Ancient world maps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ancient world maps cover depictions of the world from Classical times to the Age of Discovery and the emergence of modern Geography.
[edit] Babylonian world map
The oldest known world map is the Imago Mundi of 6th century BC Babylonia.[1] The map as reconstructed by Eckhard Unger shows Babylon on the Euphrates, surrounded by a circular landmass showing Assyria, Urartu and several cities, in turn surrounded by a "bitter river" (Oceanus), with seven islands arranged around it so as to form a seven-pointed star.
The accompanying text mentions seven outer regions beyond the encircling ocean. The descriptions of five of them have survived:
- the third island is where "the winged bird ends not his flight," i.e., cannot reach.
- on the fourth island "the light is brighter than that of sunset or stars": it lay in the northwest, and after sunset in summer was practically in semi-obscurity.
- The fifth island, due north, lay in complete darkness, a land "where one sees nothing," and "the sun is not visible."
- the sixth island, "where a horned bull dwells and attacks the newcomer"
- the seventh island lay in the east and is "where the morning dawns."
[edit] Anaximander
Anaximander (died ca. 546 BC) is credited with having created the first map of the world, which was circular in form and showed the known lands of the world grouped around the Aegean Sea at the center and all of this was surrounded by the ocean.
[edit] Hecataeus
Hecataeus (died ca. 476 BC) is credited with a work entitled Ges Periodos ("Travels round the Earth" or "World Survey'), in two books each organized in the manner of a periplus, a point-to-point coastal survey. One on Europe, is essentially a periplus of the Mediterranean, describing each region in turn, reaching as far north as Scythia. The other book, on Asia, is arranged similarly to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea of which a version of the 1st century CE survives. Hecataeus described the countries and inhabitants of the known world, the account of Egypt being particularly comprehensive; the descriptive matter was accompanied by a map, based upon Anaximander’s map of the earth, which he corrected and enlarged. The work only survives in some 374 fragments, by far the majority being quoted in the geographical lexicon Ethnika compiled by Stephanus of Byzantium.
[edit] Ptolemy world map
The Ptolemy world map is a map based on the description of the world contained in Ptolemy's book Geographia, written Circa 150. Although authentic maps of Ptolemy have never been found, the Geographia contains thousands of references to various parts of the old world, with coordinates for most, which allowed cartographers to reconstruct Ptolemy's world view when the manuscript was re-discovered around 1300.
[edit] Tabula Peutingeriana
The Tabula Peutingeriana (Peutinger table) is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire. The original map dates from the 4th century. It covers Europe, parts of Asia (India) and North-Africa. The map is named after Konrad Peutinger, a German 15-16th century humanist and antiquarian. The map was discovered in a library in Worms by Conrad Celtes, who was unable to publish his find before his death, and bequeathed the map in 1508 to Peutinger. It is conserved at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Hofburg, Vienna.
[edit] Isidore
The medieval T and O maps originate with the description of the world in the Etymologiae of Isidore of Sevilla (died 636).
[edit] Beatus Mappa Mundi (1050 CE)
Beatus of Liébana (c. 730 - 798) was a Spanish monk and theologian. He corresponded with Alcuin, and took part in the Adoptionist controversy, criticizing the views of Felix of Urgel and Elipandus of Toledo. He is best remembered today as the author of his Commentary on the Apocalypse, published in 776. The Commentary also contained one of the oldest Christian world maps. Although the original manuscript and map has not survived, copies of the map survives in several of the extant manuscripts.
[edit] Al-Idrisi Mappa Mundi (1154 CE)
Arab geographer Al-Idrisi's incorporated the knowledge of Africa and the Indian Ocean gathered by Arab merchants and explorers with the information inherited from the classical geogrpahers to create one of the most accurate maps of the world to date.
[edit] Vinland world map
The Vinland map is purportedly a 15th century Mappa Mundi, redrawn from a 13th century original. Its importance is that, in addition to showing Africa, Asia and Europe, the map depicts a body of land across the Atlantic called Vinland, which the map describes as having been visited in the 11th century. It is believed by some that the map demonstrates that Viking explorers found and mapped the New World before Columbus did in 1492.
