Who made the oldest map in the 6th century. History of cartography

For our ancient ancestors, the world was often limited to the land that surrounded and fed them. But even the earliest human civilizations still tried to measure the scale of this world and made the first attempts at mapping.

The first such map is believed to have been made in Babylon over 2,500 years ago, and it shows the world outside the Babylonian kingdom in the form of poisonous waters and dangerous islands where (they believed) humans could not survive.

Over time, maps gradually became larger and larger as people's knowledge of what lay beyond the Mediterranean grew. With the beginning of the era of wandering and exploration in the 15th century, the concept of seeing the world changed, the East began to appear on the maps, a huge uncharted ocean appeared in the place of America. And with the return of Columbus, the maps of the world began to take on a form that is already understandable to us, modern people.

1. The oldest known map of the world from Babylon (6th century BC). At the center of the world is the Babylonian kingdom itself. Around him is a "bitter river". The seven dots across the river are islands that cannot be reached.

2. World map of Hecateus of Miletus (5th-6th century BC). Hecataeus divides the world into three parts: Europe, Asia and Libya, located around the Mediterranean Sea. His world is a round disk surrounded by an ocean.

3. Map of the world by Posidonius (2nd century BC). This map expands on the early Greek vision of the world to include the conquests of Alexander the Great.

4. World map of Pomponius Mela (43 AD)

5. Map of the world by Ptolemy (150 AD). He was the first to add lines of latitude and longitude to the world map.

6. The Peutinger Tablet, a 4th-century Roman map showing the road network of the Roman Empire. The complete map is very long, showing the lands from Iberia to India. In the center of the world, of course, is Rome.

7. Map of the world by Cosmas Indikoplov (6th century AD). The world is shown as a flat rectangle.

8. Later Christian map in the form of a multi-colored clover leaf, compiled by Heinrich Banting (Germany, 1581). In fact, it does not describe the world, or rather, according to this map, the world is a continuation of the Christian trinity, and Jerusalem is its center.

9. Map of the world by Mahmud al-Kashgari (11th century). The world is centered around the ancient city of Balasagun, now the territory of Kyrgyzstan. This also includes places (countries) that, according to predictions, will appear by the end of the world, such as Gog and Magog.

10. Map "Book of Roger" by Al-Idrisi, compiled in 1154. It was created on the basis of information received from Arab traders who traveled all over the world. At that time it was the most accurate and extensive map of the world. Europe and Asia are already clearly visible, but from Africa so far there is only its northern part.

11. Hereford map of the world of the 14th century by one Richard of Haldingham. Jerusalem in the center, East at the top. The circle in the southern part of the map is the Garden of Eden.

12. Chinese map "Da Ming Hunyi Tu" of the late 14th century. The world through the eyes of the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty. China, of course, dominates, and the whole of Europe is squeezed into a small space in the west.

13. Genoese map, compiled in 1457 based on the descriptions of Niccolò da Conti. This is how Europeans see the world and Asia after the opening of the first trade routes to Mongolia and China.

14. Projection of the Erdapfel globe ("Earth Apple") by Martin Beheim (Germany, 1492). Erdapfel is the oldest known globe, showing the world as a sphere, but without America - instead, there is still a huge ocean.

15. Map of the world by Johann Ruysch, compiled in 1507. One of the first images of the New World.

16. Map by Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann in 1507. This was the first map to label the New World as "America". America looks like a thin strip of the east coast.

17. Map of the world by Gerard van Schagen in 1689. By this time, most of the world has already been mapped, and only small parts of America remain empty for now.

18. Samuel Dunn's 1794 map of the world. By mapping the discoveries of Captain James Cook, Dunn became the first cartographer to depict our world as accurately as possible.

It is impossible to establish when a person made the first card. It is only known that many millennia before our era, man already knew the surrounding area well and knew how to depict it on sand or tree bark. These cartographic images served to indicate roaming routes, hunting places, etc.

Many more hundreds of years passed. People, in addition to hunting and fishing, began to engage in cattle breeding and agriculture. This new, higher stage of culture was also reflected in drawings-plans. They become more detailed, more expressive, more accurately convey the character of the area.

A very valuable ancient drawing of the hunting grounds of the North Caucasus has been preserved to this day. This engraving was made on silver around 3000 BC. e., i.e. This cultural monument of the inhabitants of the ancient Caucasus was found by scientists during excavations of one of the mounds on the banks of the river. Kuban near Maykop.

In the ancient world, the compilation of geographical maps reached a great development. The Greeks established the sphericity of the Earth and its dimensions, introduced cartographic projections, meridians and parallels into science.

One of the most famous scientists of the ancient world, geographer and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in the city of Alexandria (at the mouth of the Nile River) in the 2nd century, compiled a detailed map of the Earth, which no one had created before him.

This map shows three parts of the world - Europe, Asia and Libya (as Africa was then called), as well as the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and other seas. The map has already a degree grid. Ptolemy introduced this grid in order to more correctly depict the spherical shape of the Earth on the map. The rivers, lakes, peninsulas of Europe and North Africa known at that time are shown quite accurately on Ptolemy's map.

If we compare Ptolemy's map with the modern one, it is easy to see that the areas located far from the Mediterranean region, that is, known to Ptolemy only by rumor, received fantastic outlines.

Particularly striking is the fact that Asia is not depicted in its entirety. Ptolemy did not know where it ended in the north and east. He also did not know about the existence of the Arctic and Pacific oceans. Africa continues on the map to the South Pole and passes into some kind of land, connecting in the east with Asia. Ptolemy did not know that Africa ended in the south and was washed by the ocean. He did not know about the existence of independent continents - America, Antarctica and Australia. Ptolemy depicted the Indian Ocean as a closed sea, into which it is impossible to pass on ships from Europe. And yet, in the ancient world and in the following centuries, until the 15th century, no one made a better map of the world than Ptolemy.

The Romans made extensive use of maps for administrative and military purposes; they compiled road maps.

During the Middle Ages, the achievements of ancient science were forgotten for a long time. The Church entered into a fierce struggle with scientific ideas about the structure and origin of the world.

Fables were taught in schools about the creation of the world by God in six days, about the global flood, about heaven and hell. The idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth was considered "heretical" by churchmen and was strictly persecuted. The idea of ​​the Earth has taken on an absolutely fantastic form. In the VI century. Byzantine merchant monk Cosmas Indikoplios depicted the Earth in the shape of a rectangle.

