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Arabia Deserta

Ancient name
Arabia Deserta (Roman province)
Modern name
Arabian Peninsula
Arabia Deserta was the name used by ancient geographers including Ptolemy to describe the northern, interior part of the Arabian peninsula. As the term was not much used in medieval Europe, the appearance of Arabia Felice and Arabia Deserta on a 15th-century map implies influence from the Ptolemaic tradition. This pair of toponyms appears on only a single Sfera map (Pnc5).
Coordinates
32.43, 36.32
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.
Map of the location M214

Variant spellings of Arabia Deserta in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
ARABIA DESERTA Pnc5
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Arabia Deserta.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/arabia-deserta/.