Babylonian Map of the World
The Babylonian Map of the World is a diagrammatic labeled depiction of the known world from the perspective of Babylonia. The map is incised on a clay tablet, showing Babylon somewhat to the north of its center; the clay tablet is damaged, and also contains a section of cuneiform text.
It is usually dated to the 5th century BC. It was discovered at Sippar, southern Iraq, 60 miles (97 km) north of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates River, and published in 1899. The clay tablet resides at the British Museum (BM 92687).
It is conjectured that the island locations, though possibly referring to real areas, may also represent a mythological interpretation of the world.
Carlo Zaccagnini has argued that the Babylonian map of the world may have lived on in the T and O map of the European Middle Ages.
Description of the mapped areas
The map is circular with two outer defined circles. Cuneiform script labels all locations inside the circular map, as well as a few regions outside. The two outer circles represent water in between and is labelled as "'river' of 'bitter' water", the salt sea.
