Taprobana is not Sri
Lanka nor Sumatera, but Kalimantan
26
September, 2015
Contents
Background
Trading
with Southeast Asia
Early
World Mapping
Ptolemy’s
World Map
Definitions
of India
The
Island of Taprobana
Kalimantan
Hypothesis for Taprobana
–
World Map Development
–
Geographic Conditions of Taprobana
–
Ancient Maps of Kalimantan
–
Geographic Names Identification
Taprobrana
and The Search for Atlantis
Background
Taprobana (Ancient Greek: Ταπροβανᾶ) or
Taprobane (Ταπροβανῆ) was the historical name for an island in the Indian
Ocean. Onesicritus (ca 360 BC – ca
290 BC) was the first author that mentioned the island of Taprobana. The name
was also reported to Europeans by the Greek geographer Megasthenes around 290
BC, and was later adopted by Ptolemy in his own geographical treatise to
identify a relatively large island south of continental Asia. Though the exact
place to which the name referred remains uncertain, some scholars consider it
to be a wild misinterpretation of any one of several islands, including
Sumatera and Sri Lanka.
The
island entered European consciousness during the conquests of Alexander the
Great. Alexander’s admirals Nearchus and Onesicritus described Taprobana in
their reports to their king. Nearchus sailed around the southern tip of India,
describing the smells of cinnamon that wafted from the fabulous island he
passed along the way. Megasthenes, Seleucus’s ambassador to the court of
Chandragupta Maurya, fleshed the place out a bit more. Several Roman
cartographers and historians wrestled with the size, shape, and position of
Taprobana before Claudius Ptolemy described an immense “Taprobana” in his
Geographia, written about AD 150, six times the size of the Indian subcontinent
and straddling the equator.
After
the fall of Rome, European geography entered a Dark Age more profound than that
of most other disciplines. Like many
ancient books and scholarly works, especially those housed at the Library at
Alexandria, the work of Ptolemy was lost for over a thousand years in Western
scholarship. At the end of the 1400s, after Renaissance scholars studying the
writings of the Muslim scholars who had preserved much of the classical knowledge
that had been lost to the West, his work was rediscovered and translated into
Latin, a more commonly used language of Western scholars at the time.
Geographia became popular once again and more than 40 editions were printed.
In
his work Geographia, Ptolemy described and compiled all knowledge about the
world’s geography in the Roman Empire of the 2nd century. A substantial
undertaking in scholarship of the day, Geographia was written in eight
volumes. The first part discusses the
problems of projections, that is, representing spherical item such as the earth
on a flat sheet of paper. The second part included seven volumes and was
composed entirely of atlas.
One
problem modern historians have encountered when researching Ptolemy’s work is
that his works were all copied by hand and redistributed. Many of his maps were
not redrawn when copies were made and most copies known to exist today do not
include his drawings; rather, the books include maps made many centuries later
based on his descriptions or are missing maps altogether. One such source that
points out this problem is an Arabian scholar by the name of al-Mas’udi who
wrote around AD 956 that Ptolemy’s Geographia mentioned a colored map with more
than 4,530 cities plotted and over 200 mountains. In Ptolemy’s world map he
identifies many modern geographic areas including Taprobana and Aurea
Chersoneus.
This
has been the primary subject of debate over Taprobana. Each succeeding
generation has read vague descriptions of the island left by their
predecessors, and wrangled over what their predecessors really meant. 18th and
19th century scholars began to think that Ptolemy confused Sri Lanka with
Sumatera, or even the lower peninsula of India. In the end, it is impossible to
assign a single place with all of the qualities that have been labeled with the
name “Taprobana” over the ages.
The
name Taprobana had been applied to Sumatera from the fifteenth century onwards,
after a misunderstanding by the Italian traveller Nicolo di Conti. Conti was
the first European traveler who distinguished Sri Lanka from Taprobana and
identified the latter as Sumatera, which it will be noted, athwart the equator.
Subsequent geographers, historians, cosmographers and thinkers alike became
engaged in a controversy over its proper identification. Considerable confusion
began to exist as to whether Sri Lanka or Sumatera was the island of Taprobana
and depicted in the Hereford, Ebstrof, Catalan Atlas’ Mappaemundi and on Fra
Mauro’s Planisphere and Martin Behaim’s Globe. The maps such as “Cantino”,
“Caverio” and “Contarini” have misled the contemporary viewers who in their
turn transmitted this confusion either through implicitly casual discussions or
even deliberately explicit instructions to mapmakers who in their turn
propagated it just as naively and with the same degree of intelligence as their
informants through the documents they were producing for their immediate users.
The
peculiar geographical vicissitudes of Taprobana drew the attention of leading
figures from western history, Ramusio, Gossellin, Kant, and Cassini who
concerned with the dilemma, attempted to resolve the question of Taprobana’s
identification with countries ranging from Sumatera to Madagascar. Venetian
geographer, historian and humanist Ramusio relying on an account of an
anonymous Portuguese and based on geographical and astronomical data sought to
reconcile the location and dimensions of Sumatera with the position and size of
the island that Iambulus the Greek merchant claimed to have discovered. The aim
of his argument thereby was to determine that this island was precisely the
Taprobana of the classical authors.
Sebastian
Munster’s map of Taprobana drawn in 1580 carries the German title, Sumatera Ein
Grosser Insel, (“Sumatera, a large island”). The old debate was settled earlier
in favor of Sri Lanka, but the more recent display of Munster’s map with its
title has reignited the debate. Munster’s map was “a fine example” of the
difficulties Renaissance map makers had in placing the continents of the world.
It showed the cartographic confusion that Europeans had trying to understand
the geography of Asia.
What
still baffles everyone is the exaggerated size of Taprobana if Ptolemy really
meant the isle to represent present day Sri Lanka. In contrast, the
sub-continent of India which is shown in the map is far smaller in dimensions.
It was true that Sri Lanka by Ptolemy’s time was a well-known island as it was
centrally situated in the Indian Ocean but India and her products were equally
known from the pre-Christian era, starting with the Persian occupation of
territory up to the river Sind and Alexander’s conquests following that as well
as through sea-borne trade.
On
the contrary, Taprobana, despite its sheer size, was assigned by Ptolemy with
trade in elephants and golden spices. Both Sri Lanka and Sumatera were known
for these two commodities, and the latter more so for spices but it is Sri
Lanka which had better historical record for elephants. The intelligence
displayed by Sri Lankan elephants and easier transport across the Indian
continent perhaps, accounted for preference for them. Sri Lankan elephants
began to be exploited in a big way only after the East African resources
dwindled.
Trading with Southeast Asia
Under
the Mongol Empire’s hegemony over Asia (the Pax Mongolica, or Mongol peace),
Europeans had long enjoyed a safe land passage, the Silk Road to India (the
Indies, a far larger region than modern India) and China, which were sources of
valuable goods such as spices and silk.
In
the early centuries AD, Indians and Westerners called Southeast Asia the
“Golden Khersonese”, the “Land of Gold”, and it was not long thereafter that
the region became known for its pepper and the products of its rainforests,
first aromatic woods and resins, and then the finest and rarest of spices. From
the seventh to the tenth centuries Arabs and Chinese thought of Southeast
Asia’s gold, as well as the spices that created it; by the fifteenth century
sailors from ports on the Atlantic, at the opposite side of the hemisphere,
would sail into unknown oceans in order to find these Spice Islands. They all
knew that Southeast Asia was the spice capital of the world. From roughly 1000
AD until the nineteenth-century ‘industrial age’, all world trade was more or
less governed by the ebb and flow of spices in and out of Southeast Asia.
Throughout
these centuries the region and its products never lost their siren quality.
Palm trees, gentle surf, wide beaches, steep mountain slopes covered with lush
vegetation, birds and flowers of brilliant colors, as well as orange and golden
tropical sunsets have enchanted its visitors as well as its own people through
the ages. Indeed, it is said that when in the last years of the sixteenth
century the first Dutch ship arrived at one of the islands of the Indonesian
archipelago, the entire crew jumped ship, and it took their captain two years
to gather them for the return trip to Holland.
In
the international trading by land and water several major empires were
involved. At the western end of the caravan and sea routes (the famous Silk
Roads) was the Roman Empire, which at the time included the countries around
the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Levant and Arabia. From there the trade routes
ran east through the kingdoms of the Parthians and the Kushans in Central Asia
and northern India, through the land of the Shaka (Indo-Scythians) and
Shatavahana in northern and central India, to the South Indian kingdoms of the
Cheras, Pandyas and Cholas and, continuing via Sri Lanka and the Bay of Bengal,
to Funan in present-day South Vietnam and to China, at the eastern end of the
Silk Roads. The Chinese Han dynasty traded indirectly with Rome, be it on the
caravan routes that led through Central Asia to India, the Persian Gulf and
finally to the eastern Mediterranean, be it across the oceans, from the South
China Sea, across the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the
Red Sea as far as Alexandria and Rome. The Southeast Asian archipelago with its
medicines, spices and aromatic substances, with precious timbers and tortoise
shell was an important link in this far-reaching trade network, interconnecting
continents.
With
the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the land route to Asia
became much more difficult and dangerous. Portuguese navigators tried to find a
sea way to Asia. In 1470 the Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli
suggested to King Afonso V of Portugal that sailing west would be a quicker way
to reach the Spice Islands, Cathay (China) and Cipangu (Japan) than the route
round Africa. Afonso rejected his proposal. Portuguese explorers, under the
leadership of King John II, then developed a passage to Asia by sailing around
Africa. Major progress in this quest was achieved in 1488, when Bartolomeu Dias
reached the Cape of Good Hope, in what is now South Africa. Meanwhile, in the
1480s, the Columbus brothers had picked up Toscanelli’s suggestion and proposed
a plan to reach the Indies (then construed roughly as all of south and east
Asia) by sailing west across the “Ocean Sea”, ie the Atlantic. During his first
voyage in 1492, instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, Columbus
reached the New World, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he
named “San Salvador”. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited
the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela
and Central America, claiming all of it for the Crown of Castile.
Portugal
was the first European power to establish a bridgehead on the lucrative
maritime Southeast Asia trade route, with the conquest of the Sultanate of
Malaka in 1511. The Netherlands and Spain followed and soon superseded Portugal
as the main European powers in the region. In 1599, Spain began to colonize the
Philippines. In 1619, acting through the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch
took the city of Sunda Kelapa, renamed it Batavia (now Jakarta) as a base for
trading and expansion into the other parts of Java and the surrounding
territory. In 1641, the Dutch took Malaka from the Portuguese. Economic
opportunities attracted Overseas Chinese to the region in great numbers. In
1775, the Lanfang Republic, possibly the first republic in the region, was established
in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, as a tributary state of the Qing Empire; the
republic lasted until 1884, when it fell under Dutch occupation as Qing
influence waned.
