Phuntsog Namgyal II

See also: Phuntsog Namgyal (disambiguation)

Phuntsog Namgyal II (Sikkimese: ཕུན་ཚོག་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་; Wylie: phun tshog rnam rgyal) was the fifth Chogyal (king) of Sikkim. He succeeded Gyurmed Namgyal in 1733 and was succeeded himself by Tenzing Namgyal in 1780.^[1]

Phuntsog Namgyal II
Chogyal of Sikkim
Reign	1733–1780
Predecessor	Gyurmed Namgyal
Successor	Tenzing Namgyal
Born	1733 (1733)
Died	1780 (aged 46–47)
Issue	Tenzing Namgyal
House	Namgyal dynasty
Father	Gyurmed Namgyal
Mother	a nun from Sanga Choeling Monastery
Religion	Buddhism

Early in his reign, a powerful Bhutia minister named Tamding attempted to overthrow the Chogyal, declaring himself king in opposition in 1738. For three years, a civil war raged between supporters of the Chogyal and supporters of Tamding before the pretender was defeated, but unrest continued in the kingdom. Tibet dispatched Rabden Sharpa as a regent in 1747 to help restore order. He not only restored peace to Sikkim but introduced an annual census and taxation system to Sikkim. Rabden also introduced the Mangsher Convention, Sikkim's first constitution, defining the powers and responsibilities of Sikkimese government bodies.^[2]

In 1770, the same year the Chogyal died, there was a brief attempt at an invasion by Bhutan, but it was soon repelled by the Sikkimese.^[3]