Located at an oasis, where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains, Miran was once a major point on the Silk Road.

Under the name Yuni, Miran was for a time the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kröraina, also known as Loulan, Yuni/Miran was thus part of the broader Tocharian cultures.

[5] The ruins at Miran consist of a large rectangular fort, a monastery ('the Vihara' in Stein's accounts), several stupas and many sun-dried brick constructions, located relatively close to the ancient caravan track to Dunhuang, running west to east.

[6][page needed] Early Buddhist sculptures and murals excavated from the site demonstrate a Serindian style similar to the traditions of western Central Asia and the Gandhara art of the northwest Indian subcontinent;[7] other artistic aspects of the paintings found there suggest that Miran had a direct connection with Rome and its provinces.

[8][obsolete source] This Romanesque style is thought to be the work of a Buddhist painter known as "Titus" (𐨟𐨁𐨟, Tita), who signed his painting at Miran with his name in Indian Kharoshti characters, and who was perhaps a Roman artist who traveled east along the Silk Roads in search of employment.