Two Towns in the Lower Volga Region on the Mappa Mundi, 1457
Journal Title: Поволжская Археология - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 16
Abstract
The author analyzes a medieval cartographic source – an anonymous so called Genoese World Map of 1457, which has been discussed many times, including in relevant monographs. Unfortunately, most publications contain low resolution and thus unreadable images of this map, or just drawings instead of photos. One can even fi nd some wrong dating or erroneous attribution of this map to Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli. The cartographer strived to produce a combination of data from all available sources: ancient accounts (Claudius Ptolemy, mainly), medieval ecclesiastic mappae mundi, travel accounts from Marco Polo to Nicolo Conti, and navigational portolano-charts. Sources for presentation of the Volga and Caspian Sea basin on this map are not explicitly identifi ed, because there is no explicit protograph known, and the presentation itself is seen as an independent source. The author dates information about this terrain from the rise of the Golden Horde under Uzbeg Khan (1313 – 1341) and Jani Beg (1342 – 1357) to the rise of Tamerlane (ca 1370). Two towns are shown in the Lower Volga region: Sarai (Sala) and “the other Sarai” (Saraalis). Their correlation with the Selitrennoye and Tsarevskoye hillforts is not so obvious as on the maps derived from Fra Mauro’s protograph, but this correlation is most likely. This map is another source demonstrating that the idea of just one Sarai (this idea emerged in 1990s) is not plausible.
Authors and Affiliations
Igor Volkov
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP172755
- DOI https://doi.org/10.24852/pa2016.2.16.182.192
- Views 89
- Downloads 0
Balakhchino VIa Site Neolithic Complex in the Kama Mouth Region
The materials from one of the Neolithic sites of the Middle Volga Region are analyzing by the authors of the paper. Ceramic finds from the site corresponds to the ceramic tradition of the Neolithic Kama culture in terms...
On the Turn of Two Millennia (60 Years of the Mari Archaeological Expedition)
The article is dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the Mari Archaeological Expedition and summarizes the two decades of its studies (1996-2016) into the early cultures of the Mari region, starting from the era of the or...
Late Neolithic Complex of the Gulyukovo I Site in the Lower Kama Region
The article features an analysis of the Neolithic portion of the Gulyukovo I site – a multilayer monument of the Neolithic and Late Bronze Age periods. The Neolithic ceramics discovered at the site is classified into thr...
Ancient Russian Materials in the Perm Cis-Urals During the 10th–11th Centuries
The article examines the interaction of the Middle Cis-Urals with Russia as an important factor in ethnic and cultural process in the Middle Ages. During the 10th –11th centuries, this interaction was based on trade rela...
Archaeological Studies of Fortifications in Bashkir Cis-Urals Region
The article addresses archaeological studies of the 16th – 18th centuries fortifications in Bashkortostan. A few of them were studied by archaeologists, including the Ufa Kremlin and the Birsk fortress on the right bank...