Carte de la Petite Tartarie Dressee par ordre de l'Imperatrice de toutes les Russies.
16 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches. Original outline color; some creasing, else a fine, wide-margined example.
A rare battle plan, based on a Russian map, outlining troop positions and movements in the southern Ukraine and the Crimea during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735 to 1739. It was fought in large part to enable Russia to have access to the Black Sea by controlling the Sea of Azov; Russian encampments in the northeastern corner of the Sea are illustrated. The map appears to have been drawn after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Khanate in 1783. The inscription mentions a Russian Empress, and the most likely candidate is Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 to 1796 and who engineered Russia's takeover of the Crimea. The Ukrainian defense line of mighty fortresses is shown stretching between the Dnieper and Donets rivers.
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