Representation of Georgia in Vakhushti Bagrationi’s Atlas of World Geography (1752)

In 1752 Prince Vakhushti Bagrationi translated from the Russian the Short Political Geography by Ch. N. von Winsheim, and supplied it with 27 color manuscript maps. The maps were translated from the Atlas published by H. N. von Winsheim in 1737. Of special interest are six maps (Europe, Asia, Asiatic Provinces of Turkey, Kingdom of Persia, Balkh and Bukhara -1, Kingdom of Persia, Balkh and Bukhara-2, Russian Empire. Part 1) with the image of Georgia and the Caucasus. Thorough comparison of the translated and original maps demonstrates the following: (1) the images of Georgia and the Caucasus are more informative on the translated maps than on the original ones; (2) Prince Vakhushti made correction of the Persian-Ottoman border in the section of the Caucasus and Azer-baijan, and of the southern border of the Russian Empire in the section of North Caucasus (Azov); (3) Those corrections enabled Prince Vakhushti to show more precisely Georgia’s location on the world map, its position to Asia and Europe, and relationships with the Ottomans, Persia and Russia; (4) On the translated maps Prince Vakhushti, based on his historico-geographical concepts, drew Georgia as a united kingdom within its historical borders; (5) the differences between the translated and original maps revealed Prince Vakhushti’s political and cultural credo; (6) drawings of Georgia and the Caucasus in the Atlas of World Geography should be regarded as original works of Prince Vakhushti.