The Beatus map or Beatine map is one of the most significant cartographic works of the European

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. It was originally drawn by the Spanish monk Beatus of Liébana, based on the accounts given by

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

and the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Commentary on the Apocalypse''. Its main goal is not to show a cartographically exact depiction of the world and its continents, but to illustrate the initial dispersion of the Apostles.

The European world view in the High Middle Ages

According to the descriptions from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

(which was one of the main sources for Beatus), the Earth was thought to be a flat plane, and sustained the vault of heaven, where the Sun, the Moon, and other minor luminaries like planets and stars, moved. There were two water masses. The ''waters above'' the firmament were contained by the vault of heaven and occasionally fell to Earth in as rain, when the floodgates opened. The ''waters below'', fed the rivers, the streams and the great salt water masses. In this '' mappa mundi'', the world is represented as a circular disc surrounded by the Ocean. However, despite the apparent depiction, the Beatus map is considered to illustrate a spherical globe, similar to a

T-O map A T and O map or O–T or T–O map (''orbis terrarum'', orb or circle of the lands; with the letter T inside an O), also known as an Isidoran map, is a type of Early world maps, early world map that represents the Afro-Eurasia, Afro-Eurasian la ...

. The concept of a spherical Earth already became the dominant opinion in the Middle Ages.Woodward, David. "Chapter 18: Medieval Mappaemundi", p. 286-370.Ducza, Matthew. "Medieval World Maps: Diagrams of a Christian Universe" University of Melbourne Collections, 2013, p. 10. The Earth is divided in three continents: Asia (upper semicircle), Africa (right lower quadrant) and Europe (left lower quadrant), each of which belonged to the descendants of the three sons of Noah:

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

, Ham and

Japheth Japheth ( ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; '; ; ') is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunkenness and the curse of Ham, and subsequently in the Table of Nation ...

. The continents are separated by water streams and inner seas, including the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

(Europe-Africa), the

River Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

(Africa-Asia), the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

, and the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

(Europe-Asia). In the center of the world lies

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, sacred to both Christianity and Judaism. This is where

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

was about to

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

his own son,

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, and where the Passion and Resurrection of the Christ happened. The concept of Jerusalem as an '' umbilicus mundi'' was typical in medieval Christian theology. For example, in the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'',

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

starts his journey to Hell from here.

The description of the continents

Asia

At the eastern end of Asia lies the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

, the earthly paradise where it is never cold nor hot, and where trees and wood of all kinds grow. In its center stands the Tree of Life, and next to it, a fountain from which the four rivers of Paradise:

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

Pishon The Pishon ( ''Pīšōn''; Koine Greek: Φισών ''Phisṓn'') is one of four rivers (along with Hiddekel (Tigris), Perath (Euphrates) and Gihon) mentioned in the Biblical Book of Genesis. In that passage, a source river flows out of Eden to ...

and Gihon flow. The entrance to Paradise is protected by a Cherub, who brandishes a sword of fire. On the south coast of the Asian continent is

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, an enormous territory traversed by three rivers, the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and Hipane. It has an abundance of dark-skinned people, elephants, rhinoceroses, spices, and precious stones, such as rubies, emeralds or diamonds. The fields are blessed by the west wind, Favonio, and for that reason they yield two harvests a year. There are the Mountains of Gold, access to which is denied to humans by griffins and dragons. Off the Indian coast are the islands of Taprobane (Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon), abundant with gems and elephants, Chrysa and Argyre, rich in gold and silver, and Tyle, where trees never lose their leaves (it has been speculated that this is an island in Indonesia). To the west of India one finds

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

, a region that extends between the rivers Indus and Tigris. It is divided into five different provinces. Parthia proper, so called by the Parthians, brave soldiers from Scythia who founded an empire that was on an equal footing with Rome. Assyria, named after Asshur, the son of Shem, was famous for its purple dyes and all types of perfumes and ointments, where Nineveh, the capital of the old empire of the Assyrians is located, and where Jonas the prophet went to preach futilely. Medes (northwest

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

), which is divided in two parts, Greater Medes (

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

, Kermanshahan,

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and Espahan) and Smaller Medes ( Azarbaijan). Finally there is

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, birthplace of King Cyrus, the anointed one of God, and the region where magical science arose for the first time, introduced by Nebroth the giant, after the confusion of languages had emerged in Babel. Ziggarat of Ur 001

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

is the region located between the rivers

and

. There we find the regions of Babylon and Chaldea.

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

was the ancient conqueror of the kingdom of Judah and the place where the Jewish people were exiled. In that city the revelations of the prophet Ezekiel took place, which had much influence on the creation of the Prophetic Chronicle. From

Chaldea Chaldea () refers to a region probably located in the marshy land of southern Mesopotamia. It is mentioned, with varying meaning, in Neo-Assyrian cuneiform, the Hebrew Bible, and in classical Greek texts. The Hebrew Bible uses the term (''Ka� ...

(South of Mesopotamia), the Asturian Chronicles supposed, came the hordes that invaded Spain and were defeated by Pelayo in Covadonga. The most important cities of this region include Ur, the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham, as well as Erech (or Uruk), which was founded by Enoch. To the south of the River Euphrates, and Sinus Persicum (Persian Gulf), Arabia was located, a desert region whose southern part (present-day Yemen) received the name of Arabia Felix, Happy Arabia. It was a rich, fertile land where precious stones, myrrh and incense abounded. In it lived the fabulous Phoenix, a bird, which after dying surrounded by fire, was reborn of its ashes. On the northeast border of Arabia, already in territories of the old Roman Empire, extended the province of Syria, whose limits were the Caucasus and Taurus Mountains to the north, the River Euphrates to the east, the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt to the west, and Arabia to the south. Syria had three different provinces: Comagena, Phoenicia, and Palestine. The territory of Phoenicia extended from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Lebanon and the sea of Tiberiades. Phoenicia contained the famous cities of Sidon and Tyre. In the latter they believed the prophet Elias was Jesus Christ. Further south was Palestine, which was subdivided into four different provinces: Galilee, where they crucified Jesus of Nazareth, the Sea of Tiberiades, where many of the apostles worked as fishermen, and Monte Tabor, the place where the Transfiguration occurred.

Africa

Africa is obviously from the Nile river with a lake as its source. The Maghreb is named "Libia" and Africa is surrounded by a sea coloured red.

References

External links