Introduction
The laurels of Heinrich Schliemann haunt me. Why did Greek myths and legends lead the scientist to the discovery of the legendary Troy - the golden Ilium? Why can't Russian legends play the same role? Greek mythology, and ancient mythology, and ancient science, and modern scientific disciplines, which Schliemann could not even dream of, can serve as a basis for their analysis! I suggest you turn to Ptolemy's maps for help. Now look at the picture with the globe. Find the location of Troy Schliemann. It is somewhere near the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Found it? Now look at this globe map northeast of Troy, on the Black Sea with the Azov and the Caspian Sea. We will deal with their coasts in ancient times of human history. And we will also deal with the territories between these seas, as well as located to the north of them. Say:“This is the outskirts of the ecumene, the periphery of civilization. Well, what could be interesting here ?!"
Is it so?
Legend to the map-globe. The direction to the Sun is from the center of the Earth to the plane of the drawing. The thin white line is the perpendicular to the Earth-Sun line from the center of the Earth. The arrow indicates the direction of the pole movement with the passage of time. The numbers indicate the position of the pole before (with a minus) and after (with a plus) PX on TX. We will need this globe map to determine the possible displacements of the geographic pole or to prove their absence.
Claudius Ptolemy (90-168 AD), originally from Ptolemais of Egypt, in his remarkable work "Guide to Geography" left a rich legacy in describing the face of the Earth today. According to [Ancient geography. M., 1953], immediately after the appearance of this work of Ptolemy was forgotten, and "rediscovered" and translated into Latin at the beginning of the 15th century by Giacomo Angelo. In 1475 the translation was printed in Vincenza, and three years later a new edition followed with the attachment of maps engraved on copper. The first edition of the Greek original belongs to Erasmus of Rotterdam (1523).
How to "talk" Ptolemy's cards
The location of eight thousand points on the planet is described by Plato by geographical coordinates: latitude and longitude. For a relatively small number of the total number of points (350-400), latitude and longitude were determined using astronomical observations using a gnomon (specific coordinates). For the rest of the points, the coordinates are obtained by calculation. The calculation used the distances and directions from the points with astronomical observations to the points with unknown coordinates. This is how the calculated coordinates were obtained.
For example, Ptolemy could know the coordinates of Byzantium (Constantinople, Istanbul), determined astronomically. Having the situational plan of Pontus (Black Sea), the distance between the points of this plan and the coordinates of Byzantium, the coordinates of all the points of Pontus he could get by calculation, using in the calculation the astronomically determined diameter of the Earth. Ptolemy used the size of the Great Circle astronomically determined by Poseidon (the length of the equator of the globe).
We have the right to suspect that both systematic and random errors in the calculation crept into the geographical coordinates of points on the Earth according to Ptolemy. Errors of translators, scribes and typesetters of Ptolemy's Manual are also possible. Until now, there are disputes regarding the dating of the original source and the author's lifetime, with a difference in definition of up to seven hundred years or more. It is imperative to take into account, where possible, the complete set of errors and their influence on the results.
The goal I have set is this. It is necessary to develop a method for converting Ptolemy's coordinates into modern geographic coordinates: latitude and longitude. Using this method as a tool, it will be possible to solve a number of problems of a historical and geographical nature, namely: - to return Ptolemy's maps to the scientific use of specialists in different fields of science, increasing confidence in the maps; - localize maps of Ptolemy for European and Asian Sarmatia, linking them to a modern map. This region is within the scope of my scientific interests and therefore is subjected to close study using a complex of scientific disciplines and modern technologies. In the hands of my followers will be a tool that allows you to specify the solution of geographical and historical problems as much as you like, using a "window in time" tied to the time and name of Ptolemy,with the face of the planet in the selected region.
A similar problem on a more global scale for medieval maps was solved by the authors of [7], published on the Internet. They reviewed the background of the issue and provided the necessary links to literary and Internet sources. Due to the incompleteness of this work, the comparison of the results obtained has not yet been carried out, although I have repeatedly tried to do this. As a source material (coordinates of Ptolemaic maps), I used the coordinates of the map from [1]. They are supplemented and rechecked by the coordinates of the points from work [5] and the maps of Ptolemy sent over the Internet for Asian Sarmatia, for which a special thanks to colleagues.
What should be taken into account when solving the task?
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Possible reasons for the difference in the coordinates of Ptolemy's maps from modern
- Now we more accurately know the size of the globe (the size of the Great Circle according to Ptolemy). For definiteness, we will assume that this is the length of the equator.
- The flattening of the globe along the axis of its rotation turns it into a more complex figure - a geoid, which differs from an ideal sphere.
- The accuracy of determining geographic coordinates using astronomical instruments has increased. Determining distances on the earth's surface using aerospace geodesy has increased the accuracy of modern maps.
- The position of the prime meridian has become more specific. It is now the Greenwich meridian. At the time of Ptolemy, the initial was the meridian passing through the islands of the Blessed. These are the islands west of the Pillars of Hercules. (Canary, Madeira, Azores?).
- Cosmic influences are also possible, similar to the fall of large meteorites. Tunguska meteorite, for example, in 1911.
- Nuclear weapons tests, large volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can also affect.
- It is possible that Ptolemy's coordinates from latitudinal relative to the equator were recalculated into ecliptic ones relative to the ecliptic plane, which coincides with the orbit of the Earth's rotation around the Sun. According to colleagues from Staff & Co, the use of the ecliptic was fashionable in those (what?) Times.
- Due to precession (to a greater extent) and nutation arising from the gravitational influence of the Sun, Moon and planets on the Earth, the position of the Earth's North Pole relative to the Earth-Sun direction may have changed.
- Errors are possible due to erroneous linking of ancient names of points to modern points, duplication of these names in antiquity, which also leads to confusion.
- Due to the drift of the plates of the continents of the earth's crust, it is also possible to change the location of points on the surface of the globe relative to the axis of rotation.
Since there are many reasons, and the degree of their influence is different, up to ghostly, that is, practically absent, it is advisable to gradually take into account their influence, checking the accuracy of the results, comparing with the accuracy of the task. It may, of course, happen that the joint consideration of the reasons will lead to an apparent absence of their influence.
Influence of the size of the earth
Figure 2 To the correction for the size of the Earth.
Scheme for determining the latitude increment error due to the underestimated size of the globe.
In the figure, OA is the radius of the globe according to Ptolemy, OA1 is the radius of the globe according to the reference book, A1K1 is the measured distance between points, AK is the same distance on a sphere of smaller radius, the angle A1OK1 is the actual increment of latitude, angle AOK is the increment of latitude according to Ptolemy, angle K1OK - an error in determining the latitude increment due to the underestimated size of the globe.
The numerical estimate of this error can be determined based on the following considerations: the length of the stage is taken to be 177.6 m; the length of the equator of the globe, according to the measurements of Poseidonius, is 180,000 * 177.6 = 31,968 km. The length of the equator of the globe, according to the reference book = 6378000 * 2 * PI / 1000 = 40074 km.
Arc length AK = (F (K) -F (A)) * 2 * PI * OA / 360;
Arc length A1K1 = (F (K1) -F (A1)) * 2 * PI * OA1 / 360, where F () is the latitude of the point. Due to the equality of the arcs AK and A1K1, we obtain:
(F (K) -F (A)) * 2 * PI * OA / 360 = (F (K1) -F (A1)) * 2 * PI * OA1 / 360, or
(F (K1) -F (A1)) = (F (K) -F (A)) * OA / OA1, or
F (K1) = F (K) * OR + F (A) * (1-OR), since F (A) = F (A1), and OR = OA / OA1 is the ratio of the radius of the globe according to Ptolemy to the actual radius.