Englishmen
of the United Kingdom, in the guise of the Honorable East India Company led by
Josiah Child, had little interest or impact in the region, and were effectively
expelled following the Siam-England war in 1687. Britain, in the guise of the
British East India Company, turned their attention to the Bay of Bengal
following the Peace with France and Spain in 1783. During the conflicts,
Britain had struggled for naval superiority with the French, and the need of
good harbors became evident. Penang Island had been brought to the attention of
the Government of India by Francis Light. In 1786 a settlement was formed under
the administration of Sir John Macpherson, which formally began British
expansion into the Malay States of Southeast Asia.
The
British also temporarily possessed Dutch territories during the Napoleonic
Wars; and Spanish areas in the Seven Years’ War. In 1819, Stamford Raffles
established Singapore as a key trading post for Britain in their rivalry with
the Dutch. However, their rivalry cooled in 1824 when an Anglo-Dutch treaty
demarcated their respective interests in Southeast Asia. British rule in Burma
began with the first Anglo-Burmese War (1824 – 1826).
Early
World Mapping
Long
before the era of global positioning satellites and multi-spectrum
ortho-photography, ancient cartographers frequently had to rely on word of
mouth to describe far-away places. Sometimes, they would draw sea-monsters on
maps to fill in the empty spaces. Other times, they would expand the size of a
place they had heard of, and add their own detail.
When
the ancient mapmakers first began representing the earth’s surface on a map,
they simply drew geographic features as they saw them or as travelers and
explorers described them. Because so little was known about the world,
information on maps was rather sparse and it was difficult to evaluate a map’s
quality or accuracy. In fact, most maps created before the European Renaissance
were so generalized and inaccurate that the mapmakers could have assumed we
lived on a flat earth and it wouldn’t have made the slightest difference to the
map’s usefulness.
Hecataeus,
a scholar of Miletus, probably produced the first book on geography in about
500 BC. A generation later Herodotus, from more extensive studies and wider
travels, expanded upon it. A historian with geographic leanings, Herodotus
recorded, among other things, an early circumnavigation of the African
continent by Phoenicians. He also improved on the delineation of the shape and
extent of the then-known regions of the world, and he declared the Caspian to
be an inland sea, opposing the prevailing view that it was part of the
“northern oceans”.
Hecataeus
Figure
1. Reconstruction of the world map according to Hecataeus (ca 500 BC).
Although
Hecataeus regarded the Earth as a flat disk surrounded by ocean, Herodotus and
his followers questioned the concept and proposed a number of other possible
forms. Indeed, the philosophers and scholars of the time appear to have been
preoccupied for a number of years with discussions on the nature and extent of
the world. Some modern scholars attribute the first hypothesis of a spherical
Earth to Pythagoras (6th century BC) or Parmenides (5th century). The idea
gradually developed into a consensus over many years. In any case by the
mid-4th century the theory of a spherical Earth was well accepted among Greek
scholars, and about 350 BC Aristotle formulated six arguments to prove that the
Earth was, in truth, a sphere. From that time forward, the idea of a spherical
Earth was generally accepted among geographers and other scholars.
Herodotus
Figure
2. Reconstruction of the world map according to Herodotus (ca 430 BC).
About
300 BC, Dicaearchus, a disciple of Aristotle, placed an orientation line on the
world map, running east and west through Gibraltar and Rhodes. Eratosthenes,
Marinus of Tyre, and Ptolemy successively developed the reference-line
principle until a reasonably comprehensive system of parallels and meridians,
as well as methods of projecting them, had been achieved.
Dicaearchus
Figure
3. Reconstruction of the world map according to Dicaearchus (ca 300 BC).
Eratosthenes
(276 – 194 BC) drew an improved world map, incorporating information from the
campaigns of Alexander the Great and his successors. Asia became wider,
reflecting the new understanding of the actual size of the continent.
Eratosthenes was also the first geographer to incorporate parallels and
meridians within his cartographic depictions, attesting to his understanding of
the spherical nature of the earth.
Eratosthenes
Figure
4. 1883 reconstruction of Eratosthenes’ map
Posidonius
(ca 150 – 130 BC) work “about the ocean and the adjacent areas” was a general
geographical discussion, showing how all the forces had an effect on each other
and applied also to human life. He measured the Earth’s circumference by
reference to the position of the star Canopus. His measure of 240,000 stadia
translates to 24,000 miles, close to the actual circumference of 24,901 miles.
He was informed in his approach by Eratosthenes, who a century earlier used the
elevation of the Sun at different latitudes. Both men’s figures for the Earth’s
circumference were uncannily accurate, aided in each case by mutually
compensating errors in measurement. However, the version of Posidonius’
calculation popularized by Strabo was revised by correcting the distance
between Rhodes and Alexandria to 3,750 stadia, resulting in a circumference of
180,000 stadia, or 18,000 miles. Ptolemy discussed and favored this revised
figure of Posidonius over Eratosthenes in his Geographia, and during the Middle
Ages scholars divided into two camps regarding the circumference of the Earth,
one side identifying with Eratosthenes’ calculation and the other with
Posidonius’ 180,000 stadia measure. Depending on the value of the stadia that
is adopted, it may be true that Posidonius, seeking to improve on Eratosthenes,
underestimated the size of the earth, and this measurement, copied by Ptolemy,
and was thereafter transmitted to Renaissance Europe.
Posidonius
Figure
5. A 1628 reconstruction of Posidonius ideas about the positions of continents
Strabo
(ca 64 BC – 24 AD) is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica, which
presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of
the world known to his era. The Geographica first appeared in Western Europe in
Rome as a Latin translation issued around 1469. Although Strabo referenced the
antique Greek astronomers Eratosthenes and Hipparchus and acknowledged their
astronomical and mathematical efforts towards geography, he claimed that a
descriptive approach was more practical. Geographica provides a valuable source
of information on the ancient world, especially when this information is
corroborated by other sources. Within the books of Geographica is a map of
Europe. Whole world maps according to Strabo are reconstructions from his
written text.
Strabo
Figure
6. A 1815 reconstruction of the world map according to Strabo
Pomponius
Mela (ca 43 AD) is unique among ancient geographers in that, after dividing the
earth into five zones, of which two only were habitable, he asserts the
existence of antichthones, people inhabiting the southern temperate zone
inaccessible to the folk of the northern temperate regions due to the
unbearable heat of the intervening torrid belt. On the divisions and boundaries
of Europe, Asia and Africa, he repeats Eratosthenes; like all classical
geographers from Alexander the Great (except Ptolemy) he regards the Caspian
Sea as an inlet of the Northern Ocean, corresponding to the Persian (Persian
Gulf) and Arabian (Red Sea) gulfs on the south.
Pomponius
Mela
Figure
7. A 1898 reconstruction of Pomponius Mela view of the World.
The
greatest figure of the ancient world in the advancement of geography and
cartography was Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy; 90 – 168 AD). An astronomer and
mathematician, he spent many years studying at the library in Alexandria, the
greatest repository of scientific knowledge at that time. He pioneered the use
of curving parallels and converging meridians on maps. Ptolemy’s maps were
“Mediterranean specific”, very generalized, and almost completely ignored the
Southern Hemisphere. Still, they were a significant step forward in mapmaking
and so far ahead of their time, they were used well into the Renaissance.
Ptolemy
Figure
8. Ptolemy’s map of the world by Johane Schnitzer (Ulm: Leinhart Holle, 1482).
The original map was lost.
The
Arab geographer, Muhammad Al-Idrisi (1154 AD), incorporated the knowledge of
Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by Arab merchants and
explorers with the information inherited from the classical geographers to
create the most accurate map of the world at the time. It remained the most
accurate world map for the next three centuries. The Tabula Rogeriana was drawn
by Al-Idrisi in 1154 for the Norman King Roger II of Sicily, after a stay of
eighteen years at his court, where he worked on the commentaries and
illustrations of the map. The map, written in Arabic, shows the Eurasian
continent in its entirety, but only shows the northern part of the African
continent.
Al-Idrisi
Figure
9. The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by Al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154
The
world map of Henricus Martellus Germanus (Heinrich Hammer), ca 1490, was
remarkably similar to the terrestrial globe later produced by Martin Behaim in
1492, the Erdapfel. Both show heavy influences from Ptolemy, and both possibly
derive from maps created around 1485 in Lisbon by Bartolomeo Columbus. Although
Martellus is believed to have been born in Nuremberg, Behaim’s home town, he
lived and worked in Florence from 1480 to 1496.
Martellus
Figure
10. Martellus world map (1490)
The
Cantino planisphere or world map is the earliest surviving map showing
Portuguese geographic discoveries in the east and west. It is named after
Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it
from Portugal to Italy in 1502. The map is particularly notable for portraying
a fragmentary record of the Brazilian coast, discovered in 1500 by the
Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, and for depicting the African coast
of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans with a remarkable accuracy and detail. It was
valuable at the beginning of the sixteenth century because it showed detailed
and up-to-date strategic information in a time when geographic knowledge of the
world was growing at a fast pace. It is important in our days because it
contains unique historical information about the maritime exploration and the
evolution of nautical cartography in a particularly interesting period. The
Cantino planisphere is the earliest extant nautical chart where places (in
Africa and parts of Brazil and India) are depicted according to their
astronomically observed latitudes.
Cantino
Figure
11. Cantino planisphere (1502), Biblioteca Estense, Modena, Italy
The
Caverio Map, also known as Caveri Map or Canerio Map, is a map drawn by Nicolay
de Caveri, circa 1505. It is hand drawn on parchment and colored, being
composed of ten sections or panels, measuring 2.25 by 1.15 meters (7.4 by 3.8
feet). Historians believe that this undated map signed with “Nicolay de Caveri
Januensis” was completed in 1504 – 1505. It was probably either made in Lisbon
by the Genoese Canveri, or copied by him in Genoa from the very similar Cantino
map. It shows the east coast of North America with surprising detail, if the
east coast of North America is compared with modern-day maps, we will be struck
by its immediately noticeable similarity with the coastline stretching from
Florida to the Delaware or Hudson River, when we consider the general belief
that the Europeans neither saw nor set foot on the beaches in the southern
states of the present-day USA. It was one of the primary sources used to make
the Waldseemüller map in 1507. Caverio map is currently at Bibliothèque
Nationale de France in Paris.
