His actions were decisive in the setting up of the Tibetan Empire (7th century), to which he can be named co-founder with his son, Songtsen Gampo.
The Tibetan plateau was, at this time, a mosaic of clans of mountain shepherds with simple nomadic organizations[2] where intertribal fighting and razzia sorties were part of the local economy.
[2] These "proto-Tibetans" were isolated from relations with the outside world, though some mountain groups to the east in Sichuan, Qinghai and the 'Azha kingdom dwelt in border areas contiguous with, or within, the Chinese empire.
[5] This changed dramatically by the beginning of the Tang dynasty, when the Tibetan kingdom becoming a powerful player in the military history of Eastern and Central Asia.
Namri Songtsen was assassinated by poisoning[citation needed] in 618 or 629/630, by a coup d'état[citation needed] which eventually failed, being crushed by Namri Songtsen's son, who developed his heritage, completing the submission of the Tibetan plateau, and, according to later histories, introduced a unified legal code, a Tibetan writing system, an archive for official records, an army, and relations with the outside world.