Therefore, if we take a point lying on the equator (with zero latitude) as the starting point, then the actual latitude is obtained from the Ptolemaic latitude by multiplying by the ratio of the radii of the globe, which reduces this latitude. If we take any other point as the starting point, then it is necessary to take into account the latitude of this point. As we can see from the calculation scheme, if the size of the Globe affected the calculations of Ptolemy, then the latitudes of all points of Ptolemy's maps will be overestimated. The calculated longitude will be similarly affected by the larger size of the Earth. If it suddenly turns out that the geographic pole has not changed its position since the time of Ptolemy, then the coincidence of the latitude of the point with the modern one could be considered as a sign that it was determined by astronomical measurements.
Pole location
The ratio of the radius of the globe according to Ptolemy to the actual radius is 31968/40074 = 0.7977. The increment of longitude per unit distance along the equator is measured in the same proportion, and with an increase in the latitude of a point, it should also change inversely proportional to the ratio of the cosine of latitude according to Ptolemy and the cosine of latitude, corrected due to the larger radius of the globe.
The pattern of movement of the North Pole due to precession can be described as follows.
Figure 3 Displacement of the North Pole due to the procession (direction of the Earth's axis of rotation to the starry sky).
In TSB, in the article "Precession", the figure shows a circle along which the pole moves with a full revolution (2 * PI) in 26,000 years. The radius of this circle is slightly more than 25 degrees (25.37). The ecliptic pole is at the center of the circle. The coordinates of the North Pole relative to the Pole of the Ecliptic (with zero coordinates) for any date can be calculated using the formulas:
latitude = SIN ((D-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37, longitude = COS ((D-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37, where D is the date in years A. D.
So in the time of Ptolemy (second century AD), the pole had coordinates
latitude = SIN ((150-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37 = - 10.968
longitude = COS (150-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37 = 22.870, and now:
latitude = SIN ((2000-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37 = 0.000
longitude = COS (2000-2000) * 2 * PI / 26000) * 25.37 = 25.370.
Consequently, the North Pole has moved about 11 degrees (10.968) from the Sun (north along the meridian) and two and a half degrees (2.500) to the East. As you can see, because of the precession, the axis of rotation of the Earth constantly changes direction, but this does not affect the position of the poles relative to the Earth itself, that is, it cannot affect the geographical coordinates.
Effect of nutation on pole position
The effect of nutation is not so obvious. Geophysicists proved by their precise measurements that the Earth's axis is constantly in motion relative to the earth's surface. That the geographic pole writes approximately circular paths of a very small size on the planet's surface in a year. Thus, the influence of nutation on geographic coordinates can be neglected due to the smallness and cyclical nature of changes that return the pole to its original position.
Experiment
We will not yet take into account other reasons affecting the geographic coordinates of points on the Earth. Let's see what happened.
According to Ptolemy's "Geography", the coordinates of Panticapaeum (Kerch) were 48 degrees north latitude. and 64 degrees E, and the coordinates of Byzantium (Constantinople, Istanbul) were 43 degrees N. and 56 degrees East. The difference in latitude with the modern map was: for Kerch (48g - 45g23 ') = 2g 37' A for Istanbul (43g - 41g9 ') = 1g 59'. As you can see, the difference in latitude of two points of ancient Pontus in the north and in the south is two or more degrees. Assuming that the latitudes of Panticapaeum and Byzantium are calculated from their distance from the equator. With the ratio of radii OR = 0.7977, the error in latitude due to the wrong radius would be 9gr 43 'for Panticapaeum (Kerch) and 8gr 42' for Byzantium (Istanbul). We conclude that the calculation of the coordinates of these ancient cities was made based on the distances from a closer point, possibly located in the Mediterranean. The latitude of all other points of Pontus is also overestimated by Ptolemy. The latitude difference increases with the distance of the point to the north or with the distance from the point with astronomically determined coordinates. Thus, the error accumulates, as it were. In Pontus itself, there seem to be no points with astronomically determined coordinates.
Again say: “This is the outskirts of the ecumene, the periphery of civilization. It should be so! I agree that in the time of Ptolemy, this is true, but has it always been so?
What are the intermediate conclusions?
What are the intermediate conclusions? It should be clarified which stage Ptolemy used, since different stage values give an error of up to three percent. So far there is no complete confidence in the stability of the poles relative to the earth's surface, especially since their coordinates change daily within small limits. Paleomagnetism data also speak of their change over long time intervals (not over thousands, but over thousands of thousands - hundreds of millions of years)! And science insists that the geographic poles were almost always near the magnetic, that is, they also moved around the "ball".
I have created a method for converting Ptolemy's coordinates into modern coordinates. These circumstances hinder its application. As soon as doubts about the correctness of the coordinates of the previous position of the pole in the time of Ptolemy disappear, the recalculation of coordinates can be entrusted to the computer, forcing it to solve spherical triangles.
Ptolemy's cards "spoke"
Applying the most obvious corrections to the coordinates of Ptolemy's maps, I got a completely satisfactory geographical situation for the region on the modern map. All my findings are combined into a method for converting Ptolemy maps. This method is implemented in the form of a computer program, which provides complete automation of numerous and laborious calculations and allows fast computational experiments. Get quick and easy answers to questions like: “What if?
As a first approximation, fears about possible misuse of Ptolemy's coordinates have disappeared.
It is encouraging that the current parallel of 36 degrees north latitude still passes through the island of Rhodes, albeit through its southern tip. This allows us to assume with confidence that the giant "top" - the Earth's globe continues to rotate steadily around its ancient invisible axis. This axis, with its northern end, is now aimed at a completely different point in the starry sky and has deviated from its previous position due to precession eleven degrees north and about three degrees east. This, of course, affected the climatic latitude of our places (the city of Yeisk, for example). The climate has become warmer compared to the Scythian times and the time of Ptolemy.
However, relative to the Earth itself, the axis of rotation did not significantly change its position, although due to nutation it changes it daily. Changes to a little and cyclically and almost constantly writes out practically closed circles of a very small diameter near the pole.
The latitude of the island of Rhodes has remained unchanged since the time of Ptolemy. This fact allows us to hope that there were no large changes in the position of the axis of rotation relative to the earth itself.
So far, the only fact I have is the former latitude of the island of Rhodes.
Ptolemy's maps used to be extremely popular, and then they were forgotten by geographers and are still very little used by historians and archaeologists. At the same time, they are rich in geographic, historical and ethnographic information, and what is especially important for us - they have a mathematical basis.
There are objective reasons for oblivion. As, for example, a historian or archaeologist, use the maps of European and Asian Sarmatia, if even at first glance at them from the height of knowledge of school geography, obvious absurdities are immediately visible, which, of course, frightens off the researcher.
Let's try to return Ptolemaic maps to scientific use at a qualitatively new level, reconstructing their appearance on the basis of modern achievements in cartography, higher geodesy and computer technology.
Methodology for reconstructing maps for the Azov-Black Sea basin
The first step of reconstruction
Figure 4 Ptolemy's original map.
Here, against the background of the modern map of the region under consideration, the contours of Pontus Euxinsky (Black Sea) and Meotida (Sea of Azov) with adjacent areas and large rivers flowing in them are drawn. Hereinafter, in the figures, the outlines of the seas are depicted with a blue line, river beds - with black, inscriptions of mountains - in black letters, the names of tribes and cities - in white letters.
