The region known as Central Asia encompasses a vast geographical region which today includes parts of Afghanistan, China, Commonwealth of Independent Nations (former Soviet Union), India, Iran, and Pakistan. Despite its large size and diversity of peoples and languages, for approximately seven centuries (third to tenth centuries A.D.), Central Asia was bound by a common factor: its devotion to Buddhism.

The surviving wall paintings of the region testify to the variety of exchange between peoples of neighboring kingdoms and nationalities. It was through the steady flow of pilgrims, craftsmen, merchants, and monks that regional artistic styles meshed under the banner of Buddhism.

This study provided a glimpse at the diversity of sources which comprised Central Asian painting during the first millennium, A.D. and attempted to demonstrate that despite this great variety of influences, Central Asian painting contained enough common elements for there to exist a Central Asian style.