Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae descriptio

An important map of Russia published in the first modern atlas.

This lavishly illustrated map of Russia (historically known as the Tsardom of Muscovy) was published in Antwerp as part of the 1598 French edition of Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. First issued in 1570, the Theatrum is celebrated as the world’s first true “modern” atlas. The primary geographic source for this landmark sheet was a legendary, otherwise lost 1562 wall map by Anthony Jenkinson, an intrepid English merchant-explorer who was among the first Western Europeans to travel deep into the Russian interior.

At the time, Russia was perceived by Western Europeans as an exotic, volatile frontier caught between absolute Christian autocracy and nomadic anarchy. The map’s rich decorative vignettes vividly reflect these contemporary biases. In the upper left, Tsar Ivan the Terrible is depicted seated in majesty before a lavish tent – an image celebrating his absolute authority as a military commander on campaign. Further east, the illustrations lean into the perceived wilderness of the steppes, detailing wandering camels, Tatar hordes, and regional pagan practices, such as the worship of Zlata Baba (the Golden Old Woman). One particularly striking ethnographic vignette describes the nomadic Kirghiz people:

“The Kirgessen people live in troops or hordes. They have the following custom: when a priest performs a religious ceremony, he obtains blood, milk and dung of beasts of burden, and mixes it with earth. He pours this in a specific vessel and climbs a tree with it, and when there is a gathering, he sprinkles it over the people… When someone of them dies, that person is hung up in a tree by way of burial.”

Beyond its spectacular artwork, the map serves as an invaluable political snapshot of late 16th-century geopolitics. Settlement is shown concentrated strictly along navigable river systems, featuring major centers like Moscow, the trade hub of Novgorod, and the highly contested western fortress of Smolensk. It also captures Russia right on the cusp of massive imperial expansion. To the south, the heavily fortified Ottoman choke point of Azov blocks access to the Black Sea, while to the east lie the vast, unmapped frontiers of Central Asia. Of particular interest is the inclusion of the Silk Road entrepot of Tashkent and the fortified town of Siber, the historic Tatar capital from which the entire geographic region of Siberia would ultimately take its name.