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Description

A nice example of Speed's map of Persia, from Speed's Epitome. The map extends from the Black Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Tartaria and the Empire of Tacalistan and Cabul.

The Caspian Sea widens east-west and is given two alternate names: the Sea of Bachu and the Hyrcanian Sea. The Caspian Sea refers to the Caspi people of Transcaucasia, while the Hyrcanian Sea is the classical name for the region south-east of this body of water. The "Bachu" name comes from a Persian city now the capital of Azerbaijan and was the preferred name given by Medieval cartographers. Alternative names are given for many other features and regions.

This map is a strong dark impression of the region. The map was engraved by Peter Van Den Keere (Petrus Kaerius).

Condition Description
Slight show-through of text on verso. General even toning of paper.
John Speed Biography

John Speed (1551 or '52 - 28 July 1629) was the best known English mapmaker of the Stuart period. Speed came to mapmaking late in life, producing his first maps in the 1590s and entering the trade in earnest when he was almost 60 years old.

John Speed's fame, which continues to this day, lies with two atlases, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine (first published 1612), and the Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World (1627). While The Theatre ... started as solely a county atlas, it grew into an impressive world atlas with the inclusion of the Prospect in 1627. The plates for the atlas passed through many hands in the 17th century, and the book finally reached its apotheosis in 1676 when it was published by Thomas Bassett and Richard Chiswell, with a number of important maps added for the first time.