All objects of the Ptolemaic map are plotted in accordance with their geographic coordinates from Ancient Geography [1] and the map from [5], corrected in longitude for a different prime meridian. Ptolemy used as the initial meridian passing through the Blessed Islands, which are located in the Atlantic west of the Greenwich meridian. The magnitude of the correction was 27.04 degrees. It was determined by comparing the longitude of Byzantium in Ptolemy and modern for Istanbul.
The initial meridian of Ptolemy, knowledge of its exact location did not become necessary, since the method uses the difference in longitude of Byzantium between Ptolemy and Istanbul on modern maps.
The method of drawing points with specified geographic coordinates on the map has been worked out in accordance with the manual on cartography [L. S. Garaevskaya, N. V. Malyusova A Practical Guide to Cartography. M., "Nedra", 1990]. The calculation formulas given there, taking into account the data of the Higher Geodesy about the dimensions and configuration of the Earth, were used. Algorithms for transforming and displaying map objects on the screen are designed in the form of a computer program in Visual Basic.
What do we see? Already familiar, wandering from book to book, the giant Meotida, ending near Ryazan itself, a significantly larger contour of Pontus. Overestimated latitude of all points exclusively …
Second step of reconstruction
Figure 5 Simple displacement of the entire map to the "reference" city (Byzantium-Istanbul).
We lower the Byzantium map of Ptolemy, and with it the entire map to the latitude of Istanbul, taking into account the overestimation of the latitude of Byzantium, which Ptolemy has. (Result in Figure 5) This 1 degree 55 minute overestimate includes 1 degree 48.6 minutes over the smaller Earth radius. The rest of the difference of 6.4 minutes is attributed to the non-straightness of the path from the island of Rhodes to Byzantium and the presence of counter currents in the straits. What do we see? The picture has improved, but still, the contours of the seas in Ptolemy are significantly larger than their images on the map, both in "length" and "width". As a result, the Crimean and Caucasian mountains, and the Azov Upland, and the Donetsk Ridge, and part of the Central Russian Upland are under the sea.
The third step of reconstruction
Figure 6 Adjusted for the Earth size correction.
Applying the formulas, using a computer program, we recalculate the geographical coordinates for the larger size of the Earth, tying not Byzantium (Istanbul) to the modern map, but Sinopa (Sinop), which is not in the corner, but in the middle of the selected map fragment (Fig. 6). The size of the stage is taken at 168.88 m. (Apparently, the accuracy of calculations of the size of the Earth and rounding made by Ptolemy affected).
The accuracy of the coordinate transformations and recalculations is controlled by drawing black points at the nodes of the map grid with a step of five degrees in latitude and longitude (The right points do not coincide a little with the nodes, this small error for more accurate measurements should be taken into account and eliminated.)
As you can see, our transformation turned out to be just great. Combined with its middle (Sinop), the contours of Pontus Ptolemy fit perfectly into the modern contour of the sea, cutting off shallow water, where, apparently, there was a washed-out part of the coast to the left of the entrance to Pontus. The rocky shores of the southern coast of Pontus and the southern side of the Crimean peninsula are also well outlined. The outline of Pontus Ptolemy fits perfectly both in length and in width
What was especially striking was Borisfen (according to Ptolemy). Its contour clearly “laid down” in the valley of the modern Dniester (!), And the right tributary, which, according to Ptolemy, flowed from Lake Amadoki, “rested” on the basin between the Codri and the Carpathians, suggesting the location of the mysterious Lake Amadoki. Now this basin between the mountains is inherited by the Prut River.
The mystery of the isthmus at Tafr has become clear. The contour of Pontus in this place is pressed against the modern coast of the Crimean peninsula near Evpatoria, on which a chain of salt lakes is located. The biggest of them is Sasik. To the north, at the base of the Tarkhankut Peninsula, there is a long Donuzlav Lake. The remoteness of the lakes from the sea is about four kilometers, and the flood is up to fifteen. Thus, these circumstances could well have deceived Ptolemy's informants about the presence of an isthmus of five miles (seven km), apparently confident in the large size of Meotida with bays.
The mysterious river Kerkinit ended in the common estuary of the Dnieper and the Southern Bug, localizing the ancient city of Navar near the modern bank.
The lower course of the Tira River is inherited by the Danube, and the Istra delta suggests, probably, a shorter route of the Danube to the sea in antiquity.
However, there are also enough absurdities:
- decreased, but remained large Meotida;
- The pontus turned out to be a little narrower in width (the distance between the capes of the Crimean and Sinop coast);
- the straits with the "reference" cities of Byzantium and Panticapaeum were out of place (reference mark is a sign marking a point on the ground, a sign of geodetic network binding on the ground);
- "fit" into the Greater Caucasus, the northern coast of the eastern half of Pontus.
Small digression
The "length" of the ecumene (known in his time as the Earth) in Ptolemy is overestimated by about one-fifth, and the greatest errors are present in the distances between the points of the Mediterranean Sea, for which the opposite current is inherent - the region east of Gibraltar. The latitude of Byzantium was determined by calculation and also turned out to be overestimated, although the starting point - Rhodes exactly lies under the 36th parallel. The latitude of Rhodes under Ptolemy and before him was probably determined astronomically (meteoroscopically according to Ptolemy).
What is the conclusion?
Ptolemy, in calculating the geographical coordinates of the points, did not take into account the sea currents, which were not always obvious to the sailors themselves, although they were used for repeated voyages along the same route. In our case, in Pontus, we have two large circular currents in the western and eastern parts of the sea (see Fig. 7 from the work of Snisarenko). These currents, according to the observations of hydrographs, make themselves felt already half a kilometer from the coast.
The parameters of Pontus, as a reservoir, have not changed significantly (this cannot be said about Meotida). Therefore, we have the right to assume the similarity of conditions for the existence of these currents both now and in antiquity. Therefore, we assume that these currents influenced the slow-moving ships of antiquity, regardless of whether they moved under sails or oars. And precisely because of them, the distances calculated from the time of passage of ships across the sea were distorted without taking into account the influence of these "sea rivers".
It is only important to consider: swimming was carried out with or against the current. To determine the extent to which Ptolemy took into account the flow of rivers, additional research is needed. The fact that sea currents were not taken into account by Ptolemy is a fact confirmed by three observations of errors in determining distances: - in the Mediterranean Sea (especially east of Gibraltar), - on the way from Rhodes to Byzantium, - and in Pontus.
The fourth step of the reconstruction. Accounting for sea currents
Figure 7 Map of sea currents of Pontus.
In fig. 7 shows these two "sea rivers" - two Black Sea whirlpools. Both of them rotate steadily counterclockwise. They touch in the narrowest part of the sea, in the middle, where the promontories of the Crimean peninsula and the southern coast of the sea, near Sinop, stand out.
Thanks to these Black Sea whirlpools, sea voyages from Byzantium along the southern coast were carried out along the current, first of the western and then of the eastern whirlpool.
The path from Byzantium to the mouth of Borisfen and Olbia, and then to Chersonesos was carried out against the current, therefore, probably, an alternative route to Sinope, and then across the sea to Chersonesos along the current of the western whirlpool, was preferable.
From Chersonesus to Panticapaeum, the journey was complicated by the opposite currents, first of the western and then the eastern whirlpool, as well as currents, shoals and reefs of the strait, which led to mistakes of geographers. It is significant that Ptolemy also "entered" Meotida not through the Bosporus, which would have been natural, but through the isthmus at Tafrus. Apparently, the sailing conditions in the strait made life difficult for both sailors and cartographers!
