This 1822 map of Tula Province is from a larger work, Geograficheskii atlas Rossiiskoi imperii, tsarstva Pol'skogo i velikogo kniazhestva Finliandskogo (Geographical atlas of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Finland), containing 60 maps of the Russian Empire. Compiled and engraved by Colonel V.P. Piadyshev, it reflects the detailed mapping carried out by Russian military cartographers in the first quarter of the 19th century. The map shows population centers (six gradations by size), postal stations, roads (four types), provincial and district borders, monasteries, and factories. Distances are shown in versts, a Russian measure, now no longer used, equal to 1.07 kilometers. Legends and place-names are in Russian and French. The history of Tula dates back at least to the 14th century. It was in the Tula region in 1380 that the Battle of Kulikovo took place, in which Russian forces under Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow (later called Donskoi), first claimed a major victory over the Mongols. The city thereafter served as a fortress along the southern frontier of Muscovy, and was a citadel that helped both to expand the tsar’s power and withstand numerous incursions and peasant uprisings. Included in these was the rebellion of Ivan Bolotnikov in the early 17th century. Tula became noteworthy again in the early 18th century under Peter the Great when Nikita Demidov and his descendants made it an ironworking center. It became well-known for its fine metalworking and extensive samovar production. The great Russian author, Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), also lived in Tula Province at his country estate, Yasnaya Polyana.