Caverio
Figure
12. Caverio Map (ca 1505), Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
The
story of the small group of Renaissance intellectuals that worked at San Die, a
small city in the Alzace (France) from 1500 onwards is well known. The team was
financed by Duc Rene II de Lorraine, represented in the team by Walter Ludd.
Martin Ringmann was the writer and Martin Waldseemüller the geographer. They
set themselves to analyze new geographical information coming from the earliest
of voyages of discovery and integrate that information into existing maps and
atlases. The effort led to the publication of an important booklet, Universalis
Cosmographia (1507); one of the most important wall maps of the world ever
published and a globe, published the same year. From this revolution in
cartography a new line of editions of Ptolemy’s Geographia was born (1513;
1520; 1522; 1535; 1541) which brought together old with new knowledge of the
world.
Waldseemüller’s
large world map was the most exciting product of that research effort, and
included data gathered during Amerigo Vespucci’s voyages of 1501 – 1502 to the
New World. Waldseemüller christened the new lands “America” in recognition of
Vespucci’s understanding that a new continent had been uncovered as a result of
the voyages of Columbus and other explorers in the late fifteenth century. This
is the only known surviving copy of the first printed edition of the map,
which, it is believed, consisted of 1,000 copies.
Waldseemüller’s
map supported Vespucci’s revolutionary concept by portraying the New World as a
separate continent, which until then was unknown to the Europeans. It was the
first map, printed or manuscript, to depict clearly a separate Western
Hemisphere, with the Pacific as a separate ocean. The map represented a huge
leap forward in knowledge, recognizing the newly found American landmass and
forever changing the European understanding of a world divided into only three
parts – Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Waldseemüller
Figure
13. Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller wall map, 1507
Lorenz
Fries (ca 1490 – ca 1531 AD) was a physician, astrologer and geographer who is
perhaps best-known to cartophiles for his re-working of Martin Waldseemüller’s
maps from Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia. Karrow suggests in his Mapmakers of
The Sixteenth Century and Their Maps that Fries had studied at Vienna,
Montpellier, Piacenza and Pavia before working in Schlettstadt, Colmar,
Fribourg and Strasbourg. Fries’ early publications were related to medicine and
he experienced some success in this field. His publisher was Gruninger, in
Strasbourg, who was also known to have worked in collaboration with
Waldseemuller on the Chronica Mundi, a cosmography planned for publication. It
seems likely that this small volume was to help form Fries’ considerable
involvement with Waldseemüller maps. The first of Waldseemüller’s map to
receive a re-working by Fries, and also worked on by Peter Apian, was the Tipus
Orbis Universalis in 1520, which was based on Waldseemüller’s 1507 map of the
world.
Lorenz
Fries and Peter Apian
Figure
14. Tipus Orbis Universalis, a re-working of Waldseemüller’s map by Lorenz
Fries and Peter Apian, 1520
At
the same time as this world map was being published, Fries was also working on
an edition of Ptolemy’s “Geographia”. The aforementioned Chronica Mundi did not
reach publication, perhaps because of Waldseemüller’s death in 1518, and
Gruninger, the publisher, decided instead to have Fries work on an edition of
Ptolemy using the maps that might have otherwise been included in the Chronica
Mundi. Thus, Fries’ first edition of Waldseemüller’s Ptolemy appeared in
Strasbourg in 1522 – it was very similar to Waldseemüller’s own 1513 version although
Fries’ maps were cut at a slightly reduced size. Three maps were new to this
edition (although were based on Waldseemüller’s map of 1507); the world,
South-East Asia and eastern Asia (showing China and Tartary). Fries’ woodblocks
were used again in three subsequent editions of 1525, published in Strasbourg
and edited by Willibald Pirkheimer in 1535, published in Lyons and edited by
Michael Servetus in 1541, also published in Lyons – a re-print of the 1535
edition.
Geographia,
edited by Lorenz Fries
Figure
15. World map from Ptolemy, Geographia, edited by Lorenz Fries, 1522
Abraham
Ortelius (1527 – 1598 AD) was conventionally recognized as the creator of the
first modern atlas. In 1564 he published his first map, Typus Orbis Terrarum,
an eight-leaved wall map of the world, on which he identified the Regio Patalis
with Locach as a northward extension of the Terra Australis, reaching as far as
New Guinea. Many of his atlas’ maps were based upon sources that no longer
exist or are extremely rare. Ortelius appended a unique source list (the
Catalogus Auctorum) identifying the names of contemporary cartographers, some
of whom would otherwise have remained obscure.
Abraham
Ortelius
Figure
16. Typus Orbis Terrarum by Abraham Ortelius (1564 AD)
Ptolemy’s
World Map
Claudius
Ptolemaeus, better known as Ptolemy (ca 90 – 168 AD) made many important
contributions to geography and spatial thought. A Greek by descent, he was a
native of Alexandria in Egypt, and became known as the most wise and learned
man of his time. Although little is known about Ptolemy’s life, he wrote on
many topics, including geography, astrology, musical theory, optics, physics,
and astronomy.
Ptolemy’s
text reached Italy from Constantinople in about 1400 and was translated into
Latin by Jacobus Angelus of Scarperia around 1406. The first printed edition
with maps, published in 1477 in Bologna, was also the first printed book with
engraved illustrations. Many editions followed (more often using woodcut in the
early days), some following traditional versions of the maps, and others
updating them. An edition printed at Ulm in 1482 was the first one printed
north of the Alps. Also in 1482, Francesco Berlinghieri printed the first
edition in vernacular Italian.
Ptolemy’s
work in astronomy and geography have made him famous for the ages, despite the
fact that many of his theories were in the following centuries proven wrong or
changed. Ptolemy collected, analyzed, and presented geographical knowledge so
that it could be preserved and perfected by future generations. These ideas
include expressing locations by longitude and latitude, representing a
spherical earth on a flat surface, and developing the first equal area map
projection. Ptolemy’s accomplishments reflect his understanding of spatial
relationships among places on earth and of the Earth’s spatial relationships to
other celestial bodies.
The
greatest contribution of Ptolemy was not the maps themselves but the concepts
behind the maps. Geographia, a work of seven volumes, the standard geography
textbook until the 15th century, transmitted a vast amount of topographical
detail to Renaissance scholars, profoundly influencing their conception of the
world. Containing instructions for drawing maps of the entire oikoumenè
(inhabited world), Geographia was what we would now call an atlas. It included
a world map, 26 regional maps, and 67 maps of smaller areas.
He
illustrated three different methods for projecting the Earth’s surface on a map
(an equal area projection, a stereographic projection, and a conic projection),
and the calculation of coordinate locations for some eight thousand places on
the Earth. He invented the concept of latitude and longitude, a mapping system
still commonly used today. Latitude was measured horizontally from the equator,
but Ptolemy preferred to express it as the length of the longest day rather
than degrees of arc (the length of the mid-summer day increases from 12h to 24h
as one goes from the equator to the polar circle), while longitude was measured
from the westernmost landmass known to date, El Hierro, one of the Canary
Islands off the coast of Spain. Through his publications, Ptolemy dominated
European cartography for nearly a millennium and inspired explorers like
Christopher Columbus to test the spatial boundaries of the world. Ptolemy was
well aware that he knew about only a quarter of the globe.
Ptolemy
had mapped the whole world from the Fortunatae Insulae (Cape Verde or Canary
Islands) eastward to the eastern shore of the Magnus Sinus. This known portion
of the world was comprised within 180 degrees. In his extreme east Ptolemy
placed Serica (the Land of Silk), the Sinarum Situs (the Port of the Sinae),
and the emporium of Cattigara. On the 1489 map of the world by Henricus
Martellus, which was based on Ptolemy’s work, Asia terminated in its
southeastern point in a cape, the Cape of Cattigara. Cattigara was understood
by Ptolemy to be a port on the Sinus Magnus, or Great Gulf, the actual Gulf of
Thailand, at eight and a half degrees north of the Equator, on the coast of
Cambodia, which is where he located it in his Canon of Famous Cities. It was
the easternmost port reached by shipping trading from the Graeco-Roman world to
the lands of the Far East.
His
ability to take in and understand the incredible amount of information
developed before his time, add to it, and synthesis it into a map or a book of
maps changed how people understood, perceived, and represented the world.
Copies and reprints of Ptolemy’s world maps made up the majority of navigation
and factual maps for centuries to come, providing the base information for
early European explorers. Ptolemy also standardized the orientation of maps,
with North at the top and East on the right, thereby placing the known world in
the upper left, a standard that remains to this day.
Geographia
carried a list of the names of some 8,000 places and their approximate
latitudes and longitudes. Except for a few that were made by observations, the
greater numbers of these locations were determined from older maps, with
approximations of distances and directions taken from travelers. In spite of
the more accurate mapping of both Philo and Josephus 100 years earlier, Ptolemy
carries on the long tradition of Greek geographers (Strabo, Eratosthenes,
Herodotus, Hesiod and Hecataeus).
We
know very little of Ptolemy’s life. He made astronomical observations from
Alexandria in Egypt during the years 127 – 141 AD. The first observation which
we can date exactly was made by Ptolemy on 26 March 127 while the last was made
on 2 February 141. In fact there is no evidence that Ptolemy was ever anywhere
other than Alexandria.
It
is not surprising that the maps given by Ptolemy were quite inaccurate in many
places for he could not be expected to do more than use the available data and
this was of very poor quality for anything outside the Roman Empire, and even
parts of the Roman Empire are severely distorted. One fundamental error that
had far-reaching effects was attributed to Ptolemy – an underestimation of the
size of the Earth. He showed Europe and Asia as extending over half of the
globe, instead of the 130 degrees of their true extent. Similarly, the span of
the Mediterranean ultimately was proved to be 20 degrees less than Ptolemy’s
estimate. So lasting was Ptolemy’s influence that 13 centuries later
Christopher Columbus underestimated the distances to Cathay and India partly
from a recapitulation of this basic error.
The
prevailing method of mapping in the ancient world was by means of topological
itinerary maps and gazetteers that provided their users with useful travel
guides. Of primary concern to most travelers was knowledge of definite and
relatively unhazardous routes. The idea of a world map that placed locations
relative to an independent spatial framework, whilst certainly a fascinating
scientific curiosity, was both too inaccurate and too uninformative (of
terrain, winds, sea currents, etc) to be of any practical use. Ptolemy was
fully aware that copying a visual map was guaranteed to introduce a great
quantity of error. It also makes vividly clear why attempts to correlate
Ptolemy’s map with known locations are rendered more or less unviable. In order
to reduce these problems of transmission, his Geographia is separated into two
parts. The first, along with his methodology, describes how to draw a map
according to two different projections. The second is a catalogue of locations,
listing both towns and notable geographical features with their latitude and
longitude.
