Download or read book Ptolemy s Africa written by W.F.G. Lacroix and published by TWENTYSIX. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ptolemy's map of Africa dates from the 2nd century AD. And for a long time it was thought that the Alexandrian geographer knew well the greater part of the continent, for it was only south of the equator that his information became scarce. But then, in 1863, the French geographer Vivien de Saint-Martin came to the conclusion that the Sudan - interpreted here as the area between the Sahara and the rain forest - had remained unknown to the Classical world. Even Ptolemy had no idea what it looked like there or which people lived there.To cover up his ignorance Ptolemy had put his rivers, peoples and towns far south of where they really belonged. And that is what historians believe up to this very day. But is this picture correct? Was Ptolemy the man to cover up his ignorance? Is Vivien de Saint-Martin's really a solid line of reasoning? Or have we perhaps to do here with some sort of wishful thinking? What could be more welcome in those days than an unknown African interior, a huge area waiting to be discovered, conquered, colonized and missionized? Could it be after all that the Sudan was part of the known world in Classical Antiquity? It all depends on whether or not this area is on Ptolemy's map of Africa. On a former work of Lacroix, Africa in Antiquity, the critic wrote: "Lacroix produces considerable evidence for his topographical identifications from an entirely new perspective, which should be considered by future scholars of the Geographia. Much discussion can ensue, and relevant information can be found there." - Journal of African History, 40, no. 3 (1999), p. 477-478.
Download or read book Geography of Claudius Ptolemy written by Claudius Ptolemy and published by Cosimo Classics. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geography of Claudius Ptolemy, originally titled Geographia and written in the second century, is a depiction of the geography of the Roman Empire at the time. Though inaccurate due to Ptolemy's varying methods of measurement and use of outdated data, Geography of Claudius Ptolemy is nonetheless an excellent example of ancient geographical study and scientific method. This edition contains more than 40 maps and illustrations, reproduced based on Ptolemy's original manuscript. It remains a fascinating read for students of scientific history and Greek influence. CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY (A.D. 90- A.D. 168) was a poet, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer who wrote in Greek, though he was a Roman citizen. He is most well-known for three scientific treatises he wrote on astronomy, astrology, and geography, respectively titled Almagest, Apotelesmatika, and Geographia. His work influenced early Islamic and European studies, which in turn influenced much of the modern world. Ptolemy died in Alexandria as a member of Greek society.
Download or read book Claudius Ptolemy and the Nile written by William Desborough Cooley and published by . This book was released on 1854 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book West Africa According to Ptolemy written by Frederick William Hugh Migeod and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Note on Ptolemy s West Africa written by Harry Johnston and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Claudius Ptolemy and the Nile written by William Desborough Cooley and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-06 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Claudius Ptolemy and the Nile: Or an Inquiry Into That Geographer's Real Merits and Speculative Errors His Knowledge of Eastern Africa and the Authenticity of the Mountains of the Moon Until ancient geography shall have undergone a through reformation, such as Niebuhr effected in Roman History, and be reconstructed on grounds strictly rational and authentic, it will not possess the precision and solidity of which it is capable, and without which it must ever remain a barren spot in the field of knowledge. It is in the earliest ages that the geographical element of history has most importance. Man then depends more on nature than on events. Allusions to trade and intercourse, handed down from ancient times, reveal the necessary steps of advancing civilization. They are intrinsically more definite and certain; point more plainly to cause and effect; and deal less with casualty than the records of war and conquest. But they are too essentially real to bear corruption. The narrative of events may not be the less captivating, or lees generally accepted, because it has been moulded into a romance. In the description of the transitory scenes of life, we may be, and often are, satisfied with verisimilitude; but in every reference to permanent nature we must have the truth, and geographical statements deficient in recognizable truth, soon become unintelligible, and consequently worthless. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Download or read book Ancient India as Described by Megasthen s and Arrian written by Megasthenes and published by . This book was released on 1877 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ptolemy s Almagest written by Ptolemy and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1998-11-08 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most influential scientific works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy. This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg, makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take account of the great progress in understanding the work made in this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading the Greek text.
Download or read book Ptolemy s Geography written by Ptolemy and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ptolemy's Geography is the only book on cartography to have survived from the classical period and one of the most influential scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only the text of the Geography could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any time, in whole or in part, at any scale. Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the Geography and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the Geography, and the later history of the work.
Download or read book Africa in Antiquity written by W. F. G. Lacroix and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his World written by Paul McKechnie and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008-11-30 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heir of Ptolemy son of Lagus, Alexander the Great's general (who took Egypt over in 323BC), Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned in Alexandria from 282 to 246. The greatest of the Hellenistic kings of his time, Philadelphus exercised power far beyond the confines of Egypt, while at his glittering royal court the Library of Alexandria grew to be a matchless monument to Greek intellectual life. In Egypt the Ptolemaic régime consolidated its power by encouraging immigration and developing settlement in the Fayum. This book examines Philadelphus' reign in a comprehensive and refreshing way. Scholars from the fields of Classics, Archaeology, Papyrology, Egyptology and Biblical Studies consider issues in Egypt and across Ptolemaic territory in the Mediterranean, the Holy Land and Africa.
