In 1564 he completed his “ mappemonde", an eight-sheet map of the world. From that point forward, he devoted himself to the compilation of his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World), which would become the first modern atlas. In 1560, while traveling with Gerard Mercator to Trier, Lorraine, and Poitiers, he seems to have been attracted, largely by Mercator’s influence, towards a career as a scientific geographer. His early career was as a business man, and most of his journeys before 1560, were for commercial purposes. In 1547 he entered the Antwerp guild of St Luke as afsetter van Karten. Ortelius started his career as a map colorist. The cartographic features of the two are the same.Ībraham Ortelius is perhaps the best known and most frequently collected of all sixteenth-century mapmakers. The first edition plate was used until 1579, when a second plate with a different cartouche was substituted for the first version. Ortelius included the first edition of this map in the first edition of his atlas in 1570. Between 15, 31 editions of the atlas were published in seven languages. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, Ortelius' atlas, outperformed competing atlases from other cartographic luminaries like the Mercator family. Previously, there were other bound map collections, specifically the Italian Lafreri atlases, but these were sets of maps-not necessarily uniform-selected and bound together on demand. In 1570, Ortelius published the first modern atlas that is, a set of uniform maps with supporting text gathered in book form. The influence of this and other Ortelius maps stems from the popularity and dominance of his atlas in the European market. The Ottoman Empire would continue to expand and flourish in the seventeenth century, a constant foil to the other European empires. Suleiman I was a well-known political figure of the sixteenth century and his power radiates from the territory highlighted on this map. Under his policies, the Empire extended further to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, and much of Hungary and Iraq. Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, was the tenth and longest ruling Sultan, maintaining power from 1520 until his death in 1566. Ortelius' map of the Turkish Empire shows the might of this large political entity. Finally, of note because it was representative of the popularity of the myth, near the Nile is the inscription, "Here rules Prester John far and wide, king of all of Æthiopia." Near Jemen he mentions that the local incense is distributed around the world, while the aloe of Zocotara is also singled out for praise. Resources and goods are important to Ortelius with regard to the Ottoman Empire, as he also mentions the famous market town of Ormus, capital of a tributary kingdom that answers to Lusitania. It also mentions that the dried fish caught there are sold around the region. One paragraph, near Lake Actamar just below the Caspian Sea, describes the various names for the lake throughout history. There are several other descriptions of note on the map. Other decorations include four sailing vessels and a sea monster in the Black Sea. The inscription below the title reads, "Through unity small things grow, through discord they fall asunder." This was likely a reference to the power of the diverse Ottoman Empire in the later sixteenth century, as the Empire was reaching its zenith at precisely the time this map was published. It includes an ornate cartouche in the lower left corner decorated with lattice work, lanterns, and two female centaurs. The map is based upon Giacomo Gastaldi's wall map of Asia of 1561. Nice example of Ortelius' Turkish Empire, embracing the Middle East, Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean from Sicily to Cyprus. Second Edition of the Ortelius Map of the Turkish Empire African Islands, including Madagascar (65).
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