
Maps, along with the accompanying research and descriptions, are important historical evidence. They contribute to the understanding of the political development of the ancient and modern world, reflecting international relations at various stages of state development.
The book “Armenia in World Cartography” was republished at the initiative of the head of the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, His Eminence Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan.
Map 1

Messia de Viladestes was one of the Catalan cartographers of the 15th century. His famous portolan “Viladestes” was created in 1413. The map is drawn on parchment, with miniatures painted in bright colors.
This relatively large map has a characteristic feature of Catalan maps – along with cities and various coastal details, it provides information about inland cities, oases, and mountains, containing a whole range of other information. On the African continent, kings and Arab leaders sitting on camels are depicted. The map has many similarities with the “Catalan Atlas” by cartographer Cresques, created in 1375 and presented to King Charles V of France.
On this map, the Armenian Highlands are depicted southeast of the Black Sea as the source of two biblical rivers. Ararat is shown from the side. On its two peaks “lies” Noah’s Ark, resembling a tent. This is the accepted way of depicting Armenia in Catalan maps.
The dimensions of the map are 115×85 cm. It is housed in the French National Library, Paris.
Map 2

This map is called the “Genoese Oval Portolan” and occupies a special place among portolans. It is based on the principles of Ptolemaic maps, portolans, and religious maps. Drawn on a single piece of parchment, it has an interesting shape, resembling a lentil. The place where the map was made is unknown, but since it bears the cross of Genoa, it is called the “Genoese Oval Portolan of the World.” The map is dated 1457.
The general layout of the map is based on Ptolemaic maps, while details such as relatively accurately marked shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas are taken from portolans. Drawings, cities, and other details are similar to various religious maps of the world, the content of which was derived from religious frameworks.
By the islands depicted in the Caspian Sea and other information, it can be concluded that the author used travel notes by Marco Polo and de Conti when creating the map. The map has a grid of intersecting lines. In fact, this portolan is more like an encyclopedic map than other portolans.
The most interesting thing on the map is that Africa is surrounded by the sea, confirming that by sailing south from Europe, one can round Africa and, returning east, reach the Indian Ocean. A European ship is even depicted in the Indian Ocean. The map has many explanatory inscriptions, most of which are impossible to decipher.
One of them states that the water surrounding the continents is a single ocean that spreads in all directions and has no boundaries, surrounding the fourth part of the globe represented on the map. Thus, the mapmaker implies that by sailing east from Europe, one can reach India.
Armenia on the map is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is situated south of the Caucasus Mountains below a fortress depicted upside down. In the southeast of Armenia, on the green-colored Ararat, “lies” Noah’s Ark, depicted as a house. The depiction of Armenia on this map is similar to its depiction on other portolans – it is done in the characteristic style of portolans.
The width of the map is 1 m. It is housed in the National Central Library, Florence.
Map 3

The author of this round-shaped Catalan-type portolan is unknown. The map dates back to the 1450s and is known as “Estense.” It depicts princes, fortress cities, sailing ships, mermaids, and animals. The drawings are colorful, done in miniature style. The inscriptions are made in a language that is a mixture of Catalan and distorted Latin.
The Mediterranean Sea is depicted very accurately on the map, but Africa is represented quite freely, especially Western Africa – the area of the Gulf of Guinea, which is connected to the Indian Ocean by a river. The large uninhabited part of the land in southern Africa should be considered Antarctica, which is located south of the Cape of Good Hope.
The map contains remarks by Marco Polo and Diaz. For unknown reasons, the Earthly Paradise has been moved from Armenia and Mesopotamia to East Africa. In the seas of Southeast Asia, a large number of islands are depicted, painted in different colors, indicating that cartographers already knew about the existence of thousands of islands in this part of the world.
Between the Black and Caspian Seas, under two red mountains, lies “Erminia Major” – Greater Armenia. The mountains depict the Armenian Highlands, from which the Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate. To the right of them is Ararat, painted in green and depicted from the side, on which “lies” Noah’s Ark. On the Euphrates River, the cities of Arzenga (Erzincan) and Malatya are marked. This is the common way of depicting Armenia on all portolans.
The ports of Cilicia, located in the northeast of the Mediterranean, are surrounded by a dark green arch. This separated Armenian Christian ports from the surrounding Islamic ones. It should be noted that when this map was created, the Cilician Armenian state no longer existed.
The diameter of the map is 113 cm. It is housed in the Estense Library, Modena, Italy.
Artatsolum
Based on an article by Rouben Galchian