Tabula Peutingeriana
The Tabula Peutingeriana (Peutinger table) is a map showing the road network in the Roman Empire. The original map (only copies have survived) dates from the 4th century AD. It covers Europe, parts of Asia (India) and North-Africa. The map is named after Konrad Peutinger, a German 15-16th century humanist.
Map description
The oldest surviving copy of the Tabula Peutingeriana was made by a monk in Colmar in the 13th century. It is a parchment scroll, 34 cm high and 6m75 long. It is a very schematic map: the land masses are distorted in the east-west direction. The map shows many Roman settlements, the roads connecting them, rivers, mountains and seas. The distances between the settlements are also given. The most important cities of the Roman Empire, Rome, Constantinople and Antioch, are represented with a special decoration.