[Illustration: Fig. 1—The Leardo Map of the World, 1452 or 1453.] AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY SERIES NO. 4 THE LEARDO MAP OF THE WORLD 1452 OR 1453 _In the Collections of the American Geographical Society_ BY JOHN KIRTLAND WRIGHT, Ph.D. Librarian, American Geographical Society WITH A NOTE ON THE REPRODUCTION OF THE MAP BY A. B. HOEN [Illustration: AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 1854] AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY BROADWAY AT 156TH STREET NEW YORK 1928 COPYRIGHT, 1928 BY THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK RUMFORD PRESS CONCORD, N. H. CONTENTS PAGE The Leardo Map of the World, 1452 or 1453 1 The Calendar and the Inscription Beneath It 2 The Map Disk 4 Sources of Leardo’s Geography 6 The Known World According to Leardo 10 Asia 10 Africa 15 The Mediterranean 16 Europe 17 Notes 21 Appendix: Detailed Comments on the Map 31 Explanation 31 I. Northern Asia 32 II. Far Eastern Asia 35 III. India 37 IV. Central Asia 40 V. Persia 41 VI. Mesopotamia and Syria 42 VII. Arabia 44 VIII. Asia Minor 45 IX. Armenia, Caucasia, and Southeastern Russia 46 X. Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea 47 XI. Southern Africa 47 XII. Middle and Lower Nile Region 49 XIII.