Source: oldest.org
Image: Shutterstock
Here are some of the oldest maps of the world, dating back to the Roman, Greek and the Mesopotamian empires.
Image: en.wikipedia.org/ Lord Nicolas the German
Created: 37 AD
Pomponius Mela, the earliest known Roman geographer, divided the Earth into five zones: the torrid zone, the Northern and Southern temperate and frigid zones.
Image: en.wikipedia.org/Konrad Miller
Created: 20-23 BC
While Strabo’s Geographica, an extensive encyclopedia on the known world, survived almost fully intact, his map did not. However, later reconstructions are available.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/Edward Bunbury, Strabo
Created: 150-130 BC
Posidonius calculated the circumference of the Earth, based on Eratosthenes' work. His description of the world was recreated by a cartographer in 1628.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/Melchior Tavernier
Created: 194 BC
Eratosthenes, also called the “Father of Geography”, was the first to use meridian and parallel lines in maps. He marked the equator and also made note of the polar zones.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/J. F. Horrabin
Created: 550-476 BC
Hecataeus, a Greek historian and geographer, expanded Anaximander’s map of the world. He was the first to provide a written description of the known world with a map.
Image: instagram/templvm_project
Created: 610-540 BC
While there are no surviving examples of Anaximander’s map, it sketched out the known world at the time, including parts of Europe, southern Asia and northern Africa.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/Bibi Saint-Pol
Created: 700-500 BC
The Babylonian map of the world, etched on a clay tablet, showed how they viewed the spiritual and physical world.
Image: en.wikipedia.org/Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
Thanks for reading!
See next