The cartography of the region of Palestine, also known as cartography of the Holy Land and cartography of the Land of Israel, is the creation, editing, processing and printing of maps of the region of Palestine from ancient times until the rise of modern surveying techniques. For several centuries during the Middle Ages it was the most prominent subject in all of cartography, and it has been described as an "obsessive subject of map art".

The history of the mapping of Palestine is dominated by two cartographic traditions: the biblical school and the classical school. The earliest surviving maps of the biblical tradition derive from the attempts of the early Church Fathers to identify and illustrate the primary locations mentioned in the Bible, and to provide maps for Christian pilgrimage. The earliest surviving maps of the classical tradition derive from the scientific and historical works of the Greco-Roman world; the European rediscovery of Ptolemy's works in the 1400s ended the domination of the biblical tradition. Many Graeco-Roman geographers described the Palestine region in their writings; however, there are no surviving pre-modern originals or copies of these maps – illustrations today of maps according to geographers such as Hecataeus, Herodotus or Eratosthenes are modern reconstructions. The earliest surviving classical maps of the region are Byzantine versions of Ptolemy's 4th Asia map.Leo Bagrow, “The Origin of Ptolemy's Geographia.” Geografiska Annaler, vol. 27, 1945, pp. 318–387. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/520071; p.331, “Hecataeus of Milet… Herodotus… Dicaearchus of Messina… Crates of Mallos… Hipparchus… Posidonius of Apamea… Marinus of Thyre… All these maps before Ptolemy have, naturally, not come down to us.” Cartographic history of Palestine thus begins with Ptolemy, whose work was based on that of the local geographer Marinus of Tyre..

The first lists of maps of the region were made in the late 19th century, by Titus Tobler in his 1867 Geographical Bibliography of Palestine and subsequently by Reinhold Röhricht in his 1890 Geographical Library of Palestine. and In a series of articles in the Journal of the German Association for the Study of Palestine between 1891 and 1895, Röhricht presented the first detailed analysis of maps of the region in the middle- and the late Middle Ages.; ; and They were followed in 1939-40 by Hans Fischer's History of the Cartography of Palestine. and This article lists maps that progressed the cartography of region before the rise of modern surveying techniques, showing how mapmaking and surveying improved and helped outsiders to better understand the geography of the area. Imaginary maps and copies of existing maps are excluded.

Notable maps of Palestine Early maps (2nd–10th centuries) + Date Title Cartographer Comments Region name given Image 150 Ptolemy's 4th Asia map Ptolemy and Marinus of Tyre Considered the "prototype delineation" of the region, Ptolemy's map was based on a lost work by Marinus, born in neighboring Tyre. The earliest known copy, pictured here, is the Codex Vaticanus Urbinas Graecus 82, thought to be from a manuscript of Ptolemy's Geography assembled by Maximus Planudes in Constantinople c. 1300. The large red letters in the center say in or Palaistinis. 410 Notitia Dignitatum unknown Notitia Dignitatum of c. 410 AD showing Dux Palestinae, a military region of the Byzantine Empire. This 1436 manuscript by Peronet Lamy is the earliest known copy to survive complete; it was modelled after the lost "Codex Spirensis". Dux Palastinae 450 Tabula Peutingeriana unknown Thought to be the only surviving map of the Roman cursus publicus, the state-run road network; the surviving map was created by a monk in Colmar in eastern France in 1265, is named after German antiquarian Konrad Peutinger, and is conserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Palestina 560–565 Madaba Map unknown The earliest map of Palestine surviving in its original form, and the oldest known geographic floor mosaic in art history. The mosaic was discovered in 1884, but no research was carried out until 1896. It has been heavily used for the localisation and verification of sites in Byzantine Palaestina Prima. It is the earliest surviving map showing the divisions of the Twelve Tribes. Labels , oroi Aigyptou kai Palaistinis, the "border of Egypt and Palestine". 776 Beatus map The first medieval Christian world map of relevance to the cartography of Palestine. This copy from 1060 is thought to be the closest to the original out the 14 surviving manuscripts. no regional name shown 952 Istakhri map Istakhri Drawn in 952 AD, copy from 1298. no regional name shown 995 Cotton map unknown Known as the "Anglo-Saxon" world map. The earliest known map of the world (rather than just the region) showing the divisions of the Twelve Tribes. Thought to be based on the map of Orosius, which is no longer extant. no regional name shown

Crusader maps (12th–14th centuries)