The
continents are given as Europe, Asia, and Libya (Africa). The World Ocean is
only seen to the west. The map distinguishes two large enclosed seas: the
Mediterranean and the Indian (Indicum Pelagus). Due to Marinus and Ptolemy’s
mistaken measure of the circumference of the earth, the former is made to
extend much too far in terms of degrees of arc; due to their reliance on
Hipparchus, they mistakenly enclose the latter with an eastern and southern
shore of unknown lands, which prevents the map from identifying the western
coast of the World Ocean. India is bound by the Indus and Ganges Rivers, but
its peninsula is much shortened. The Malay Peninsula is given as the Golden
Chersonese instead of the earlier “Golden Island”, which derived from Indian
accounts of the mines on Sumatera (or Kalimantan). Beyond the Golden Chersonese,
the Great Gulf (Magnus Sinus) forms a combination of the Gulf of Thailand and
South China Sea which is bound by the unknown lands thought to enclose the
Indian Sea. China is divided into two realms – the Qin (Sinae) and the Land of
Silk (Serica) – owing to the different accounts received from the overland and
maritime Silk Roads.
Definitions
of India
In
medieval Europe the concept of “three Indias” was in common circulation.
Greater India was the southern part of South Asia, Lesser India was the
northern part of South Asia, and Middle India was the region around Ethiopia.
The name Greater India (Portuguese: India Maior) was used at least from the
mid-15th century. The term, which seems to have been used with variable
precision, is sometimes meant only the Indian subcontinent; Europeans used a
variety of terms related to South Asia to designate the South Asian peninsula,
including High India, Greater India, Exterior India and India Aquosa.
However,
in some accounts of European nautical voyages, Greater India (or India Major)
extended from the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala) to India extra Gangem
(“India, beyond the Ganges”, but usually the East Indies, ie present-day
Southeast Asian archipelago) and India Minor, from Malabar to Sind. Farther
India was sometimes used to cover all of modern Southeast Asia and sometimes
only the mainland portion.
In
late 19th-century geography, “Greater India” referred to Hindustan
(Northwestern Subcontinent) which included the Punjab, the Himalayas, and
extended eastwards to Indochina (including Burma), parts of Indonesia (namely,
the Sunda Islands, Kalimantan and Sulawesi), and the Philippines. German
atlases sometimes distinguished Vorder-Indien (Anterior India) as the South
Asian peninsula and Hinter-Indien as Southeast Asia.
The
Island of Taprobana
Taprobana,
under the name of the “land of the Antichthones” or Opposite-Earth, was long
looked upon as another world. The name was entirely unknown in Europe before
the time Alexander the Great invaded India in in 327 BC. The writers who speak
of Taprobana are Onesicritus, Eratosthenes, Megasthenes, Hipparchus, Strabo,
and Pliny.
There
are two distinct periods in which Taprobana is mentioned; and a third period
when the site, with the name itself, have utterly vanished. The first period is
that of the early and ancient writers from the time of Alexander the Great to
that of the Emperor Claudius. It embraces notices from Onesicritus,
Megasthenes, and Pliny. They all use no other name than that of Taprobana. The
second period embraces the time from Ptolemy to that of Cosmas Indicopleustes,
late on into the Christian era.
About
twenty years after Alexander’s death, Megasthenes was sent as ambassador by
Seleucus Nicator in 302 BC to Sandracottus (Chandragupta Maurya). From
information derived at the court of Sandracottus, Megasthenes described
Taprobana as a very fertile island divided by a river. One part was infested by
wild beasts and elephants, and the other inhabited by Prachii colonists, and
producing gold and gems.
Eratosthenes
has also given the dimensions of this island, as being 7,000 stadia in length,
and 5,000 in breadth. He states also that there were no cities, but villages to
the number of 700. It began at the Eastern sea, and laid extended opposite to
[Greater] India, east and west. This island was in former times supposed to be
20 days’ sail from the country of the Prasii, but in later times, whereas the
navigation was formerly confined to vessels constructed of papyrus with the
tackle peculiar to the Nile, the distance had been estimated at no more than 7
days sail, in reference to the speed which could be attained by vessels of
their construction.
According
to Pliny, in the reign of Claudius (41 – 54 AD), a freedman Annius Plocamus,
who had farmed from the treasury the Red Sea revenues, while sailing around
Arabia was carried away by gales of wind from the north beyond Carmania. In the
course of 15 days he had been wafted to Hippuri, a port of Taprobana, where he
was humanely received, hospitably entertained by the king, and having in six
months time to acquire the language. This king, moreover, was so impressed with
the character of the Romans, as exhibited by the fact that the denarii found in
the possession of the freedman were all of equal weight, although the different
figures on them plainly showed that they had been struck in the reigns of
several emperors. He remained there sometime longer, and brought them
acquainted with his own government. He dispatched the embassy in question to
Rome, consisting of 4 ambassadors, of whom the chief was Rachia.
Strabo
gathered many details from the ambassadors. Taprobana contained 500 towns and
villages, and that there was a harbor that lies facing the south, and adjoining
the city of Palaesimundus, 10 the most famous city in the isle, the king’s
place of residence, and containing a population of 200,000. There was a lake in the country called
Megisba, 375 miles in circumference, from which one river called Palaesimundus,
ran by the capital of that name, by 3 channels, the narrowest of which was 5
stadia in width, the largest 15; and the other, Cydara by name, northwards
towards the coast of India. There were corals, pearls, and precious stones; the
soil was fruitful; life was prolonged to more than a hundred years; there was a
trade with China overland. The king wears the costume of Father Liber. Their festivals
are celebrated with the chase, the most valued sports being the pursuit of the
tiger and the elephant. The lands are carefully tilled; the vine is not
cultivated there, but of other fruits there is great abundance. They take great
delight in fishing, and especially in catching turtles; beneath the shells of
which whole families find an abode, of such vast size are they to be found. The
mode of trade and barter among the inhabitants themselves was peculiar, being
done at night. The country and people were maritime and highly commercial.
These ambassadors made one statement of the country enjoying two summers and
two winters, which clearly show that the country embraced on both sides of the
equator.
The
inhabitants, who lived a hundred years, spent most of their time in hunting
tigers and elephants, and fishing, especially catching turtles, whose shells
were so enormous habitations were made of them. The ambassadors expressed great
surprise at seeing the northern stars, and the sun rise on the left and set on
the right hand. The nearest point of the [Greater] Indian coast was a
promontory known as Coliacum, distant 4 days’ sail, and midway between them lay
“the island of the Sun”; the sea was a greenish tint, having numerous trees
(coral) growing in it, which the rudders of vessels broke off as they came in
contact when sailing over it.
The
sea that lies between the island and the mainland is full of shallows, not more
than 6 paces in depth; but in certain channels it is of such extraordinary
depth, that no anchor has ever found a bottom. For this reason it is that the
vessels are constructed with prows at either end; so that there may be no
necessity for tacking while navigating these channels, which are extremely
narrow. The tonnage of these vessels is 3,000 amphorae. In traversing their
seas, the people of Taprobana take no observations of the stars, and indeed the
Greater Bear is not visible to them; but they carry birds out to sea, which
they let go from time to time, and so follow their course as they make for the
land. They devote only 4 months in the year to the pursuits of navigation, and
are particularly careful not to trust themselves on the sea during the next 100
days after the summer solstice, for in those seas it is at that time the middle
of winter.
Ptolemy,
referring to Taprobana, states that its name had been altered to Salike. While
Pliny gives very few names of places in Taprobana, Ptolemy, on the contrary,
supplies a mass of information concerning the island, which is surprising by its
copiousness, including not merely a complete periplus of its coasts, with the
names of the headlands, rivers, and seaport towns, but also the names of many
cities and tribes in the interior.
Taprobana
Figure
17. Ptolemy’s Taprobana as published in Cosmographia Claudii Ptolomaei
Alexandrini, 1535
The
Periplus Maris Erythraei (or “Voyage around the Erythraean Sea”), an anonymous
work from around the middle of the first century AD written by a Greek speaking
Egyptian merchant, indicates that the course trending toward the east, lying
out at sea toward the west is the island Palaesimundu, called by the ancients
Taprobana. The northern part is a day’s journey distant, the southern part
trends gradually toward the west, and almost touches the shore of Azania. It
produces pearls, transparent stones, muslins and tortoise-shell.
Cosmas
Indicopleustes (Cosmas the Indian Voyager), who wrote The Christian Topography
in the early 6th century, took especial care several times to impress it on his
readers that the island called Serendib by the Indians was the Taprobana of the
earlier Greeks. In the time of Cosmas the name Taprobana had vanished.
Kalimantan
Hypothesis for Taprobana
From
the BC until the Middle Ages followed by the New World, a wide variety of world
maps had been created and can be observed, which shows the development of the
Western knowledge about the whole Earth, from the simple to the almost
complete. The development was driven by the need for more accurate maps of
trade routes heading to the world in the east, known as “The Silk Road”, that
is from the Mediterranean Sea, followed by the Red Sea, the Erythraean Sea, the
Indian Ocean, and ending in China. At the early century, only that trade route
was the most widely known, while outside those regions only little information
obtained that were from sailors who had visited them. Kalimantan Island is
outside that route so that the location was not exactly known, or possibly
deliberately kept in secret because this island has lucrative resources with
superior quality that are very alluring for trade commodities. These become the
subjects of the author to hypothesize that Taprobana is actually Kalimantan.
World
Map Development
The
island of Taprobana is shown on Dicaearchus (300 BC), Eratothenes (220 BC),
Strabo (18 AD), Pomponius Mela (43 AD), Ptolemy (150 AD), Al-Idrisi (1154),
Martellus (1490 AD), Cantino (1502 AD), Caverio (1505 AD), Waldseemüller (1507
AD), Lorenz Fries/Peter Apian (1520 AD) and edited Ptolemy’s by Lorenz Fries
(1522 AD), while the Middle-Age maps by Abraham Ortelius (1570 AD) and after do
not show.
Maps
prior to Ptolemy were without advancement of geography and cartography, so that
information on maps was rather sparse, so generalized and inaccurate.
