Cartography: Did you mean...?

In this gallery of eight maps, we examine the history of Britain by looking at the four great challenges faced from the outside: Rome, Scandinavia, Normandy, and Spain, as well as that which came from within and the chaotic civil war of the...

In this gallery of five maps, we examine the creation and expansion of the United States from the colonization of North America by European powers to the routes of the explorers who pushed ever westwards to the Pacific coast. Here we can...

The Tabula Rogeriana, as it is called in English, was made by Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154. The map was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily (r. 1130-1154) around 1138, and took nearly 15 years to complete. Eight copies of the...

Babylonian, about 700-500 BCE Probably from Sippar, southern Iraq A unique ancient map of the Mesopotamian world This tablet contains both a cuneiform inscription and a unique map of the Mesopotamian world. Babylon is shown in the...

This detail shows a section of the Tabula Peutingeriana, a 13th Century map of the world believed to be based on a Roman original. This section of it includes Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire. The massive scroll measures 0.34 m (1 ft 1...

Possibly what the Greek historian Herodotus believed the world looked like (5th century BCE) based on his writings.

The Da Ming Hunyi Tu is a Chinese world map made c. 1389, during the Ming Dynasty. The map, which replicates the curvature of the Earth, centers on China but also includes Africa and Europe. 386 (151.9 in) x 456 cm (175.9). Paint on silk...

The "Psalter World Map" was made c. 1265, and depicts the world as it was known to Medieval Europeans. Approx. 9.5 cm (3.7 in) high. (Courtesy of the British Library)

The Ebstorf Map is a Medieval world map made by Gervase of Ebstorf c. 1234-1240. The original map was destroyed in 1943 during World War II, but several color facsimiles (including this image) survive.

A Babylonian cuneiform tablet with a map of the fields, towns and palaces around Nippur. Kassite Period, 1550-1450 BCE. Nippur, Iraq.