1657 Jan Jansson View of Jerusalem with Nazareth and Ramallah

This rare 1657 engraving compiles Jan Jansson's views of Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Ramallah - which, as the title suggests, is 'the oldest town in Palestine'.

A Closer Look

The panoramic views of the three cities are presented with mountains in the background, while in the foreground men and women are depicted in Ottoman garb. These elements, along with the absence of Biblical scenes, emphasize that Jansson's work intended to represent these locales not as they stood in the Biblical era, but the modern, Ottoman era. While there are some churches depicted - for the most part sporting the crosses of the Eastern church - most of the religious structures are topped with Muslim crescents, most notably the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This is reflected also in the toponymy of the views. Typically, for example, Jerusalem will be named in one iteration or another of its Latin form: Hierosolyma, for example, or as here, Iherusalem. The present view also includes an Arabic term, however: Cusembareich, a Latin transliteration of al-Quds al-Mubaraq. Al-Quds, literally 'The Holy,' is the Arabic term for Jerusalem and thus the appellation translates to 'Blessed Jerusalem.' The Arabic place name - and indeed, the general outline of the view itself - is derived from the woodcut appearing in Bernhard von Breydenbach's 1486 Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam, the account of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Theatrum Urbium Celebriorum

This engraving appeared only in Jansson's Theatrum Urbium Celebriorum, the only Dutch atlas to attempt a complete or near complete visual catalog of the cities and towns of Europe and the explored world. This sheet was included in the work's final volume, consisting of views of American, Asian, and African cities. In both its scope and aesthetics, it surpassed Braun and Hogenberg's Cologne-published Civitatis Orbis Terrarum and Jansson's work far outstripped his competitor Joan Blaeu's city books. The Theatrum Urbium Celebriorum would represent the peak of Jansson's atlas production.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved for inclusion in Jan Jansson's 1657 Theatrum Urbium Celebriorum, which appeared in a single edition. This engraving is rare. We see only seven separate examples listed in OCLC, and only six examples of the entire Theatrum.