Thank you to regular reader, commenter and time zone 'influencer' Sir Sandford Fleming for his reference (in his Prime Meridian paper) to Claudius Ptolemy and the latter's pioneering work in using a prime meridian.
Below, you can see how this pioneer of geography Ptolemy (circa 100-165 CE) used geographic coordinates to organize the known features of the world onto a grid. He was also a math whiz ... and an astronomer.
On the map below, we can recognize lines of 'latitude and longitude' as we know them today.
You can see that Ptolemy did not use Greenwich as his prime meridian - primarily because it did not yet exist. His prime meridian is conveniently located to the west of any western Europe land masses.
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Why Hormuz Cartography?
Whenever current events become depressing, history can be somewhat comforting.
We can understand that many people - before we ever came along - have faced ... well ... depressing current events.
Here are maps from thirteen points within the last two millennia showing various aspects of the Strait of Hormuz.
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| from: World History; Hayes et al; 1946; Macmillan. |
This map (above and below) is from circa 150 CE.
Below, you can see the known world. Above, you can see how navigators had recorded their observations of the Persian Gulf (Persicus Sinus) back then.
... Those were the good old days when there was no Strait of Hormuz to worry about. This was because even smart people didn't know it existed.
As Ptolemy might have written in his map's defence regarding the Gulf: Quisquiliae intrant, quisquiliae exeunt.
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| from: World History; Hayes et al; 1946; Macmillan. |
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| screencap from: Persian Gulf, Atlas of Old and Historic Maps; Sahab et al; 2005; Sobh-e-Sadegh. archive.org |
Above is a copperplate engraving by Ortelius of Antwerp, published in 1580.
In current events this week, there have been people suggesting there should have been strategic planning to ensure the transport of petroleum, fertilizer, aluminum, etc through the Strait of Hormuz ... in the event of a war starting in the region.
I went through this very interesting atlas from cover to cover ... twice. This is among the earliest accurate depictions of the shape of the Gulf of Persia and the seafaring limitations of the Strait of Hormuz (Ormus).
Humans who look at books have known about this constriction for about 500 years.
As Ortelius wrote in 1580: 'If you start a war, you'll have problems with your Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCC) right around Ormus - so plan accordingly. By the by ... I've put Carge Island (Kharg) on the map for you at the head of the Golfo de Persia. Someday, it will make an excellent petroleum-loading terminal for those same large-draft ULCCs.'
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| from: The Illustrated Atlas & Modern History of the World; R Montgomery Martin; 1851; Tallis & Co. 1989 reprint |
Above (Arab side) and below (Persian side), these maps are from c1851. The features on opposite sides of the Gulf are presented as two separate maps.
The printing in this book is not as crisp as it could be. Of course, 'Mount Sinai' and 'Persian on Horse' are not in their geographically-accurate locations.
The map above shows Kharak Island.
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| from: The Illustrated Atlas & Modern History of the World; R Montgomery Martin; 1851; Tallis & Co. 1989 reprint |
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| from: Atlas of World History, Vol 2; Kinder & Hilgemann; 1978; Penguin. |
There is plenty of history shown on this ambitious map showing major developments in the 1800s. The industrial revolution, steam power, and Wahhabism were all things invented in the 1800s. It was a turbulent century. Most centuries are turbulent centuries, if you think about it.
Contemplating the map ... I don't know if it was the barrier of that German-backed Baghdad railway under construction ... or Persia's Shia branch of Islam ... which prevented Persia from embracing Wahhabism. Someone should look into that ...
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From the Late 1800s
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| from: Cram's Universal Atlas; 1896; George F Cram. archive.org |
This atlas preserves so much historical detail.
Look at the use of that Washington Meridian!
... it might be coming back ... you never know these days ...
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A New Century!
Map from 1904
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| from: Handy Reference Atlas of the World; JG Bartholomew; 1904; John Walker & Co. |
From the same year comes this text ... .
Below, 'Countries of Iran' is derived from the apparent (from the Imperial British viewpoint) similarities of local geography and culture between the two peoples described. Of course, the majority Sunnis of Afghanistan and the Shias of Persia would point out there were other differences which escaped the writer's eye.
