COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Anonymous
Date:
1798
Short Title:
Plan de Souès [Map of Suez]
Publisher:
Manuscript
Type:
Manuscript Map
Obj Height cm:
43
Obj Width cm:
58
Note:
Date estimated.
City:
Suez (Egypt)
Full Title:
Plan de Souès [Map of Suez]
List No:
16262.000
Publication Author:
Anonymous
Pub Date:
1798
Pub Title:
Plan de Souès [Map of Suez]
Pub Reference:
Cf.: The Search for the Ancient Suez Canal - Linda Hall Library
Pub Note:
"It is likely that the first comprehensive survey of Suez, which highlighted the town around 1800, was conducted during Napoleon’s mapping of Egypt in his quest for the ancient Suez Canal. In 1798, when Napoleon entered Egypt, he was accompanied not only by a large army but also by 151 surveyors, mapmakers, mathematicians, astronomers, engineers, and other scientists from the newly established Commission des Sciences et des Arts. Their mission was to survey the land, create maps of significant locations, and conduct research on the local climate, flora, fauna, and geology. The plan to survey Egypt was important not only for military reasons but also for engineering and political ones. Napoleon aimed to locate the route of the ancient Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and whose ruins were still partly visible at that time. Reconstructing the canal would allow him to control the direct route to Mysore in India, a French ally and an opponent of Britain. In his quest to find the origins of the canal, Napoleon relied on older information and various ancient authors, who suggested that the location was in the town of Clysma or Kolzoum (Kolzum), believed to be two names for the same place. This site was thought to be located at the head of the Gulf of Suez, leading to the assumption that Suez and its suburbs could represent the old entrance to the canal. The traveler Carsten Niebuhr (1733– 1815) mentioned this possibility, which was ultimately confirmed by Napoleon’s surveyors. In their famous work, "Description de l’Egypte," they marked the north coast near Suez as Kolzoum. (Isthme_de_Soueys_- see Rumsey 10404.450.) Eighteenth-century maps of the Red Sea primarily emphasized navigational details and provided little information about the town of Suez. It was characterized as a shabby and dilapidated small town that lacked visual appeal. We were unable to find any accurate surveys of the city that predate our map. The map illustrates the city of Suez, highlighting its fortified doors in the north-west, while the west and south-west sides feature weaker walls with a bastion. South of the city is a shoal. Within Suez, there are five mosques, and larger rundown areas are represented by broken lines. In the upper right corner of the map, there is a round image depicting the tomb of Santon. This structure is often described in older travelogues as a white building located in a barren landscape in front of Suez. The current map, although undated, likely represents the city around 1800, reflecting its western city walls, partially destroyed streets, and five mosques. This timeframe corresponds with Napoleon’s survey of the area. In 1762, during his travels in the Arabian Peninsula, the German explorer Carsten Niebuhr (1733–1815) depicted Suez in a drawing as a relatively small town. One side featured a large shoal, while the other had a reinforced coast suitable for small boats. The town's significant trade was centered around the construction of these boats, with wood transported from Cairo on camels. Niebuhr noted that the outskirts of the town were quite dangerous due to the presence of street robbers, who were also feared by the locals. He described one entrance to the city that had massive doors for protection, yet the rest of the walls had not yet been built. On April 24, 1816, the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784 - 1817) visited the city and noted its poor condition: “In the time of Niebuhr Suez was not enclosed; there is now a wall on the west and south-west, which is rapidly falling to decay.“ (Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, 1822, p. 465). Leon, Marquis de Laborde (1807–1869), visited Suez in the early 19th century and described it as being in an even more dilapidated state. “…it may be sufficient here to state, that Suez, which was at one time much more extensive than it is at present, now occupies the extremity of a mass of ruins commanding the harbour, that appear to be the remains of a fortress built by the Turks with the materials of the ancient town … This small town is at present composed of two squares and two principal streets; one of which runs parallel to the quay, traversing the town from east to west; the other, taking more oblique direction, forms the bazaars. The houses are built of bricks dried in the sun; the walls of the town and different court-yards are constructed of large shells, and madrepores (a genus of coral), joined together by mud. The principal buildings, besides four mosques , are, the palace of the governor, two large khans, and a handsome mansion… The other habitations are wretched in the extreme.” (Journey Through Arabia Petraea to the Edom of the Prophecies (1836, English version, first edition in French 1830)). The fifth mosque in the southeastern part, which is illustrated in Niebuhr’s engraving and marked on our map as a ruin, no longer existed during Laborde’s time. However, the current drawing features the western city walls, which had not yet been constructed in 1762 but were later described as built by Turks using older pieces of buildings. By 1811, these walls were already falling apart." (Alexander Johnson/Dasa Pahor, 2025)
Pub List No:
16262.000
Pub Type:
Manuscript Map
Pub Height cm:
43
Pub Width cm:
58
Image No:
16262000.jp2
Authors:
Anonymous
![Plan de Souès [Map of Suez]](https://media.davidrumsey.com/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size3/RUMSEY~8~1/218/16262000.jpg)