The main type of maps are rough, far from reality and devoid of a scientific basis "monastery maps". They testify to the decline of cartography in medieval Europe. During this period, many small closed states arose in Europe. With a subsistence economy, these feudal states did not need connections with the outside world.

By the end of the Middle Ages, trade and navigation began to develop in the cities of Europe, art and science flourished.

In the XIII-XIV centuries. in Europe, a compass and marine navigation charts, the so-called portolans, appear.

On these maps, the coastline was depicted in detail and very accurately, while the inner parts of the continents remained empty or were filled with pictures from the life of the peoples inhabiting them.

The era of the great geographical discoveries created the conditions for the rise of cartographic science: navigators needed a good, truthful geographical map. In the XVI century. more correct maps appeared, built in new cartographic projections.
Geographic maps include a lot of scientific material. If you compare different maps of the same area, study them, you can get a very detailed idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis area.

That's why, geographic Maps are a huge source of knowledge. But a map can become a real source of knowledge only when you have a certain stock of geographical knowledge.

Anyone who has a knowledge of geography and can read a map can accurately understand the terrain depicted on it, rivers, mountain lakes, high or low hills, cities and villages, railways.

Humans are always driven by curiosity. Thousands of years ago, the discoverers, going farther and farther into uncharted lands, created the first similarities of geographical maps, trying to put the relief they saw on papyrus sheets or clay tablets.

Probably the oldest found is a map from the Egyptian Museum in Turin, made on papyrus by order of Pharaoh Ramses IV in 1160 BC. e. This map was used by the expedition, which, on the orders of the pharaoh, was looking for a stone for construction. The map familiar to our eyes appeared in ancient Greece half a thousand years before our era. Anaximander of Miletus is considered the first cartographer to create a map of the world known by that time.

The originals of his maps have not been preserved, but after 50 years they were restored and improved by another scientist from Miletus - Hecataeus. Scientists have recreated this map according to the descriptions of Hecateus. It is easy to recognize the Mediterranean and Black Seas and nearby lands on it. But is it possible to determine distances from it? This requires a scale that was not yet on ancient maps. For a unit of length, Hecateus used "days of sailing" by sea and "days of passage" by dry land, which, of course, did not add accuracy to the maps.

Ancient geographical maps had other significant shortcomings. They distorted the image, because a spherical surface cannot be deployed on a plane without distortion. Try to carefully remove the peel of an orange and press it against the surface of the table: this will not work without tearing. In addition, they did not have a degree grid of parallels and meridians, without which it is impossible to accurately determine the location of the object. Meridians first appeared on the map of Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC. e., however, they were carried out through different distances. The "father of geography" Eratosthenes was not without reason called a mathematician among geographers. The scientist not only measured the size of the Earth, but also used a cylindrical projection to depict it on the map. In such a projection, there is less distortion, because the image is transferred from the ball to the cylinder. Modern maps are created in different projections - cylindrical, conical, azimuthal and others.

The most perfect maps of the ancient era are considered to be the geographical maps of Ptolemy, who lived in the 2nd century AD. e. in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy entered the history of science thanks to two great works: the "Guide to Astronomy" in 13 books and the "Guide to Geography", which consisted of 8 books. 27 maps were added to the Geography Manual, among them a detailed map of the world. No one created the best either before Ptolemy, or 12 centuries after him! This map already had a degree grid. To create it, Ptolemy determined the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of almost four hundred objects. The scientist determined latitude (distance from the equator in degrees) by the height of the Sun at noon using a gnomon, longitude (degree distance from the initial meridian) - by the difference in time of observations of a lunar eclipse from different points.

In medieval Europe, the works of ancient scientists were forgotten, but they were preserved in the Arab world. There, Ptolemy's maps were published in the 15th century and reprinted almost 50 more times! Perhaps it was these cards that helped Columbus in his famous voyage. The authority of Ptolemy grew so much that even collections of maps were called "Ptolemies" for a long time. Only in the 16th century, after the publication of the "Atlas of the World" by Gerard Mercator, on the cover of which Atlas was drawn holding the Earth, were collections of maps called "atlases".

In ancient China, geographic maps were also created. Interestingly, the first written mention of a geographical map is not related to geography. In the III century BC. e. The Chinese throne was occupied by the Qin dynasty. A rival in the struggle for power, Crown Prince Dan sent an assassin to the ruler of the dynasty with a map of his lands, drawn on silk fabric. The mercenary hid a dagger in a roll of silk. History tells that the attempt failed.

In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, images of America and Australia, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans appeared on world maps. Errors on the maps often turned into a tragedy for sailors. Having explored the shores of Alaska, Vitus Bering's large Kamchatka expedition in the 18th century did not have time to return to Kamchatka by the beginning of autumn storms. The dreamer Bering spent three weeks of precious time in search of the mapped but non-existent Gama Land. His sailboat "Saint Peter", wrecked, with sailors dying of scurvy, landed on a deserted island, where the famous Commander rested forever. “The blood boils in me every time,” wrote one of Bering’s assistants, “when I remember the shameless deception caused by a mistake on the map.”

Today cartography is completely transferred to digital format. To create the most detailed maps, not only ground-based geodetic instruments - theodolite, level, but also airborne laser scanning, satellite navigation, and digital aerial photography are used.

Illustration: depositphotos.com | Kuzmafoto

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Topic 1. HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARTOGRAPHY

Plan
1. Cartography of ancient times.
2. Cartography of the Middle Ages (V - middle of the 17th century).
3. Cartography of the New Age.
4. Cartography of modern times.
5. Historical process in cartography.

1.1. CARTOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT TIME

The origins of cartography date back to ancient times. Even in primitive society, long before the advent of writing, schematic drawings (drawings) of the location of hunting and fishing areas with directions to them, etc. appeared. These drawings were depicted on rocks, cave walls, birch bark, bone or clay plates.

Rice. 1.1. Chukchi map on leather

Rice. 1.2. "Relief" maps of the Greenland Eskimos

Rice. 1.3. Hunting ground plan (3rd century BC)

In ancient Mesopotamia, the development of irrigated agriculture made it necessary to describe and depict irrigation systems (the oldest cartographic images). The expansion of the state necessitated the construction of new cities, fortifications, water supply systems and other things that required the preparation of their plans. The flourishing of the state in Mesopotamia led to the expansion of trade relations and aggressive campaigns, contributing to the expansion of the geographical horizon and the depiction of new lands on plans and maps. Clay tablets of Babylon, papyrus images of ancient Egypt are historical evidence of the development of methods of cartographic representation in the ancient world.

