Pontus Euxinus…

Title

Pontus Euxinus…

Description

Map shows Ukraine with Crimea and its neighboring countries with a magnificent title cartouche.

ca. 1630

Artist

Kaerius/ Ortelius (1570-1630)

Pieter van den Keere, or Petrus Kaerius (1570-1630). He was born in Ghent, and in 1584 moved with his family for religious reasons to London. From his time in England there is a map of Ireland from 1592, Hyberniae novissima descriptio. It was published by Hondius and served as a model for later editions of the Theatrum of Abraham Ortelius. Keere also contributed to John Norden's Speculum Britanniae of 1593. He also worked with Petrus Bertius, Cornelis Claesz, Petrus Plancius, the House of Visscher, and Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer. In 1595, there appeared a large wall map of Europe in 10 sheets, Nova totius Europae descriptio. From 1603, Keere began creating large urban panoramas, including Utrecht, Cologne, Amsterdam, and Paris. Around 1604, he was preparing the publication of the atlas Germania Inferior id est Provincuarum XVII. This first appeared in 1617, with a foreword by Petrus Montanus.

Historical Description

Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites, which include a mammoth bone dwelling. The territory is also considered to be the likely location for the human domestication of the horse. In the mid-14th century, upon the death of Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia, king Casimir III of Poland initiated campaigns (1340–1366) to take Galicia-Volhynia. Meanwhile, the heartland of Rus', including Kiev, became the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by Gediminas and his successors, after the Battle on the Irpen' River. In 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Petro Doroshenko led the largest of the Cossack uprisings against the Commonwealth and the Polish king John II Casimir. After Khmelnytsky made an entry into Kiev in 1648, where he was hailed liberator of the people from Polish captivity, he founded the Cossack Hetmanate which existed until 1764. In 1657–1686 came "The Ruin", a devastating 30-year war amongst Russia, Poland, Turks and Cossacks for control of Ukraine. In 1709, Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709) defected to Sweden against Russia in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). Lithuanians and Poles controlled vast estates in Ukraine, and were a law unto themselves. After the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire in 1783, New Russia was settled by Ukrainians and Russians.