Historic Map : Tardieu Map of The Roman Empire, 1874, Vintage Wall Art

This is a beautiful and uncommon 1874 map of the Roman Empire by Ambroise Tardieu. The map shows the extent of the Roman Empire at its height, and covers most of Europe, the Middle East, Persia and parts of North Africa including Britain, France, Egypt, the Barbary Coast, Spain, Italy and Macedonia. Throughout, the map identifies various cities, towns, rivers and assortment of additional topographical details.

The Roman Empire was established in 27 BC after Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the grandnephew and heir of Julius Caesar was awarded the honorific title of Augustus. During the time of the Empire, Roman cities flourished. Trade spread as far as India, Russia, China and Southeast Asia. However, the sheer size of the Empire and its success also contributed to its downfall. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in AD 476, when Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the German Odovacer. The Eastern Roman Empire, evolving into the Byzantine Empire, survived until the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453.

This map was prepared by Ambroise Tardieu and issued as plate no. 1 in his 1874 edition of Atlas Universel de Geographie Ancienne et Moderne.