Geographic features were drawn as they saw them or as travelers and explorers
described them. As begun by Dicaearchus in the 3rd or 4th century BC, Taprobana
was put, on the world map, as what they heard from what they saw or described
by other travelers, in the Indian Ocean without knowing the exact position, at
the south, west or further west of the Indian promontory.
Ptolemy’s
map shows the whole world from the Fortunatae Insulae eastward to China, spanned 180 degrees of
longitude and about 80 degrees of latitude. His book Geographia carried a list
of the names of some 8,000 places and their approximate latitudes and
longitudes. The greater number of these locations were determined from older
maps (Strabo, Eratosthenes, Herodotus, Hesiod and Hecataeus), with
approximations of distances and directions taken from travelers and more
accurate mapping of both Philo and Josephus 100 years earlier, except for a few
that were made by observations. Ptolemy was well aware that he knew about only
a quarter of the globe and could not do more as the available data was of very
poor quality for anything outside the Roman Empire. These make the maps given
by Ptolemy are inaccurate in many places. If we look his world map and compare
it with the modern map, we can clearly see the tremendous deviations, much
largely in the Asian portion. His error of underestimation of the size of the
Earth is another contribution of the inaccuracy.
Ptolemy
also included 26 regional maps and 67 maps of smaller areas. These maps are at
the grater located in and around the Roman Empire, with only a few regional
maps are in the Greater India and China, among them is Taprobana. These
regional maps and smaller area data were of better accuracy, whether obtained
from his observations or data from other travelers or explorers. Putting these
regions and areas on an inaccurate world map derived from the older maps
creates confusions to locate their exact positions. Allegedly, he located
Taprobana based on the older maps of whether Eratothenes or Strabo, that
actually no such island was in the position, or he deliberately put it in the
wrong place or floated its location so that not everyone can get there.
However, so far ahead of their time, they were used well into the Renaissance
until 13 centuries later Christopher Columbus underestimated the distances to
Cathay and India.
With
the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the land route to Asia
became much more difficult and dangerous. This resulted in a lack of
information of the area encompassed by the Indian Ocean, until the Portuguese
explorers developed a passage to Asia by sailing around Africa and with the
conquest of the Sultanate of Malaka in 1511. Thus, the Asian portion of the
world maps after Ptolemy still continued to rely on his information found in
the Geographia, incorporated the knowledge obtained from the Arab explores and
unknown sources, as shown on the maps of Al-Idrisi, Martellus, Cantino,
Caverio, Waldseemüller, Fries and Apian. Al-Idrisi incorporated the knowledge
of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by Arab merchants and
explorers. Martellus’ map shows heavy influences from Ptolemy but incorporated
Africa. Cantino’s map portrays Brazilian coast and depicts African coast of the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans with a remarkable accuracy and detail. Caverio’s map
shows the east coast of North America with surprising detail where its sources
are still a mystery. Waldseemüller’s map is a new line of editions of Ptolemy’s
Geographia with the integration of new geographical information coming from the
earliest of voyages of discovery. Fries and Apian’s maps are re-working of the
Waldseemüller’s map. Most of these maps located Taprobana more or less on the same
position as Ptolemy’s map, except Cantino and Caverio’s maps portrayed it as
Sumatera.
Observing
and comparing Ptolemy’s and Martellus’ maps, we can clearly see that there were
confusions in mapping the Indian Peninsula. Ptolemy describes it in two major
regions, India Intra Gangem in the west that does not show a major protruding
peninsula (where there are Laricae Ariasa and Lymirca), and India Extra Gangem
in the east that shows a major protruding peninsula (where there is Aurrea
Chersonenus). He mapped Indus and Ganges at the west and east of India Intra
Gangem, respectively, and Sinus Magnus at the east of India Extra Gangem.
Martellus added another peninsula in the east (where there is Catigara) based
on Ptolemy’s data, and kept the others similar to Ptolemy’s. This peninsula is
supposedly to be the Malay Peninsula so that the Indian Peninsula should be the
Ptolemy’s India Extra Gangem. Maps thereafter by Cantino, Caverio,
Waldseemüller, Fries and Apian confirm this.
Clarified
Ptolemy’s map
Figure
18. Clarified Ptolemy’s map
Clarified
Martellus’ map
Figure
19. Clarified Martellus’ map
The
Cantino and Caverio’s map shows two islands depicting Ceylam (Sri Lanka) and
Taprobana (Sumatera). The Waldseemüller, Fries and Apian’s maps are the maps
showing Seyla or Seylam (Sri Lanka) and Iava Minor (probably Sumatera) along
with Taprobana but further west. These become an indication that Taprobrana is
not Sri Lanka or Sumatera, and an allegation that it deliberately put in the
wrong place or floated its location for secrecy. It is allegedly that sailors
trying to find Taprobana using Ptolemy’s and Ptolemy based maps could not find
it in the location but then sailed further, at the end found Sumatera and
assumed it as Taprobana.
Abraham
Ortelius’ map is the first modern atlas that includes almost the major islands
and places in the Greater India. In addition to showing Zeilan (Sri Lanka) and
Sumatra, Taprobana disappears and Burneo (Kalimantan) and other islands in the
archipelago were added. Thus, it shows the incredibly improved knowledge of the
cartographers in that time.
Geographic
Conditions of Taprobana
Eratosthenes
mentioned that Taprobana is located in Eastern sea, lies extended opposite to
Greater India. He gave the dimensions of the island, as being 7,000 stadia (≈ 1,300
km) in length, and 5,000 (≈ 925 km) in width. When we measure
the size of Kalimantan Island, we can find that these dimensions are highly
accurate. The ambassadors dispatched to Rome, as written by Pliny and Strabo,
made one statement of the country enjoying two summers and two winters, which
clearly show that the country embraced on both sides of the equator. These
become evidence that Eratosthenes, Pliny and Strabo are correct to refer
Taprobana as Kalimantan.
Pliny
and Strabo stated that the nearest point of the Greater Indian coast was a
promontory known as Coliacum, distant 4 days’ sail, and midway between them
laid “the island of the Sun”. The sea was a greenish tint, having numerous
coral at the bottom, which the rudders of vessels broke off as they came in
contact when sailing over it. The Coliacum promontory is allegedly the Malay
Peninsula, probably they gave its name referring to Kelantan or its older name
Kalantan located in east coast of the peninsula. The early history of Kelantan
traces distinct human settlement dating back to prehistoric times, and became
an important center of trade by the end of the 15th century.
Between
Kalimantan and the Malay Peninsula lays the Karimata Strait, a shallow water
which was a land mass during the Ice Age. Almost a hundred of islands and coral
reefs are in this strait – administratively under the Riau Islands and
Bangka-Belitung Provinces of Indonesia – with main islands among them are
Natuna, Anambas, Bintan, Lingga, Bangka and Belitung. People in these islands
are famous for their sun worshiping. The sea is shallow and reefs are on the bottom
so that its color is greenish.
There
are several islands around the Kalimantan Island. Those in the Java Sea and
Karimata Strait, where they have shallow depth of about 20 to 50 meters, are a
mix of real islands and coral reefs. In between islands or reefs, the depths
are even shallower so that vessels have to be carefully prepared for such
condition. These confirm Pliny’s and Strabo’s statements.
Sundaland
- Taprobana
Figure
20. Kalimantan Island and its surroundings
The
Dayak people inhabiting the Kalimantan Island are mostly hunters and farmers.
Their leaders wear clothes and accessories just like Father Liber, as what
Pliny and Strabo said. They have also the most ancient tradition of tattooing.
Animals are abundant and the soil is fertile. The island is also rich of metal
minerals such gold, silver and copper, and any kinds of precious stones.
Oysters producing pearls are cultivated in the seas around the island, now
become 40% of the world supply of pearl.
Elephants,
tigers and turtles were abundant in the island as depicted by the Dayak
traditions, languages and legends of how they aware of the habitat and habits
of these animals, but because of their tradition of hunting these animals,
their present populations are dwindled or extinct. Indonesia was the place of
the ancient Stegodon, a large size elephant-like animal. DNA Analysis indicates
that Asian elephants are native to Kalimantan (Fernando et al, 2003). The now
endangered Kalimantan pigmy elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) are what
remained in Kalimantan now, the same species in Java is already extinct some
200 years ago. Kalimantan, as well as Sumatera, are the habitat of giant
turtles (Orlitia borneensis) and clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa). These facts
confirm Pliny’s, Strabo’s and Ptolemy’s statements.
In
daily life, helmeted hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil) are admired by the Dayak in
Kalimantan, for the lessons the community can learn from the behavior of the
species. Using many different reverential names for the birds, the Dayak have
many myths and legends in which hornbills are envoys of the gods with the task
of conveying divine messages. In their beliefs, the birds give living examples
of fidelity to a spouse and responsibility for family life. The Dayak teach
their children not to hurt or kill the sacred birds. Such deeds are a taboo.
Pliny and Strabo said that in traversing their seas, the people of Taprobana
take no observations of the stars, but they carry birds out to sea, which they
let go from time to time, and so follow their course as they make for the land.
These birds were apparently the hornbill admired by the Dayak.
Pliny
and Strabo stated that the island had a harbor at the south coast, adjoining
the city of Palaesimundus. There was a large lake named Megisba from which
Palaesimundus River ran by the city by 3 channels each having width of between
5 and 15 stadia (about 925 and 2775 meters), and the Cydara River laid north of
the lake. These three rivers were allegedly the Barito, Kapuas-Murung and
Kahayan Rivers. Barito River is nearly 3 kilometers, Kapuas-Murung River is
about 1 kilometer and Kahayan river is about 1.5 kilometers in width, in those
parts near the sea, that show cnformities with those stated by Pliny and
Strabo. A large lake was probably formed on the plain region due to occurrence
of a large flood from the mountains with higher flow velocity that could erode
the upper part of the plain, but the lower part is flat and level so that the
velocity was much reduced and the eroded material settled on that place forming
a dam and a lake. A shallow lake on a flat plane may vanish only within
hundreds of years. The existing condition now is a large swampy region.
According
to the old maps, Tanjungpura located on the south coast of Kalimantan was a
prominent city. Several ancient manuscripts mention also this name. Its literal
meaning is “the city (pura) of Tanjung tree”. Tanjung tree (Mimusops elengi) is
a medium-sized evergreen tree found in tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast
Asia and northern Australia. English common names include Spanish cherry,
medlar, and bullet wood. Its Sanskrit name is “bakula” so that an ancient
manuscript from the Javanese Singasari Kingdom refers the city as Bakulapura.
