Fourth Dalai Lama
 

 

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Fourth Dalai Lama
Yonten Gyatso (1589-1616)
He was the great grandson of Altan Khan of Mongolia (who coined the title "Dalai Lama"). The only non-Tibetan Dalai Lama, he was first recognized as the reincarnation of Sonam Gyatso by Mongol leaders, who had no true jurisdiction to do so. He was deemed the Fourth Dalai Lama only after a long, contentious debate among a delegation from the three great monasteries of central Tibet. This period was marked by constant strife among the rival orders in Tibet. Accounts vary, but it is possible that Yonten Gyatso was assassinated. His death marked the start of a period of persecution of the Gelugpa by the Kagyupa (Red Hat) order, which was powerful in western and eastern Tibet.