World map of Cosmas. World map based on the 550 AD map by 6th-century traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes, the oldest known Christian map. A tabernacle-like case, with God at top, shows the Earth as a high mountain, round which the sun revolves (Sol Occidens: sunset; Sol Oriens: sunrise). Three ocean gulfs are labelled: the Persian Gulf (Persicus), the Red Sea (Arabicus) and the Mediterranean Sea (Sinus Romanus). The Caspian Sea (Caspius) is on the side of the mountain. German geographer Johann Georg Kohl republished this copy from 'Voyageurs anciens et modernes' (1854-1857) by French author Edouard Charton.