“Tanjung” can also mean “cape” or “peninsula” as used in some place names, but
not for this case.
In
the history records, there was a community near the present Tanjung town named
Tanjungpuri. One of the remains is a Hindu temple Candi Agung located in
Sungaimalang Village, Central Amuntai Sub-district, Hulu Sungai Utara Regency,
South Kalimantan Province. Carbon dating to the remains resulted in around 200
BC. Tanjungpuri was probably the primordial Tanjungpura. The port of Hippuri
mentioned by Pliny was probably Tanjungpuri.
At
first, the indigenous people of Kalimantan did not apply the kingship system.
Their social lives were based on customs and beliefs that were developed and
transmitted from generation to generation. The community was formed from a
small number of people and an amount of land necessary for living and farming.
As the time over, they developed into a larger community that made their
customs a more complex, and need more land too. Opening a new land would create
a new community so that over time several communities were created but followed
the same customs and inhabiting the same region. They called the whole
community having the same socio-cultural practices and inhabiting in a region
“banua”, meaning “world”, similar to “mundus” in Latin. The communities in
Kalimantan strongly hold this “banua” concept until today.
Their
social leader is called “raja” or “rajah”. The name of the chief of the embassy
to Roman as stated by Pliny, Rachia, is probably this “rajah”. James Brooke was
appointed as “rajah”, ruling the territory across the western regions of
Sarawak in the 19th century.
Kingship
was introduced into the indigenous by the Malay settlers from Sumatera around
the 4th or 5th century. Tanjungpura was probably a “banua” in the early
centuries and BC, so that the long name would be “Banua Tanjungpura”. Some old
maps mention it as “Taiopuro”, which probably the European then called it with
a long name “Taiopuro Banua”. To match the two consonants for each name, it was
shortened to “Tapro Bana” and also to name the whole island, the same meaning
as “Banua Tanjungpura”.
About
the name of “Salike” given by Ptolemy, there is an Austronesian word “salaka”
that means “white-colored metal”. This is probably a mixture of gold and
silver, an electrum. This metal can be found naturally in southern Kalimantan
region as a byproduct of gold mining. The word is applied to a cape name,
Tanjung Salaka, located at the south coast of Kalimantan almost around the
location of Tanjungpura.
The
freedman Annius Plocamus was possibly stranded around the present-day
Banjarmasin, in accordance with his statement that on the southern coast of
Taprobana. It was also said that its territory was divided into two separated
by a river. One part was infested by wild beasts and elephants, and the other
inhabited by Prachii colonists, and producing gold and gems. The river was
possibly the present-day Barito River and the Prachii colonists was the
present-day Banjar people which were inherently colonists in several islands in
Indonesia. On the ancient maps, the Banjar people were mentioned as Paco,
Bancy, Biajo, Bander and Banjar, and by Ptolemy as Bacchi. Banjarmasin by
Odoric of Pordenone (an Italian Franciscan friar) was mentioned as Thalamasyn.
Banjarmasin by the Roman tongue was changed into Palaesi and added mundus
(town) became Palaesimundus.
Alexander
the Great and the Roman Empire possibly deliberately kept the actual name in
secret and obscured it with another names because this island has lucrative
resources with superior quality that are very alluring for trade commodities.
Besides
some other classic names of the island, Kalimantan bore the name of
Nusakencana, literally means “the island of gold”, as stated in the Jayabaya
Prophecy from the Javanese Kediri Kingdom in the 12th century. The Muarakaman
inscriptions found in the upper region of Mahakam River in east Kalimantan
dated to 4th century also attest that the king of Mulawarman held a charity of
much gold. The word “nusakencana” is an Austronesian language; its translation
into Sanskrit is “suwarnadwipa”. Suwarnadwipa is widely known as the island of
Sumatera by the historians but there is no such inscription that clearly refers
it as the said island, so that other alternative of Suwarnadwipa is Kalimantan
as this island is more abundant with gold than Sumatera. Moreover, Cosmas
Indico-pleustes mentioned that “Serendip”, a European tongue of “Suwarnadwipa”,
was the island of Taprobana.
Ancient
Maps of Kalimantan
The
maps below show the development of Kalimantan maps from the 16th century until
the 19th, starting from the map of Abraham Ortelius, which was the first modern
atlas. The Ptolemy’s map of Taprobana is also included. We can see from these
maps that the island of Kalimantan took its real map shape just in the middle
of 19th century.
The
cartographers of these maps should have known that Kalimantan was actually
Taprobana, visible in the great similarities of the geographic names, layout,
locations, features and descriptions of the island and its surroundings among
Ptolemy’s and their maps.
150
Ptolemy
Figure
21. Ptolemy, Taprobana, 150 AD
1570
Abraham Ortelius
Figure
22. Abraham Ortelius, 1570 AD
1572
Abraham Ortelius
Figure
23. Abraham Ortelius, 1572 AD
1594
Petrus Plancius
Figure
24. Petrus Plancius, 1594 AD
1598
Petrus Plancius
Figure
25. Petrus Plancius, 1598 AD
1606
Hondius Jodocus
Figure
26. Hondius Jodocus, 1606 AD
1616
Petrus Bertius
Figure
27. Petrus Bertius, 1616 AD
1619
Gerard Mercator
Figure
28. Gerard Mercator, 1619 AD
1627
Bertius
Figure
29. Bertius, 1627 AD
1630
Ioão Teixeira
Figure
30. Ioão Teixeira, 1630 AD
1632
Johannes Cloppenburgh
Figure
31. Johannes Cloppenburgh, 1632 AD
1638
Joan Janssonius
Figure
32. Joan Janssonius, 1638 AD
1650
Willem Blaeu
Figure
33. Willem Blaeu, 1650 AD
1662
Frederik de Wit
Figure
34. Frederik de Wit, 1662 AD
1680
Pierre Duval
Figure
35. Pierre Duval, 1680 AD
1683
Alain Manesson Mallet
Figure
36. Alain Manesson Mallet, 1683 AD
1687
Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi
Figure
37. Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi, 1687 AD
1688
Robert Morden
Figure
38. Robert Morden, 1688 AD
1689
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli
Figure
39. Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, 1689 AD
1701
Bowrey
Figure
40. Bowrey, 1701 AD
1706
Pieter Vander
Figure
41. Pieter Vander, 1706 AD
1710
Ioachim Ottens
Figure
42. Ioachim Ottens, 1710 AD
1721
John Senex
Figure
43. John Senex, 1721 AD
1721
Nicholas de Fer and J Robbe
Figure
44. Nicholas de Fer and J Robbe, 1721 AD
1723
Chevigny
Figure
45. Chevigny, 1723 AD
1725
Pierre Vander
Figure
46. Pierre Vander, 1725 AD
1726
Herman Moll
Figure
47. Herman Moll, 1726 AD
1730
Christoph Homanno
Figure
48. Christoph Homanno, 1730 AD
1740
Isaac Tirion
Figure
49. Isaac Tirion, 1740 AD
1747
Nicolaus Bellin
Figure
50. Nicolaus Bellin, 1747 AD
1762
Robert de Vaugondy
Figure
51. Robert de Vaugondy, 1762 AD
1766
Thomas Salmon
Figure
52. Thomas Salmon, 1766 AD
1770
M Bonne
Figure
53. M Bonne, 1770 AD
1771
M Bonne
Figure
54. M Bonne, 1771 AD
1776
Antonio Zatta
Figure
55. Antonio Zatta, 1776 AD
1778
Thomas Jefferys
Figure
56. Thomas Jefferys, 1778 AD
1780
M Bonne
Figure
57. M Bonne, 1780 AD
1799
Clement Cruttwell
Figure
58. Clement Cruttwell, 1799 AD
1801
John Cary
Figure
59. John Cary, 1801 AD
1810
Ambrosse Tardieu
Figure
60. Ambrosse Tardieu, 1810 AD
1818
Pinkerton
Figure
61. Pinkerton, 1818 AD
1835
David H Burr
Figure
62. David H Burr, 1835 AD
1851
Tallis
Figure
63. Tallis, 1851 AD
1855
Joseph Hutchins Colton
Figure
64. Joseph Hutchins Colton, 1855 AD
1893
JH de Bussy
Figure
65. JH de Bussy, 1893 AD
1895
Richard Andree
Figure
66. Richard Andree, 1895 AD
Geographic
Names Identification
The
author identifies the geographic names and locations as mentioned by Ptolemy by
correlating with those in the old maps and their modern names. Compass was not
invented in the Ptolemy’s time so that the map has very low quality in terms of
scale, orientation and geographic locations. Below are the identified names. We
can see that numerous names as well as their locations are in close resemblance
with those of Ptolemy’s. These are the so many proofs that Taprobana is actually
Kalimantan.
Cetęum,
promontorium → (Cotan, Catalan, Satalang, Salaton, Salatan) →
Tanjung Selatan
“Tanjung”
means “cape”, “promontory” or “peninsula”. Tanjung Selatan is a significant
promontory located at the southeastern part of Kalimantan.
Nanigiri,
region →
(Nagara, Nagarra) → Negara
Negara
was a known place name and frequently mentioned in the old maps, now a village
and a river name in South Kalimantan Province.
Baracus,
fluvius →
Barito River
Some
maps show Barito River as Banjar River, Banjarmasin River or misplaced as
Sukadana River.
Nacaduma,
place →
Mandoemai → Mandomai
Mandoemai
is mentioned on the 1896 Dutch map. Mandomai is now a village in the region of
Kapuas Barat Subdistrict, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan Province.
Bachi,
civitas →
(Paco, Bancy, Biajo, Bander, Banjar) → Banjar
Banjar
is an ethnic group in southern Kalimantan and formed a kingdom of Banjarmasin
from 1520 to 1860. Banjarmasin is now a capital city of South Kalimantan
Province. Some maps show Banjarmasin as Bandarmassin, Bendermassin,
Bendermaβin, Bandermachri, Bendarmafsin, Bindermasin, Baniarmafseen,
Brandermassin, Banjarmassen, Banjar Massin or Banjarmaffen. Odoric of Pordenone
mentioned it as Thalamasyn.
Banjar
people were travellers; some of them had travelled to many places in the
archipelago and set up pockets of settlement. Megasthenes described Taprobana
was inhabited by Prachii colonists, this could be the Banjar people.
Corcobara,
place →
(Tamiampura, Taiampura, Taiapura, Taiaopura, Taiaopuro, Tanjapura) →
Tanjungpura
Tanjungpura
is a name of an ancient kingdom. Based on the old maps, its location was not
static but mostly at the south and southwest coast of Kalimantan.
