A map of Thutmose III's Egypt and its Near Eastern neighbours, showing the trade routes and the myrrh and incense zones that lead towards Punt.
This map accompanies the feature The Mysterious Land of Punt in issue 31 of Historia National Geographic, which centres on the expedition Queen Hatshepsut sent to that territory. The Egyptians called it Ta netjer, the «Land of the God», and scholars still debate where it lay.
The map shows the Nile Valley with its five cataracts, the oases of the Western Desert and the extent of Egypt under Thutmose III. Around it are the kingdoms of Mitanni, the Hittites, Kassite Babylonia and Elam, along with other peoples and historical regions. The key distinguishes trade routes, myrrh and incense producing zones, and the ranges of two species of baboon brought to pharaonic Egypt.
Zooming in, you can follow the Wadi Hammamat, the valley linking the Nile with the Red Sea, and find ports such as Wadi el-Jarf, Mersa Gawasis and Quseir. Further south are sites on the Arabian Peninsula, such as Qana, Khor Rori and Shisr. Together they help explain the routes of the expeditions, which, according to the article, preferred travel by sea.
Published in Historia National Geographic no. 31, 2026-31
