An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. When he met Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo was just 20 years old. The country is believed to have influenced many of the development that has occurred in the world, from the government to infrastructure and even literature. Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]died Jan. 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and traveler who journeyed from Europe to Asia (1271-95). The pope whom they had been charged with addressing was dead their mission on behalf of Kublai Khan was scuppered. His account of his experiences is one of the most important travel documents ever written. Discover fascinating facts about the life of Marco Polo and his legendary travels to the Far East. Marco in the end wore many hats in his lifetime including being an explorer, merchant, and Chinese government official. Later, with the advent of the printing press, the story of Marco Polo was to become a bestseller and remained an influence on how Europeans perceived the East for centuries. The travelers asked to be released from Khan's service, but the emperor did not want to lose his European servants. Travel in the 13th century was unthinkably difficult, but the elder Polos were experienced, tough traders who were familiar with the routes East that were open to them. Born: c. 1254 Venice Died: January 8, 1324 Venice Venetian explorer and writer The traveler and writer Marco Polo left Venice for Cathay (now China) in 1271, spent seventeen years in Kublai Khan's (1215-1294) empire, and returned to Venice in 1295. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. On January 8, 1324, despite physicians' efforts to treat him, Polo was on his deathbed. Initially, Marcos exploration of China was inspired by the stories that his father and uncle told him and the family when they returned. Polo having shared many stories of his travels with the writer, the two began a collaboration on a book that was to make Marco Polo famous, as detailed by History. Although he was born to a wealthy Venetian merchant family, much of Marco Polo's childhood was spent parentless, and he was raised by an extended family. The circumstances into which the world-famous explorer and writer Marco Polo was born were suitably epic. His travels also led to the development of the European cartography . Initially, Marco Polo was an explorer and jewel merchant from Venice, traveling and working with his father and uncle. In his last days, many of his fans came from far and wide to see him. The truth is that if it weren't for his being captured as a prisoner of war, chances are we wouldn't know the name Marco Polo today. Many Europeans had made it to Asia and beyond before Marco Polo did it's just that his book, a combination of entertainment and social reportage, meant that his stories became the most widely circulated and the best known. But what do we know about his life or his childhood? Polo's mother died when he was young, and his . His father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo were Venetian merchants who traded on the Silk Road; little Marco's father left for Asia before the child was born, and would return when the boy was a teenager. Other places in China he explored were Quanzhou and Hangzhou. Marco. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. 8 When was Marco Polo born and when did he die? Marco Polo remained abroad for 24 years. In order to get to the Mongolian heartlands and Kublai Khan's court, however, the Polos had to cross the high Pamir Mountains. Manage Settings At the same time, I read a lot of books and articles, and let you know through the website of sonofchina. 11 Things You May Not Know About Marco Polo. Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]died January 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271-95, remaining in China for 17 of those years, and whose Il milione ("The Million"), known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo, is a classic of travel literature. Perhaps it is surprising, then, to note that The Travels of Marco Polo contains the traveler's claim that he heard the voices of strange spirits while he was on the road: "When a man is riding through this desert by night and for some reason falling asleep or anything else he gets separated from his companions and wants to rejoin them, he hears spirit voices talking to him as if they were his companions, sometimes even calling him by name. An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads. The root of the myth is perhaps based on the common misconception that the Polos were the first Europeans to travel so far East. Marco Polo/Wedding dates over a year ago. The story of Marco Polo's travels eclipses such debates and is undoubtedly one of the most influential tales of all time. From there they went through Kashgar and Taklamakan desert to get to Suchow city. ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/marco-polo-195232. And these lies are one of many more that Marco Polo wrote and told. Niccolo Polo presented the Khan with the oil from Jerusalem. Christopher Columbus, for example, had a copy of Marco Polo's "Travels," which he notated heavily in the margins. Armed with a seal of approval from Khan himself, which ensured safe passage throughout his kingdoms, Marco Polo traveled to lands previously unknown to Europeans, such as Tibet and Burma (now Myanmar), and extensively explored India, according to Biography. Next, the Venetians traveled toward the great Silk Road oases of Kashgar and Khotan, entering the fearsome Taklamakan Desert of western China. It is fortified like a castle in which are fountains and rivers of running water and very beautiful lawns and groves.". The brothers had to wait for the naming of a new pope, which was a long, drawn-out process. He may not have even realized that his wife was pregnant when he left. They also had the Popes letters to Khan that they had to deliver along with two priests who never made it through the journey and turned back home. Is the Marco Polo Netflix series accurate? 'Marco Polo' Is Basically The Pool Game IRL. Some doubt his truth and believe that his accounts were based on stories he heard from Persians which was the furthest he traveled to the East. 1. China is known for its long history. He was an explorer alongside Marco and took him on the famous expedition to Asia. Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer, writer, and trader who, at 17, traveled from Italy to Asia via the Silk Roads. He was born in Venice. As such Khan employed him as a special foreign emissary and sent him off to explore the far lands of Asia on his behalf, this included India, Tibet, and Burma. Although Polo himself is the hero of the story, the book contains much material included by Rusticello for entertainment value, as well as accounts of distant lands which it is not believed Polo could ever have visited. Some say that he also brought back noodles although many only know of his description of them in his account about China. Marco told another lie saying that the Polo's family helped the mongols capture the city of Xiangyang by introducing them to catapults. Marco was born in 1254, in Venice, Italy. Marco Polo also married the daughter of another successful trading family and had three daughters. His travels and explorations inspired other explorers like Christopher Columbus, and the tales he brought back from China got the people interested in other cultures. Marco's travel account mentions various other interesting peoples along the way, including Kurds and Marsh Arabs in Iraq. Marco Polo did not bring pasta back to Venice from China. 1453: Marco's journey is copied More than a hundred years after Marco Polo's journey to China, other explorers traveled . At the behest of Khan, the brothers were charged with returning to Italy, accompanied by a Mongol ambassador and a letter from Khan himself, to request from the pope 100 representatives to teach Christianity and Western customs in the Mongol Empire. Once the winds shifted, they went on to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and then to India, where Marco was fascinated by Hindu cow-worship and mystical yogis, along with Jainism and its prohibition on harming even a single insect. Zurich is the capital of? While they stayed with Khan, the Polos became very useful to him. The money that Polo would have first encountered in Asia would have been black and stamped with the Khan's red seal of verification. It may seem strange to think about it today, but the idea of paper currency was entirely alien to Europe when Polo first sketched it for his readers. During this time, it is also believed that he worked as a city governor and as a tax inspector and was personally promoted by Khan to the Privy Council. He also offered his son Marco to the Mongol lord as a servant. For example, he loved the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou, which at that time had a population of about 1.5 million people. During the war, Polo was captured by Genoan forces and imprisoned. While imprisoned, he wrote a detailed account of everything he saw and learned throughout his travels. Marco's mother, Nicole Polo, died not too long after he was born, so he was raised by an extended family member. Marco Polo mistook some of the animals he saw for mythical creatures. Marco Polo died in 1324 at the age of 69. What did Marco Polo do to change the world? Rice was grown primarily south of the Yangzi River. Can you see who someone Marco Polos? Once the two were released from prison, copies of the manuscript, titled The Travels of Marco Polo, captivated Europe. In his will, he freed a "Tartar slave" who had served him since his return from China. The Polo brothers were well-received at the court of Khan, sharing their knowledge of the Holy Roman Empire and of European Christianity. Marco Polo began his voyage in China in 1271, as a teenager in the company of his father and his uncle. Why has the name Marco Polo stayed with us after so many centuries? Marco Polo is considered to be the first European to travel and explore so far into the East. Shortly after the Polos returned to Europe, Kublai Khan was defeated and his empire overthrown. Worse still, they returned to find Venice at war with the Republic of Genoa, a neighboring independent Italian state. In 1260, Marco's father and uncle set out on a trading voyage from Venice to Constantinople. Marco Polo (1254-1324) is the most well-known Westerner to have crossed the Silk Road. In terms of drive, writing, and impact, he outshined all of the other travels. Their travels led them to King Kublai Khans empire in Shangdu, which was around the time Marco had turned 21 years. Crossing the Gobi desert, meanwhile, proved long and, at times, arduous. I love Chinese history, Chinese culture and Chinese food, I want to share my story to friends all over the world. Your email address will not be published. