|
||
|
|
|
|
Detailed and finely engraved map of Central Asia, presenting a German Enlightenment view of the region just prior to the most active phase of the Great Game. Issued in 1832 by the Geographisches Institut in Weimar, the map spans from the Black Sea and Caucasus to the western provinces of China, and from the Don River basin to the northern deserts of Afghanistan. It offers a comprehensive rendering of the lands historically associated with Turan—the broad cultural-geographic zone stretching across the steppe and desert corridors of Central Asia.
Eight territorial groupings are distinguished in color and named in the legend at lower left, including Turan, the lands of the "middle and lesser Kirghiz hordes," the Khanate of Astrakhan under Russian rule, the Caucasian provinces of the Russian Empire, Ottoman Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, and the western reaches of China. Cities are classified by population using a five-tier symbol system ranging from 5,000 to over 50,000 inhabitants. The map also marks fortresses, ruins, caravanserais, mines, and other sites of cultural or logistical interest. A scale bar at upper right offers comparative units in German miles, Russian versts, Persian farsangs, and French lieues.
Geographically, the map reflects the growing influence of Russian expeditions into the Kazakh steppe and the Transoxiana region. The outlines of the Caspian and Aral Seas are rendered in advance of full hydrographic surveys, but still with a relatively detailed treatment of the Amu Darya delta.
