Wednesday 9 September 2015

Historical Maps

Researching background information about the Severan Dynasty through the Internet I found a lot of maps; some quite detailed but none were contemporary. Maps of the period should display the most basic of information, such as rivers, mountains, cities and distance between.

Quite by accident, I found an excellent example of what I needed and further searching I found its source, Claudius Ptolomaeus, Cosmographica at the Bibliothèque national de France.

About Claudius Ptolomey, you can find at wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy


The maps of his Cosmographica show basic information and lists the cities of the 2nd century AD in- and outside the Empire. This is particularly useful for designing maps for campaign use. No boundaries are drawn, a clear statement that the Empire was not limiting itself. 

Some sample maps:

Illyricum/Thrace


Britannia


Persia


Cheers,

4 comments:

  1. They´re neat. The one of Britian (apart from the lump at the top) is pretty good, especially considering when it was made.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Paul,
    Google... Claudius Ptolomaeus, Cosmographica at the Bibliothèque national de France.... and you will be able to view more maps from the collection.

    Cheers,

    https://www.google.nl/search?q=Claudius+Ptolomaeus,+Cosmographica+at+the+Biblioth%C3%A8que+national+de+France.&biw=1536&bih=749&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIqKac1tPrxwIVBNgaCh3k7Qys

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete