Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 17191

Klaudios Ptolemaios, Handbuch der Geographie

Claudius Ptolemy, Handbook of Geography–Greek – German; introduction, text and translation, index
Edited Book
Stückelberger, A., Gerd, G. and Ptolemy, C., editor (2006) Klaudios Ptolemaios, Handbuch der Geographie. [Claudius Ptolemy, Handbook of Geography–Greek – German; introduction, text and translation, index]. Basel, Schwabe, 2 Vols.; Vol. 1: Introduction and Books 1–4; Vol. 2: Books 5–8 and indices, 2020 pp..
Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB  |  Language: in German and Greek  |  RWHL
gems, ancient lapidaries, diamond, coral, pearl, Greek lapidary, history of mineralogy, history of gemology
The Handbook of Geography by Claudius Ptolemy, written shortly after 150 AD in Alexandria, is one of the most significant scientific works of ancient literature. Comprising eight books, it compiles the entire geographical knowledge of antiquity and remains unmatched up to the threshold of the modern era, thanks to its innovative projection methods, approximately 8,000 place names—mostly given with coordinates—and its colorful map atlas. Not fully edited since the 1843/45 edition by C.F.A. Nobbe, the work is now being made widely accessible again in a thoroughly revised bilingual edition. This new edition includes a newly edited Greek text with over 1,000 changes compared to Nobbe’s version, for the first time fully incorporating the Istanbul map manuscript (Cod. Seragliensis GI 57); the first complete German translation with explanatory notes and numerous localizations; redrawn versions of the three world maps and twenty-six regional maps according to Ptolemy’s specifications; a comprehensive index of places, people, and subjects; and a CD-ROM database that enables analysis of Ptolemy’s place names from various perspectives.