A Map of the Routs of the Russian Embassy to Persia in 1746

This map of the Caspian Sea and its surroundings was compiled by the English merchant-explorer Jonas Hanway from his own travels and the accounts of a Russian Embassy to Persia in 1746. Hanway's routes, the routes of the Russian Embassy, and the routes of two other explorers - George Thompson and Martin Kyck van Mierop - are all marked on the map.



This is one of the earliest European maps of this region to be based on first-hand accounts, making it an important record. Though much of the map remains empty and uncharted, the routes themselves and the adjacent regions are well mapped with many villages, caravanserais, encampments, and fortifications marked. Groups of tents are scattered around much of the map to suggest the present of nomadic tribes whose permanent locations are unknown.



In modern-day terms, this map covers the Caspian Sea coasts of Georgia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, extending as far inland as Samarkand in Uzbekistan.



[RUS2608]