Sebastian Münster
Pakistan & Afghanistan, 1552
11 ½ x 14 ½ in
29 x 37 cm
29 x 37 cm
IC2996
Tabula Asiae IX An early woodcut map of the region between the Indus River and the Gulf of Oman as they were known to the geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the...
Tabula Asiae IX
An early woodcut map of the region between the Indus River and the Gulf of Oman as they were known to the geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the Classical Era. The map covers parts of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Ancient place names are used throughout, many of which would have been derived from the accounts of Alexander the Great's conquests in this region. Mountain ranges and rivers divide the region in a crude, but attractive, way. It is fascinating to see just how much the Ancient Roman scholars thought they knew about the Middle East and India, even if much of it was purely speculative.
Printed editions of Ptolemy's most important work, 'Geographia', began to appear in Europe in the 1470s as Renaissance scholars rediscovered the works of the Classical geographers. Ptolemy was a foundational figure whose geographical tables formed the basis for most European maps printed before 1500. His inaccurate calculations for the size of the Earth contributed to Christopher Columbus's belief that he would reach Asia more quickly by sailing west from Europe.
The German cartographer Sebastian Munster issued his first edition of the 'Geographia' in 1540. It included all of the usual Ptolemaic maps found in earlier atlases, but also several important modern maps focusing on areas overlooked by, or unknown to, Ptolemy. Three further editions of the 'Geographia were published before Munster's death in 1552. This example was issued in the final 1552 Munster edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia'.
[IC2996]
An early woodcut map of the region between the Indus River and the Gulf of Oman as they were known to the geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the Classical Era. The map covers parts of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Ancient place names are used throughout, many of which would have been derived from the accounts of Alexander the Great's conquests in this region. Mountain ranges and rivers divide the region in a crude, but attractive, way. It is fascinating to see just how much the Ancient Roman scholars thought they knew about the Middle East and India, even if much of it was purely speculative.
Printed editions of Ptolemy's most important work, 'Geographia', began to appear in Europe in the 1470s as Renaissance scholars rediscovered the works of the Classical geographers. Ptolemy was a foundational figure whose geographical tables formed the basis for most European maps printed before 1500. His inaccurate calculations for the size of the Earth contributed to Christopher Columbus's belief that he would reach Asia more quickly by sailing west from Europe.
The German cartographer Sebastian Munster issued his first edition of the 'Geographia' in 1540. It included all of the usual Ptolemaic maps found in earlier atlases, but also several important modern maps focusing on areas overlooked by, or unknown to, Ptolemy. Three further editions of the 'Geographia were published before Munster's death in 1552. This example was issued in the final 1552 Munster edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia'.
[IC2996]