Rice. 1.4. Babylonian clay tablet depicting a map of the world (5th century BC)

Rice. 1.5. Egyptian "Map of Gold Mines"

Greek thinkers, who created the first natural science theories about the origin and structure of the world, first imagined the Earth as a round or oval disk floating on the surface of a boundless ocean. But already in the V century. BC e. Parmenides put forward a purely speculative assumption about the sphericity of the Earth. Convincing evidence of this hypothesis was given in the writings of the great ancient scientist Aristotle (384-322 BC), who noted that mathematicians who calculated the length of the earth's circumference consider its value to be 400 thousand stadia (i.e., approximately 60 thousand km, which is one and a half times more than actual exchanges).
The closest to reality determination of the length of the earth's meridian, made in ancient times, belongs to Eratosthenes (276-194 BC), an outstanding astronomer and geographer, head of the Library of Alexandria. He calculated the length of the meridian at 252,000 stadia, which (with a stage length of 157.5 m used in his time) corresponds to 39,700 km, that is, very close to the actual value of the meridian (40,009 km).
In his work "Geography" (known in fragments), Eratosthenes considered in detail the question of the figure of the Earth, provided data on the size and shape of its inhabited part - the ecumene, and showed the latter on the map.
Figure 1.6 shows a map of Eratosthenes. He created it according to his ideas about the inhabited part of the land around the Mediterranean (Inland) Sea: Southern Europe, North Africa and the western part of Asia. To compile his map, Eratosthenes used the coordinates of a dozen points. The meridians on it are not drawn at regular intervals, but through certain points, for example, through Alexandria, Carthage. Parallels are also drawn. Nevertheless, the grid of parallels and meridians allowed Eratosthenes, using known distances, to correctly show the relative position of continents, mountains, rivers and cities.

Rice. 1.6. Map of Eratosthenes

Following Eratosthenes, other scientists of the ancient world also included a graphic representation of the Earth in the tasks of geography. Since that time, for almost two millennia, geography and cartography (the latter term came into use only in the middle of the 19th century) developed inseparably, although the ratio of the two components - descriptive and cartographic - was not the same for different authors.
A major step in the further improvement of the images of the Earth was made by the greatest astronomer of antiquity Hipparchus (about 190-126 BC), who proposed to build maps on a grid of meridians and parallels, determining the position of points on the earth's surface in latitude and longitude; to designate them, he began to use the division of the circle borrowed from the Babylonians into 360 degrees and then into minutes and seconds.

Rice. 1.7. Map of Hipparchus (detail), 150 BC

The scientific foundations of cartography were laid by the famous ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer, cartographer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (I-II centuries AD). His famous "Guide to Geography" was essentially a guide to the compilation of geographical maps. It included a map of the world and 26 maps of various parts of the land, a description of map projections known at that time, including the conic and pseudoconic projections developed by him. His cards were considered the best at the time. So many terrestrial geographical objects were applied to them that one might think that the land occupies almost the entire earth's surface. Nevertheless, detailed detailed images of the Earth's surface were worth their weight in gold among Greek sailors. An accurate depiction of the coastline was vital to them. After all, ships that went on long voyages to unknown shores risked without the right detailed map break on rocks and reefs.

Rice. 1.8. World map compiled by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century

There were also various informative drawings on the maps, as well as explanatory texts up to the 18th century, which told about what nationalities live in the described territory, what language they speak and what their customs are. Old maps are very interesting for various studies in the field of geography, because. they usually accurately marked sea currents and wind directions. Various images on the cards are especially interesting to study. In addition to travel stories, on the maps you can see pictures illustrating ancient myths, and later - biblical tales. For example, many cards depict divine images, sea monsters, and many-armed people. The latter, for example, are often found on the maps of travelers who managed to get to India.
One of the most common illustration themes on medieval maps is the depiction of wind directions. On some cards - this is the head of an old man blowing in one direction or another, on others - a cherub. Often, from the expression on the face of the depicted “wind”, one could draw conclusions not only about its direction, but also about its strength and character. As time passed, other images of directions appeared, and the wind rose and compass replaced the heads of the winds.
On the world map of Claudius Ptolemy (Fig. 1.9), geographical coordinates are presented in the form of a geographical grid with equal intervals, calculated in degrees, where latitudes were measured from the equator, and longitudes were measured from the westernmost point of the then known world.

Rice. 1.9. World map of Claudius Ptolemy with parallels and meridians

No less than sailors, merchants who went to overseas countries on trade business also needed accurate maps. They needed to know exactly where the big cities with rich fairs and bazaars stood. Settlements were shown on them with conventional signs.
Ancient Greek geographers distinguished only two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. At that time, countries located to the north and west of Greece were classified as Europe, and the eastern territories were classified as Asia. During the domination of the Romans on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the name of the third part of the world - Africa - appeared on the maps.
In ancient Rome, maps were widely used for military and economic purposes for transport links with remote provinces and countries. By decision of the Senate, under Julius Caesar, measurements of roads were started, marked every mile with stone pillars indicating distances. The results of these measurements, completed under Augustus, allowed Mark Vipsanius Agrippa (about 63-12 BC) to prepare materials for creating a map of the world known to the Romans, completed after the death of Agrippa (not preserved).
There are road maps designed to be used on the go. A copy of one of these maps, found in the 16th century, has survived to our time. The German historian Peutinger and in the literature therefore received the name "Peutinger's table".

Rice. 1.10. Part of the Peutinger Table, a Roman road map from the 4th century BC.

