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Maps of Parthia


Modern Maps of Ancient Parthia

Modern cartography

Archaeological Site Maps - for areas of Parthian rule (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
Map of Parthia
Map of Parthia at its Greatest Extent
Map of Parthian Mints


Ancient Maps of Parthia

Ancient cartography. These beautiful maps are modern reconstructions from the works of ancient geographers. Images and notes are from the virtual collection of J. Siebold

Eratosthenes circa 220 B.C. (slide #112A - notes)
Eratosthenes 194 B.C. (slide #112 - notes)
Posidonius 150-130 B.C. (slide #114 - notes) reconstruction by Pieter Bert
Strabo A.D. 18 (slide #115 - notes)
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa A.D. 20 Orbis Terrarum (slide #118 - notes)
Pomponius Mela circa A.D. 40 (slide #116 - notes)
Pomponius Mela circa A.D. 40 (slide #116B - notes) reconstruction by Pieter Bert
Tabula Peutingeriana (of Castorius?, 1st century A.D.), detail: Mesopotamia. (slide #120I  - notes) copy from a 12th century MS
Dionysius A.D. 124 (slide # 117 - notes)
Claudius Ptolemy A.D. 200 (slide #119 - notes). This atlas was an unsurpassed masterpiece for almost 1,500 years.

Orbis TerrarumThe Greek geographers of the 5th and 6th Centuries B.C. represented the earth as a disk floating in an ocean. And although the spherical shape of the earth was well-supported by the time of Aristotle, the Romans continued to use the early Greek representation. They called their map simply Orbis Terrarum ("The Whole World").

Roman map-makers often placed East at the top of their maps, perhaps because it is the direction from which the sun rises. In the Middle Ages places to the east were called "the Levant" from the Latin levare meaning "to rise". However, the Romans used the verb oriri for "rising" when applied to the sun, moon and stars, a word from which came oriens meaning "the east", "the morning" or "the rising sun", and the English word "Orient".

"The Orbis Terrarum of the Romans" drawn by Erwin Raisz, in Encyclopedia Americana 1954, vol. 18, page 258.


This page last updated 23 Feb 2021

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