Orneon,
extrema →
(Simanauw) → Sebangau
“Orneo”,
“ornis” and “ornêon” in Latin mean “bird”, “fowl” or “heron”. “Bangau” in local
language means “hern”, “heron”, “stork” or “egret”. Sebangau is now the name of
a river and a bay at the southern coast of Kalimantan.
Azanus,
fluvius →
Kayan, Kahayan River
There
are several rivers with the name of Kayan (or Kahayan), in western, southern
and eastern Kalimantan. Kayan is also the name of several Dayak tribes. Azanus
River is probably the Kahayan River in Central Kalimantan.
The
Periplus Maris Erythraei indicates that the southern part of the region trends
gradually toward the west, and almost touches the shore of Azania (or Azanus).
Louis,
extrema →
(Lao, Lave, Laue, Lava, Laua, Lawa) → Lawi, Lawai
Lawi
or Lawai is an ancient city in the Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan Province.
The name is frequently mentioned on the old maps but the exact location is
controverted. Tomé Pires, a Portuguese explorer, described it as an area rich
of diamonds, four-day shipping distance from Tanjompure (Tanjungpura). Lawi is
also the name of a river, a tributary of Kayan River. Lawi is sometimes
associated with Melawi, a regency in West Kalimantan Province.
Nubartha,
civitas →
(Sambuer, Sambaur, Sambor, Sobar, Sambar, Sambahar, Sambbae, Samban) →
Tanjung Sambar
Tanjung
Sambar is a cape in the Muara Kandawangan National Park.
Malea,
mons →
(Melahoei, Melawai) → Melawi
Melawi
is the name of a regency in West Kalimantan Province, also the name of a river,
located and has its headwaters on the Schwaner-Muller, a mountain range with
highest peaks in Kalimantan.
Anubingara,
place →
(Matan, Mattan, Ketapan) → Ketapang
Ketapang
is the oldest town in the western Kalimantan, was once the center of the
kingdom of Tanjungpura situated at Matan. Ketapang is the capital of the
Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan Province.
Priapides,
portus →
(Tamaratas, Tamaratos, Tamarates, Tameorato, Iamanatos, Hormata, Carimata) →
Cempedak, Karimata
Cempedak
is now the names of the two islands, off the coast of the port Siduk, Sukadana.
Tamaratos and Hormata are frequently mentioned in the old maps, these are
probably the modern town of Ketapang. Karimata is now the name of an island off
the coast of Ketapang and a strait separating Kalimantan and Sumatera.
Sindocanda,
civitas; Sandocandę, region → (Succadano, Succaduno, Succudana,
Succadana, Socadana, Sucadana) → Sukadana
Sukadana
is frequently mentioned in the old maps, it was an ancient kingdom with its
products are diamonds and iron. Sukadana is now the capital city of North
Kayong Regency, West Kalimantan Province.
Poduce,
place →
(Landa, Salimbau) → Sekadau
Landa
is frequently mentioned in the old maps, this is probably Sekadau located at
the bank of Kapuas River. Sekadau is now the names of a regency and also its
capital, in West Kalimantan Province.
Soana,
fluvius; Soani, region → (Sonee, Senar, Soné, Sone, Sona, Soengi) →
[Sungai] Sambas
The
above names are found on the 18th and 19th century maps indicating the three
rivers (or places) around the Main Sambas River, literary mean “river”
(“sungai”). These are written as Sone Sambas, Sone Luban and Sone Napor,
probably the closely neighboured Sambas Kecil, Teberau and Subah Rivers. Sambas
was a kingdom from before 14th century to 1950 AD, now the capital city of
Sambas Regency in West Kalimantan Province.
Anaris,
promontorium → (Sisar, Soric, Siric) → Tanjung Sirik
Tanjung
Sirik is a cape located in Sarikei Division, Sarawak
Anurogrammum,
place, Anurogrammi, region → Dayak people
Anurogrammum
is in close resemblance to Anurognathus, a genus of small pterosaur. The
indigenous Dayak people are hornbill admirers, have many myths and legends in
which hornbills are envoys of the gods with the task of conveying divine
messages. The Anurogrammum is allegedly meant “hornbill admirer”, ie the Dayak
people.
Iogana,
civitas →
(Malano, Malona, Melanoege) → Melanau
Melanau
people are an ethnic group native to Sarawak, the fifth largest group (after
Iban, Chinese, Malays and Bidayuh), but forms a large part of Sarawak’s
political sphere. The Melanau are considered among the earliest settlers in
Sarawak, at first settled in scattered communities along the main tributaries
of the Rajang River in Central Sarawak.
Margana,
civitas →
Miri
Miri
town is named after a minority ethnic group called “Jatti Meirek” or simply
“Mirek”, or “Miriek”. This ethnic group is the earliest settlers in the region
of Miri Division, Sarawak.
Galiba,
extrema; Galibi, region; Galibi, montres → (Balaba, Balabac) →
Balabac
Balabac
is the southern-most island of the Palawan province in the Philippines, only
about 50 kilometres north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. The
Molbogs, which is also referred to as Molebugan or Molebuganon are concentrated
in the island. The Molbogs allegedly migrated from North Borneo, related to the
Tidung or Tirum people, an indigenous group found in the northeast coast of
Sabah since they have similar dialect and socio-cultural practices.
The
names of Sabah, Balambangan Island and Teluk Labuk might also be derived from
the same name.
Talakori,
emporium →
(Cancirao, Cancyra, Canciaro, Cancerao, Cancorao, Cancirau) →
Keningau
This
place is frequently mentioned in the 17th- and 18th-century maps. The exact
place is not known, possibly Keningau, a district in the Interior Division,
Sabah. It is the oldest and largest town in the interior part of Sabah. During
the British colonial era, Keningau was one of the most important administrative
centres in British North Borneo.
Modutti,
emporium; Mudutti, region → (Marudo, Malloodoo) → Marudu
or Murut people
Marudu
is a town and a district located in the Kudat Division of the state of Sabah.
The
Murut are an indigenous ethnic group, inhabiting northern inland regions of
Borneo, literally means “hill people”. A large percentage of the Murut
communities are in the southwest interior of Sabah, specifically the districts
of Keningau, Tenom, Nabawan and Pensiangan, along the Sapulut and Padas rivers.
The Murut were the last of Sabah’s ethnic groups to renounce headhunting.
Phasis,
fluvius →
(Sisar, Sisor) → Kinabatangan River
Kinabatangan
River is located in Sabah, the second longest river in Malaysia, its headwaters
are in the mountains of southwest Sabah, its outlet is at the Sulu Sea, east of
Sandakan.
Anubingara,
civitas →
Lun Bawang people
The
Lun Bawang (formerly known as Southern Murut) is an ethnic group found in
Central Northern Borneo. They are indigenous to the highlands of North
Kalimantan (Krayan, Malinau and Long Bawan), Brunei (Temburong District),
southwest of Sabah (Interior Division) and northern region of Sarawak (Limbang
Division).
Nagadiba,
civitas →
Negaradipa
Negaradipa
was a kingdom located in the interior of South Kalimantan. Its capital was
originally at Candi Laras, Margasari, near the downstream of Bahan River at its
tributary, then they moved to the upstream of the at Candi Agung, Amuntai. As
well as some tribes in Borneo, before establishing their empire they were
tribal societies. Possibly, Negaradipa was a tribe before establishing their
kingdom. The tribes in Kalimantan are generally nomadic and the tribe of
Negaradipa was not necessarily located at the kingdom of Negaradipa.
Maagrammum,
metropolis; Ganges, fluvius → (Bamcamanican, Pomanakam, Markaman) →
Muarakaman and Mahakam River
Muarakaman,
located in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan Province, is known as the
existence of stone manuscripts dated around 4th century AD, written on seven
stone pillars in the Pallava alphabet and the Sanskrit language, considered as
the oldest inscription existing in Indonesia. A Brahmin (Hindu) kingdom is
attested by the manuscripts, located in Muarakaman, precisely in the bank of
Mahakam River. There is no inscription that clearly mentions the name of this
kingdom, but popularly known as Kutai Martadipura as has been given by the
scholars.
Several
places sacred to Hindus lie along the banks of rivers and named the rivers as
Ganges. Mahakam River where Muarakaman is located in its bank was most likely
considered as the Ganges.
Spatana,
portus →
Bontang
Bontang
is a port town in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan Province, located at the
eastern coast of Kalimantan.
Procuri,
civitas →
(Pasir, Pafsir, Passier, Passeir, Passir) → Dayak Paser people
The
Dayak Paser is an indigenous ethnic group found in southeastern Kalimantan.
Dayak Paser people are possibility have alliance with the Dayak Lawangan, a
clump of the Dayak Ot Danum. They formed a kingdom namely Sadungaras (later
Pasir Sultanate) from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Paser is now a
regency in East Kalimantan Province.
Cumara,
island →
Semaras, Laut Island
Semaras
is a place name located in western coast of Laut Island, South Kalimantan
Province.
Alaba,
island →
(Alambai, Calamba, Calambua, Calaubua, Calabo) →
Kalambau Islands
Kalambau
are islands located off the south coast of Kalimantan in the Java Sea.
Administratively, the islands belong to the province of South Kalimantan.
Arana,
island →
(Arents, Arentes, Arantel, Keramian) → Karamian
Islands
Karamian
is an atoll island located off the south coast of Kalimantan in the Java Sea.
Administratively, the island belongs to the province of East Java.
Balaca,
island →
(Balachaia, Balacuan, Blacana, Ciombra, Solambo, Solonbo, Solombo, Somanbo) →
Masalembo Islands
Masalembo
are islands located off the south coast of Kalimantan in the Java Sea.
Administratively, the islands belong to the province of East Java.
Bassa,
island →
(Lubok, Lubeck, Lubec, Lubek, Baboan, Bawean) → Bawean
Island
Bawean
is an island located off the south coast of Kalimantan and northern Java, in
the Java Sea. Administratively, the island belongs to the province of East
Java.
Calandradua,
island →
(Quirimanjaba, Quirimajaba, Cariman Iava, Carimun Iava, Carimao Iava, Carimoon
Iava, Carimon Java, Carmon Java, Karimoen Djawa) →
Karimunjawa Island
Karimunjawa
are islands located off the north coast of Java, in the Java Sea.
Administratively, the islands belong to the province of Central Java.
Erene,
island →
(Clemencia, Klein Enkhnysen, Enkhnysen) → Enkhnysen Reef
Enkhnysen
Reef is a group of coral reefs located in Java Sea off the Tanjung Sambar
peninsula near Mangkup Island.
