The map of the region bounded by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and extends inland up the Ganges and Indus Rivers to Tartary and the Himalayas, including Kathmandu, Kabul and other legendary cities along the great trading routes.

Extends south to include a large portion of India, including Narsinga, Orixa Decan, etc. A marvelous map. Elephants shown roaming in the Ganges and Camels east of Kabul. Decorative cartouches and sailing ships.

This revolutionary map embraces the entire Mughal Empire and extends from Afghanistan and Kashmir in the north, down south to the middle of the Deccan and from the mouths of the Indus in the east, to Burma in the west. While far from scientific and featuring some obvious inaccuracies (notably, areas in the upper part of the map are placed way too far to the north), it is the first map of northern India to evince a rough level of planimetric accuracy.

The original map on which the present edition is predicated was devised by the great English adventurer William Baffin, after information supplied to him by Sir Thomas Roe, England's first ambassador to the Mughal Empire.

The Indus River is shown to enter the Arabian Sea in the correct location. As opposed to the Gulf of Cambay, as shown on previous maps and while the path of the Ganges River incorrectly shows it to flow in a general north-south direction, it is a vast improvement over previous maps, especially as the 'Jemni fluvis' (Yamuna River) is depicted with a relatively fine degree of accuracy.

The map divides the empire into the Mughal subhas (provinces), some of which have names that correspond to modern Indian states, including 'Chishmeere' (Kashmir), 'Penjab' (Punjab), 'Guuratte' (Gujarat), 'Orixa' (Orissa / Odisha) and 'Bengala' (Bengal).

Near the center of the map is Agra (the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658), while many other cities familiar to the modern observer are labelled, including 'Delli' (Delhi), 'Lahor' (Lahor), 'Adsmeer' (Ajmur), 'Gwaliar' (Gwalior), Patna, 'Candahor' (Kandahar), 'Cabull' (Kabul), 'Dekaka' (Dacca), 'Suratt' (Surat), Diu, 'Chaull' (Chaul) and 'Mesulapatnam' (Masulipatam).

The title cartouche, in the upper left, features the modified seal of the Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605-27), featuring roundels bearing his name and those of his eight dynastic predecessors going back to the great Turco-Mongol ruler, Timur (Tamerlane the Great). In the middle is the symbol of the Mughal Empire, featuring a lion at repose in front of a rising sun.

Jan Janssonius (also known as Johann or Jan Jansson or Janszoon) (1588-1664) was a renowned geographer and publisher of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch dominated map publishing in Europe. Born in Arnhem, Jan was first exposed to the trade via his father, who was also a bookseller and publisher. In 1612, Jan married the daughter of Jodocus Hondius, who was also a prominent mapmaker and seller. Jonssonius' first maps date from 1616.

In the 1630s, Janssonius worked with his brother-in-law, Henricus Hondius. Their most successful venture was to reissue the Mercator-Hondius atlas. Jodocus Hondius had acquired the plates to the Mercator atlas, first published in 1595, and added 36 additional maps. After Hondius died in 1612, Henricus took over publication; Janssonius joined the venture in 1633. Eventually, the atlas was renamed the Atlas Novus and then the Atlas Major, by which time it had expanded to eleven volumes. Janssonius is also well known for his volume of English county maps, published in 1646.

Janssonius died in Amsterdam in 1664. His son-in-law, Johannes van Waesbergen, took over his business. Eventually, many of Janssonius' plates were sold to Gerard Valck and Pieter Schenk, who added their names and continued to reissue the maps. (Source: Raremaps.com)