Download or read book Empires of the Sea written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-10-07 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Empires of the Sea brings together studies of maritime empires from the Bronze Age to the Eighteenth Century. The volume aims to establish maritime empires as a category for the (comparative) study of premodern empires, and from a partly ‘non-western’ perspective. The book includes contributions on Mycenaean sea power, Classical Athens, the ancient Thebans, Ptolemaic Egypt, The Genoese Empire, power networks of the Vikings, the medieval Danish Empire, the Baltic empire of Ancien Régime Sweden, the early modern Indian Ocean, the Melaka Empire, the (non-European aspects of the) Portuguese Empire and Dutch East India Company, and the Pirates of Caribbean.
Download or read book The Ptolemies the Sea and the Nile written by Kostas Buraselis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its emphasis on the dynasty's concern for control of the sea – both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea – and the Nile, this book offers a new and original perspective on Ptolemaic power in a key period of Hellenistic history. Within the developing Aegean empire of the Ptolemies, the role of the navy is examined together with that of its admirals. Egypt's close relationship to Rhodes is subjected to scrutiny, as is the constant threat of piracy to the transport of goods on the Nile and by sea. Along with the trade in grain came the exchange of other products. Ptolemaic kings used their wealth for luxury ships and the dissemination of royal portraiture was accompanied by royal cult. Alexandria, the new capital of Egypt, attracted poets, scholars and even philosophers; geographical exploration by sea was a feature of the period and observations of the time enjoyed a long afterlife.
Download or read book Ancient Perspectives written by Richard J. A. Talbert and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-02-14 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ancient Perspectives encompasses a vast arc of space and time—Western Asia to North Africa and Europe from the third millennium BCE to the fifth century CE—to explore mapmaking and worldviews in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In each society, maps served as critical economic, political, and personal tools, but there was little consistency in how and why they were made. Much like today, maps in antiquity meant very different things to different people. Ancient Perspectives presents an ambitious, fresh overview of cartography and its uses. The seven chapters range from broad-based analyses of mapping in Mesopotamia and Egypt to a close focus on Ptolemy’s ideas for drawing a world map based on the theories of his Greek predecessors at Alexandria. The remarkable accuracy of Mesopotamian city-plans is revealed, as is the creation of maps by Romans to support the proud claim that their emperor’s rule was global in its reach. By probing the instruments and techniques of both Greek and Roman surveyors, one chapter seeks to uncover how their extraordinary planning of roads, aqueducts, and tunnels was achieved. Even though none of these civilizations devised the means to measure time or distance with precision, they still conceptualized their surroundings, natural and man-made, near and far, and felt the urge to record them by inventive means that this absorbing volume reinterprets and compares.
Download or read book A History of South Africa written by Eric Anderson Walker and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ptolemy s Geography written by Ptolemy and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2002-01-15 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ptolemy's Geography is the only book on cartography to have survived from the classical period and one of the most influential scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only the text of the Geography could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any time, in whole or in part, at any scale. Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the Geography and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the Geography, and the later history of the work.
Download or read book Overcoming Ptolemy written by Geoffrey C. Gunn and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studies on global metageography are enjoying a revival, and in no way is this better referenced than against the geo-world system bequeathed by Claudius Ptolemy almost two thousand years ago. This is all the more important when we consider the longevity of the Ptolemaic construct through and beyond the European age of discovery allowing as well for its eventual revision or refinement. Innovations in navigational science, cartographic representations, and textual description are all called upon to illustrate this theme. With its focus upon the macro-region termed India Extra Gangem, literally the space between India and China, the book unfolds a fourfold agenda. First, it explains the Ptolemaic world system back to classical points of reference as well as to its reception in late medieval Europe from Arabic sources. Second, it tracks the erosion of the Ptolemaic template especially in the light of new empirical data entering Europe from early travel accounts as well as the first voyages of discovery. Third, through selected examples, as with India, Southeast Asia, and China, it seeks to expose textual and cartographic adjustments to the classical models flowing from the scientific revolution.Fourth, through an examination of Jesuit astronomical observations conducted at various points in Asia, it demonstrates how Eurasia was actually measured and sized with respect to its true longitudinal coordinates such had deluded Columbus and even succeeding generations. In short, this work problematizes the creation of geographical knowledge, raises awareness as to the making of region in Asia over long historical time—the Ptolemaic world-in-motion—and, as a more latent agenda, sounds an alert as to the perils of overdetermination in the setting of modern boundaries whether upon land or sea.
