u/get_on_with_life

Since most advanced civilizations that made maps were in the Northern Hemisphere, why did they have North orientated to be the uppermost part of the map?

I would’ve assumed that with the association of the sun with heaven, and heaven being „higher,“ that they would’ve orientated maps so that the sun went across the top rather than the bottom. The only other expansion I can think of would be because they knew of more civilizations to the south of them and therefore wanted to place themselves at the top, but even so why didn’t the Romans or Arabs have maps with South orientated towards the top?