Imagining Meotida as a sea equal in size to Pontus (tradition can be traced back to Herodotus), they calculated the path traversed by the ships in the northern direction, as through a wide and spacious sea. As a result, little Meotida, the situational plan of which was known in detail, was inflated like a soap bubble to incredible sizes. But it was very small and served as a "funnel" for receiving the waters of the full-flowing Tanais (Don) and all other rivers and discharging water into the Pontus through the Cimmerian Bosporus.
Thus, it was enough for me to reduce the swimming speed only by 14 (on average) percent, so that Pontus Ptolemy "lay down" within the limits assigned to him by nature. (Fig. 8)
Figure 8 Taking into account the size of the Earth and sea currents.
The criterion for the correctness of corrections for sea currents was the coordinates of the so-called "reference" cities of antiquity: Byzantium (Istanbul), Sinop (Sinop), Amis (Samsun), Trebizond (Trabzon), Khersones of Heraclea (Sevastopol), Panticapaeum (Kerch).
For agonizingly long time it did not "lie" on the modern map of Dioscuriada and the coast from it to the Sindskaya harbor, as well as the Bosporus Strait. Until one day the hunch flashed that Ptolemy used descriptions of voyages, probably against the current of the eastern whirlpool from Dioscuriada to Trebizond, probably far from the coast. As a result, all distances were overestimated. The current was not taken into account and the speed did not decrease, and as a result, for the same duration of swimming, larger distances were obtained than actually covered. A similar situation happened on the section from Cape Cryo Metapon to Nymphea. In this section, as for the straits and the "funnel" - Meotida, the speed of the currents had to be set three to five times higher than the usual changes (14 percent of the speed of a ship sailing on the sea without currents),which was up to 70 percent of the ship's speed in the extreme case for Meotida.
So, using the most obvious corrections to the coordinates of Ptolemy, we got a completely satisfactory geographical situation for this region.
Binding of Ptolemy's ethnographic data on a reconstructed map
Figure 9 Localization of the Pontian peoples.
The coordinates of the turn and the sources of the Tanais, displaced on the map as well as the two estuaries, made it possible to concretize the channel of the ancient Tanais (according to Ptolemy) - this is the northern part of the Sea of Azov, Taganrog Bay, Lower Don, Seversky Donets. This Ptolemaic interpretation of Tanais makes it possible to determine the approximate location of the cities attached to it: Navarid in the Azov region, Elizavetinskaya, Exopol in the region of the legendary settlement of Gelon on Manych.
Olbia according to Ptolemy is located south of modern Odessa. What are archaeologists digging if Odessa is already on the coast, and to the south there is only the sea and no land?
All my findings are put on a modern map. It's up to the searchers, treasure hunters and underwater archeology.
Has the reader already felt my indifference to the Yazygs and Roksalans? According to the reconstruction, these are the strongest and most numerous tribes on the coast of Meotida. In the vicinity of them are the Huns, in the place of the Dnieper sands. These facts fill with geographic specifics information from Russian epics, Gumilev's description of the Hunnic cattle, accustomed to arid steppes, his own references to the ethnogenesis of the Huns, described by Jordan. This is about the incident of the Gothic king with the Dnieper sorceresses, whom he drove into the desert (Dnieper sands), where they met with "unclean spirits" - the Huns.
Somewhere on the border with this ecological niche for the Huns-pastoralists, one should also look for the Puchai River, in which the mother forbade the Russian epic hero to swim, under the threat of an imminent battle with the Serpent Gorynych. Perhaps historians-geographers dealing with Kievan Rus will help in this search? Did they find the Pochayna River, on which Princess Olga was going to test the patience of the emperor of Byzantium, just as he held her while awaiting reception at the Court.
In my opinion, the Pochayna River is not just consonant with the epic Puchai River? This, perhaps, will facilitate the search for it closer to the border of Russia. Keeping a guest waiting for a reception at the very doorstep (near Kiev) is not very convenient, even as harmful as the emperor of Byzantium. Our ancestors are not Greeks - tea! But the Russians. The law of hospitality is a holy law for them! And for the princesses too.
And you can scare. Why not give yourself and the historians this pleasure by emphasizing your equality with the emperor? It is not easy because Moscow is the Third Rome. And "impudent" from Byzantium should and should have been educated and taught politeness.
Thus, scientific evidence of the presence of "Atlantis" - a drowned land in the history of the peoples of the Northern Black Sea region - is presented. Selected land areas are defined, measured and mapped. It would seem, what else is needed? Do not overdo it with evidence!
However, I also have a package of "juicy" circumstantial evidence of the truth of the version, which is presented in the author's book.
Computer method of reconstruction of maps of Ptolemy
I have not tired you yet with my discoveries in paleogeography? So, discoveries continue! Not a trifle. Do not think that I am disturbing your precious attention with trifles. The true location of the Caspian gates, known in the ancient world, was discovered and, in addition to the gates, the Keravni mountains. Not weak, huh ?!
If you count on a large scale, then this is a new word in the ancient geography of the Greater Caucasus. Judge for yourself. Ancient scientists represented the Greater Caucasus as the mountains of the Koravian, Caucasian and Keravinian mountains. If we count by the names, it turns out that I discovered the location of a third of the Caucasus by ancient authors (historians, cartographers, geographers). Passages, gates in the mountains are also a very important element of geography. Except for the difficult roads along the coasts of the Black and Caspian Seas, inaccessible mountain passes and a path carved into the rocks in Albania, there were only two convenient passages - gates in the Greater Caucasus Mountains: the Caucasus and the Caspian. Some of them are mine! So you can safely prepare a smart head for laying a laurel wreath! Fortunately, cherry laurel grows in my garden. It doesn't take much trouble for such a responsible business. I invite you to the celebration!
Let's proceed to the description and proof. No wonder I bragged!
The method of converting Ptolemy's maps was developed by me, described in detail in the first book and brought there to practical use. With his help, a catastrophe of a planetary scale in the Black Sea region, its causes and "culprits" was discovered. And now we will consider a new application of the method in the neighboring region - in the Caucasus, in Asian Sarmatia and on the coast of the Hyrcanian Sea. This will allow us to localize mountains, coasts, rivers, cities, places of settlement of peoples and passages in the mountains, depicted by Ptolemy on this map.
The main results of the new application of the method are as follows. The true location of the famous object of ancient geography - the Caspian Gate was discovered. I will show you one more find of mine. Not a rocky ridge, as in the Azov Sea, but whole mountains - a third of the Greater Caucasus of Ptolemy - the Keravni (Thunder) Mountains.
The essence of the method consists in converting the geographic coordinates of the points of the Ptolemy map into valid geographic coordinates, which are then displayed on a modern map.
The reconstruction of Ptolemaic maps related to the Northern Black Sea region is given in the first book in great detail. Given and described not only the initial data, the conversion method, but also the results. Here I will describe in detail the computer program and the results of its application for the region of the Caucasus and the Caspian - the Hyrcanian Sea in ancient times.
What corrections to Ptolemy's coordinates were used?
1. Amended in longitude ("reference" point - Byzantium (Istanbul)).
2. Performed recalculation for a smaller radius of the Earth by Ptolemy. The flatness of the Earth from the poles is taken into account.
3. Amendments have been made for the sea currents of Pontus and Meotida, and now also the Hyrcanian Sea (Caspian Sea).
Instead of "reference" cities of antiquity on the Pontus (Black Sea), passages in the mountains were used - the Caucasian and Caspian gates. This made it possible to reasonably carry out the binding of mountain ranges, rivers, sea coast and other objects of the Ptolemaic map.
