A Gallery of Historical Maps (Image Gallery) p. 5

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by Mark Cartwright
published on 30 May 2021

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Map of the World from Sippar, Mesopotamia

by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
published on 04 February 2014

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Map of the World from Sippar, Mesopotamia — View Full-Size Image

This tablet contains both a cuneiform inscription and a unique map of the Mesopotamian world. Babylon is shown in the center (the rectangle in the top half of the circle), and Assyria, Elam and other places are also named. The central area is ringed by a circular waterway labelled 'Salt-Sea'. The outer rim of the sea is surrounded by what were probably originally eight regions, each indicated by a triangle, labelled 'Region' or 'Island', and marked with the distance in between. The cuneiform text describes these regions, and it seems that strange and mythical beasts as well as great heroes lived there, although the text is far from complete. Babylonian, about 700-500 BCE, probably from Sippar, Mesopotamia, Iraq.

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Uploaded by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, published on 04 February 2014. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Copyright. You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.