1574 Soria Et Terra Santa Nuova Tavola

This is a nice example of a fascinating  Ruscelli map from his work La Geografia di Claudio Tolomeo Alessandrino.  Ruscelli based much of his work on that of Claudius Ptolemy, and on the atlas maps of Giacomo Gastaldi. This second state issue of the Holy Land and Cyprus is one of the earliest obtainable maps of the region. The map starts on the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia to the west of Cypress, includes Cypress and names its major cities and extends as far east as the mountains of western Iran and the city of Mosul in modern day Iraq, which here is named Mesopotamia. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are both delineated and their point of confluence before they empty into the Persian Gulf, the Shatt al Arab, is clearly depicted. The countries of the Levant are all in place and denoted and their topography including mountain ranges and river systems shown in detail.  Many biblical cities are named, including those near the Dead Sea such as Sodom and Gomorrah. Large bodies of water ar