{{Short description|Phantom peninsula in southeast Asia}} The '''Dragon's Tail''' is a name for the [[Indochinese Peninsula]] in [[Southeast Asia]] which appeared in [[medieval Arabian cartography|medieval Arabian]] and [[Renaissance cartographers|Renaissance European]] world maps. It formed the eastern shore of the [[Magnus Sinus|Great Gulf]] ([[Gulf of Thailand]]) [[east]] of the [[Golden Chersonese]] ([[Malay Peninsula]]), replacing the "[[terra incognita|unknown lands]]" which [[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]] and others had thought surrounded the "[[Indian Ocean|Indian Sea]]".
==Name== <!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[File:Al-Khwarizmi's map.png|thumb|right|[[Hubert Dauntich|Dauntich]]'s reconstruction of the [[Indian Ocean]] area of [[al-Khwārizmī]]'s {{circa|lk=no|833}} [[Book of the Description of the Earth|world map]]]] --> The peninsula known to modern [[Cartography|cartographers]] as the "Dragon's Tail" or "'''Tiger's Tail'''"{{sfnp|Siebold|2011}} appeared under various names on different maps.
==History== [[File:World map by Al-Khwarizmi.svg|thumb|[[Hubert Daunicht]]'s reconstruction of the section of al-Khwārizmī's world map concerning the [[Indian Ocean]]. The Dragon's Tail, or the eastern opening of the Indian Ocean, which does not exist in Ptolemy's description, is traced in very little detail on the far right side of al-Khwārizmī's map.]]
=== Early history === The [[peninsula]] does not appear in any surviving [[manuscript]] of [[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Ptolemy's Geography|Geography]]'' or other [[Greek geographers]]. Instead, it is first attested in the Ptolemaic-influenced ''[[Book of the Description of the Earth]]'' compiled by [[al-Khwārizmī]] around 833 AD. Ptolemy's map ended at 180°E of the [[Fortunate Isles]] without being able to explain what might lie on the imagined eastern shore of the [[Indian Ocean]] or beyond the lands of the [[Sinae]] and of [[Serica]] in [[Asia]]. [[Chinese Muslims]] traditionally credit the [[Companions of the Prophet|Companion]] [[Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas]] with having missionized the [[country]] as early as the [[7th century]]; the trading community was large enough that a [[Yangzhou massacre (760)|large-scale massacre]] is recorded at [[Yangzhou]] in 760.<ref>{{cite book | title = The earliest Muslim communities in China | surname = Wan | given = Lei | location = Riyadh | publisher = King Faisal Center for research and Islamic Studies | year = 2017 | series = Qiraat | volume = 8 | isbn = 978-603-8206-39-3 | url = https://www.kfcris.com/en/view/post/155 | page = 11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | surname = Qi | given = Dongfang | chapter = Gold and Silver Wares on the Belitung Shipwreck | pages = 221–227 | chapter-url = https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17Qi.pdf | title = Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds | editor1-given = Regina | editor1-surname = Krahl | editor2-given = John | editor2-surname = Guy | editor3-given = J. Keith | editor3-surname = Wilson | editor4-given = Julian | editor4-surname = Raby | publisher = Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution | location = Washington, DC | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-1-58834-305-5 | url = https://asia.si.edu/research/exhibition-catalogues/shipwrecked-catalog/ | access-date = 2021-03-05 | archive-date = 2021-05-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210504233858/https://asia.si.edu/research/exhibition-catalogues/shipwrecked-catalog/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> Merchants such as [[Soleiman the Merchant|Soleiman]] showed Al-Khwārizmī that the Indian Ocean was not closed as [[Hipparchus]] and Ptolemy had held but opened either [[Strait of Malacca|narrowly]] or [[Sunda Strait|broadly]]. Al-Khwārizmī left most of Ptolemy's eastern coast but the creation of the strait created a new peninsula, beyond which he placed the [[Sea of Darkness]] and the [[Island of the Jewel]].{{sfnp|al-Khwārizmī|c. 833}}{{sfnp|Rapoport|Savage-Smith|2008|pp=133–134}}
