This 12th-century map of the Indian Ocean by al-Idrisi is so obviously imprecise as to seem almost decorative. (Note its similarity to the islands of the Indian Ocean in his world map) But don’t fault him for trying: It was one thing to be able to sail all the way to China and quite another to explain to a stay-at-home scholar where one had been. It is easy to forget what an achievement even a simple map represented. Until the 15th century, mariners knew maps could indicate relative shapes and sizes, but they were nearly useless for navigation. NATIONAL LIBRARY, CAIRO / GIRAUDON / ART RESOURCE
XIR192402 The Indian Ocean, from an atlas (vellum) by Al-Idrisi or Edrisi, Abu Muhammad (c.1100-64) (after); Egyptian National Library, Cairo, Egypt; (add. info.: Al Idrisi was the most famous Arab geographer and cartographer of the 12th century and settled in Palermo at the court of King Roger II (c.1095-1154) of Sicily; he produced a world map ('Kitab Rujar' or Roger's Book) and later an enlarged version of the maps for Roger's son, William I (1120-66) known as the 'Little Idrisi'; none of the original manuscripts have survived and the versions extant at Cairo, Paris and Oxford are all copies of the 'Little Idrisi'); Giraudon; Spanish, out of copyright
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XIR192402
The
Indian
Ocean
from
an
atlas
vellum
Al-Idrisi or Edrisi; Abu Muhammad (c.1100-64) (after)