Virtual Exhibition Opening: Mapping the Islamic World: The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires
Join us for the online live opening of Mapping the Islamic World: The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires, the David Rumsey Map Center's newest virtual exhibition. Guest curator Alexandria Brown-Hejazi, Stanford PhD candidate, will discuss the maps and cartographic studies of Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India. Our thanks to the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies for their co-sponsorship which made this exhibition possible.
The exhibition opening will take place Friday, March 26, 2021 on Zoom and follows the schedule below:
2:45pm PDT: Zoom opens
3:00pm PDT: Talk by Alexandria Brown-Hejazi, followed by Q&A
Please register using the RSVP form.
As part of the opening, we have created an exclusive keepsake for the first 300 who register and attend the opening. In order for us to send it to you, please enter your mailing address when registering.
About the exhibition: The early modern world witnessed enormous changes in long-distance travel. Merchants, diplomats, and explorers from all regions of the world traversed new routes on land and sea, forging new global networks between European and Islamic worlds. This exhibition will examine the maps and cartographic studies of Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India. The Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals vied for control over the early modern Islamicate world. Known as the “gunpowder empires” for their successful use of firearm technology, these three powers constantly shifted between enemies and to allies, but always remained rivals. This exhibition examines a series of cross-cultural artistic exchanges from maps that are not usually represented in early modern cartographic studies. The very content of the show challenges the notion of Europe as the epicenter of the Renaissance World. As such, the exhibition encourages viewers to question the historiography of Renaissance cartography. Four main themes steer the exhibition: revival of classical history and geography; anthropological study; trading companies and navigation; and finally, diplomatic encounter and exchange.