=== Age of Discovery === [[File:Martellus-Yale.jpg|thumb|right|The {{circa|lk=no|1490}} [[Henricus Martellus Germanus|Martellus]] world map held by [[Yale University]], the first Ptolemaic map in Europe to include the Dragon's Tail rather than leave the Indian Ocean landlocked]] [[File:RavensteinBehaim.jpg|thumb|[[Martin of Bohemia]]'s [[Erdapfel]]]] [[Bartholomew Dias]] passed the [[Cape of Good Hope]] during a major storm in [[1488]]; within a year or two, [[Henricus Martellus Germanus|Martellus]] had published a world map showing the communication of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, creating an unconnected south point of Africa and transforming the eastern end of Ptolemy's shoreline into a great peninsula, similar to that described by Al-Khwārizmī.{{sfnp|Suárez|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wQTQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 94]}} The area was detailed with locations from [[Marco Polo]] and other travelers, including positions formerly related to Ptolemy's [[Golden Chersonese]].{{sfnp|Suárez|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wQTQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 94]}} A similar peninsula then appeared on the [[Erdapfel]] globe drafted by [[Martin of Bohemia]] in 1492, just prior to [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]'s return. In the mid-16th century, [[António Galvão]] mentioned a map that had been purchased in 1428 by [[Peter, Duke of Coimbra|Dom Pedro]], eldest son of [[John I of Portugal|John I]], which described the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and included "the [[Strait of Magellan]]" under the name "Dragon's Tail" ({{langx|pt|Cola do dragam}}).{{sfnp|Galvão|1563|p=18}}{{sfnp|Hakluyt|1862|p=66}} Some [[South America]]n scholars have taken this at face value as evidence of early and thorough exploration of the [[Americas]], but their claims have not been substantiated.{{sfnp|Richardson|2003}}{{sfnp|Lester|2009|p=230}}
[[File:Cantino planisphere (1502).jpg|thumb|The 1502 [[Cantino planisphere]], showing the Dragon's Tail united with the [[Golden Chersonese]].]] [[File:PietroCoppo.jpg|thumb|[[Pietro Coppo]]'s map (1520) is one of the last ones to show the Dragon's Tail.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istrianet.org/istria/illustri/coppo/index.htm |title=Prominent Istrians: Pietro Coppo |work=Istria on the Internet |publisher=Istrian American Charities Association, Inc.}}</ref>]] [[Christopher Columbus]]—at least initially—believed in the existence of the peninsula, whose position and attendant islands considerably shortened the expected distance from the [[Africa]]n coast to [[East Asia]].{{sfnp|Richardson|2011|p=103}} He may have been guided directly by Martellus's maps.{{sfnp|Miller|2014}} Columbus considered himself to have arrived at [[Champa]], which figured prominently in three inscriptions on Martellus's [[1491]] map, and cartographers began to draw discoveries in [[Central America]] on the eastern shore of the phantom peninsula.{{sfnp|Richardson|2011|p=103}} [[Amerigo Vespucci]] also considered himself to have arrived at this peninsula rather than a [[New World|new world]].{{sfnp|Lester|2009|p=316}}
Another form of this peninsula appeared in the 1502 [[Cantino planisphere]] smuggled out of [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]] for the [[Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara|Duke of Ferrara]].{{sfnp|Suárez|1999|p=94–95}} The map has lost the [[Magnus Sinus|Great Gulf]] and the peninsula continues to be too large, but it has merged with the Golden Chersonese as a single landform and bent more towards the east, apparently influenced by Arabic sources.{{sfnp|Suárez|1999|p=95}}
The [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] were aware of the peninsula's likely nonexistence by shortly after the [[Capture of Malacca (1511)|fall of Malacca]], when [[Afonso de Albuquerque|Albuquerque]] acquired a large [[Javanese language|Javanese]] map of Southeast Asia.{{sfnp|Sollewijn Gelpke|1995|p=77}} The original was lost aboard the ''[[Froll de la Mar]]'' shortly afterwards{{sfnp|Sollewijn Gelpke|1995|p=80}} but a tracing by [[Francisco Rodrigues (cartographer)|Francisco Rodrigues]] was sent in its place as part of a letter to the king.{{refn|group=note|Albuquerque emphasized the particular trustworthiness of the information: "I discussed the reliability of this map with the pilot and Pero d'Alpoem so that they might fully inform Your Highness; you may take this ''pedaço de padram'' ["piece of map"] at face value and as being based on sound information, as it shows the genuine routes [the locals] follow on the way out and back."{{sfnp|Sollewijn Gelpke|1995|p=80}}}} Nonetheless, published maps continued to include it in different forms for another century.
==Details== The southern end of the peninsula was generally known as the Cape of [[Cattigara]].
[[Henricus Martellus Germanus|Martellus]]'s world maps include labels marking the areas of Upper India (''India Superior''), [[Champa]] (''Ciamba Provincia''), and Greater Champa (''Ciamba Magna Provincia'').
