国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

JOHANNES JANSSONIUS AND SANSON D'ABBEVILLE.   191

to their actual sources, only one, namely, the Indus, appears in the three maps we are discussing now. The Satlej which was clearly marked on the maps of Gastaldi, Mercator, Ortelius and Hondius (I 6 I I), cannot be identified on the maps of Blaeu and Janssonius. For on the easternmost river of Panjab, which should be the Satlej, we find Chesimur, Kashmir. On Hoeius' map, Pl. XXVI, on the other hand, Chesimur is located further south and at the west side of the Indus. At an epoch when Ptolemy begins to fall in disgrace, Zaradrus fluvius is one of the treasures he takes with him to the valley of oblivion, and it should take many years before this river was restored to its right place.

As to the third river, Brahmaputra, there is even less sign of it on our three maps than on Ptolemy's, and even Gastaldi's, unless the westernmost of the four rivers coming from the Chiamay Lacus is an embryo of »Brahmas son». But this is a problem to which we shall have to return later on. For the present be it sufficient to point out the important part played by this lake and its gigantic emissaries, forming a combined lacustrine and fluviatile system which occupies a considerable area of completely unknown country. In their desperate attempts to solve the question, which, even in our days, has not been definitely settled about the courses and origin of the Indo-Chinese rivers, the old geographers have saved themselves from the dilemma by creating an enormous lake, a real »Mother of the Waters».

On all three maps Aracam (Arakan) is placed on the Ganges; Verma on the river from Chiamay lacus is Burma.

The mountains on the three maps are about the same. On Pl. XXVII they are more collected together and forming more natural ranges. On Iansson's map (Pl. XXVIII) the names Dalanguer and Naugracot are adopted. Perhaps Simau (Pl. XXVI), and Simmau (Pl. XXVIII), is nothing but (Mon)s imau(s) ? Otherwise the classical names are rarely used on the maps, though Iansson cannot abandon them in the text to his atlas.'

Proceeding from Janssonius 1641, Pl. XXVIII, to SANSON D'ABBEVILLE 1654 (Pl. XXIX) 2 we become aware of an enormous improvement. The Lac de Chiamay is the same, but the whole hydrographical arrangement of the Ganges and the Indus is changed in the right direction. The source of the Ganges is brought down from 48° N. lat. to 41°, and the source of the Indus is to be found in Rahia Tibbon, probably the Raja of Tibet, i. e. Ladak, as it is north of Cassimere and its capital

I The text in the Newer Atlas does not at all agree with the map. In the chapter Asia it says : Unter seinen vielen und grossen Bergen theylet derjenige dessen Name Taurus, gantz Asiam von einander ab und fangt an den Ufern des Meers gegen Morgen an.» If the mountain begins in the east and divides the whole of Asia it must run from east to west. But on the map it runs from north to south, and the name Imaus is found very near the coast of the Glacial Ocean. Of the source of the Indus the same text says: »Dieses Wasser entspringt in dem Lugo oder obersten Güpffel des Bergs Caucasi welcher Güpffel Paropamissus, von denen so jetzund darbey wohnen Naugocrot wird genennet, lauffit nach seiner gantzen länge auff 90o meyl wegs ...» And finally: »Unter solchen Bergen hangen der Inzaus, Emodus und Paropamissus als des Caucasi stück und theyl gleichsam aneinander.» The text is therefore correct, but the map is wrong.

2 L'Inde deçà et delà le Gange, ou est l'Empire du Grand Mogol ... Paris 1654.