A large, detailed map of the Roman Empire at its height, centered on the Mediterranean Sea. The title is at the top center in an ornate cartouche. Two portrait medallions of Romulus and Julius Caesar flank the top. Insets at the bottom contain historical summaries and a chronological chart of Roman kings. Major geographical regions are labeled throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Near East.

IMAGE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

Top-left medallion: A circular ornate frame containing a profile portrait of Romulus, bearded and wearing a helmet, facing right. Text encircling the portrait: "The founder of the Roman name and Empire. Romulus."

Top-right medallion: A circular ornate frame containing a profile portrait of C. Julius Caesar, clean-shaven and wearing a laurel wreath, facing left. Text encircling the portrait: "The amplifier of the Roman name and Empire. C. Julius Caesar."

A brief enumeration of the origin, growth, and zenith of the Roman Empire.

At first, under the seven kings, Romulus, Servius, and others, over two hundred and forty-three years, it acquired territory no further than the port referring to the immediate vicinity of Rome. Hence, it advanced its jurisdiction over all of Italy. Especially after the Roman state was governed under the Consuls—among whom there were sometimes Dictators, Decemvirs, and Military Tribunes—for four hundred and forty-seven years, it reached the point where, after it had brought Italy under its sway, it held Spain, Gaul, Britain, the tract of the Gulf of Gaul Gulf of Lion, Illyria, Macedonia, Epirus, and Achaia by treaty. It reached the Italian peninsula—that is, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica—as well as Mysia and Thrace, or up to the Hellespont and the Danube, having brought them under the yoke. Then, under the Caesars, it brought Africa into submission. Later, the kingdom of Pontus was captured, along with Lesser Armenia, Syria, and other distant regions in Mesopotamia and Assyria, or those lands between the rivers. Finally, it fought against the Cardam likely referring to the Carduchi or Kurds and the Saracens and various tribes. All the Gauls were defeated. Glory and Syria came into its power, and so at last it arrived at the rule of Kings. Under the seven better-known emperors, from Diocletian to the times of the sons of Honorius and Arcadius, over four hundred and forty years, the empire was expanded through marriages, the Antonines, and the dispatching of power to the Spanish regions after the great wars. The Maritime Alps, Sicily, the Hercynian forest, the Helvetian lands, Gaul, and Moesia were added. The entire bank of the Danube was reduced to provinces. All of Pontus, Lesser Armenia, Cilicia, Epirus, Arabia, and Egypt conceded to the rights of the Roman people. And in this way, these princely men, if you can grasp their virtue and immortal glory, brought the empire to its highest peak. It was bounded by the Western Ocean, by the Rhine and Danube in the North, by the Tigris in the East, and by the Atlas Mountains in the South, all of which I have set before your eyes in this map, clear spectator.

Bottom center: A large, red and blue ornate cartouche containing a quote from St. Jerome.

We have added this passage from Blessed Jerome to this map: "The Roman Empire," he says, "destroyed all other kingdoms and became insuperable, holding everything. In it are the fields, places, and borders of individuals; in it are the locations of the seas, the cities, and the rural lands. All the earth belongs to the sons of Adam. This can be achieved by a dual instrument, the lines of which we have taught, and for which we adopt this individual use."

Bottom right: A chronological chart of the Kings of Rome. Circles containing names are interconnected to show descent and succession. To the right of the chart is a small illustration of the Capitoline Wolf nursing Romulus and Remus.

The chart traces the Roman Kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus. It concludes with the transition to the Republic under L. Junius Brutus.

Map Labels (Selected):

• Cardinal Directions: North, East, South, West.
• Seas: British Ocean, German Ocean, Cantabrian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea, Arabian Gulf.
• Regions: Ireland, Britain, Spain, Gaul, Germany, Italy, Greece, Thrace, Dacia, Asia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Africa Minor, Numidia, Mauritania.