Loulan Kingdom
Loulan (Chinese: 樓蘭; pinyin: Lóulán < Eastern Han Chinese lo-lɑn < Old Chinese rô-rân), also known as Krorän (Uyghur: كروران) or Kroraina, was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road already known in the 2nd century BCE on the northeastern edge of the Lop Desert. The term Loulan is the Chinese transcription of the native name Krorän and is used to refer to the city near Lop Nur as well as the kingdom.
Krorän | |
A carved wooden beam from Loulan in the British Museum, 3rd–4th century. The patterns show influences from ancient western civilizations. | |
Shown within Xinjiang Loulan Kingdom (China) | |
| Location | Xinjiang, China |
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| Coordinates | 40°31′39.48″N 89°50′26.32″E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Loulan Kingdom | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 樓蘭 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 楼兰 | ||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||
| Uyghur | كروران | ||||||
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The kingdom was renamed Shanshan (鄯善) after its king was assassinated by an envoy of the Han dynasty in 77 BCE; however, the town at the northwestern corner of the brackish desert lake Lop Nur retained the name of Loulan. The kingdom included at various times settlements such as Niya, Charklik, Miran and Qiemo. It was intermittently under Chinese control from the early Han dynasty onward until its abandonment centuries later. The ruins of Loulan are near the now-desiccated Lop Nur in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang and they are now completely surrounded by desert.