Novissima et Accurata Maris Caspij fere Nobis Incogniti Regionumque adiacentium Delienatio

Radical new depiction of the Caspian Sea based on the new surveys ordered by Czar Peter the Great and made by Carl van Verden for the Russian Navy.

This is a rare Italian printing of a Dutch map which recorded the first accurate surveys of the Caspian Sea. They are based on the surveys of Carl van Verden, a Dutch sea captain employed by Czar Peter the Great to survey the coast of the Caspian Sea in the years 1719-21. Peter required these to pursue a war against the Persian Empire as his logistics train would be partially served by coast luggers. 

On completion of the survey, he sent copies of the manuscripts to the "Academie Royale des Sciences" in Paris and from there, they were rapidly disseminated disseminated Europe. 

This map is based upon an earlier map published by Reiner Ottens in Amsterdam and differs somewhat from a similar larger map published by the Paris map maker Guillaume de L'Isle. As per the Ottens map, north is oriented to the right of the sheet. 
[RUS2697]