Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Bacco, Alessandro Magno in India e l'Assedio di Petra Dorinim - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page taken from the Latin edition of 1550 of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri, focusing on the legendary Macedonian military expeditions in the East. The front page, numbered 1235, opens by concluding the submission of Bactria and then inaugurating the chapter Quas Indiae civitates Alexander subvigarit, et quomodo Liberum seu Bacchum & Herculem sibi conciliaverit (Cap. CXXII). The text recounts Alexander the Great’s entry into India and the arrival at the legendary city of Nisa (Nysam urbe), where local inhabitants declared that their center had been founded by the god Bacchus (Liber pater). The narration describes the astonishment of the Macedonian soldiers who, climbing the Meron mountain (Meron incola), found a lush vegetation of laurel and ivy that urged the army to chant Bacchic songs. The visual composition of the front is enriched by a splendid initial letter “I” woodcut (Ingresso Alexandro...), finely illustrated with the depiction of a Renaissance cherub’s face surrounded by garlands of fruits and foliage. The lower part documents the advance toward the mountain fortress of Mazaga (Mazagarum urbs), describing its imposing fortifications and the strategic siege ordered by the sovereign. Turning the page, the back, numbered 1236 under the header De terris Asiae maioris, hosts the important war chapter Alexander Magnus petram ingentem expugnabat (Cap. CXXIII). The Latin text delves into one of the most celebrated feats of the Indian expedition: the assault on the colossal and apparently inescapably fortified rock fortress known as Petra Dorinim (Petra Dorinim), a cliff facing the Indo river that, according to legends of the time, even Hercules had refused to take (Hanc ab Hercule frustra obsessam...). Münster describes in meticulous detail the strategy of Alexander, who, thanks to the guidance of an elderly indigenous expert of the terrain, had enormous palisades built and ravines filled to allow war machines and Macedonian archers (agrianos) to reach the enemy defenses. The column of text is topped by a large woodcut illustrating the frantic phases of the combat beneath the fortress walls of Petra, showing soldiers intent on scaling the rocky bastions while Indian defenders attempt to repel them from above by hurling arrows and stones, up to the dramatic night retreat and the final surrender of the barbarians.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by courier