Geographica Nova ex Oriente Gratiosissima, Duabus Tabulis Special. contenta, quarum Una Mare Caspium, Altera Kamtzadaliam, seu Terram Jedso.

One of Homann's most interesting and influential maps, this 1725 map depicts the Caspian Sea and the Peninsula of Kamchatka. Essentially two maps in one, Homann here juxtaposes two opposite parts of Asia: the Caspian Sea, which forms part the western border of Asia and Europe, and the Peninsula of Kamchatka, the easternmost known point in continental Asia. While this combination may seem odd to us today, to the 18th century European, reared on the works of Marco Polo and steeped in the legends of wealth associated with the orient, it represented the legendary Silk Route across Asia as well as the eastern and western most claims of the expanding Russian Empire. During this period, both the Caspian Sea and Kamchatka were actively being explored by European powers eager to exploit the riches of Asia. The left hand map, focusing on the Caspian Sea, marks a significant step forward in the mapping of this region, reflecting the 1719 - 1721 survey work of the Russian navy officer Karl van Verden. Verden's work, completed shortly before this map's publication was the most advanced mapping of the Caspian sea to date, offering a new perspective on the region and opening the navigational poss

Date

1725

Place

the Caspian Sea

Archive

Wikimedia Commons

Type

map

Original size

5,000 × 4,070 pixels

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