Ptolemy's map reconstruction program
The program that implements the method is built on a modular basis. It includes blocks for inputting initial information, calculation blocks-procedures and blocks for displaying results. The calculation blocks of the program transform and recalculate the coordinates of numerous points belonging to the objects of the map of the studied region, converting the initial data into results. The experience gained during the demonstration of the research results at the conference "Bosporan Phenomenon" prompted a spectacular display of the results on the big screen. This output is implemented by the program information display unit. Since complex coordinates recalculations and their display are performed by a modern computer almost instantly, the results in the program are calculated anew each time, which greatly simplifies the algorithm and structure of the program. Calculation results and modern map-background,as well as calculation schemes were displayed on a computer screen and in parallel on an active matrix, the image from which was displayed with the help of a projector on a demonstration screen the size of the entire wall. It was very convenient for illustrating the report with computer images for a large audience - for one hundred listeners. Along with the image on the screen, there are control buttons displaying the stages of map reconstruction (Fig. 10). A modern map of the Northern Black Sea and Black Sea regions is displayed as a background on the screen. The blue and black lines in the figure show the coasts of the seas and rivers. The buttons with the inscriptions on the right allow you to illustrate the stages of reconstruction in real time during the course of the report by clicking on them. Their purpose is as follows.the image from which, with the help of the projector, was displayed on a demonstration screen of the size of the entire wall. It was very convenient for illustrating the report with computer images for a large audience - for one hundred listeners. Along with the image on the screen, there are control buttons displaying the stages of map reconstruction (Fig. 10). A modern map of the Northern Black Sea and Black Sea regions is displayed as a background on the screen. The blue and black lines in the figure show the coasts of the seas and rivers. The buttons with the inscriptions on the right allow you to illustrate the stages of reconstruction in real time during the course of the report by clicking on them. Their purpose is as follows.the image from which, with the help of the projector, was displayed on a demonstration screen of the size of the entire wall. It was very convenient for illustrating the report with computer images for a large audience - for one hundred listeners. Along with the image on the screen, there are control buttons displaying the stages of map reconstruction (Fig. 10). A modern map of the Northern Black Sea and Black Sea regions is displayed as a background on the screen. The blue and black lines in the figure show the coasts of the seas and rivers. The buttons with the inscriptions on the right allow you to illustrate the stages of reconstruction in real time during the course of the report by clicking on them. Their purpose is as follows. Along with the image on the screen, there are control buttons displaying the stages of map reconstruction (Fig. 10). A modern map of the Northern Black Sea and Black Sea regions is displayed as a background on the screen. The blue and black lines in the figure show the coasts of the seas and rivers. The buttons with the inscriptions on the right allow you to illustrate the stages of reconstruction in real time during the course of the report by clicking on them. Their purpose is as follows. Along with the image on the screen, there are control buttons displaying the stages of map reconstruction (Fig. 10). A modern map of the Northern Black Sea and Black Sea regions is displayed as a background on the screen. The blue and black lines in the figure show the coasts of the seas and rivers. The buttons with the inscriptions on the right allow you to illustrate the stages of reconstruction in real time during the course of the report by clicking on them. Their purpose is as follows.
Figure 10 Control screen of the demo computer program.
The "Map" button is used to initially display the map as a background for a computer drawing, as well as to erase the drawing results of the previous stage of reconstruction.
The "Initial contours" button draws the contours of rivers and coasts according to the geographical coordinates of Ptolemy without any changes. In this case, the program uses blocks for converting geographic coordinates into rectangular map coordinates with the conversion of degrees and minutes of latitude and longitude into radians. However, the correction to the longitude for a different initial meridian is taken into account, calculated from the difference in the longitudes of Byzantium from Ptolemy and Istanbul for a modern map.
By pressing the button "Decrease to the latitude of Byzantium" the latitude of all points of the Ptolemy's map decreases by the correction for latitude, which is defined as the difference between the latitude of Byzantium at Ptolemy and the latitude of Istanbul.
By pressing the button "Correction for the size of the Earth" a calculation scheme is displayed on the screen, which displays the essence of the algorithm for recalculating coordinates to take into account the larger size of the globe. Ptolemy assumed in his calculations the smaller size of the "great circle" of the circumference of the globe than we actually have.
By pressing the button "Conversion for the greater Earth", the contours of rivers and coasts are calculated and plotted by geographic coordinates, taking into account corrections to longitude for a different initial meridian and decreasing all latitudes by the amount of correction for a larger size of the Earth.
The "Currents" button allows you to display the scheme of currents in the Black Sea (Pontus), which, due to their almost constant action, but non-obviousness (unobservability), were not taken into account by geographers when determining the distances in terms of sailing time and the average speed of sailing in the sea without currents.
The button "Taking into account sea currents" allows you to display the contours of rivers and coasts taking into account all the already described corrections and sea currents - additionally.
Thus, by successively pressing the buttons, it is possible to display on a computer screen and a projector screen drawings of rivers and coasts for the initial coordinates of Ptolemy and taking into account one, two or all three corrections, superimposing them on each other. This is how the influence of the amendments is illustrated and compared. As already noted, you can clear the screen from the previous drawing by displaying the background map.
The Altars, Tribes button is designed to display both the converted geographic information and the ethnographic information related to it on the distribution of tribes in the Northern Black Sea region.
Let me remind you of the main results obtained with this drawing of the ancient face of the Earth in our region. The ancient rivers of ancient geographers are localized. The Tanais of the ancient authors, it turns out, is not the Don at all, but only includes a part of its lower course, then passing to the Seversky Donets at Ptolemy and in Manych at Herodotus. The Karkina River, with its numerous settlements on it, does not correspond to any river now, since (the drawn part of the river) is completely demolished by the sea. Borisfenus corresponds to the Dniester in Ptolemy.
Why do I insist on a more southeastern location of the Danube Delta in antiquity?
See Fig. 10, it clearly indicates a more southerly location of the Danube Delta. It is hoped that in this area of the Pontus coast we will be able to obtain a more accurate "benchmark" point than the Borisfen estuary, which "travels" around the region and according to maps. I am hinting at the convergence of rivers in the area of the city of Galati. In the previous reconstruction in the first book, there is no space for the "glorious river Tiras". River valleys at the bottom of the sea are more numerous south of the modern delta, and there are five of them. Five, like Herodotus, not seven, like Ptolemy's, and not three, as now.
Comparison of the descriptions of the Roman geographer and the Greek historian makes it possible to clarify the phrase of Herodotus that “Darius, having passed Thrace, arrived (with an army - VA) to the sources of the Theara River”. Most of the rivers of Thrace originate in the mountains. Why did the king drag his army into the mountains?
And at Ptolemy, the first mouth of the Istra - Pevka - corresponds to the Pevka River, which is the first branch of Istra. Istria is then divided into other arms, and Pevka is the first from the side of Thrace. Consequently, if the Thear of Herodotus is an analogous or the same river as the Pevka of Ptolemy, then the "sources of Thear" can be regarded as synonymous with the "neck of the river." That is, this is the place before the first fork of the river, where it was convenient to build a bridge for the passage of troops. Darius did not lead his army over the mountains unnecessarily!
Since the time of Herodotus, serious changes have taken place in the river network due to the demolition of the banks by the sea. At the site of the Danube delta and the lower reaches of the Tiras, a new estuary-bay appeared, which intercepted the current of the Hypanis along Herodotus, Borisfen along Ptolemy, and the Dniester at the present time. Liman directed its expansion to the north, absorbing huge areas of land in the former Scythia.