+ Date Title Cartographer Comments Region name given Image 1154 Tabula Rogeriana The Tabula Rogeriana was created in 1154AD; copy from 1533. The middle of the right hand page label 1100s Ashburnham Libri map unknown Europe’s oldest surviving sheet map after the ninth-century Plan of Saint Gall. no regional name shown 1100s Tournai map of Asia anonymous monk of Saint Martin's, Tournai copy of a map of Asia which accompanied De situ et nominibus locorum Hebraeorum, a 4th-5th century work of Jerome. no regional name shown 1100s Tournai map of Palestine anonymous monk of Saint Martin's, Tournai The earliest known copy is from . The map comes from a manuscript of Jerome's De situ et nominibus locorum Hebraeorum, which Jerome states is a translation of Eusebius's Onomasticon. Jerome also explains that Eusebius composed a map which showed the divisions of the Twelve Tribes; no copy of this division has survived. no regional name shown 1250 Oxford Outremer map Created in c.1250, thought to be by Matthew Paris The Kishon River has the following text along it: 1300 Earliest Burchard map Burchard of Mount Sion Considered to be the oldest known Burchard map.Baumgärtner, Ingrid. "Burchard of Mount Sion and the Holy Land," Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 4, 1 (2013): 5-41. : "Burchard’s description, although little studied even today, is considered a key document that influenced the perception of Palestine in both text and image, in travel accounts and maps until far into the sixteenth century." no regional name shown 1300s Later Burchard map Burchard of Mount Sion A later map attributed to Burchard. no regional name shown 1321 Sanudo-Vesconte map Described by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country". Published in Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis, a work intended to rekindle the spirit of the crusades. Considered the "first 'modern map' of Palestine" and "served as the basis for most maps of 'Modern Palestine'" throughout the following centuries. Terra Sancta

Notable 15th–18th century maps + Date Title Cartographer Comments Region name given Image 1459 Fra Mauro map 1459 world map, considered the most accurate of its age. Fra Mauro had become familiar with the Near East in his travels as s soldier. Shows the region of "Palestina" 1475 Berlinghieri map Published in the Rudimentum Novitorium it was a version of Ptolemy's map, brought up to date. Together with three updated maps of European countries, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld described it as the "first germ of modern cartography" Named "Palestina Moderna et Terra Sancta" (Modern Palestine and the Holy Land) 1532 Ziegler map 1532 map by Jacob Ziegler The map is important to the development of the cartography of Palestine as it represents an early synthesis of multiple sources, including Burchard of Mount Sion, Sanuto, Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, the Antonine Itinerary, Jerome and Eusebius. "Universalis Palaestinae, continens superiores partuculares tabulas" 1537 Mercator map 1537 map by Gerardus Mercator, three decades before he published his famous Mercator projection. This map was Mercator's first published map, and was based on the map of Jacob Ziegler. The caption "Candido lectori s[alus]. Palestinam hanc..." translates as: "Fair reader, greeting! We have drawn this map of Palestine, and the Hebrews' route into it from Egypt through the stony regions of Arabia" 1570 Ortelius map 1570 map in Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Ortelius's depiction of a biblical Palestine in his otherwise contemporary atlas has been criticized; Matari described it as an act "loaded with theological, eschatological, and, ultimately, para-colonial Restorationism". Captioned "Palaestinae Sive Totius Terrae Promissionis Nova Descriptio" ("Palestine, the whole of the Promised Land, a new description") 1590 van Adrichem map van Adrichem was a Dutch priest; his maps were published in his Theatrum Terrae Sanctae et Biblicarum Historiarum. Terra Promissionis 1620 Zaddik map A translation into Hebrew of van Adrichem's 1590 map, it is the oldest known printed map in Hebrew. The first line of the framed colophon includes the description: 1648–1657 Celebi map This 1732 copy of the map by Ottoman geographer Kâtip Çelebi (1609–57) is from the first printed atlas in the Ottoman Empire, and represented the first detailed mapping of the Asian provinces of the empire. Shows the term ("Land of Palestine") extending vertically down the length of the Jordan River. 1651 De la Rue map From the 1651 six-map atlas La Terre sainte en six cartes géographiques. It was the first published historical atlas in world cartography, in systematically chronological order. The other five maps covered land of Canaan and the Exodus, the Promised Land, Solomon's kingdom, the land of the Jews at the time of Christ, and the Christian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Sourie and Terre Saincte. 1655 Heidmann map Published almost three decades after his death, this map accompanied his Palestina siue Terra Sancta Palestina and Terre Sanctae 1714 Reland map 1714 map Palaestinae 1745 Pococke map 1745 map Holy Land and Syria 1769 Bachiene and Maas map Bachiene and Maas 1769 map Palaestina 1794 d'Anville map Published 1794, almost thirty years after his 1767 map of Biblical Palestine. Palestina

Notable 19th century maps