The map depicts the Roman Empire and other countries known at that time from the British Isles to the mouth of the Ganges inclusive. From the north and south, the continents are washed by the ocean. Its content: settlements - cities, fortifications, parking of the Roman legions, road network, rivers, mountains, lakes and forests. For settlements, perspective conventional signs are used. Breaks on the roads indicate the position of the stations, the distances between which are signed along the roads. The original map in the form of a stripe seems strange and primitive; the image is intentionally compressed from north to south. This is like a perspective drawing when looking at the flat surface of the Earth from the south. The Mediterranean, Black and other seas are stretched along the map in the form of narrow ribbons. Rivers and roads are forced to follow the same direction. But, given the peculiarity of the construction of the map, it is fair to give it the highest rating - it is remarkable for the details of the image, the abundance of information and its realism.
The land policy of Rome needed to be filmed when organizing new settlements and colonies, when allocating land to veterans (choosing a place, planning settlements, laying out land plots, laying roads, etc.) and in general in the interests of land ownership. A profession of land surveyors arises, for which instructions and manuals are developed that describe the survey technique and are accompanied by drawings; these documents have been preserved and from them one can get a clear idea of ​​​​the method of land surveying. Surveyors were also responsible for compiling maps showing settlements, rivers, mountains, roads, land plots, etc. It was ordered to prepare maps of military administrative units on bronze in two copies, one of which was intended for the archive in Rome.

1.2. CARTOGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE AGES (V-XVII CENTURIES)

After Ptolemy, the development of cartography not only stopped, but even went back. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, under the influence of the dominance of the religious worldview, the doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth was rejected; therefore, projections become unnecessary, and the maps of that time have the same primitive look that Anaximander had, differing from his map only in a large number of details and the introduction of new elements (like the “navel of the earth” - Jerusalem, “Earthly Paradise” in the east, mythical the peoples of Gog and Magog - the peoples who will go to war against the people of God, but will be defeated by fire from heaven, etc.).

1.2.1. Early Middle Ages

The early Middle Ages (5th-14th centuries) in Europe were characterized by the dominance of the church. This period is characterized by monastic maps, which were compiled by monks in monasteries and were mainly illustrations for the Bible.
At the same time, in the countries of the Arab East and Armenia, cartography achieved certain successes, primarily in the preservation of monuments of ancient times, in the translation of the Geography Manual by K. Ptolemy and others. For a long time, Muslims were content with textual descriptions and road maps, the first news about the actual geographical maps of the Arabs date back to the 9th century. But even after that, Muslim cartographers followed the fairway set by ancient and medieval European templates for a long time. True, the appearance of their maps is often very unusual for the European eye. As an example, consider the Istakhri map of the 10th century (Fig. 1.11).

Rice. 1.11. Map of Istakhri, X century

On the vintage map on the left, slightly obliquely, a blue oval figure with three red circles is wedged into a yellow field. This is the Mediterranean Sea with its islands. From below, a blue straight line approaches the oval figure - this is the Nile. The same line goes from above. This, as you might guess, is the mouth of the river. Don. Our Northern Sea of ​​Azov is located somewhere here ... You can see that this part is stupidly torn from the European monastic map. But the right side of the figure was already filled in, probably according to Muslim data. These areas were very well known to them.
To the right of the oval figure, two blue circles with "tails" are drawn. These are the Caspian Sea with the Volga and the Aral Sea with the Syr Darya or Amu Darya. On the right side of the figure, another large water basin is wedged into the land. This is the Indian Ocean. Its arched bay, flaunting close to the Nile, is the Red Sea. A round gulf a little to the right, with two "antennas" - this is the Persian Gulf with the Tigris and Euphrates flowing into it. Another strip to the right is the great Indus River.
Gradually, the Arabs began to gradually accumulate new information about the world around them. Over time, their maps have also improved significantly. This can be seen, for example, from the map of Ibn Said in the 13th century. The zones of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea are shown quite recognizable. The Iberian, Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas, Asia Minor are clearly visible. But, nevertheless, the main attention is paid to the more interesting regions for the Arabs - Asia, Northeast Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Rice. 1.12. Map of ibn Said, 13th century.

The heyday of Arabic cartography is associated with the name of the Arab geographer and cartographer Idrisi (1100-c. 1165), who created a map of the part of the world known at that time on a silver plate measuring 3.5 x 1.5 m, as well as on 70 sheets of paper. An interesting feature of the Idrisi map, as well as other maps compiled by the Arabs, is that the south was depicted on top of the map.

Rice. 1.13. Round map of the world by al-Idrisi, 1154

Later, already in the 20th century, Konrad Miller glued together all the sheets from the "satin" part of the collection of maps and rewrote the Arabic inscriptions in Latin. This map was published in Stutgart in 1928 (Fig. 1.14). Naturally, it has become much more convenient to work with such a card.

Rice. 1.14. Fragment of the "rectangular" map of the world by al-Idrisi in 1154 (published by K. Müller)

1.2.2. Late Middle Ages

The rise in the development of cartography in Europe dates back to the period of the late Middle Ages, when the need arose for geographical maps for the development of trade in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In this regard, in the XIV century. nautical compass charts-portulans became widespread
One of the most famous, if not the most famous example of the portolans of the Majorcan school of cartography is the Catalan Atlas. Prepared in Palma de Mallorca around 1375 by the Jew Abraham Cresques with his son Yehuda Cresques. commissioned by King Juan I of Aragon. The atlas originally consisted of six sheets of parchment, which were subsequently cut in half and stretched over wooden shields. The first sheets deal with issues of cosmography, astronomy and astrology (in particular, the spherical shape of the Earth is noted). Practical advice to seafarers is also given.
The last four leaves of the atlas (Fig. 1.15) are an expanded portolan map with information on overseas countries according to Marco Polo and John Mandeville.

Rice. 1.15. Unfolded Portolan Chart

Rice. 1.16. Fragment of an unfolded portolan map

Portolan maps depicted in detail the coastline and moorings. To lay the course of the ship, a special grid of compass lines (rhumb points) was drawn on them.

Figure 1.17. Portolan of the Black Sea, 1559

A linear scale was placed on the maps to measure distances. However, compass charts were not suitable for sailing the oceans, so navigators turned to globes, which from the end of the 15th century. began to be made for the purposes of navigation.
The first globe was created by the German scientist Martin Beheim. His model of the Earth was published in 1492, the year that Christopher Columbus set off to the shores of fabulous India by a western route. The globe depicted Europe, Asia, Africa, which occupy about half of the entire surface of the Earth, and there are no North and South America, Antarctica, Australia. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are presented as a single water basin, and the East Indian Ocean and the Stormy South Sea are located on the site of the Indian Ocean, separated by a vast archipelago of islands. The outlines of the oceans and continents are far from real, since the creation of the globe was based on information based on the ideas of ancient geographers and data from Arab and other travelers who visited the countries of the East, India and China.

