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Taprobana

Ancient name
Taprobane
Modern name
Sri Lanka
Modern country
Sri Lanka
In ancient and medieval sources, the island of Sri Lanka in the Indian Sea is generally known as Taprobana. Outside of the Ptolemaic tradition, the island also appears in medieval travelogues such as that of Marco Polo, written in the later 13th century.
Coordinates
8.36, 80.37
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.
Map of the location M049

Variant spellings of Taprobana in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
Isola trapobana Bos
ta[...]pro[...] Pad1
taprobano Bos
Terra pobana Con3
traprobana Fn6
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Taprobana.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/taprobana/.