Ty for sharing Sameer Arshad As part of my Data Visualization Theory class last week, we studied the Geographica of Ptolomy, which was an atlas of world maps created around 150 AD for use by the Roman Empire. The region where my family and I grew up (Southern Pakistan and the Middle East) was depicted by Ptolomy in this gorgeous geographic visualization of the aforementioned regions that the Romans called Carmania and Arabia Felix respectively. Historical cartography is so fascinating, even when we see the inaccuracies. It really gives us a sense of what one set of ancient civilizations knew about another set of ancient civilizations. It is so easy to think that all these people and places exist in stories, myths, legends, fantasy tales. Then you see something like this and even though it looks like one of those Maps of Middle Earth made by Tolkein for the Lord of the Rings books, you cant help but get blown away when you recognize geographic forms that you grew up around. Is that Dubai Creek? Is that the Hormuz Strait? Is that the Indus Delta? Are those the Hatta Mountains? THE ROMANS KNEW OF THIS STUFF AND PUT THEM IN MAPS AND GAVE THEM NAMES?!?!? WOAH!!! THIS ANCIENT VISUALIZATION IS JUST TOO REAL!!! MY MIND JUST EXPLODED! upload.wikimedia.org upload.wikimedia.org
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 05:01:06 +0000
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