Marco Polo geographical discoveries. Biography of marco polo

An Italian merchant and traveler who presented the story of his journey through Asia in the famous Book of the Diversity of the World.

Despite doubts about the reliability of the facts presented in this book, expressed from the moment of its appearance to the present time, it serves as a valuable source on geography, ethnography, history of Armenia, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, India, Indonesia and other countries in the Middle Ages. . This book had a significant impact on navigators, cartographers, and writers of the 14th-16th centuries. In particular, she was on the ship of Christopher Columbus during his search for a route to India; According to researchers, Columbus made 70 marks on it.

Marco Polo was born around 1254 in Venice or on the island of Korcula (the territory of modern Croatia). Polo's ancestors came to Venice from Dalmatia and were never among the noble Venetian merchant families. When Marco was six years old, his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo set out on a nine-year journey to the East. During this time, the boy's mother died and he was raised by his paternal aunt. Marco received a quite tolerable education for that time - he read the Bible and some ancient authors, he knew how to count and write. And he spent his free time on the Venetian canals or in the port, where merchant ships loaded with goods came and went to all corners of the world.

Marco was 15 years old when his father Nicolò and uncle Mateo, rich merchants, returned to Venice from a long and distant journey. This was in 1269. They visited the Crimea, the Middle Volga, Samarkand and Bukhara, and Mongolia. According to them, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Danube to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Even China was under the rule of the Mongol Khan Kublai.

Khan hospitably received the Polo brothers and, when they got ready for their return trip, instructed them to deliver a letter to the Pope, in which he expressed his readiness to establish diplomatic relations.

Only two years later (1271) did the Polo brothers receive a letter from the pope and gifts for Khan Kublai. This time, Nicolò took his 17-year-old son Marco with him. Thus began the famous 24-year journey of Marco Polo. The way to China was long, it took about 4 years (1271-1275).

The first Chinese city that the Polo family reached in 1275 was Shazha (modern Dunhuang). In the same year, they reached Kublai's summer residence in Shangdu (in modern China's Gansu province). According to Marco Polo, the khan was delighted with him, gave various orders, did not allow him to return to Venice, and even kept him governor of the city of Yangzhou for three years (Chapter CXLIV, Book 2). In addition, the Polo family (according to the book) participated in the development of the Khan's army and taught him how to use catapults during the siege of fortresses.

In the spring of 1292, a fleet of fourteen four-masted ships set sail from the port of Zaitong (Quanzhou). While traveling around the eastern and southern coasts of Asia, Marco Polo learned about Japan, about the islands of Indonesia (“the labyrinth of 7448 islands”), about the country of Chambo on the eastern coast of Indochina. From the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, the ships passed through the Strait of Malacca, made a three-month stop on the coast of the island of Sumatra. After stopping in Ceylon and sailing along the western shores of India, the ships entered the Persian Gulf and anchored at Ormuz, where the Polos had been 22 years earlier. While sailing in the Indian Ocean, Marco Polo managed to obtain some information about the African coast, Ethiopia, the islands of Madagascar, Zanzibar and Socotra. Having delivered the princesses to Persia, the Polo family returned to Venice in 1295. All Venice was amazed to learn how much wealth - precious stones - were brought from the East by three travelers.

Soon a war broke out between Venice and Genoa for supremacy in trade in the Mediterranean. Marco Polo outfitted the ship at his own expense and took part in the battle himself. Together with his team, he was taken prisoner and imprisoned in a Genoese prison. There, Marco Polo told the prisoners about his travels in distant countries. One of the captives, the Italian writer Rusticiano, wrote down the stories of the Venetian about everything he saw and heard during his interesting and long journey.

Some time later, Marco Polo was released from prison, returned to Venice and continued to record his travels. He died in 1324 a noble, respected man. His book interested contemporaries. In the beginning, she walked in many handwritten lists. It was first published in 1477 and then translated into many languages. This book introduced Europeans to the distant countries of the East, with their nature, inhabitants, and culture. True, not everything in it was reliable. But the huge amount of valuable information about the East that Marco Polo collected during his travels made this work a favorite book of such prominent navigators as Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Fernando Magellan. The book of Marco Polo played an important role in the discovery of America and the sea route to India.

"To the book of wonders of the world"

Also known as The Travels of Mark Polo, The Book of the Diversity of the World, The Book of Marco Polo (Old French Livres des merveilles du monde).

