Tabula Chorographica Armenica

Although it may appear so at first glance, the Tabula Chorographica Armenica (Chorological Map of Armenia) is not a conventional geographical map that translates the Earth's surface into two dimensions as accurately as possible. Instead, the map, created in 1691, depicts the distribution and history of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Ottoman Empire by means of countless small and large illuminations and inscriptions. Topographical features such as bodies of water and mountains serve as approximate geographical references on the three-meter-long piece of paper, which is composed of 16 parts. This important testimony to Armenian culture and religion was created for the Italian soldier, emissary, and natural scientist Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1658–1730). He was in Constantinople in 1691 on a diplomatic mission and commissioned the author, scribe, and illuminator Eremia Çelebi K’ēōmiwrčean (1635–1695) and his son Tēr Malak'ia to create this fascinating map for him.