Babylonian Map of the World
Circa 8th-century BC clay tablet
Circa 8th-century BC clay tablet
The Babylonian Map of the World (also Imago Mundi or Mappa mundi) is a Babylonian clay tablet with a schematic world map and two inscriptions written in the Akkadian language. Dated to no earlier than the 9th century BC (with a 6th century BC date indicated by the British Museum), it includes a brief and partially lost textual description. The tablet describes the oldest known depiction of the then known world. Ever since its discovery there has been controversy on its general interpretation and specific features. Another pictorial fragment, VAT 12772, presents a similar topography from roughly two millennia earlier. The map is centered on the Euphrates, flowing from the north (top) to the south (bottom), with its mouth labelled "swamp" and "outflow". The city of Babylon is shown on the Euphrates, in the northern half of the map. Susa, the capital of Elam, is shown to the south, Urartu to the northeast, and Habban, the capital of the Kassites, is shown (incorrectly) to the northwest. Mesopotamia...
Read on Wikipedia · Image Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0
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