Asia Minor

Description

This map was prepared by the English artist John Rapkin in the mid-19th century and published by The London Printing and Publishing Company. The term "Asia Minor", which is its title, has been used since antiquity and is a concept representing the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine past of Anatolia in Western Europe, and the map focuses on this region and presents ancient and modern place names together (such as Smyrna (Izmir), Iconium (Konya), Ephesus (Efes), Tarsus, Melitene (Malatya), Trebizond (Trabzon). The map offers an expanded geographical scope to include all of Anatolia, the north of Mesopotamia, the north of Syria and the island of Cyprus. The design of the map is particularly striking with its surrounding Greek meander (labyrinth pattern) frame; this gives the map an artistic air that refers to classical and ancient times. It has high aesthetic quality in terms of shading, border lines and frame design.