Ptolemy's world map

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Ceylon or Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Southeast Asian peninsula).
Detail of East and Southeast Asia in Ptolemy's world map. Gulf of the Ganges (Bay of Bengal) left, Southeast Asian peninsula in the center, South China Sea
right, with "Sinae" (China).

The Ptolemy world map is a map of the

Geography, written c. 150. Based on an inscription in several of the earliest surviving manuscripts, it is traditionally credited to Agathodaemon of Alexandria
.

Notable features of Ptolemy's map is the first use of longitudinal and latitudinal lines as well as specifying terrestrial locations by celestial observations. The Geography was translated from

lapsing into obscurity
. The idea of a global coordinate system revolutionized European geographical thought, however, and inspired more mathematical treatment of cartography.

Ptolemy's work probably originally came with maps, but none have been discovered. Instead, the present form of the map was reconstructed from Ptolemy's coordinates by

monks under the direction of Maximus Planudes
shortly after 1295. It probably was not that of the original text, as it uses the less favored of the two alternate projections offered by Ptolemy.

Continents

The continents are given as

Mediterranean and the Indian (Indicum Pelagus). Due to Marinus and Ptolemy's mistaken measure of the circumference of the earth, the former is made to extend much too far in terms of degrees of arc; due to their reliance on Hipparchus, they mistakenly enclose the latter with an eastern and southern shore of unknown lands, which prevents the map from identifying the western coast of the World Ocean.[1]

Qin (Sinae) and the Land of Silk (Serica)—owing to the different accounts received from the overland and maritime Silk Roads.[1]

The Geography and the map derived from it probably played an important role in the expansion of the

Roman embassies to China
are recorded in Chinese historical sources from around 166.

The Danish historian

Nesôi (archipelago), east of the Skandiai Nêsoi, which itself lies west of a larger island Skandia. Skandia is home to the Goutai in the center, and the Phiraisoi
in the east.

North of Jutland lies a third archipelago Alokiai Nêsoi. South of the Albis live the

Kobandoi, the Eundusioi and the northernmost Kimbroi (possibly Cimbri). North and east is home to the Kimbrikê (possibly Cimbri), the Chersonêsos and the Charudes.[2]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-226-79973-5
    .
  2. ^ Bure, Kristjan, ed. (1961). Jernalderen, Turistforeningen for Danmark, Årbog 1961 [The Iron Age, The Tourist Association of Denmark, Yearbook 1961] (in Danish).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ptolemaic world maps.

Contexts

This is what the cover looks like. Circulation: 100 copies. The quintessence of our 25 years of research. Unfortunately, we cannot sell it in the Russian Federation for political reasons. Without the so-called Agency - which are subordinate to the state - we cannot enter into an agreement with the store. We presented it to all leading libraries of the Russian Federation.]

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