Early Mapping of Southeast Asia. Thomas Suarez

earnest through the latter nineteenth century. Various places were believed to have been the site of Ophir, from Malaya to Indochina, Sumatra, and the Pacific Ocean.

      Marinus and Ptolemy

      At about the same time as Josephus, a 'Golden Peninsula' in Southeast Asia was described by a geographer from Tyre by the name of Marin us. Tyre lies on the eastern Mediterranean coast, in what is now Lebanon. Today it is a peninsula, but in ancient times it was an island blessed with two bustling ports. Tyre had been the capital of Phoenicia from the eleventh to sixth centuries B.C., but was captured by Alexander in the fourth century B.C. It subsequently came under the control of Rome, remaining in Roman hands until the seventh century A.D. Tyre was ideally situated for gathering information about the East from traders and seafarers, and Marinus used his city's advantageous location to expand the world map from their reports.