Khotan
Khotan was an oasis kingdom on the southern Silk Road in the Tarim Basin, famed for its jade deposits and production.
Tarim Basin: An arid basin in Xinjiang, China, surrounded by the Tian Shan, Kunlun, and Pamir mountain ranges. Khotan occupied the basin’s southern rim, where rivers descend from the Kunlun Mountains.
Nephrite: A tough, fibrous variety of amphibole valued as a gemstone and carving material. Nephrite from Khotan’s riverbeds became a prized material in Chinese jade culture.
Buddhism in Khotan: The Buddhist traditions practiced and supported in the ancient oasis kingdom of Khotan. Buddhist monasteries and texts made Khotan a major religious center on the southern Silk Road.
Yarkand: An oasis city and historic polity in the western Tarim Basin, now in Xinjiang, China. Yarkand lay west of Khotan along routes connecting the basin’s southern oases.
Silk Road: A network of overland trade routes connecting East Asia, Central Asia, and regions farther west. Khotan linked routes across the southern Tarim Basin with long-distance Eurasian exchange.
Yarkand River: A river in Xinjiang that flows from the Karakoram into the Tarim Basin. Its alluvial deposits were among the sources of jade traded through Khotan.
Khotanese Buddhist literature: Buddhist texts composed or translated into the Khotanese language. These works show how Buddhist ideas were adapted for Khotan’s Iranian-speaking population.
Shule Kingdom: An ancient oasis kingdom centered on Kashgar in the western Tarim Basin. Shule was a neighboring power that shared Khotan’s strategic location on Silk Road routes.
Saka: An ancient Iranian-speaking people of Central Asia, known in Greek sources as Scythians. Saka communities helped shape Khotan’s early language and cultural identity.
White Jade River: A river near Khotan historically associated with deposits of white nephrite. Its stones helped make Khotan famous as a source of fine white jade.