“Hamatarats Ashkharhatsuyts”: the first printed world map in Armenian

The first printed map of the world in the Armenian language, “Hamatarats Ashkharhatsuyts”, was published in Amsterdam in 1695 at the printing house headed by Tovmas Vanandetsi. In the second half of the 17th century Armenian printing was developing rapidly in Europe.

The title is written in large letters across the top. In the centre the world is shown as two hemispheres; above them are two celestial charts and below two small polar maps, while the edges are decorated with scenes of clouds, human figures and nature.