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Title: Das Schwarze Meer in der geokartographischen Tradition der Antike und des frühen Mittelalters I
Subtitle: Lokalisierung von Trapezus
Author(s): PODOSSINOV, Alexander V.
Journal: Ancient West & East
Volume: 2    Issue: 2   Date: 2003   
Pages: 308-324
DOI: 10.2143/AWE.2.2.3291955

Abstract :
On some ancient and early mediaeval maps the ancient south Pontic town of Trapezus was located mistakenly on the north shore of the Black Sea. The maps are: 1) from Dura Europos (middle of 3rd century AD); 2) the Tabula Peutingeriana (first centuries AD); 3) the Getica of Jordanes (6th century AD); 5) probably the geographical work of the Arabian scholar al-Idrisi (12th century AD). All of these works belong to the unified Roman cartographic tradition, and have their origin in the image of the Black Sea in the World Map of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Agrippa conflated the Bosporan and Pontic kingdoms. He viewed them as a single unified political entity and this is probably the main reason for the mis-location of Trapezus in later maps. The great authority carried by Agrippa's map embedded this error in the later Roman cartographic tradition and for centuries to come.

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