Kucha

This article is about the ancient kingdom. For the modern city, see Kuqa, Xinjiang. For the region of Ethiopia, see Kucha (woreda).

Kucha
2nd century BCE–648 CE
Tarim Basin in the 3rd century
Religion	Buddhism
Demonym	Kuchean
History
• Established	2nd century BCE
• Conquered by the Tang dynasty	648 CE
Population
• 111 CE	81,317
Currency	Kucha coinage
Succeeded by Protectorate General to Pacify the West
Today part of	China

Kucha was an ancient Tocharian Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and south of the Muzat River. The people of Kucha spoke Kuchean (also known as Tocharian B) and a local variant of Gandhārī Prakrit, known as Kucha Prakrit, was used by Kucha for official and administrative purposes, with evidence indicating that it remained in use until 6th century.

The former area of Kucha now lies in present-day Aksu Prefecture, west-central Xinjiang, China. Kuqa town is the county seat of Aksu Prefecture's Kuqa County.