The southern channels of the Istra meridian direction were demolished. The estuary of Borisfen with Hypanis, according to Herodotus, became as huge as the new one. Found a shorter way to the sea, the lake that fed the Tyras of Herodotus. It became the source for the sleeve of Borisfen according to Ptolemy and received the name Amaloka. The outlet to the sea of the Dnieper and the Southern Bug turned into the mysterious river Kerkina, which took its name from the city of Kerkinit according to Herodotus, and then, having disappeared, passed on its name to the Kerkinit Gulf.
The river Pakiris (Gipakiris at Herodotus) disappeared, leaving its mark in the form of Lake Donuzlav. It was Meotida, bringing the end of her stability closer, took the waters of Lake Buk through a dug channel. Conditions were prepared for the dissolution of the rocky ridge of Gaius Pliny the Elder. Further, using the information of an old map from 1700, from the times of the Russian-Turkish wars, we can say that, having washed away the right bank in the area of the city of Galati, Tiras connected with Tiarant, intercepting its waters and providing a longer outlet of the Danube to the sea. The old Danube delta died out. The delta, devoid of its sediment, was quickly swept away by the sea. The southeastern winds, having received a place for their dispersal, developed the gigantic Kerkinitsky Bay and, in proportion to the wave energy of the Black and Azov Seas, the smaller, but similar Taganrog Bay, having blown away the southern part of Tanais-Don. This is clearly seen on the Benincasa Portolan from the 15th century.
Application of the technique to the reconstruction of the Azov-Black Sea basin, the Caspian basin and the Caucasus
Localization of gates (passages) in the mountains and the mountain system of the Greater Caucasus
Figure 11 Control screen for the generalized program (Pontus, Meotida, Caucasus, Hyrcanian Sea).
Localization of the map of Ptolemy: Pontus, the Caucasus and the Hyrcanian Sea Mountains near Ptolemy are tied to the map by passages, which by their location on the modern map can contribute to the general localization of the Caucasus mountains with good accuracy. This will be an analogue of the "reference" cities during the reconstruction of Pontus.
Caspian gate
The Caspian Gate is clearly not Derbent with a citadel (Naryn-Kala) and two walls of the 5th century going from it to the sea. These walls enclose the city and block the three-kilometer passage between the sea and the Caucasus mountains. The destroyed part of the walls goes even into the sea.
Why can't Derbent be the Caspian gate, a passage in the mountains, which Ptolemy, similarly to the Caucasian gate, calls the Sarmatian gate?
Let's put the evidence on the shelves.
1. The mountains here are not impregnable. Now west of the city, a motor road runs right along these mountains. The sea can also recede far away from the coast during high winds. Consequently, this place can serve as an obstacle to passage with great difficulty, thanks to the fortress, walls and, mainly, the garrison of the fortress.
2. Derbent, according to the encyclopedia, comes from the Persian der - door and bend - barrier. It turns out an obstacle with a door or a door in an obstacle. There is no “gate in the mountains” like Ptolemy and other geographers.
3. The Caspian gates were known to Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy. With this series of names we prove their popularity since the beginning of the era. And the encyclopedia talks about the construction of the fortress and walls of Derbent in the 5th century. We get five centuries of difference between the beginning of the prominence of the Caspian Gate and the construction of the fortress and walls. Only from that time on, Derbent was able to serve as an obstacle, an obstacle, some kind of a gate in the mountains.
It turns out that Derbent is a "leaky" barrier of a later time, which simply cannot be the famous Caspian gate from any side. Where, then, is the real Caspian gate?
Consider the following facts from ancient history:
the Roman emperor Nero threatened the restless neighbors of the imperial provinces - the Sarmatians, Alans, directing their threats towards the Caucasian (Caspian) gates;
the Roman geographer Strabo disassembles the resulting confusion, specifying which gate the emperor was barking at;
Pliny the Elder calls this gate the road to the "northern nomads";
Roman cartographer Ptolemy calls both passages in the mountains to the northern nomads the Sarmatian gates.
I note the observation of geographers that in the Greater Caucasus, the slopes facing south are steep, wild and inaccessible, at the same time the northern slopes of the mountains are sloping and inhabited, and the spurs descend to the north, smoothly passing into the foothill plains inhabited by northern nomads. It turns out that the Caucasus (without any exaggeration) is a natural Sarmatian fortress, accessible from the north, but completely impregnable from the south, if the passages in the inaccessible mountains - the Sarmatian Gates - are blocked.
The first Caucasian gate is the Darial Gorge with the Kazbek peak towering over them. ^ Bek - height, Kaz-kas-as - Alan. All together gives the meaning "Alanian peak". Because, probably, in the encyclopedia there is another name for the gate - Alan.
The second gate, the Caspian one, should be (logically) from the Caspian side, should be a passage in the mountains, leading to the “northern nomads”. No place from the very mouth of the Kura and almost to Makhachkala can claim this title, since the Albanian trail also leads to the Caucasian gate. Derbent, which we have already considered, cannot qualify either.
A little practical observation
If you want to know how the caravan trail passed in the mountains, the route of the ancient trade route, look at the map of modern roads. They will tell you everything, because donkeys, horses and camels can only be dragged along the steep slopes, and any donkey will choose for itself approximately the same road, with such inclines that are needed for modern cars. It only has a smaller turning radius than a car. Well, this is also not necessary once at a time! It depends on the mood of the donkey (donkey).
Therefore, when the Baku-Makhachkala highway, continuing to Makhachkala, sharply branched off to the west, I immediately realized that there was simply no better candidate for the Caspian gate. Here, modern roads along the coast turn to the Terek in its middle reaches (the Issedon, Amazons and Alans rivers).
It may be objected that the Caspian Lowland begins to the north of Makhachkala and that there are no mountains here and never have been. And what kind of gate in the mountains is that, which is so easy and so close, you can simply bypass, without even "greeting" the Sarmatian gatekeepers ?! Or incorrect localization of the Caspian Gates south of Makhachkala?
Yes, indeed, the mountains that blocked the way to the Sarmatian possessions suddenly end beyond Makhachkala. But has it always been this way?
Let's figure it out in more detail. Did the mountains continue north of Makhachkala, justifying the name of the gate in this place eighteen and more centuries ago?
I have already said that the geographical conditions in this region of the Caspian Sea are similar to those of the Azov Sea. Let us continue our research using this observation. Here and there, we observe traces of dissolution and redeposition of limestone or chalk rocks in the form of shell spits, shell with silt of folded soil at the bottom of the sea, shell beaches with sand on the coast.
Described by Strabo and Pliny the Elder, the coast of the Northern Caspian in the form of crescent curves of the coast, divided by a narrow and long strait, we can now trace on the "relics" of the modern coast. These are the Agrakhan Peninsula with sandy hillocks, and the Chechen Islands, protruding from the western coast of the Caspian (Caspian Sea sailing lines from 1987, GUNO MO USSR, pp. 98–99). The symmetrical part of the rounding is traced in the south-facing coast of the Tyub-Karagan Peninsula, which extends from the eastern coast of the Caspian. The Tyub-Karagan Peninsula is a hilly area cut by ravines (Lotsi, p. 126). The possible composition of the rocks of the western bank (limestone, chalk) is suggested by the waters of the Sulak River, which stain the sea water in a whitish hue for many miles. In such rocks that can be dissolved by fresh water,Sulak has developed the longest, narrowest and deepest gorge in the world.
