Sarmatia

The southeastern part of Sarmatia between the Thanais (now Don) and Caucasus, was then called Asiatic Sarmatia, and was, before the arrival of the Huns, occupied by the Alani, renowned for their excellent cavalry.

Whatever was its later fate, the map of South Sarmatia was a great step forward in the mapping of South East Europe, and in particular of the systems of the rivers Dniepr, Boh, Dniestr, and of the lower Danube.

Presenting the emerging concept of the Polish Commonwealth, Kraków humanists translated the Ptolemic formula differentiating between European and Asian Sarmatia into contemporary political geography, identifying Poland, Ruthenia, Lithuania and Moscow right up to the Don as Sarmatia Europaea.