1779 Palestinae Sive Terrae Promissionis in duodecim Tribus Partitae Facies Antiqua…

This beautiful hand colored map by John Blair depicts the lands at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, including Palestine, what is modern day Israel, part of Egypt to the south and Syria to the north. Blair calls Israel ‘The Promised Land’, and within its boundaries he details not only topography and geography including cities, mountains, rivers and lakes, but the territories occupied by each of the ten tribes of Israel as well. The map was included in Blair’s atlas, a fascinating oeuvre which was created for and dedicated to Augusta, Princess Dowager of Wales, in 1779. Blair’s aim was to provide an accurate chronology and history of the world from its creation to the year of Christ 1779, for it was his belief that too much time and attention were being spent on the study and discussion of historical events without a proper chronological framework in which to place them. One aim of Blair’s atlas was to provide such a framework in order to facilitate better understanding of historica