Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 1.pdf/409

 Dec. 6, 1872.]

369

A PERSIAN MAP OF THE WORLD.

12 Listen then to what I say,+ Think how miserable they,

Filled with shame she hides her face, So to cover her disgrace.

Captives in Zenana drear, Lowest thralls, and crushed by fear. 13 Still the same, we drag along, Ignorant of right and wrong, Knowledge and religion, none ! Life a dreary monotone !

17 Shall I speak to God on high 2 But I tremble as I try We are not Thy daughters, sure, Who must woes like these endure :

18 All untrained in truth, the soul—

Swayed alone by harsh control— On, like purchased slaves, we go :

14 Thou art not a slave always; Thou but comest a few days, Just to look on misery ;

Ah

dost Thou then mean it so 2

19 Still, although the heart is broken, Must the pang remain unspoken :

Then away thy sorrows flee. 15 But the heart will die, before Half our trials it count o'er ; Oh were I a dove like thee,

Veil the face, and hide the woe Ah! dost Thou then mean it so

20 Wretched custom's helpless slaves— Whelmed in superstition's waves — Thus our precious life doth go :

Then, methinks, I’d blessed be 16 Bird thy happier lot to see Makes a woman envy thee;

Ah

dost THOU then mean it so?

FAC-SIMILE OF A PERSIAN MAP OF THE WORLD, WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION. By EDWARD REHATSEK, M.C.E.

IN ancient times our globe was divided into vari ous portions, and as early as the Vendidad, (Fargard XIX. 43.) “The earth consisting of seven Kesh war s” is mentioned.

These divisions the Greeks

named climates (from ‘klima'inclination) the number of which was also considered by them to amount to seven. Muhammadan writers do not agree on the breadth of the climates. Zakryah Qazviny in

his Ajāyb-ulbuldan or “Wonders of countries”

ones, and thus made the whole world to extend from

the equator 64 degrees northwards and 20 southwards, according to our present reckoning. The subjoin ed table shows the first 17 climates, with the breadth of each and also the degrees of geographical north ern or southern Latitude answering to each – Climates.

assumes every climate to be 235 Farsakhs broad; making 1 farsakh = 12,000 cubits, 1 cubit = 24

fingers, 1 finger = 7 barley-grains, whilst other writers agree with occidental geographers in assum

ing exactly half an hour's difference of time between each climate. The number of climates has gradu ally been so much increased, that we have at present

24 horary and six mensual climates on each side of the equator. In the absence of more accurate means to ascertain the Latitude of a place, it was sufficient

to know its longest day, to tell immediately to what climate it belonged. Thus for instance, supposing the longest day of a town to be 15 hours, and sub tracting 12 from this number, we have three hours, and as the difference between each climate is 30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Longest day.

h. m. 12 30 13 13 30 14 14 30 15 15 30 16 16 30 17 17 30 18 18 30 19 19 30 20 20 30

Latitude.

8° 16 23 30 36 41 45 49 51 54 56 58 59 61 62 63 64

25' 25 50 20 28 22 29 1 58 20 37 26

59 18 25 22 6

Breadth.

89 8 7 6 6 4 4 3 2

2 2 1 1 1. 1 0 0

25' 25 30 8 54 7 22 57 22

17 49

33 19 7 57 44

minutes, the town will be situated in the 6th climate.

The ancient geographers who believed only that portion of the earth to be inhabited which was known to themselves, were quite content ed with seven climates; but Ptolemy during the

second century of our era added seven more, northern

This Persian Map of the world (of which I have made a fac-simile, keeping everything ex actly as it was drawn in the original, and trans lating only the writing or transcribing it in Roman characters)was in a dilapidated state and is of no great value except as a curiosity, since documents of this