Turcicum Imperium

Beautiful example of Blaeu's decorative map of the Ottoman Empire's lands possessions at its highest across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

It shows Italy and the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean and stenches east to show a part of Persia and the Indian Ocean; From the north it shows a part of Tartariae (the historical name of Central Asia and Siberia) and extends south till a part of North Africa. It thus shows Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, the Caspian Sea, Syria, the Arabian Desert Egypt... The map is decorated by an attractive title cartouche illustrated with an Ottoman Sultan. It includes another cartouche decorated with arms in which Willem and Joan Blaeu dedicated this map to the Dutch government official, merchant, and scholar David de Wilhem.

The Ottoman Empire was empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor), it became one of the most powerful states in the world 15th and 16th centuries. The empire lasted for more than 600 years and only ended in 1922 with the establishment of the Turkish Republic. At its highest, the Ottoman Empire's possession encompassed most of southeastern Europe to the gates of Vienna, including present-day Hungary, the Balkan region, Greece, and parts of Ukraine; parts of the Middle East present day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine ; North Africa including Egypt and Algeria; and large parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

This map was published in Blaeu's Theatrum Orbis Terarrum first published in 1634. It later appeared in the French, German and Dutch editions. The present example is from the second volume of the Dutch edition Toonneel des Aerdrycx published between 1647 and 1648.

Van der Krogt [8100:2]