土耳其 - 奥斯曼帝国; Abraham Ortelius - Turcici Imperii Descriptio - 1579

Condition: good. Centerfold as published. Tiny worm hole in the middle of the top. Margins strengthened and narrow, but sufficient for framing. Tear centerfold at bottomside closed (outside map image). Watermark crossed arrows. Verso: French text.

The map is based on the wall map of Asia by Gastaldi from 1561. The map also contains a beautiful cartouche, four sailing ships and monsters in the Black Sea.

The inscription under the title, "by unity small things grow, by disagreement they fall apart". This was probably a reference to the power of the Ottoman Empire later in the sixteenth century. The empire reached its peak exactly at the time this map was published.

Ortelius' map of the Turkish empire shows the power of this great political entity. Under the reign of Sultan Selim I (r. 1512-1520), the empire tripled in size. Suleiman I, also known as Süleyman i, was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan, in power from 1520 until his death in 1566. Under its policy, the empire was expanded to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, and large parts of Hungary and Iraq. Until the 17th century, the Ottoman empire continued to grow and flourish.

Copper engraving appeared in Abraham Ortelius's famous atlas, "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum". Antwerp 1579.

References: Van den Broecke 169.