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/marco-polo-195232. Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]died January 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271-95, remaining in China for 17 of those years, and whose Il milione ("The Million"), known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo, is a classic of travel literature. the Gobi desert Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy. Marco, his father, and his uncle finally got permission to leave the Great Khan's court that year, so that they could serve as escorts of a 17-year-old Mongol princess who was being sent to Persia as a bride. To begin with, the book was a manuscript, with fewer than 200 handmade copies in circulation around the western world, according to the Khan Academy. Most of us famously know Marco Polo as a famed adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia, explored China, and wrote about it in his book The Travels of Marco. Marco Polo was an inmate in the Genoese prison at the Palazzo di San Giorgio from 1296 to 1299, arrested for commanding a Venetian galley in a war against Genoa. However, conversion to a western faith might have alienated many of the emperor's subjects, so he toyed with the idea but never committed to it. The pope could only spare two priests to accompany the Polos on their return journey to Kublai Khan but did agree to Khan's request for some lamp oil from the sepulcher at Jerusalem. Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]died January 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271-95, remaining in China for 17 of those years, and whose Il milione ("The Million"), known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo, is a classic of travel literature. It turned out that the Mongols already had catapults and Xiangyang fell two years before the polos arrived in China. In an unfortunate turn of events, he became one of the Genoan prisoners. Venice Italy. The exact date of his birth has been up for debate at various times. This day in 1324 marked the death of the famous medieval travel writer and explorer, Marco Polo. Marco Polo obviously lived in superstitious times, but his background was Christian, specifically what we would consider today to be Catholic. Kites were, however, another fascinating thing he certainly did bring back from China. They stayed in China in the company of Khan for 17 years and accumulated a lot of fortune. Venice where Marco Polo grew up was the most prosperous city in all Europe during the 13 th century. Born into a wealthy Venetian mercantile family in the 13th century, his background was exclusive, perhaps, but not exactly unusual for the time. Often these voices lure him away from the path and he never finds it again, and many travelers have got lost and died because of this.". He wrote 'Il Milione,' known in English as 'The Travels of Marco Polo.' Who Was Marco Polo? Szczepanski, Kallie. On their first visit to Kublai Khan's court, the Khan had asked the Polo brothers to bring him oil from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which Armenian Orthodox priests sold in that city, so the Polos went to the Holy City to buy the consecrated oil. Marco polo series - Die TOP Favoriten unter der Vielzahl an verglichenenMarco polo series Unsere Bestenliste Nov/2022 Umfangreicher Test TOP Modelle Aktuelle Angebote : Smtliche Vergleichssieger - JETZT direkt weiterlesen. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Though his four-year journey to Xanadu represented an epic initiation into the art of travel, it would be over the following years as a servant of Kublai Khan that Marco Polo would come to repeatedly traverse the continent of Asia at his patron's bidding. The Khan's mother had been a Nestorian Christian, so it was not so great a leap as it might have appeared. Part of this is perhaps down to the influence of his writing partner, whose experience writing romances helped to shape the book and give it its awestruck tone. One origin story claims that while traveling to China, Marco actually got separated from his family and responded with "Polo" as they called for him with "Marco!" Family, Early Life and Education. Among the things he is said to have brought back from China was paper money, which revolutionized the use of paper money in Europe and later across the world. But you must be wondering who is Marco Polo? What did Queen Anne Die from? He also spread Chinas creativity in the use of coal, money, and compasses. Marco Polo sailed south from Venice, Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea to the Middle East. He documented his travels in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo. 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