Kucha ( KOO-chÉ™, also: Kuche, Kuchar, Kuçar; Uyghur: كۇچار, Кучар; Chinese: 龜茲; pinyin: QiÅ«cÃ, Chinese: 庫車; pinyin: KùchÄ“; Sanskrit: 𑀓𑀽𑀘𑀻𑀦, romanized: KÅ«cÄ«na) was an ancient 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.