World Map based on Cosmographia of Claudius Ptolemy

This World Map based on Cosmographia of Claudius Ptolemy, the 2nd century AD Greek astronomer and geographer, was printed in Ulm, Germany in 1498. References to coastal areas of North Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Mare Indicum (indian Ocean), Sinus Gangeticus, and general positioning of Indian Peninsula and Taprobama Insula (Peninsula of Taprobane, an early reference to Island of Sri Lanka) suggest knowledge of sea routes to South and South East Asia in the 2nd century CE. While the peninsula India is truncated and the Island of Sri Lanka is disproportionately large, the general positioning of the continents and the equator were important steps in the development of world geography. Archeological evidence from coastal regions of India and references in ancient texts to India trade confirm the presence of Roman trading in India from the beginning of the first millennium CE.