Description of Marco Polo's travels in Asia and Africa, made between 1276 and 1291, which Rustichelli da Pisa, who was with him in a Genoese prison, recorded from his words in Old French.

"Journey" consists of four parts. The first describes the territories of the Middle East and Central Asia that Marco Polo visited on his way to China. The second describes China and the court of Kublai Khan. The third part deals with the coastal countries: Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and the east coast of Africa. The fourth describes some of the wars between the Mongols and their northern neighbors.

Descriptions of Marco Polo are full of inaccuracies. This applies to the names of individual cities and provinces, their mutual location, as well as descriptions of objects in these cities. A famous example is the description of the bridge near Beijing (now named after Marco Polo), which actually has half as many arches as described in the book.

Marco Polo visited

Armenia

According to Marco Polo, Armenia was divided into Great (most of modern Armenia) and Lesser (most likely he meant Cilicia).

“This is a great country. It starts in a city called Arzinga (Erzincan), where the best fabrics and linens in the world are woven. It also has the best natural spring baths found throughout the city. The people of the country are Armenians. There are many cities and villages in the country, but Arzinga is a significant city, where the Throne of the Archbishop, Arziron (Erzrum) and Arzizi (Arzhish) are located. Passing from Trebizond to Tauris, there is one castle - Paypurt (Bayburt), it stands on a hill of the peninsula and here you can see silver mines, ”the traveler wrote.

Marco Polo was perhaps the first European to discover to the West the indescribable and majestic beauty of the biblical Mount Ararat. In his notes, he described everything. Marco Polo wanted to convey the important fact that it is in Armenia, on the top of the Holy Mountain, that Noah's Ark is located.

Russia

Russia is a large country in the north. Greek Christians live here. There are many kings and their own language; the people are simple-hearted and very beautiful; men and women are white and blond. There are many difficult passages and fortresses on the border. They pay tribute to no one, only a little to the king of the West; and he is a Tatar and is called Taktaktai, they pay tribute to him, and no one else. This country is not commercial, but they have many expensive furs of high value; they have sables, and ermines, and squirrels, and ercolins, and many glorious foxes, the best in the world. They have many silver ores; they mine a lot of silver.

There is nothing else to say here, and therefore we will go from Russia and tell you about the Great Sea, which is around these regions, and the inhabitants there, we will begin first of all with Constantinople.

But I will tell you first of all about the region that is to the north and northwest. In this country, I will tell you, there is the Lak region, it borders on Russia, there is a king, and the inhabitants are Christians and Saracens. There are many good furs here; merchants take them out in different directions. The inhabitants are engaged in trade and crafts. There is nothing else to say about anything else, so let's go from here and talk about something else.

I want to say something about Russia that I forgot. Know, in truth, the strongest cold in the world in Russia; it's hard to hide from him. The country is large, to the very sea-ocean; on this sea they have several islands, where gyrfalcons and pilgrim falcons are found, all this is exported to different parts of the world. From Russia, I tell you, the way is not long to Norway, and if it weren't for the cold, we could get there soon, but because of the great cold, it's not easy to go there.

to italy

In 1260, Nicolò (Marco's father), with his brother Maffeo, undertook a trading expedition to East Asia. Marco was also among the travelers. The route ran from Venice (Northern Italy) to Palestinian Akka, then to the port of Ayas on the southern coast of Asia. The merchants crossed the Armenian Highlands and descended the Tigris to the port of Basra. The purpose of this enterprise was to reach the coast of China by sea. But fearing the difficulties of sea travel and not trusting unreliable (according to merchants) ships, they abandoned the sea route and continued their journey to China by land.

In China, Marco Polo lived for about 15 years as a trader. Serving with Khan Marko crossed Eastern China many times. Only two routes can be known with certainty from the traveler's stories. The first path runs along the coastline south to the cities of Kinsai and Zeytun. The second path leads to eastern Tibet, Yunnan and further north into Indochina.

Kazakhstan

In the history of the penetration of information about the Kazakh land into Europe, the name of the Venetian Marco Polo, “the greatest traveler of all times and peoples”, as the Russian scientist, Asian explorer I. Mushketov, deservedly called him. The paths of the Polo brothers crossed both the territory of Central Asia and the Kazakh land (Otrar, the Syrdarya and Ili valleys).

