Johann Matthäus Haas’s Imperium Arabicum, Sarcenicum, Muhammedicum Primarium (1746) presents a sweeping portrait of the early Islamic world at its zenith, charting the 8th‑century arc of expansion from the borders of China and Central Asia to North Africa, Sicily, and the Iberian Peninsula. Political territories are deftly distinguished by washes with boundaries heightened in red and green, while an ornate 18th‑century cartouche frames the composition with period elegance. The map balances aesthetic refinement with rigorous detail, plotting primary cities from Mecca and Medina to Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Baghdad, and beyond. It is a compelling synthesis of historical geography and Enlightenment scholarship, revealing how a single polity came to span continents and seas within little more than a century.

Historically, the map is riveting for how it narrates momentum: the Rashidun and Umayyad conquests that dissolved the Sassanid Empire and wrenched key provinces from Byzantium. The Levantine and Egyptian crucibles—Damascus, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Cairo—register as pivotal nodes in this civilizational shift, while the spread across the Maghreb to Fez, Tunis, Marrakech, and Tripoli foreshadows the leap into Europe at Seville, Toledo, and Córdoba. Haas’s title signals a vision of unity “before the quadripartite division,” evoking the brief but transformative moment before the caliphate’s later fragmentation. The result is a political tableau where frontiers read as living lines—outcomes of campaigns, diplomacy, and religious affiliation rather than static borders.

Equally striking is the cartographic attention to the empire’s connective tissue: trade corridors and routes of conquest thread through mountain chains, deserts, and major rivers—the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates—linking ports and caravan cities. The map’s bilingual texture, with toponyms appearing in Latin alongside Arabic forms, underscores the era’s socio‑cultural unification informed by the Quran’s legal and moral order. Centers of governance and learning—Kufa, Basra, Baghdad, Samarkand, and Bukhara—sit in dialogue with Mediterranean entrepôts such as Alexandria and Tunis, while sacred Mecca and Medina anchor the spiritual geography. The composition invites the viewer to read not just territory, but circulation: of ideas, scholars, merchants, and armies.

Haas’s 18th‑century sensibility infuses the work with both clarity and ceremony. Color cues cleanly partition dominions, while finely etched rivers, coastlines, and mountain ranges heighten navigational intelligibility. The inclusion of multiple scales—German miles and Arabic miles—signals a sophisticated, comparative approach to distance, bridging European and Islamic measures to aid cross‑cultural understanding. Deliberate marks trace the arcs of advance and key passes, creating a didactic chronicle of expansion that is as instructive as it is beautiful. The ornate cartouche, emblematic of the period’s artistry, anchors the scholarly narrative with visual flourish.

For the collector and historian alike, this map is an indispensable lens onto the political and cultural dynamics of the early Islamic world. It captures the architecture of power across three continents, the reconfiguration of late antique empires, and the emergence of new urban constellations from Córdoba and Seville to Baghdad and Samarkand. By uniting sacred heartlands with frontier provinces, it renders a coherent image of governance, law, commerce, and faith at imperial scale. Imperium Arabicum rewards close study, revealing fresh connections with each viewing and standing as a testament to the reach—and cohesion—of an extraordinary civilization.

Places on this map

• Mecca
• Medina
• Damascus
• Baghdad
• Cairo
• Jerusalem
• Antioch
• Alexandria
• Tripoli
• Seville
• Toledo
• Cordoba
• Tabriz
• Samarkand
• Basra
• Fez
• Tunis
• Marrakech
• Bukhara
• Kufa

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Sassanid Empire territories
• Borders of the Byzantine Empire
• Primary cities and towns, possibly labeled with Arabic and Latin names
• Major rivers and geographic features
• Trade routes and significant paths of conquests marked
• Scale for distance in various units (German miles, Arabic miles, etc.)
• Political boundaries highlighted in red and green

Historical and design context

• Map Title: Imperium Arabicum, Sarcenicum, Muhammedicum Primarium pros statu ante divisionem quadripartitam.
• Map Maker: Johann Matthaus Haas
• Year of Production: 1746
• Represents the Muslim/Arab Empire in the 8th century
• Illustrates early Muslim conquests and the territorial expanse of the Arabic Empire
• Details the significant growth of the Islamic Caliphate from the 7th century onwards under the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates
• Highlights the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and parts of the Byzantine Empire due to ongoing conflicts
• Key themes: political geography of the Arab Empire at its peak; socio-cultural unification across vast territories influenced by the Quran
• Regions depicted: borders of China, Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe (notably Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula)
• Design elements: ornate 18th-century cartouche; use of color to demarcate areas and significant landmarks
• Historical significance: essential for understanding the political and cultural dynamics and vast reach of early Islamic governance

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

This map is wider than most maps, which would make it a perfect statement piece above a mantelpiece, sofa or desk.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.