Exploration – Maps Bibliographic Organizer

The oldest extant rectangular world map: Book 2, Chapter 2 (MS. Arab. c. 90, fols. 23b-24a). © The Bodleian Library. (Source). The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford has purchased the medieval Arabic manuscript Kitab Gharaib al-funun wa-mulah al-uyun popularised under the title the Book of Curiosities, an exceptionally rich text on cosmography. The treatise is one of the most important recent finds in the history of Islamic cartography in particular, and for the history of pre-modern cartography in general. The manuscript, a highly illustrated treatise on astronomy and geography compiled by an unknown author between 1020 and 1050, contains an important and hitherto unknown series of colourful maps, giving unique insight into Islamic concepts of the world. This high-quality digital reproduction includes interactive displays, through mouse-over techniques, as well as access to a modern Arabic edition and an annotated English translation. http://www.muslimheritage.com/node/833

Tabula Rogeriana, Drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154 http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/geographia-from-antiquity-to-the-space-age/ The Tabula Puetingeriana (Peutinger Table, Peutinger Map) is an itineraria of the Roman road network. The section shown here is from Rome (far left) to the tip of Italy (far right). Africa is at the bottom, the rest of Europe at the top, and the body of water is the Mediterranean Sea. This is an excellent example of a practical map based on the linear routes of Roman roads, but looks nothing like the accurate cartographic projection of the Mediterranean region. However, on closer look, some familiar geographic features can be seen such as the ‘boot’ of Italy and the island of Sicily on the right. Image source: WikiCommons - 13th-century parchment copy of a possible Roman original

Mappamundi, 1450 Fra Mauro, a Venetian monk and cartographer from the mid-15th century, made it his life’s work to chart the course of merchants and travelers in order to create the most definitive map of the world. Accounts from travelers interviewed by the monk are found throughout the map as citations of integrity. No sailor’s tale was too mundane or merchant chart too crude for Fra Mauro. He wanted to chart the known world as traversed from the Mediterranean to the horn of Africa and to the far reaches of the Orient.

Fra Mauro’s map was likely heavily influenced by Arabic accounts, as the map is oriented with South at the top. This may seem confusing to our contemporary view of the world, but upon close examination of the map, the outline of the Mediterranean Sea, the boot of Italy, and the Black and Caspian Seas are clearly visible. https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/fra-mauros-mappamundi/

Ptolemy’s World re-constructed in 1482 revealed a much more accurate view of the world compared to the mappaemundi of the time. The continent of Europe and the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea are clearly recognizable. The Indian Ocean is land-locked. Source: WikiCommons https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/geographia-from-antiquity-to-the-space-age/

Portuguese-Commissioned Map By Henricus Martellus Germanus, 1489, Yale U. Archives & WikiCommons http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

Portuguese Cantino Planisphere, 1502, Biblioteca Universitaria Estense, Modena, Italy http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

Waldseemuller’s 1507 Map w. America in Lower Left (insert below, right), Library of Congress http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

Sebastian Munster Map, 1540 http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

In 1570, Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius published the world’s first atlas in Antwerp, Belgium, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Ortelius correctly imagined that the continents had been joined at one time (Pangaea) and were moving apart http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/age-of-exploration/

The book entitled Tārih-i Hind-i Garbī (History of the West Indies), probably written by Muhammad b. Amir al-Suûdī al-Niksarī (d. 1591) in the 16th century, contains information about the geographical discoveries and the New World (America). This work, based on Spanish and Italian geographical sources, was presented to Sultan Murād III in 1573.

The book tells the amazing stories of the explorations and conquests of Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro, and others, and it also endeavours to incorporate the new geographic information into the body of Islamic knowledge. It presents a major effort by an Ottoman Muslim scholar, almost unique in the 16th century; firstly, to transmit through translation information from one culture (European Christendom) to another (Ottoman Islam), and secondly, to correct and expand Islamic geography and cartography. http://www.1001inventions.com/maps

https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/133/pdf/tracking-packet_web.pdf https://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/pacific/pacific-

ocean/pacific-ocean-maps.html