Rice. 1.18. Globe M. Beheim

The development of trade, navigation and colonization during the Renaissance and the Great Geographical Discoveries (XV-XVI centuries) caused a huge demand for geographical maps, in particular world maps, which required the development of new geographical projections and led to a general improvement in cartography.
Since the 16th century, the creation of maps has become the prerogative of scientists. When solving problems, they increasingly used a scientific approach, and in cartography, scientists turned to astronomy and various methods of measuring terrain. By the 17th century, the mythical element had completely disappeared from the maps. Among the cartographers of the 16th century, Gerard Mercator and Abraham Ortelius should be noted, thanks to the efforts of which, when creating maps, it was possible to completely get rid of outdated methods. In 1570, Ortelius published the first atlas, which was called "The Theater of the World". This work became so popular that over the next 50 years its circulation amounted to 31 copies, which is an incredible figure by the standards of that time!

Rice. 1.19. World map from the atlas of Abraham Ortelius 1584

Rice. 1.20. Map of Asia from the atlas of Abraham Ortelius, 1584

G. Mercator was the first person to make accurate measurements an integral part of cartography. He developed several geographical projections, including a conformal cylindrical projection for navigation purposes (currently, the Mercator projection is used to compile marine navigation and aeronautical charts), prepared a large collection of maps, giving it the name "Atlas", published after his death in 1595 d. However, in those days it was dangerous to engage in science, and the great scientist was accused of heresy, although he managed to avoid a violent death.

Rice. 1.21. G. Mercator's world map

The habitual knowledge of Europeans about the northern countries was changed in the 16th century by the Catholic priest Olaf Magnus. As a result of the reform of the church, he was expelled from his native Sweden, and now he really wanted to show the Pope what an amazing land the Catholic Church was losing in Sweden. Magnus creates his famous creation "Map of the Marina", which will later become the main map of Northern Europe for a long time. In addition, Olaf Magnus wrote explanations for his map, the history of the peoples of Northern Europe.

Rice. 1.22. Marina Map (copy 1949)

Of great importance for the development of cartography was the invention in the 15th century. engraving and card printing. The great demand for maps led to the publication of voluminous atlases in many large format volumes. Among them stands out the two-volume atlas of Wagener's nautical charts, published for the first time in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. and subsequently reprinted 18 times in several languages.

Rice. 1.23. Map of the coast of Portugal by L. Wagener

At the beginning of the XVII century. great advances were made in astronomy and geodesy, which served as the basis for the further development of cartography: the invention by Galileo of an astronomical telescope, with which they began to determine the geographical coordinates of points by celestial bodies; in 1616, the Dutch scientist Snellius made the first degree measurements based on the triangulation method he invented. By this time, the scale had already been invented. At the end of the XVII century. English scientist I. Newton proved that the Earth is not a ball, but an ellipsoid of revolution. All this made it possible to carry out accurate degree measurements and create maps on a geodetic basis.

1.2.3. Cartography in Russia in the pre-Petrine era

In Russia, almost all land owners had drawings of their possessions. These maps, made on birch bark, were rather approximate and short-lived. From them it was impossible to get an idea about the structure of the territories, their geographical features. At the same time, the beginning of the unification of the Russian lands and their consolidation into a great and strong power required a “visual aid” in the form of a map for studying the country’s territory. In 1525, the first printed map of Russia appeared, it was created with the help of the “Scribal Map of Russia”, compiled by the traveler Dmitry Gerasimov.

Rice. 1.24. Drawing, compiled according to the information of the "Ambassador Demetrius", 1525

With the formation of the Russian centralized state at the end of the 15th century. there was also a need to create a detailed map of the country. Numerous geographical maps, or, as they were then called "drawings", and descriptions for them began to be created for various territories of the country, and subsequently served as the source material for compiling consolidated maps of Russia.
After the unification of the Russian lands, Ivan IV the Terrible in 1552 "ordered the land to be measured and a drawing to be made to the entire state." This was the beginning of a global work of collecting information and creating "drawings". Information was accumulated on territories covering the interior regions along the Northern Dvina, Kama, Volga, Pechora, Oka with their tributaries, as well as part of the Trans-Ural steppes and lands south of the lower reaches of the Don and in the Caspian region.
For several decades, a lot of cartographic and descriptive information was collected, and between 1595 and 1600. appeared "Drawing of the entire Moscow State", called the "Big Drawing".
Unfortunately, the “Big Drawing...” itself has not been preserved, but the description for its second edition “The Book of the Big Drawing”, which is a detailed geographical description of the state, has been preserved.
The annexation of Siberia required a geographical study of its territory. In this regard, Siberian explorers were instructed to compile descriptions and drawings of the new lands they were developing, on the basis of which in 1667, under the Tobolsk voivode Pyotr Godunov, the first summary map of all Siberia was compiled. By decree of the sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich, the stolnik and Tobolsk voivode Pyotr Godunov prepared a drawing “for the testimony of all the ranks of people who ... and towns, and prisons, and tracts, and roads, and lands they know for sure, and what moves from city to city and from settlements to settlements, and to which place ... how many days and how many miles the ride, and where to build between the settlements of Tobolsk district ... military people ..., what fortresses and how many people in which fortress to plant dragoons, to which fortress how many the course of days and weeks through the steppe and waters to China ... ".

Rice. 1.25. Pyotr Godunov's map

The map reflected a fairly realistic scheme of the rivers of Siberia and the Far East, as well as towns and areas of tribal settlement. A copy of the Godunov Map, secretly acquired and printed by the Swedish ambassador in Moscow, became a valuable contribution to European geographical science. Godunov also compiled a "Statement of the Chinese Land and the Deep Indian", which was subsequently translated into Greek language and has been widely adopted.
This is how an old manuscript tells about the first map of Siberia, which for a long time was considered irretrievably lost. By the way, it was its compilers who introduced a system of symbols - "signs by which to recognize cities and prisons, and settlements, and rivers, and lakes, and volosts, and winter quarters, and nomad camps" in the drawing.
Of particular note is the outstanding cartographer of his time from Tobolsk Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov, who summarized a large geographical material in maps and at the end of the 16th century. compiled the "Drawing Book of Siberia" - the first Russian geographical atlas of 23 large-format maps, giving a versatile description of the natural conditions, economy and ethnography of Siberia.

