains north of the Brahmaputra river, a mere 600 to 700 ft. above sea level. Moving north twenty to forty miles, the land rises rapidly to mountains that are more than 23,000 ft. above sea level. Gangkar Punesum, 24,836, is the highest mountain in the kingdom. Much of the northern part consists of alpine ranges or snowfields. The seat of the realm, Thimphu, in the western country, is 8,978 ft. above sea level.

History

According to legend, Bhutan was united as a kingdom in the 7th century BCE, but little knowledge about the country exists before the 9th century AD. In the 12th century, the Drukha Kagyupa school was established, where many of the greatest monks of the world originally received their training. For most of history, Bhutan has existed as a collection of isolated village states, coming together to defend the land when it needed defending. The country was united under a lama, Ngawanag Namgyal, in 1616; it presently exists as a theocracy.

Trade

There are no markets in Bhutan.

Region

Place	Topography	Product References
Bhutan	region	cloth, jute, baskets, mats, metalsmithing, barley, maize, millet, rice (2), wheat, mustard seed, tea (2), oranges, potatoes, elephants

Settlements

Name	Population	Year founded
Taga Dzong	2,272	168 BCE
Thimphu	1,616	357
Trongsa Dzong	3,849	110