[edit] Hereford Mappa Mundi (1300)
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a T and O map dating to ca. 1300. The map is signed by one "Richard of Haldingham or Lafford". Drawn on a single sheet of vellum, it measures 158 cm by 133 cm. The writing is in black ink, with additional red and gold, and blue or green for water (with the Red Sea coloured red).
[edit] Kangnido world map (1402)
The Kangnido map ("Integrated Historical Map of Countries and Cities"), was made in Korea from Chinese source material in 1402, by Gim Sa-hyeong (김사형:金士衡), Li Mu (이무:李茂) and Li Hoi (이회). The map describes the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in the east, with an oversized China in the middle, at a time preceding the first European voyages of exploration, and even the famous travels by the Chinese Admiral Zheng He, suggesting in-depth geographical knowledge and explorations from a very early date.
[edit] De Virga world map (1411-1415)
The De Virga world map was made by Albertinus de Virga between 1411 and 1415. Albertin de Virga, a Venetian, is also known for a 1409 map of the Mediterranean, also made in Venice. The world map is circular, drawn on a piece of parchment 69.6x44 cm. It consists of the map itself, about 44 cm in diameter, and an extension containing a calendar and two tables.
[edit] Bianco world map (1436)
Andrea Bianco's atlas of 1436 comprises ten leaves of vellum, measuring 29 X 38 cm., in an 18th century binding. The first leave contains a description of the Rule of Marteloio for resolving the course, with the "circle and square", two tables and two other diagrams. The next eight leaves contain various navigation charts. The ninth leave contains a circular world map measuring 25 cm in circumference. And the final leave contains the Ptolemaic world map on Ptolemy's first projection, with graduation. Some believe Bianco's maps were the first to correctly portray the coast of Florida, as a macro-peninsula is attached to a large island labeled Antillia. Bianco also collaborated with Fra Mauro on the Fra Mauro world map of 1459.
[edit] Fra Mauro world map (1459)
The Fra Mauro map was made between 1457 and 1459 by the Venetian monk Fra Mauro. It is a circular planisphere drawn on parchment and set in a wooden frame, about 2 meters in diameter. The original world map was made by Fra Mauro and his assistant Andrea Bianco, a sailor-cartographer, under a commission by king Alfonso V of Portugal. The map was completed on April 24, 1459, and sent to Portugal, but did not survive to the present day. Fra Mauro died the next year while he was making a copy of the map for the Seignory of Venice, and the copy was completed by Andrea Bianco.
[edit] Juan de la Cosa map (1500)
Juan de la Cosa, a Spanish cartographer, explorer and conquistador, made several maps of which the only survivor is the Mappa Mundi of 1500. It is the first known European cartographic representation of the Americas. Of special interest is the outline of Cuba, which Christopher Columbus never believed to be an island. It is now in the Museo Naval in Madrid. Reproductions of it are given by Humboldt in his Atlas géographique et physique.
[edit] Cantino world map (1502)
The Cantino planisphere is the earliest surviving map showing Portuguese discoveries in the east and west. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portugal to Italy in 1502. The map is particularly notable for portraying a fragmentary record of the Brazilian coast, accidentally discovered in 1500 by the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral and subsequently explored by Gonçalo Coelho and Amerigo Vespucci.
[edit] Piri Reis map (1513)
The Piri Reis map is a famous world map created by 16th century Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. The map shows part of the western coasts of Europe and North Africa with reasonable accuracy, and the coast of Brazil is also easily recognizable. Various Atlantic islands including the Azores and Canary Islands are depicted, as is the mythical island of Antillia. The map is noteworthy for its depiction of a southern landmass, also shown on other sixteenth century manuscript and printed maps, that some controversially claim is evidence for early awareness of the existence of Antarctica.
[edit] See also
- History of cartography
- Mappa mundi
- World map
- The "Zheng He map", a world map dated to the 17th century but claimed to be a copy of an early 15th century map.
- Caverio map, made in 1505.
- Waldseemüller map, made in 1507. More corrected version was released in 1513.
- Piri Reis map, made in 1513 (based on 20 older maps).
- Johannes Schöner globe, made in 1520.
[edit] External links
Atlas • Geography • Topography • Cartography • Map • Map projection
History of cartography • List of cartographers • Ancient world maps
Topographic map • Geologic map • Nautical chart • Weather map • Thematic map • Linguistic map • Pictorial map • Cartogram