Rice. 1.26. Drawing of the land of the Nerchinsk city of S. Remezov

Rice. 1.27. Ethnographic map of Siberia. S. Remezova

1.3. CARTOGRAPHY OF THE NEW TIME

1.3.1. The development of cartography in Europe (XVIII-XIX centuries)

The further development of capitalist relations in Western Europe, the expansion of economic ties, the colonization of new territories increased the need for new maps of various scales and purposes. Cartographic work occupied a prominent place in the activities of a number of academies of sciences (Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg).
At the end of the XVIII century. a lot of work to create a geodetic base topographic maps for the territory of France was carried out by the astronomer C. Cassini. Thanks to the use of the method of determining points on the earth's surface - triangulation, the accuracy of maps has significantly increased. This method later became widespread in many European countries. In the 19th century in many countries, special military topographic units were organized, which then acquired the status of state cartographic services. As a result of the work of cartographic services, by the middle of the 19th century. in many European countries, topographic maps of their territories were published with the relief depicted in the way of strokes.
Increasing requirements for topographic maps, in particular, in determining the heights of terrain points, angles of inclination led in the second half of the 19th century. to the application of the method of contour lines for the image of the relief. As a result, by the end of the XIX century. many European countries, including Russia, have compiled updated, more accurate and larger-scale topographic maps with detailed relief images. The First World War caused a great need for maps and was the impetus for the introduction of new survey methods, in particular aerial photography, which later led to a radical improvement in topographic surveys.
In addition to providing for the army, topographic maps began to be widely used for civilian purposes when conducting various scientific research and compiling thematic maps. Thematic maps (climatic, geological, etc.) appeared as early as the 17th century, but they were few in number. In the 19th century in all major maritime countries (including Russia), the compilation of navigational charts for the purposes of navigation acquired great importance, and special hydrographic services were created. Already by the beginning of the XX century. navigational charts were drawn up for all the seas on which regular ship traffic was carried out.
In the XIX - early XX centuries. many sciences have accumulated a large amount of factual material, which, when displayed on maps, made it possible to identify the relationships of the studied phenomena among themselves and with the environment and establish certain patterns in nature and society. So, A. Humboldt in 1817, on the basis of maps with isotherms, established patterns of temperature distribution on the globe. In the second half of the XIX century. many sciences (geology, meteorology, soil science, oceanography, economic geography, etc.) began to widely use thematic maps in their research. Maps made it possible to identify patterns of placement and interrelations of the studied phenomena, as well as their development and forecasting. Thus, since the 19th century Cartography is characterized by a broad development of thematic mapping.
When compiling various maps and atlases in the XIX century. and subsequently, cartographic and descriptive materials of expeditions organized by geographical societies, including the Russian Geographical Society, organized in 1845, were widely used.
In the 19th century In many countries, for the commercial publication of maps and atlases, along with small map publishing houses, large specialized map publishing companies were created, including A. Ilyin's cartographic publishing house in St. Petersburg (1859).

1.3.2. The development of Russian cartography in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Russian cartography under Peter I takes the path of scientific development. The main achievements of cartography under Peter 1 were: training for cartographic surveys and mapping; conducting systematic state surveys to create a general map of Russia, organizing expeditions for mapping the seas; publication of maps.
A great contribution to the development of cartography in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. introduced by the outstanding cartographer of that time, Obersecretary of the Senate I.K. Kirilov is the head of the country's mapping work. He advocated the development of Russian cartography independent of foreign, for displaying his country on maps in its entirety, he planned to create a large "Atlas of the All-Russian Empire" in three volumes of 120 sheets each, but due to his early death he managed to print and prepare for printing only 37 cards.
After the death of I.K. Kirilov, cartographic work in the country was transferred to the Geographical Department of the Academy of Sciences, which prepared and published in 1745 the first complete Atlas of Russia.

Rice. 1.28. Atlas of Russia (detail) 1745

The department has published more than 250 maps, reflecting the results of government surveys and various surveys. Great influence on the development of cartography in the XVIII century. rendered by the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov, who headed the Geographic Department since 1757. He did a lot to train cartographic and geodetic personnel, to improve the accuracy of surveys and cartographic work, to update and improve the compilation of maps.
At the end of the XVIII century. based on the materials of the general survey, atlases of individual provinces and a consolidated atlas of 42 provinces with a general map of Russia were compiled and published, and at the beginning of the 19th century. based on the same materials, a multi-sheet map of Russia was compiled on a scale of 1: 840,000. An outstanding cartographic work of the middle of the 19th century. a three-verst map of European Russia (1:126,000) appeared, on which the relief is depicted using the stroke method. From the second half of the XIX century. on large-scale topographic maps of Russia, horizontal lines began to be used instead of strokes to display the relief.
In the 19th century in Russia, as well as in the countries of foreign Europe, thematic mapping began to develop more and more widely. Thematic maps were created for various branches of knowledge. The works of V.V. Dokuchaev on soil mapping, A.A. Tillo on compiling hypsometric maps of European Russia, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky on mapping the economy and population.

Rice. 1.29. Dokuchaev's map of the zonal distribution of soils in the Northern Hemisphere

Rice. 1.30. A fragment of a hypsometric map of European Russia, compiled
A. A. Tillo in 1889