==See also== * [[Cà Mau Peninsula]] * [[Golden Chersonese|Golden Peninsula]], another peninsula which appeared in early and medieval world maps
==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}}
==Citations== {{reflist|30em}}
==References== * {{Citation |last=al-Khwārizmī |title=[[The Book of the Description of the Earth]] |date=c. 833}}. * {{Citation |last=Galvão |first=António |author-link=António Galvão |title=Tratado... dos diuersos & desuayrados caminhos, por onde nos tempos passados a pimenta & especearia veyo da India às nossas partes, & assi de todos os descobrimentos antigos & modernos, que são feitos até a era de mil & quinhentos & cincoenta |trans-title=Treatise on the Various and Sundry Ways that in Times Past Pepper and Spices Came from India to Our Parts & Also on All of the Discoveries Ancient & Modern Which Were Made up to the Year 1550| url=http://purl.pt/15321/4/res-230-p_PDF/res-230-p_PDF_4-C-R0150/res-230-p_0000_capa-capa_24-C-R0150.pdf |location=Lisbon |date=1563 |publisher=Joam da Barreira}}. {{in lang|pt}} * {{Citation |last=Hakluyt |first=Richard |author-mask=[[António Galvão|Galvano, Antonio]] |others=Translated and edited by [[Richard Hakluyt]] |editor-first1= C.R.D. |editor-last1=Bethune |editor-link1=Charles Ramsay Drinkwater Bethune |title=The Discoveries of the World, from Their First Original unto the Year of Our Lord 1555 |publisher=T. Richards for the [[Hakluyt Society]] |date=1862 |orig-year=Portuguese version 1563, original translation 1601 |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWcMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 }} {{in lang|en|pt}}. * Robert J. King, "Finding Marco Polo’s Locach", ''Terrae Incognitae'', vol.50, no.1, April 2018, pp.1-18. * {{Citation |last=Lester |first=Toby |title=The Fourth Part of the World: The Epic Story of History's Greatest Map |date=2009 |publisher=Profile Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-86197-803-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQIAdkoTmcwC&pg=PA316}}. * {{Citation |last=Miller |first=Greg |contribution-url=https://www.wired.com/2014/09/martellus-map/ |contribution=Uncovering Hidden Text on a 500-Year-Old Map that Guided Columbus |date=15 September 2014 |title=Wired}}. * {{Citation |last=Rapoport |first=Yossef |author2-last=Savage-Smith |author2-first=Emilie |author-link2=Emilie Savage-Smith|contribution=The ''Book of Curiosities'' and a Unique Map of the World |title=Cartography in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Fresh Perspectives, New Methods |editor-last=Talbert |editor-first=Richard J.A. |editor2-last=Unger |editor2-first=Richard W. |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |isbn=978-90-04-16663-9 |date=2008 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b6XPcfjA1pIC&pg=PA133}}. * {{Citation |last=Richardson |first=William A.R. |contribution=South America on Maps before Columbus? Martellus's 'Dragon's Tail' Peninsula |title=Imago Mundi |volume=55 |date=2003 |pages=25–37 |doi=10.1080/0308569032000097477|s2cid=129171245 }}. * {{Citation |last=Richardson |first=William A.R. |contribution=''Terra Australis, Java la Grande'', and Australia: Identity Problems and Fiction |title=European Perceptions of ''Terra Australis'' |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQyiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQyiAgAAQBAJ |editor-last=Scott |editor-first=Anne M. |editor2-last=Hiatt |editor2-first=Alfred |editor3-last=McIlroy |editor3-first=Claire |editor4-last=Wortham |editor4-first=Christopher |date=2011 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |location=Farnham |isbn=9781409426059 |pages=93–110}}. * {{Citation |last=Siebold |first=Jim |contribution=#256: Martellus'<!--sic--> World Maps |contribution-url=http://cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/256_Martellus_World_Maps.html |title=Cartographic Images |date=2011 |accessdate=15 March 2015 |location=[[Oviedo, Florida|Oviedo]] |publisher=Henry Davis Consulting |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408010142/http://cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/256_Martellus_World_Maps.html |archive-date= Apr 8, 2015 }}. * {{Citation |last=Sollewijn Gelpke |first=J.H.F. |contribution=Afonso de Albuquerque's Pre-Portuguese 'Javanese' Map, Partially Reconstructed from Francisco Rodrigues'<!--sic--> ''Book'' |title=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde |volume=151 |number=1 |date=1995 |pages=76–99 |location=Leiden|doi=10.1163/22134379-90003056 |doi-access=free |via=Brill |publisher=KITLV |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bki/151/1/article-p76_4.xml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705225836/https://brill.com/downloadpdf/view/journals/bki/151/1/article-p76_4.pdf |archive-date= Jul 5, 2024 }}. * {{Citation |last=Suárez |first=Thomas |title=Early Mapping of Southeast Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQTQAgAAQBAJ |publisher=Periplus Editions |location=Singapore |date=1999|isbn=9781462906963 }}.
==External links== * [http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3435243 The {{circa|1489}} Martellus world map] & [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103646/http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3770415 its negative] at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book & MS Library
[[Category:Geography in the medieval Islamic world]] [[Category:Cartographic errors]]