How mapping reflected the worldviews of the ancient Levant and its neighbours

Abstract

Maps and worldviews are so intertwined that a study of ancient maps would not be complete without equal focus being on worldviews. The need for maps has been with humanity since antiquity, but not all of these maps have survived the millennia since they were created. The ancient Levant is especially problematic for a study of ancient cartography since physical maps are absent from the archaeological finds thus far. For this reason, the discussion on mapping in the ancient Levant will make use of ‘verbal maps’ as internal sources in conjunction with the ‘verbal’ and physical maps of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. ‘Verbal maps’ include written and inscribed geographic accounts of journeys and military campaigns across the ancient Near East.