1.4. MODERN CARTOGRAPHY

1.4.1. The origin and development of Soviet cartography

In 1919, the Higher Geodetic Directorate was formed, later transformed into the Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGK) under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which headed all geodetic, topographic and cartographic work in the country.
The priority measures were: the transition to the metric system of measures, the development of the layout and nomenclature of maps and a new scale series, the adoption of a single projection for all topographic maps, the introduction of a system of flat rectangular coordinates and common symbols. Since 1930, aerial photography began to be used to create topographic maps, and somewhat later, methods for creating maps in office conditions using various stereophotogrammetric instruments were introduced.
In the postwar period, extensive work was carried out to find cartographic projections (F.N. Krassovsky, V.V. Kavraysky, M.D. Solovyov), work was completed on the calculation of the earth's ellipsoid, named after the leader of the work Krasovsky's ellipsoid (1940), a number of major geographical atlases of the USSR and the world were created, including the Great Soviet Atlas of the World. In 1928, the Central Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Photography and Cartography was opened. In accordance with a special government decree, since 1938, school atlases and wall maps on geography and history began to be published.
In the postwar years, extensive work was done to update topographic maps, restore the geodetic reference network in the European part of the USSR, and create maps on a larger scale for intensively developing regions. By the mid-1950s, mapping of the USSR on a scale of 1:100,000 was completed, and by the beginning of the 90s, on a scale of 1:25,000. A huge role in the accelerated mapping of the country belongs to the use of aviation, more advanced aerial photography and material processing instruments. using stereophotogrammetric instruments.
Significant results have been achieved in the field of thematic mapping: geological maps have been created at scales of 1:200,000 and 1:1,000,000;
1:1,000,000, a hypsometric map of the USSR at a scale of 1:2,500,000, etc. A large place in the development of cartography of the post-war period is occupied by complex mapping, which consists in creating a series of wall thematic maps of the USSR at a scale of 1:4,000,000 for higher education, as well as unique atlases, among which stand out: Geographic Atlas for Secondary School Teachers (first edition in 1954), three-volume Nautical Atlas (1953-1958), Physical Geographic Atlas of the World (1964), Antarctic Atlas (1966-1969) , a three-volume atlas of the oceans (1974-1981), etc., scientific reference atlases of individual union republics, regions, territories and the ASSR. Further development in the post-war period was the publication of school maps (including contour maps) and atlases.
The successes achieved by Soviet cartography are largely due to the outstanding Soviet cartographer K.A. Salishchev, the founder of Soviet economic cartography N.N. Baransky and their students.

1.4.2. The development of cartography in modern times abroad

After the First World War, work was intensified on the international millionth map of the world and the creation of national atlases in a number of countries. After the Second World War there were certain changes in the organization of cartographic and geodetic work. If before the Second World War cartographic and geodetic work was mainly carried out by military departments in their interests, then later many types of work were transferred to the jurisdiction of civilian institutions. In many foreign countries, thematic and complex mapping, the study of the resources of the World Ocean and its mapping, the creation of environmental maps, and the publication of national and regional atlases are becoming increasingly important. International relations in cartography are developing, which led to the creation in 1961 of the International Cartographic Association, whose chairman for a number of years was K.A. Salishchev. Prior to this, scientific relations in the field of cartography were carried out within the framework of international geographical congresses, and since 1927 also the International Geographical Union.
The current stage of development of cartography is characterized by great demand and, accordingly, a large amount of work on the creation of electronic (digital) maps. One of the important stages in the creation of digital maps is the digitization of cartographic information. When digitizing, various software tools were used, such as: Macrostation, AutoCAD, MapInfo, Geographic Information System (GIS) ARC / INFO, GIS Object Land, Panorama and others. Modern GIS have a wide range of capabilities that allow you to perform a wide range of operations with graphic objects.
Currently, the creation of digital maps is dictated by the need to create and maintain the State Land Cadastre and the introduction of the Automated System of the State Land Cadastre throughout the state.

1.5. HISTORICAL PROCESS IN CARTOGRAPHY

The historical process in cartography covers the history of the creation of specific works: maps, globes, atlases, as well as the stages of development of cartographic tools, methods and technologies, ideas and concepts. The main milestones in the development of instruments for surveys and measurements on the ground, methods and technologies for mapping, which marked turning points in the history of cartography, are highlighted below.

Table 1.1

Development of tools for measurements and surveys on the ground

The main trend in the development of instruments and tools for surveying and mapping on the ground has always been aimed at expanding spatial coverage, increasing accuracy and efficiency. Visual observations and simple measurements in small areas of the terrain gradually gave way to high-precision geodetic methods and remote sensing of global coverage. It should be noted that the pace of technological progress has been accelerating rapidly in the last two centuries; means of surveying and field mapping are undergoing dramatic changes over historically short periods of time - 30-50 years.
Similar trends are observed in the development of mapping methods - from primitive cartographic drawings on stone and papyrus to modern technologies for constructing maps in computer networks (Table 1.2). And in this case, rapid and fundamental changes that radically change the mapping, occur in the last decades of the XX century.

Development of mapping methods and technologies for issuing maps

Table 1.2

The main trends in the development of technologies for mapping and publishing maps are associated with the improvement of methods for creating, reproducing and distributing cartographic works among users. At the present stage, the technologies of fast (operational) mapping have acquired special significance. Ultimately, the economic efficiency of cartographic science and production depends on how quickly the created works reach the user and are applied to solve specific problems.
Technical and technological progress directly influenced the development of methods for using maps (Table 1.3).

Table 1.3

Development of methods for using maps

This line has always had a fairly clear orientation towards meeting the practical and scientific needs of society, the transformation of cartography from a simple means of orientation into a planning and design tool.
Thus, it can be seen that with the development of tools, methods and technologies, cartography increasingly expands its spatial coverage (today it has already entered outer space), improves the quality, accuracy and, most importantly, the efficiency of creating cartographic works. It gradually embraces ever wider layers of users, penetrates into many spheres of the political, economic, cultural life of society, and this means an increase in the value of cartographic data as information resources.
The study of the historical process leads to important conclusions about the prospects for the development of cartography. It becomes obvious that for many centuries the methods of creating maps and their appearance have changed dramatically, but the purpose and functions have remained almost the same. One notable example is the remarkable Roman road map known as the Peutinger Table. The image on it is strongly deformed in distances and directions, but it is quite accurate in terms of topology. This principle of showing communication routes has been preserved to the present day; it suffices to recall subway maps that do not reflect true distances and directions, but accurately convey the topology of underground roads.
A drawing, a photograph, a printing print, an electronic image - this is always the language of visual images that is most accessible to a person, the most convenient and familiar model of reality for him. Therefore, throughout the history of mankind, the map remains one of the most effective means of understanding the world around us and transmitting spatial information.

Control questions and tasks for self-training of students

1. Tell us about the origin of cartography in ancient times.
2. Who gave the first scientific evidence of the sphericity of the Earth?
3. Who first determined the size of the Earth?
4. Who proposed to apply a degree grid when creating maps?
5. Who first used the terms "geographic latitude" and "geographic longitude"?
6. Tell us about the features of the development of cartography in the Middle Ages (V - the middle of the 17th century).
7. What is the peculiarity of monastic maps?
8. For what purposes were ceilings used?
9. Who is the author of the first globe?
10. Tell us about G. Mercator's contribution to the development of cartography.
11. Tell us about Galileo's contribution to the development of cartography.
12. Tell us about Snell's contribution to the development of cartography.
13. Tell us about Newton's contribution to the development of cartography.
14. What is the merit of P. Godunov and S. Remezov in the development of cartography.
15. Tell us about the development of Russian cartography in the 18th-19th centuries.
16. Tell us about the origin and development of Soviet cartography.
17. Tell us about the development of cartography in modern times abroad.
18. Tell us about the prospects for the development of cartography.

