The Gar (also spelled as 'gar) clan originate from the ministers of Newo Trana, one of the twelve kingdoms of pre-imperial Tibet. During the imperial Pugyel period, Gar Tongtsen was an important minister to King Songtsen Gampo. The Gar clan became very powerful and started to threaten the power of the Yarlung dynasty. In 698, the empress Trimalo and her son Tridusong defeated Gar Tongtsen's son, who escaped to China with his followers, and the reign of the councilors of the Gar clan came to an end. The Gar clan continued and became quite widespread, it seems, with many claiming to be the descendant of Minister Gar. Centuries later, the Gar family would gain prominence as lords of the Derge kingdom around the seventeenth century. As in other noble families, rule over the monasteries would pass to the eldest son while a younger brother would marry and continue the familial line. It is also said that the Gar is one of the eighteen divisions of the ancestral Go clan.