Carcus,
island →
(Banca, Banka, Bangka) → Bangka
Phelicus,
island →
(Bibilitam, Billetoon, Billiton, Belitoeng) → Belitung
The
Bangka-Belitung Islands are a province lying off Sumatera. The province
comprises two main islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones. The
Bangka Strait separates Sumatera and Bangka, and the Gaspar Strait separates
Bangka and Belitung. The South China Sea is to the north, the Java Sea is to
the south, and the province is separated from Kalimantan in the east by the
Karimata Strait.
Ammine,
island →
(Anamba, Anambas; Natuna, Naima, Natuma) → Anambas and Natuna Islands
The
Anambas and Natuna Islands are located in the South China Sea, off the
northwest coast of Kalimantan. Administratively, the islands constitute a
regency within the Riau Islands Province.
Monache,
island →
(Timao, Timaon, Timor, Timmoon, Timon, Timoan) → Tioman
Island
Tioman
Island is an island in Pahang, located off the east coast of the state.
Cory,
island →
(Pulo Ciri, Pulo Cecir, Pulo Cili, Pulo Siri, Pulo Seir) → Cu Lao
Re or Ly Son Island
Cu
Lao Re or Ly Son is an island off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea.
Susuara,
island →
(Paragoa, Paragua, Paragoya, Paragoy, Paragou, Parago, Palohan, Palawan) →
Palawan Island
Palawan
Island is the largest island of the Palawan Province, Philippines. The northern
coast of the island is along the South China Sea, while the southern coast
forms part of the northern limit of the Sulu Sea.
Nagadiba,
island →
(Baqueiraon, Biqueram, Boquerano, Bequeraon, Siboetoe) → Sibutu
Island
Sibutu
is an island in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. It lies east of the
coast of Sabah, Malaysia.
Zibala,
island →
(Celebra, Celebus, Celebes, Cellebes) → Sulawesi Island
Sulawesi
is an Island located east of Kalimantan Island. This is the closest large island
that can be seen from the eastern coast of Kalimantan. Several maps mention
Celebes also as a place name at the west coast of Sulawesi, but the modern name
of this place can not be identified. Ptolemy apparently only get one coordinate
point on this island so the map drafter drew it as a small island on the map.
Zaba,
island →
(Paternosters, Chapelat, Sebelasanak) → Sabalana Islands
The
Sabalana Islands are an atoll in the Flores Sea, lying just north of the Lesser
Sunda Islands, closer to Sumbawa than Sulawesi. Administratively, the atoll
belongs to the province of South Sulawesi.
Identified
Geographic Names (2)
Figure
67. Identified geographic names
Table
1. Identified geographic names
No Ptolemy Ancient maps Modern
1 Cetęum Cotan, Catalan, Satalang, Salaton, Salatan Tanjung Selatan
2 Nanigiri Nagara, Nagarra Negara
3 Baracus Banjar, Banjarmasin Barito
4 Nacaduma Mandoemai Mandomai
5 Bachi Paco, Bancy, Biajo, Bander, Banjar Banjar
6 Corcobara Tamiampura, Taiampura, Taiapura, Tanjapura Tanjungpura
Taiaopura, Taiaopuro,
7 Orneon (bird, fowl or heron) Simanauw Sebangau
8 Azanus Kayan, Kahayan
9 Louis Lao, Lave, Laue, Lava, Laua, Lawa Lawi, Lawai
10 Nubartha Sambuer, Sambaur, Sambor, Sobar, Sambar, Sambahar,
Sambbae, Samban Tanjung Sambar
11 Malea Melahoei,
Melawai Melawi
12 Anubingara Matan, Mattan, Ketapan Ketapang
13 Priapides Tamaratas, Tamaratos, Tamarates, Tameorato, Iamanatos,
Hormata, Carimata Cempedak, Karimata
14 Sindocanda, Sandocandę Succadano, Succaduno, Succudana,
Succadana, Socadana, Sucadana Sukadana
15 Poduce Landa, Salimbau
Sekadau
16 Soana, Soani Sonee, Senar, Soné, Sone, Sona, Soengi [Sungai] Sambas
17 Anaris Sisar, Soric, Siric Tanjung
Sirik
18 Anurogrammum, Anurogrammi Dayak
19 Iogana Malano, Malona, Melanoege Melanau
20 Margana Miri
21 Galiba, Galibi Balaba, Balabac Balabac,
Sabah, Balambangan, Teluk Labuk
22 Talakori Cancirao, Cancyra, Canciaro, Cancerao, Cancorao,
Cancirau Keningau
23 Modutti, Mudutti Marudo, Malloodoo Marudu, Murut
24 Phasis Sisar, Sisor Kinabatangan
(River)
25 Anubingara Lun Bawang
26 Nagadiba Negaradipa
27 Maagrammum, Ganges (holy river) Bamcamanican, Pomanakam,
Markaman Muarakaman, Mahakam River
28 Spatana Bontang
29 Procuri Pasir, Pafsir, Passier, Passeir, Passir Paser
30 Cumara Semaras
31 Alaba Alambai,
Calamba, Calambua, Calaubua, Calabo Kalambau
32 Arana Arents,
Arentes, Arantel, Keramian Karamian
33 Balaca Balachaia, Balacuan, Blacana, Ciombra, Solambo, Solonbo, Solombo,
S
omanbo Masalembo
34 Bassa Lubok,
Lubeck, Lubec, Lubek, Baboan, Bawean Bawean
35 Calandradua Quirimanjaba, Quirimajaba, Cariman Iava, Carimun Iava, Carimao
Iava, Carimoon Iava, Carimon Java, Carmon Java, Karimoen Djawa Karimunjawa
36 Erene Clemencia,
Klein Enkhnysen, Enkhnysen Enkhnysen
37 Carcus Banca, Banka, Bangka Bangka
38 Phelicus Bibilitam, Billetoon, Billiton, Belitoeng Belitung
39 Ammine Anamba, Anambas Anambas
40 Monache Timao, Timaon, Timor, Timmoon, Timon, Timoan Tioman
41 Cory Pulo
Ciri, Pulo Cecir, Pulo Cili, Pulo Siri, Pulo Seir Cu Lao Re
42 Susuara Paragoa, Paragua, Paragoya, Paragoy, Paragou, Parago,
Palohan, Palawan Palawan
43 Nagadiba Baqueiraon, Biqueram, Boquerano, Bequeraon, Siboetoe Sibutu
44 Zibala Celebra, Celebus, Celebes, Cellebes Sulawesi
45 Zaba Paternosters,
Chapelat, Sebelasanak Sabalana
Taprobrana
and The Search for Atlantis
Plato
told the story of Atlantis around 360 BC. About 30 years later, Alexander the
Great invaded India and Nearchus and Onesicritus who accompanied him on his
campaigns described Taprobana for the first time. About another 30 years later
Seleucus Nicator sent Megasthenes as ambassador to Sandracottus (Chandragupta Maurya)
in 302 BC where Taprobana was also described.
The
story of Atlantis has been an object of fascination among western philosophers
and historians. Of course, Alexander the Great was not lost his attention on
the supreme land. Alexander was the student of Aristotle, a student of Plato.
The descriptions of Atlantis by Plato were very clear and in details, but the
search for Atlantis around the Mediterranean Sea did not return any results. It
can be presumed that Alexander thought that Atlantis was not in the area but in
Far East, in the Indian Ocean. During his invasion to India, Atlantis was
allegedly discovered, but this discovery was kept into confidential and
obscured with other name, Taprobana by Nearchus and Onesicritus, including its
location. His conquering for India was defeated by Chandragupta but an alliance
was formed. After his death, Seleucus continued the alliance and the secrecy of
Atlantis and Taprobana were still kept. Megasthenes described Taprobana in a
little more detailed.
In
the reign of Claudius, four people from the island of Taprobana were dispatched
as embassy to the Roman. Again, Claudius and the former emperors should not
have lost his attention about Atlantis. Being described very clearly and in
details, he could think that Taprobana was part of the Atlantis.
The
following emperors should know that Taprobana was part of Atlantis but they
kept on continuing the secrecy. Taprobana was spoken by some writers during
this time. In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138 – 161 AD), Taprobana was mapped
in details by Ptolemy. Again, the Roman Empire possibly deliberately kept the
location in secret and obscured it. The last part of Critias, a Plato’s
dialogue, which allegedly describes more detailed information about Atlantis
have been lost. The original maps of Ptolemy were also lost, an indication that
they wanted to hide.
In
the 6th century AD, the name Taprobana had vanished. After the fall of Rome,
European geography entered a dark age more profound than that of most other
disciplines, and facts about Taprobana and Atlantis were buried. Many ancient
books and scholarly works, especially those housed at the Library at
Alexandria, was lost for over a thousand years. At the end of the 1400s, Plato
and Ptolemy’s works were rediscovered; Atlantis and Taprobana became popular
once again.
The
Western colonization in Asia involving Britain, France, Portugal and the
Netherlands was allegedly inspired by the allurement of Taprobana as well as
Atlantis. This was sparked early in the 15th century by the search for trade
routes to the Far East that led directly to the Age of Discovery, and the
introduction of early modern warfare. By the early 16th century, the Age of
Sail greatly expanded Western European influence and development of the Spice Trade
under colonialism. The cartographers of this era should have known that
Taprobrana is Kalimantan, visible in the great similarities of the geographic
layout, locations, features, names and descriptions of the island and its
surroundings among Ptolemy’s and their maps.
Tag
:
#Book
#Alexander the Great #ancient
civilization #ancient history #ancient maps #ancient mystery #archaeology #Athens #Atlantic Ocean #Atlantis #Atlantis localization #Atlantis proponent
#Borneo #cartographer #ChristopherColumbus #civilization #Claudius # Claudius
#Ptolemaeus #CosmasIndicopleustes #Critias #Dayak #Eratosthenes #Geographia #India #Indian Ocean #Kalimantan #Megasthenes #NewWorld #oikoumenè #Onesicritus #Palaesimundus #Plato #Pliny
#Ptolemy #Renaissance #Roman #Salike #selendip #serendip #Sri Lanka #Strabo
#Sumatra #suvarnadvipa #suwarnadwip # Tamraparni #gpura #Taprobana #Taprobane #Bahasa Indonesia
A
research by Dhani Irwanto, 26 September 2015
Copyright
© Dhani Irwanto, 2015. All rights reserved.
Source : atlantisjavasea
