Tibet only caught the eye of history at a relatively late date. Around 600 A.D. King Namri Songsten succeeded in uniting nomadic tribes from several parts of Tibet under his rule and, in the 7th century A.D., Buddhism began to spread from India to Tibet. During the following centuries it wrought profound changes in Tibetan society. At the beginning of the expansion of the sphere of influence of the "Land of Snow", Tibet proved itself a worthy opponent to the Chinese empire. But then, commencing in the 12th century, it gradually began to focus almost all its energy on the development and furtherance of religion. This culminated in the 17th century in the setting up of a theocracy under the Vth Dalai Lama. Down to the20th century, successive Dalai Lamas have reigned as spiritual and temporal rulers over this country on the "Roof of the World" that was almost totally cut off from the west. Since the occupation of Tibet by Red Chinese troops in 1950/51 and the flight into exile of the XIVth Dalai Lama in 1959, thousands of Tibetans, mainly from the leading stratum of society, have been forced to leave the country. Art and skilled crafts have come virtually to a standstill. It is a tragedy of history that the Buddhist art of Tibet has become better known and valued in the west at a time when it has almost totally disappeared in its homeland. The exhibition "Tibet - Buddhas, Gods, Saints" in the Museum der Kulturen Basel gives a complete overview of the ancient art of Buddhist Tibet.