On the seashore to the north of Makhachkala there is a very remarkable relic of the Keravni Mountains - Mount White Bugor, which stands out with its light color against the general dark background of the mountains, 281 meters high. And from Mount Tarkitau 241 meters high with dense vegetation, crowned with a white dome of the observatory, limestone is mined by sawing the mountain into blocks and slabs. To the north-north-east of the port of Makhachkala, there is a low coast, along which low dunes stretch. Further in this direction are the Chechen Islands and the shallow Agrakhan Bay. Tyuleniy Island is already a small hill, and to the north-east of it are the Bolshaya and Srednyaya Zhemchuzhina banks. Bank Stanovaya is located to the north of Tyuleny. There are a lot of banks and low islands: Tbilisi, Tyulenya, Sandy, Chasovaya. Chechenskaya Bank to the northeast of the eastern tip of the Chechen Island. Bank Bakhtemirskaya between the islands of Chechen and Tyuleniy with an uneven surface. And, finally, a hillock with four peaks with a lighthouse at the Volga navigable arm.
If fresh water is considered a decisive factor in the dissolution of limestone, then the conditions in this area for such dissolution are simply ideal. The most powerful arms of the Volga are directed here. The Kuma River flows into the same corner of the Caspian. The Terek flows into the Agrakhan Gulf, and Sulak desalinates the water from the east.
Figure 12 An example of the remnants of disappeared mountains (Mangyshlak, photo from the magazine Around the World).
Look at the rocks of the opposite coast of the Caspian - the Mangyshlak Peninsula (Fig. 12.) How can such sparse rocks from rocks dissolved by fresh water resist the onslaught of the desalinated sea for a long time? On the Mangyshlak Peninsula, they are still "alive" only because it is almost the driest place on Earth, and the sea is quite salty.
We conclude that there were mountains to the north-north-east of Makhachkala. Therefore, the assumption of a gate in the mountains in the Makhachkala region is well-founded!
The southern spurs of the Caucasus Mountains in an approximately meridian direction divide the Transcaucasus into three regions: Colchis, Iberia and Albania.
On the maps of Ptolemy, the mountains of the North-Western Caucasus bend around the northeastern coast of Pontus and are called in this place the Koravian Mountains. They border Colchis and Iberia from the north to the very Sarmatian gates (Caucasian gates) and separate these areas from Albania with their southern tip. Further from the Sarmatian Gates to the Albanian trail, there is a latitudinal section of the Caucasus Mountains, which turn to the north-north-east after the Albanian trail. Behind the second Sarmatian gates (Caspian gates) on this site, the mountains acquire the name of Keravnian, which continue in the same direction, to the north-north-east. This part of the Caucasus, as well as the Pontic part of it, is separated from the coast of the Caspian Sea at some distance, making room for rivers flowing down from the mountains. Both those and other Sarmatian gates are located at Ptolemy at the same latitude. Same,how happened with the new localization of the Caspian gate. Makhachkala is approximately at the same latitude as the Darial Gorge (Fig. 11)
In the Azov region, the Rocky ridge of Pliny disappeared, here the Keravnian mountains of Ptolemy disappeared. Only all the differences!
On the modern map, the mountain system of the Caucasus is represented by three large ridges: Main (Vodorazdelny), parallel to it Lateral with a continuation in the form of the Samur ridge and parallel to the Lateral Rocky ridge, which stretch from north-west to south-east. Makhachkala is the center of gravity of all the mountains in the district. Makhachkala is directed to the eastern end of the Skalisty ridge, the spurs of the Bokovoy and the Bogossky ridge, separating the tributaries of the Sulak River, as well as the Andiyskiy and Kanabur, Terskiy and Sunzhenskiy ridges (Fig. 11). A satellite photograph of the Caspian Sea shows how through the shallow waters of the North Caspian it shines through, disappearing in places, and the elevation of the bottom stretches, deviating to the northeast towards the foothills of the South Urals - Mugodzhar. We will consider this elevation as a relic (remnant) of the disappeared Keravnia mountains.
Localization of rivers in the basin of the northern and middle Caspian and Vardan (Tereko-Kuban)
Ptolemy's map shows the following rivers in the basin of the northern and middle Caspian (they are listed from north to south): Ra with two mouths, Udon, Alens, Sona, Gertus. Each river, except for Ra, is tied to the map by two points: its source in the mountains and its mouth when it flows into the sea.
On the modern map of rivers and rivers off this coast of the Caspian Sea there are much more (also listed from north to south): Volga, Kuma, Terek delta, Stary Terek, Sulak, an untitled river north of Derbent, Samur, three untitled rivers north of Baku, one drying up river south of Baku. Many rivers and streams run down the mountains, many of them dry up. There are also five larger rivers on this coast, like Ptolemy's. In this regard, the localization will be as follows: Ra-Volga, Kuma-Udon, Terek-Alens, Sulak-Sona, Samur-Gertus.
At the site of the second passage in the mountains near Ptolemy, the map shows the gate, signed as Sarmatian. As well as the Caucasian Gates, localized by the Darial Gorge. Outside the gate at Ptolemy, the mountains continue, acquiring the name of Keravnia, and continue very far in the north-north-east direction. The turn of modern roads clearly suggests the presence of a passage in the mountains, but the continuation of the ridge and the Keravnia mountains proper, there is no map of Ptolemy available. Vardan (Kuban) and Alens (Terek) start from the same place. Using this example, one can clearly trace the confusion that exists both in Ptolemy and in previous geographers in the names of gates in the mountains and rivers that originate in the mountains. Mysterious Mermode near Strabo - Tereko-Kuban or Kubano-Terek?
The Horse Mountains are well localized, which are now represented by the northern end of the Stavropol Upland, the Salsko-Manychskaya ridge and the Ergeni Upland, which converge to the highest common place near Elista. Moreover, the Kumsko-Manych depression on the Ptolemy's map corresponds to a gap in the mountains, which is not shown in my reconstruction.
Localization of the Caspian coast
The Caspian coast from the southern edge of the map is stretched to the northeast. It not only coincides with the direction of the northern side of the deep-water basin of the Middle Caspian (Derbent basin), but even repeats its outline.
Localization of the Volga and the Caspian coast during the time of Ptolemy
If you cheekily give out the phrase that “the Volga, as now, flowed into the Caspian Sea,” there is a chance that the reader who is quick to judge will decide that senile marasmus began to visit the author. In addition, the phrase will no longer be a commonplace truth, but simply misinformation! Let's give the traditional phrase of the embodiment of banality an original sound: "The Volga did not flow into the Caspian Sea!"
- I know I know! - my well-read reader will say, - you can't fool me! The Volga was simply called the river Ra (Rha). Finno-Ugric tribes still call it that. And the Caspian was also called the Hyrcanian Sea, and therefore the phrase would be correct: "The Ra-river flowed into the Hyrcanian Sea during the time of Ptolemy." Right?
Not really. To make sure and understand how wrong, let's play "Easter cakes" in the sandbox. The “pros” call it physical modeling. A very educational and visual game. To begin with, we will stock up on "building materials" and dig the Caspian Sea in full size. You can simply remove water from the real sea as unnecessary, and build a sandbox with a sea size for building materials. Modeling scale 1: 1. Let's fill the sandbox with sand. We'll have, however, to collect it from all the nearby deserts, but there is nothing to do - play seriously! In addition to sand, we will stock up on pebbles. Do you see the Caucasus Mountains next to the sea in Fig. 11? So, a third or a quarter of their stones, I think, is enough.
Let's take a closer look at the sea. Geographers conventionally divide it into three parts. The South Caspian ends at the latitude of the Absheron Peninsula with the city of Baku. The Middle Caspian stretches from this latitude to a latitude connecting two more ledges on opposite sides of the sea: the Agrakhan Peninsula and the Tyub-Karagan Peninsula. And, finally, the North Caspian is all that remains of the sea north of the second latitude.
