The first two leaves contain texts in Catalan covering
cosmography,
astronomy, and
astrology. These texts are accompanied by illustrations. The texts and illustration emphasise the Earth's spherical shape and the state of the then known world. They also provide information to sailors on tides and how to tell time at night. The four remaining leaves make up the actual map, with
Jerusalem located close to the centre; two depict the Orient; the remaining two show Europe, along with North and West Africa. The map is around in size. It shows illustrations of many cities—Christian cities with a cross, other cities with a dome—and with each city's political allegiance indicated by a flag. Wavy blue vertical lines are used to symbolise oceans. Place names of important ports are transcribed in red, while others are indicated in black. The illustrations and most of the text are oriented towards the edges of the map, suggesting it was intended to be used by laying it flat and walking around it. The oriental portion of the Catalan Atlas illustrates numerous religious references as well as a synthesis of medieval
mappae mundi and the travel literature of the time, especially
Marco Polo's
Book of Marvels and
Mandeville's
Travels and Voyage of Sir John Mandeville. Many Indian and Chinese cities can be identified. The explanatory texts report customs described by Polo and catalogue local economic resources, real or supposed. The Western portion is similar to contemporary
portolan charts, but contains the first
compass rose known to have been used on such a chart. on which the caption reads: There was no medieval kingdom in Africa that bore the name Organa. The use of this name for a country, and its association with a European-style heraldic flag (depicting a palm tree) reflects poor medieval European understanding of the African interior. The name
Organa has been suggested to be a heavily corrupted form of
Kanem The name
Organa could then allude to the early Ife rulers using the title "Ogane" (Oghene, Ogene).
Ghana Empire In 2006, the Italian cartographer Piero Falchetta suggested that Organa could be a reference to either the Kanem–Bornu Empire or the more western
Ghana Empire (which had long fallen by the time the Catalan Atlas was made).
India The western part of the Indian subcontinent is clearly depicted, and several of the location names are accurate. Devagiri was ultimately captured by
Alauddin Khalji of the
Delhi Sultanate in 1307. The trading ship raises the flag of the
Ilkhanate (). Its caption reads: To the south, at the tip of India, appears the "
King of Colombo" with a Christian flag (). He was identified as Christian due to the early
Saint Thomas Christianity there (since at least the 8th century), and the Catholic mission there under
Jordan Catala since 1329. His caption reads: Jordan, Christian missionary to Colombo from 1329, who wrote "Book of Marvels" (
Mirabilia descripta, 1340), was probably the source of the information about
Colombo in the Catalan Atlas. He mentions the earlier presence of the
Saint Thomas Christians in India.
Il-Khanate The Mongol
Il-Khanate ruler and his dominions are depicted in the area of
Persia under the title
"Rey del tauris", after his capital city of
Tabriz. The Ilkhanate flag also appears: . The caption is only related to the city of
Babylon: towards the coast of India under the control of the
Delhi Sultanate (). Over him appears a city within a sphere, with the following caption, mentioning the Persian city of
Shiraz and
Ptolemy: Two ships with flags of the Ilkhanate appears on the
India Ocean, sailing to and from the Indian coast, where appear flags of the
Delhi Sultanate. The label attached to one of the ships reads:
Golden Horde of the
Golden Horde. The caption to the right reads: with
tamgha symbol , dated 1273–1275. The symbolism of the Golden Horde flag depicted by the Catalan Atlas () is fairly similar to the type of
tamgha symbols (such as ) actually found on the coinage of the Golden Horde. Such symbols were used until the time of
Jani Beg, but essentially disappear thereafter. The text to the left reads:
Anatolia in the Catalan Atlas. The map is shown upside down. Numerous Turkic principalities appear, with a variety of flags, but very little prominence is given to the Orthodox princes of the
Byzantine Empire, although several Byzantine cities appear with the Byzantine imperial flag (), or
Trebizond ().
Gog and Magog The land of
Gog and Magog appears in the top right corner. Traditionally described as wild and vicious man-eaters, the populace is uncharacteristically represented here by a stately king mounted on a horse and leading an orderly procession. Nearby appears
Alexander the Great standing in front of Satan and pointing to a fortress where he intends to confine the nations of Gog and Magog.
Chagatai Khanate The Khan
Kebek, Mongol ruler of the
Chagatai Khanate is depicted with the following caption: His cities appear with the Chagatai flag ().
Cathay (China) The cities of Cathay, at that time the
Empire of the Great Khan (
Yuan China), are shown raising a flag with three red crescent moons (). The flag is seen all over eastern Asian cities in the Catalan Atlas.
Kublai Khan appears enthroned and wearing a green coat, with the following caption:
Antichrist The
Antichrist appears beyond the
Great Wall of China, next to the territory of
Gog and Magog. The label reads: ==Gallery==