The Caspian Sea

At present, although it may border just five sovereign states, the Caspian Sea still holds the position of being the largest inland sea on earth. This C-shaped water body has been a crossroad of several important Central Asian civilisations, Islamic and non-Islamic alike. But the cartography of the Caspian Sea has an interesting history. What shape we see today, wasn't the same marked on vintage maps. This post shall discuss the changing cartography of the Caspian Sea. 

Looking back at the 17th century and the times preceding that era, the Caspian Sea was sketched more like a rectangular box of water with empires and countries bordering it, particularly the various Khanates from the Mongol era. Alternatively, the water-body is also called Mar de Sala or Hircanum. It would once border the Iranian provinces of Mogan (Mugan plain), Guilan (Gilan), Tabristan (Tabaristan or Mazandaran), Astrabat (Astarabad or Asterabad / Gorgan) and Jorjan (also referring to Gorgan) in the south. Two other water bodies are to be seen marked on the coast of Iran on vintage maps - the Gulf of Sinsilen (near Gilan) and the Gulf of Astrabat. However, with time, these two markings have faded out. 

The western coast of the Caspian Sea is shaped by the Russian and the Azerbaijanian coasts. On historic maps, much before the proper formation of the Russian Empire (1721-1917), territories such as Chirvan (Shirvan, in Azerbaijan) and Daguestan (Republic of Dagestan, Russia) would occupy these areas. The eastern border is mostly denoted as a part of the greater territory of Tartaria, a name used to denote most of the Central Asian kingdoms by the European map-makers. Before the proper formation of Turkmenistan, the region was denoted as simply Turcmens, denoting the territory of the Turkmens. But the most important kingdom to exist on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea was the Khanate of Khiva (1511-1920). A Khanate that stretched its existence throughout the post-medieval era up to the 20th century, the Khiva Khanate (Khiva Khanligi) covers portions of today's Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and parts of Iran and Afghanistan. Today, Khiva is a border city between Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan (belonging to Uzbekistan) and one of the alternate names of the Aral Sea, Khwarezm (or Carezem), derives its name from this place. 

Talking about the Khanate, there exists another water-body, part of the Caspian Sea but surrounded totally by today's Turkmenistan. The Garabogazköl Aylagy is a lagoon of the sea opened through a narrow inlet into the main water body. The name of the settlement situated at the tip of the lagoon, Karabogazhel, is found to be mentioned as Carabougas on vintage European maps. Although Khiva is in Uzbekistan and the Turkmen province surrounding the entire lagoon is called Balkan welayat, on older maps, one could find this region denoted as Ghiwie or Khiva. An interesting feature that is to be noted here, is the use of the word 'Balkan' both in the present and past times. As we know that the following includes the Balkan nations: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania and parts of Romania and Turkey (the provinces of Edirne, Tekirdag, Kırkareli and Istanbul). It has no linkage to the Caspian Sea, yet the province around the Garabogazköl Aylagy is called the Balkan Welayat. The city of Balkanabat (in Turkmenistan) serves its capital and was formerly known as Nebit-Dag, while the water body opening towards its west into the Caspian Sea is marked as 'Balkan Gulf' on vintage maps. Today, this is known as Türkmenbaşy Gulf or Türkmenbaşy Bay, forming another inland water-body of the Caspian Sea. 

Moving towards north to the Kazakh area where the northern portion of the Caspian Sea, known as the Ural Furrow, that borders Kazakhstan and Russian divisions such as the Astrakhan Oblast, the Republic of Dagestan and the Republic of Kalmykia. The water inlet entering the Kazakh province of Atyrau is mentioned as the Gulf of Yemba, denoting the Emba River of today's Kazakhstan that drains into the Caspian Sea. Dagestan is in itself an important historical region that has been mentioned as Daguestan on older maps. The port of Astrakhan is mentioned on 17th-century maps as Astraca, and holds importance for being a trade hub where ethnicities such as the Persians, the Armenians, the Bukharians as well as Indians had their markets lined up in the 17th-century. Astrakhan is also located at the Mouths of the Volga, which has been well-marked even on the square-shaped Caspian Sea maps of the pre-17th century era. The mouth is marked as a cluster of islands stacked up opening the river into the Caspian Sea with Astrakhan residing at its shore. 

Looking back at the 17th century, certain settlements that were marked on vintage maps back then find similarities in today's times. One of the several cartographers of that era, Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612), sketched the Caspian Sea as a rectangular box with Armenia to its west and Sagatai (referring to the Chagatai Khanate) and Ocrage to its east. Certain settlements on the map can be related to today's era, such as Derbent, Bachu (Baku, in Azerbaijan), Rast (Rasht, in Iran), Chilan (Gilan, in Iran), Xamai (Kachmaz, in Azerbaijan), Girgian (Gorgian / Esterabad, in Iran), Buccara (Bukhara, in Uzbekistan) and Astraca (Astrakhan, in Russia). The quadrilateral shape of the water-body on maps slowly disappeared entering the next century and 18th-century maps would have a proper C-shaped Caspian Sea. A cluster of islands (belonging to Russia) can be spotted on these maps near the Mouths of Volga River. 

Below here is a recreated version of a 1607 dated map of the Caspian Sea (or Mare Hircanum) originally created by Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612).