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An impressive separate-issue map of India, Persia, and Arabia by F A Schrambl from 1786. Drawing inspiration from the most reputable cartographic materials of its time, it was engraved for Schrambl's Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, one of the initial Austrian world atlases. The present map is a distinct concern that most likely existed prior to the atlas's publication in 1800.

The coverage area spans from the Black Sea to the Maldives,... An impressive separate-issue map of India, Persia, and Arabia by F A Schrambl from 1786. Drawing inspiration from the most reputable cartographic materials of its time, it was engraved for Schrambl's Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, one of the initial Austrian world atlases. The present map is a distinct concern that most likely existed prior to the atlas's publication in 1800.

The coverage area spans from the Black Sea to the Maldives, with an eastern India and Tibet concentration. It is centered in Persia. This map was inspired by the cartography of the influential J B B d'Anville, who in 1751 published a comparable atlas. By selecting this map as his primary source, Schrambl opted for the most accurate cartography currently available. The map provides comprehensive imagery of the central Asian segments of the Silk Road, including prominent locations such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Lop Nor, and more.

The northern sheet, including Turkey, Arabia, and the majority of the modern-day Middle East, were under the waning dominance of the Ottoman Empire at the time this map was published. In Arabia, the First Sau had already been established in 1744 and, though owing nominal allegiance toIstanbul, dominated the central Arabian Peninsula. Presumably more valuable river valleys and littoral regions of Mesopotamia (Iraq) remained directly subjugated by the Ottoman Empire.

The southern sheet starts at the Red Sea, with much detail of the southern Arabian Peninsula, and across to the Indian Peninsula, from north of Gujarat across to the Ganges Delta, including Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the Laccadive and Maldive Islands. The blank region of southern Odisha is labeled, “Unbekannte Land” (Unknown land).

At the lower center of the map is an ornate title cartouche that illustrates the world's religions featuring stylized Christian, Muslim Zoroastrian, and Buddhist motifs. A seated woman is depicted at the apex, grasping a book containing seven seals in her left hand and a cross in her right. A flame of the holy spirit emanates from the top of her head, while a harp lies at her feet. She leans towards the Ark of the Covenant, which holds the crown of the high priest of the Jerusalem Temple against which rest the tablets of the Ten Commandments. She has a censor to her right. On the left side of the cartouche is a man in a turban at a fire altar worshipping with a book open to a picture of the sun. On the right of the cartouche is a woman holding a censor worshipping an idol resembling a Buddha.

During this period, Persia was undergoing the final years of the brief Zand Dynasty, whose capital was Isfahan, which is identified here. Aga Muhammad Khan deposed the final Shah of Zand, Loft Ali Khan, in 1794 and subsequently shifted the capital to the newly founded city of Tehran. The Qajar Dynasty, which followed, was marked by perpetual military confrontations with Imperial Russia and the territorial loss of a significant portion of Persia.

In the interim, the British East India Company came to dominate India, establishing its authority over the majority of the subcontinent from a few coastal outposts; only the Sultanate of Mysore, ruled by Tipu Sultan, remained independent. The Treaty of Mangalore, which brought an end to the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-1784), was negotiated by Tipu Sultan in 1784, two years prior to the publication of this map. Although Tipu Sultan was granted a brief reprieve, the treaty was regarded as a triumph for Mysore. However, after that, the Third and Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars ensued, culminating in the British East India Company's conquest of India in 1799 and the defeat of Tipu Sultan.

This map was compiled by Schrambl in 1786 in preparation for his monumental Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas. Despite the engraving of most of the constituent maps in 1786, the atlas did not reach publication until 1800. As is the case here, many of the maps were issued separately prior to that period. The Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas was prohibitively expensive and difficult to sell, which led to a limited print run and significant scarcity. The OCLC lists ten institutional collections that contain discrete maps; only three of these collections contain the complete atlas: the Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin, the Institut Fuer Laender Bunde, and the Universiteit Leiden.

"Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (born in Paris 11 July 1697 - 28 January 1782) was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic materials, the largest collection in France. He made more than 200 maps during his lifetime, which are characterized by a careful, accurate work largely based on original research. In particular, D'Anville left unknown areas of continents blank and noted doubtful information as such, contrary to the lavish maps of his predecessors. His maps remained the reference point in cartography throughout the 19th century and were used by numerous explorers and travellers." (Source: Wikipedia)

Franz Anton Schrambl (Schraembl; 1751–December 13, 1803) was a cartographer based in Vienna during the 18th century's latter half. Schrambl was born in Vienna. He shortly after becoming director of the normal school in Troppau resigned in order to establish a bookstore in Vienna. He co-founded a publishing house in 1787 with fellow Austrian Franz Johann Joseph von Reilly (1766-1820). The year in which he began his magnum opus, the Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, was the same. The comprehensive large format atlas was intended to be constructed using exclusively the most recent cartographic data accessible, including that of explorers Charles Roberts (1739-1825), James Cook (1728-1779), and J B B D'Anville (1697-1782), among others. Published in 1800, the atlas was the inaugural Austrian commercial world atlas. The piece encountered limited circulation, potentially attributable to its exorbitant price. Schrambl recovered from the verge of insolvency brought about by the lackluster sales by diversifying his portfolio to include art and literary works. Following the demise of Franz Anton in 1803, the firm was placed under the control of Johanna, his widow, and her brother, the engraver Karl Robert Schindelmayer (1769-1839). His son Eduard Schrambl assumed control in 1825.

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