1. Berlyant A.M. Cartography: a textbook for universities / A.M. Berlyant. - M.: Aspect Press, 2002.-336 p. pp. 26 - 29.
2. Berlyant A.M. Cartology: a textbook for universities / A.M. Berlyant, A.V. Vostokova, V.I. Kravtsov. - M. : Aspect Press, 2003. - 477 p. pp. 29 - 32.
3. Zhmoydyak R.A. Cartography: Course of lectures / R.A. Zhmoydyak, L.V. Atoyan. : Minsk 2006. S. 8 - 19.
4. Website of the teacher Eshtokin A.N.

The first geographical maps appeared on Earth almost simultaneously with the emergence of a drawing skill in humans. True, these were not quite maps, but their distant prototypes, but one thing is clear: as soon as a person began to move over long distances, he began to try to comprehend his movement and, having a natural spatial sense, tried to display it in drawings. Maps in a form more or less familiar to us appeared much later, but also incredibly long ago - even before our era.

The prototype of an ancient map

Initially, the "ancestors" of the cards looked like sketchy drawings on the walls of caves, dwellings, ancient dishes (for example, plates), stone slabs.

For example, this "star" fresco, found by archaeologists, was created in ancient Jordan and, according to scientists, is a cosmological map. In the center is the "known world", "first ocean", "second world" and "second ocean". From eight points, which, most likely, symbolized the islands, there were the “beyond the world” and the “heavenly ocean”. The rectangle located at the bottom right, according to historians, is not relevant - this is a drawing of some building (possibly a temple).

The oldest map of the world

One of the first surviving maps known to scientists is an ancient relic found in Iraq. This map, which gained great fame and influenced people's ideas about the world, was created in Babylon.

The world on it is depicted as flat, round, and, as you might guess, Babylon itself is designated as its center. The image found on a piece of clay slab is dated to the 7th century BC.

Anaximander was ahead of his time

A real breakthrough in the field of geography and cartography occurred when a map compiled by Anaximander of Miletus (610 - 540 BC) appeared. He imagined the earth in the form of an oval, which is stretched from east to west.

Anaximander, whom Aristotle himself respected and considered a great sage, was not only a geographer, but also an astronomer. He tried to compare the Earth with other space objects, and also thought a lot about the origin of the Universe, coming to the conclusion that it is born, reaches the peak of its development, dies, and then is reborn again.

Neither the map of the world drawn by Anaximander nor its copies have survived to this day, but Herodotus wrote that the ancient scientist depicted the world on it in the form of a drum, around which the ocean is located.

Information has come down to us about the map of Hecateus of Miletus, who lived around the same period, but a little later. According to her, the world consists of three parts - Europe, Asia and Libya. All three "continents" are located around the Mediterranean Sea. His map was made on the basis of data from Anaximander.

The priest-encyclopedist Isidore of Seville portrayed such an idea of ​​the world very similarly in his work Etymology (7th century). The 'T' shape represents the sea, while the 'O' represents the ocean. And there is already Africa.

The father of geography (in fact, he was the first to introduce this term) is Eratosthenes, who in the 2nd century BC. wrote a three-volume work, which was called “Geography”. It indicated that the earth has the shape of a ball, and the scientist confirmed this statement with his mathematical calculations. Alas, in its original form, this work has not reached modern scientists - it is known from the retellings of Roman authors. The map of Eratosthenes has also not been preserved, but it had an invaluable influence on the studies of geographers of the Middle Ages.

By the way, it was Eratosthenes who was the first to designate the meridians on the maps - however, these designations were not yet so accurate. And it was he who divided the world into five climatic zones.

The most interesting ancient maps

But such a map was created in the 400s BC by the historian Herodotus:

The map of Pomponius Mela, the earliest Roman geographer who created the scientific work Descriptive Geography, divides the Earth into five zones, three of which are uninhabited. Mela believed that the southern lands of our planet were inaccessible to the northerners, since they were separated from the temperate latitudes by an arid territory of unbearable heat.

Like many predecessors, he considered the Caspian Sea a bay of the Northern Ocean. And this is not surprising, because in 43, when Pomponius Mela created his work, most of our planet was not studied.

Another interesting find is a mosaic map found in Madaba (Jordan) during archaeological excavations of the early Christian church of St. George, represents ancient Jerusalem. The panel was made around the 6th century. It depicts churches and other structures. They are shown so realistically that modern scientists have even been able to identify them - for example, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher located in the center is clearly visible. According to scientists, this is the oldest map of the Holy Land.

Ptolemy's map as a guide for posterity

Great work was done by the great scientist from Alexandria Claudius Ptolemy. Around the year 150, he compiled a map of the world, to which about 30 more separate, more detailed maps were attached. The entire treatise was called "Guide to Geography".

Ptolemy outlined the location of even very remote zones - from Egypt to the Scandinavian lands and from the Atlantic to Indochina. This relic was discovered many centuries later and for a long time, until the era of geographical discoveries, was the main cartographic document for travelers and scientists. Subsequently, it was improved.

Continents such as Asia, Europe and Africa became more detailed on the revised map, and instead of Babylon, Jerusalem was indicated as the center of the world.

Ptolemy's map is divided into equal parts by parallels and meridians. The Mediterranean zone and the Near East are depicted more or less correctly, but as Ptolemy's knowledge of other lands moves south, they become more vague. For example, he designates the Indian Ocean as an inland sea, and the unexplored part of the African continent in the south expands and surrounds it, connecting with Asia. There are no ideas about Antarctica yet - it is "uncharted land". Well, Asia, in his opinion, was so huge that it even occupied the territory on which, as it turned out many years later, the Pacific Ocean is located.

Recently, the University of Chicago digitized all ancient maps and published a six-volume work on the history of geography and cartography with explanations. This large-scale project on ancient cartography began in the 1980s and, perhaps, it will be supplemented by new archaeological and historical finds.