The cartography of Asia can refer to the representation ofAsia on amap, or to depictions of the world bycartographers from Asia. Depictions of portions of Asia have existed on maps as early as the 6th century BCE, with maps being drafted to depict theBabylonian,Hellenistic Greek, andHan dynasty empires.
During theMiddle Ages,Muslim geographers drew maps with more accurate depictions ofSouthern,Western, andCentral Asia, andEuropean maps began to more frequently represent Asia's landmass.Chinese geography from this period includes more detailed portrayals of theIndian Ocean,Arabian Peninsula, andEast Africa. European maps of Asia would become much more accurate during the EuropeanAge of Discovery, starting in the 15th century.
Modern maps of Asia make use ofdigitization, photographic surveys, andsatellite imagery.
Babylon inSouthwest Asia is featured at the center of the earliest knownancient world maps, beginning with theBabylonian world map of the 6th century BCE. Thisclay tablet presents a localizedmap of Babylon that includes rivers, surrounding terrain, an encircling ocean, and outer "islands" arranged in a seven-point star pattern.
Inclassical Greek geography, "Asia" was identified as one of the three major landmasses, alongsideEurope andLibya. Geographic knowledge of Asia became more detailed during the Hellenistic period, particularly in thePtolemy world map.Cartography of India can be traced to early navigational charts[1] and architectural plans for construction.[2]
By the 2nd century BCE,Chinese geography during theHan dynasty reflected awareness ofTurkestan, a region where Hellenistic Greek and Han Chinese spheres of influence overlapped.
In medievalT and O maps, Asia makes for half the world's landmass, withAfrica andEurope accounting for a quarter each. With theHigh Middle Ages, Southwest and Central Asia receive better resolution inMuslim geography, and the 11th century map byMahmud al-Kashgari is the first world map drawn from a Central Asian point of view. In the same period, European explorers of theSilk Road likeWilliam Rubruck andMarco Polo increase geographical knowledge of Asia in the west, in particular establishing that theCaspian Sea is not connected to the northern ocean.
Chinese exploration by medieval times extends Chinese geographical knowledge to the Indian Ocean, the Arabian peninsula and East Africa as well as Southeast Asia.
European maps of Asia become much more detailed from the 15th century, the 1459Fra Mauro map showing a reasonable complete picture, including correctly placed Korea and Japan.
Modern map making techniques in Asia, like other parts of the world, employdigitization,photographic surveys andprinting.[3]Satellite imageries,aerial photographs andvideo surveying techniques are also used.[3]