Apparently, Persia only asked to addressed as 'Iran' in the 1930s.
My cousin told me of a young woman using an institution's cafeteria and speaking to an older man behind the food display. The man noticed he had something in common with the woman. He asked her where she was from ...
She replied: 'Iran'.
He responded: 'You mean Persia!'
It is the simplest of dialogues. However, when I find myself going back to it, I'll often discover a different facet of meaning from his words ... when I imagine how he might have expressed himself.
The Afghanistan piece is included for Canadian readers - for the reference to Kandahar.
I remember someone's (I don't know their nationality) comment somewhere on the internet early in that 2001-2021 war ... it was something like: 'Afghanistan: where empires have gone to get their asses kicked for hundreds of years.'
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After doing some checking, I believe this is the Shah to whom the article refers. His immediate successors don't match the article's description. He began his rule as a reformer, but things got bogged down and he became more autocratic. He visited Europe three times and spent lavishly as he went - using money from the public purse.
There was a significant structural problem he faced during his rule. He was a big shot in the capital ... but out in the countryside it was local tribal leaders and their armies who held the most power. He had to rent the tribal armies for any international armed conflicts.
Reza Shah Pahlavi (reigned 1925-1941) and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (reigned 1941-1979) were from a different dynasty. At various times in the 1900s (... a turbulent century) there were a number of separated attempts to establish alternatives to royal rule.
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| from: Illustrated London News, 9 May 1896. archive.org |
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My West Point atlases suggest that there was nothing worth studying during World War One in Persia.
I include the map below as a sentimental favourite. Time and time again we seem to work so hard to tip our collective societies into the Apocalyptic End Times foreseen by 'John of Unknown Identity' and as recorded in his hallucinated and frankly wacky biblical book of Revelation.
The Megiddo Plain is better known by its Greek name: Armageddon. Megiddo is on the map just southeast of the coastal port of Haifa.
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| from: The West Point Atlas of War; Ed: Gen. Vincent J Esposito; 1959; US Military Academy. reprint 1995 |
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Just after World War One, in 1921, we have the map below.
Note: Railways are shown in red - the legend is reproduced below the map.
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| from: Winston's Complete Atlas of the World; 1921; John C Winston Co. |
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Also from 1921:
In the future it will always be about the oil ...
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| from: Geology of Petroleum; William Emmons; 1921; McGraw-Hill. |
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In 1924, another British atlas.
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| from: Citizen's Atlas of the World; 1924; John Bartholomew & Son. |
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From the 1930s ... for Canadians ... by Americans ...
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| from: Imperial Royal Canadian World Atlas "An Atlas for Canadians"; Ed: Fred James; 1935; Geographical Publishing Co, Chicago. |
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World War Two
Almost three years before the Normandy landings, both Britain and the USSR are saving the Persian/Iranian oilfields from potential servitude under the Nazi jackboot.
And when the Americans arrive in 1942, they will operate the railways very efficiently as pure military assets. This will facilitate the shipment of war materiel to the USSR. Diesel-electrics will displace steam. Military RSD-1 units will be called 'the diesels that saved Russia'.
To return the favour, Russia will save the diesels ... and reverse engineer them to build their own copies.
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| from: Daily Mail World War Atlas; circa 1943; Daily Mail. |
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Almost to the present day ...
Here are a couple of older aviation charts. One shows Khark Island. The other gives a nice, detailed representation of the Strait of Hormuz.
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| from: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin. |
According to various YouTube videos, this end of the Persian Gulf drew considerable interest from international traders in previous centuries because of the natural pearls which were harvested here in abundance by pearl divers. Over time, this industry ceased to attract the same attention after Kokichi Mikimoto (1858-1954) of Japan was successful in culturing the first pearls in 1893.
Khark Island was formed by coral. Coral bleaching from sea water temperature rise has degraded many of the area's corals. Much of the island has been taken over and scarred by extensive petroleum operations ... and aerial bombing during the last couple of weeks.
Today's large-draft ULCCs use the island.
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Finally, the Strait of Hormuz.
Bandar Abbas is Iran's main ocean gateway - the yellow area at the very top of the Strait.
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| from: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin. |
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