We start playing with our model, remembering where the current sea level was. Let's put our stones in a third of the Caucasus mountains from the Agrakhan Peninsula and Makhachkala towards the middle of the Volga delta with a decrease to the north and, a little before the delta. These will be the Keravni Mountains. We will cover the entire northern Caspian with sand and most of the middle - to the blue line of the northern coast (Fig. 11)
- And what, the rivers and the Volga itself, too, fill up?
- Yes, it's better to fall asleep, then you can draw a river on the sand with a twig of the river (Black lines in Fig. 11). It will be very similar. Then it is still necessary to fill up the Kara-Bogaz-Gol and the eastern shallow waters of the southern and middle Caspian, drawing on it forty estuaries of the Herodotov Araks (the Amu Darya-Uzboy arm). Essentially, you should have two deep-water basins of the Caspian, connected by a wide and shallow strait. Well, does the ancient Caspian Sea look like a modern lake - the Caspian Sea?
- No, it doesn't look like it, it turned out quite different, a small sea, rather a large deep-water lake! But what to do with the Volga and the Ural River?
- We covered the Volga delta at the same time as the northern Caspian Sea, so that to the former coast from the area of the modern delta, the river still runs about 350 kilometers, no less. There was no delta at the former mouth of this river due to the great depths of the sea in this part. The crescent, curved shores adjacent to the estuary probably concentrated the tides at the estuary in any winds from the southern side of the sea. There is no delta overgrown with vegetation, therefore, in combination with the flow of the river and the oncoming tide, a blemish was possible - a thundering, steep wave that destroys the banks, like on the Amazon River in Brazil. This is what we observe in the ancient authors, who call the mouth of the Volga, and possibly also the Don branches in the Caspian Sea and the Ural rivers, a strait (estuary) into the North Scythian Ocean, which dries up under northern winds. Here is my additional hypothesis:this joint channel of three rivers was a long and narrow Scythian strait. And on the right bank of this strait, the Amazon tribe is localized. Consequently, this river (Ural-Volga - Tanais branch) called Ra can be called an Amazonian river (namesake of the Brazilian Amazon).
- Where did the land (soil) go from the vast territories demolished by the sea?
- You will compare the deep "bath" of the Black Sea and the two deep "bowls" of the Caspian in Fig.13. Geologists say that both seas are relics of the ancient Tethys Ocean. Why shouldn't they be the same depth and flat bottom? We see that the Black Sea (its deepest part) is twice as large in area, and therefore twice as deep. The river deposits in it are represented by tongues in the deep-water part. The "bowls" of the Caspian Sea are twice as small in area, therefore, by the rivers of the northern group with the Volga at the head and the Amu Darya (Uzba) branch, they are half filled with sediments and are now half as small as the Black Sea. Here is a part of the soil of the demolished territories.
- How, there is somewhere else the soil of the territories demolished by the sea?
- Of course, the dissolved and demolished Keravnia mountains lie in plain sight in the form of shell spits, beaches, shores and soil at the bottom. Look also at the shores surrounding the Caspian Sea. Sea sand, it turns out, may well rise from the sea to the coast by the surf, and then be carried by the wind for at least thousands of kilometers, even rising to the foothills!
Localization of cities and peoples of Asian Sarmatia
The linking of Ptolemy's ethnographic data is shown on the reconstructed map (Fig. 13).
Figure 13 Reconstruction of Ptolemy's map for European and Asian Sarmatia. Tribes.
Ptolemaic maps were compiled 4–5 centuries after the description by Herodotus of Scythia and the neighboring peoples inhabiting the region. Due to the fact that enough time has passed, and the peculiarity of the nomadic population is that it regularly changes its habitat and during the season it may be four hundred kilometers from its former place. What can you expect after such a huge period of time? We have at our disposal, however, also ethnographic descriptions of the region by Strabo and Pliny. In order to somehow systematize the information, we will follow Herodotov's route for certainty. The route is localized and described in my second book.
So, our path will pass from Istra along the coast of Pontus, then along the coast of Meotida, along Tanais-Manych to the upper reaches, then ascent to the Stavropol Upland to the foot of the Caucasus and higher and descent to the Hyrcanian Sea. Let's take a closer look at the reconstruction of Ptolemy's map for Asiatic Sarmatia. On this map, which I superimposed on the modern one, there is an outlandish fairytale (?!) Maiden kingdom (of the Amazon). It is located to the right of the Horse Mountains (Hippia montes), south of the turn of the Volga to the southeast (Rha fl.), To the east of the gap in the northern spur of the Horse Mountains, corresponding to the Kumo-Manyicheskaya depression. Ptolemy settled here the tribe of the Amazons (Amasones).
Undoubtedly, I would like to consider the Huns (from China), Bastars from the Baltic, Iberians from Transcaucasia as newcomers. From the aborigines of the region, by the names of the tribes by Ptolemy, one can see the tribes of the Herodotus times: the Scythoalans, Roxolans, Tavro Scythians, Tiragetae, Amazons, Melandowns, Themoots. Yazygs, Issedons and Alans as synonyms of the former name Ases-Issy-Issedons. The famous "carriers" - the geniochs. To whom and what the carriers carried - you can guess. The interpretation of the Kuban (Wardanus) - "Shield-river". From whom is the shield and whose shield? In agorites one would like to see agrippaeans, and in melandries - descendants of melanchlens. The blue-haired agathirs disappeared along with the boudins and gelons, but Exapol appeared in Gelon's place. The royal Scythians (Basilei) disappeared, but a mass of Scythian tribes appeared, from the Tavro Scythians to the Scythoalans. Amazons in the place of the Scythians deposited. There are no arimaspsbut a secret and carefully guarded weapons center appeared in the Caucasus Mountains, which, however, often changes owners, defenders and rulers: Issedons, Scythians, Amazons, Alans, Huns …
The comparison of the Terek, Kuban and Don deltas, and possibly the Kura and Araks deltas will help to localize the place of Themiscira, the capital of the Amazons, and to find its settlement. Reconstruction of the coastline of the Caspian Sea using Ptolemy's maps will probably help in this.
An attempt to link Russian legends (fairy tales) to a modern map based on toponyms
Let me remind you that toponymy is the science of naming map objects. Let's make a link to the given region of selected Russian legends (fairy tales). In addition to the objects of the modern map, we will also use the information of the Ptolemy map for the Asian Sarmatia of the 2nd century. AD according to traditional chronology (according to TX). This map of Ptolemy was tied by me to the modern map in the same book "Ancient treasures and treasures of the Black Sea region". The linking of Russian legends to the modern map is carried out on the author's site "Forgotten Russian history" https://roksalan.narod.ru and in the author's book on local history "The gold of the Amazons, heroes and kings led to Plato's Atlantis." You can turn this book over in your hands on the author's website
Conclusion
So, the study of Ptolemy's maps that I promised has been completed. The maps of the ancient geographer are localized and linked to modern maps for the vast region between the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas and the Caucasus, which correspond to the European and Asian Sarmatia of Ptolemy. A method for converting Ptolemy maps with localization on modern maps has been developed and brought to practical use. Secondary application of the method showed its easy customization and binding to a specific region. In addition, the application of the method led to accompanying discoveries in paleogeography, history and ethnography, the significance of which can be appreciated by specialists in the relevant branches of science. The very fact that the application of the method contributed to the discovery of Platonic Atlantis in the Middle Caspian, speaks of the strengths of the method,about the possibility of its new applications in solving the mysteries of world history.
Author: V. Amelchenko