The six chapters of the book of Marco Polo detail the disagreements and struggle between some courageous people named Alau and Berke. The name Alau-batyr is also found in folklore works published by V. V. Radlov in his work “Samples of Folk Literature of the Northern Turkic Tribes”, and in “The Song of Forty Crimean Heroes” (“Tsyrymnyts kytryk, batyrs turaly zhyr”).

Mongolia

Marco Polo served for 17 years at the court of the Mongol Khan Kublai, who founded the Yuan Empire. Fulfilling the instructions of the emperor, he traveled through almost all the provinces of today's China. The subsequently written book “On the Diversity of the World” became a real treasure of medieval literature. It tells in detail about the life, life, traditions, history and culture of the Mongols of the 14th century.

In 1292, the khan released three travelers with rich gifts; they went to the ocean and through Cochinchina, Sumatra, Ceylon, Trebizond and Constantinople returned to Venice in 1295.

In Venice, Marco Polo, thanks to his wealth, reached a high position and received the nickname Masser Millioni.

India

The trip to India was the last of Marco Polo's big missions. This is stated in his book as follows: “Marco returned from India, because of many seas, and told a lot of new things about that country”

In the book of Marco Polo there is a mention of the city of Myang. It is believed that Myan is Pagan on the Irrawaddy River. Accordingly, Mian Marco Polo is Burma.
In the book of Marco Polo it is said that the city of Mian is “big, noble, the most important in the kingdom; people here are idolaters, they speak in a special, their own language, they are subject to the great khan.

and indonesia

It is believed that the traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324) was the first European to visit the Indonesian archipelago. He allegedly wandered there by chance, searching for various spices, which were extremely highly valued at that time.

In the introduction, Marco describes Indonesia as eight kingdoms, six of which he visited, "namely ... the kingdom of Ferlek, Basman, Sumatra, Dagroyan, Lambri and Fansur." Perhaps the most primitive of them was Basman, whose inhabitants "have no law, like animals." He remarks: "The Great Khan considers them his subjects, but they do not pay tribute to him, because they are so far away that the people of the Great Khan do not get here."

Museum of Marco Polo

The House Museum of Marco Polo is located in Korcula, Croatia.

The Marco Polo Museum is located very close to the Cathedral of St. Mark in one of the old houses, where, according to one version, he was born. So, no one really knows.

At the entrance to the museum, you will be greeted by a wax figure of Marco Polo himself, dressed in a costume similar to what merchants and travelers wore then. A wide stone staircase leads to the building, along which you can climb to a narrow door made of boards. Here are scenes from the life of a young Marco Polo in Korcula, his travels through the Egyptian sands and China, the scene of his meeting with Khan Kublai in Mongolia, as well as the scenes of Marco Polo's imprisonment - it was there that he undertook to describe his travels.

Marco Polo (TV series)

American historical television series that tells the story of the journey of the legendary Venetian merchant Marco Polo. Starring Lorenzo Riquelmi (Marco Polo) and Benedict Wong (Kublai Khan). Since December 12, 2014.

Plot of the film

1273. The young Venetian Marco Polo, along with his father, as part of a group of European merchants, arrives in China, which is under the rule of the Mongols, and ends up at the court of the ruler, Kublai Khan. Marco's father offers the khan to give his son into his service in exchange for the right to trade on the Silk Road. Marco learns about local traditions and culture, becomes close to the khan, and involuntarily becomes involved in political intrigues at court.

Source - Internet

Marco Polo - famous Italian traveler, Venetian merchant, writer.

Marco's birth documents have not been preserved, so all information is approximate and inaccurate. It is well known that he was born into a merchant family that was engaged in the trade of jewelry and spices. He was a nobleman, had a coat of arms and belonged to the Venetian nobility. Polo became a merchant by inheritance: his father's name was Nikolo, and it was he who introduced his son to travel in order to open new trade routes. Marco did not know his mother, since she died during childbirth, and this event happened when Nicolo Polo was far from Venice, on his next trip. The boy was raised by a paternal aunt until Nicolo returned from a long journey with his brother Maffeo.

Education

No documents have been preserved on whether Marco studied anywhere. But the fact is known that he dictated his book to his cellmate, the Pisan Rusticiano, while he was a prisoner of the Genoese. It is known that in the future he learned many languages during his travels, but whether he knew the letter is still a moot point.

life path

Marco made his first journey with his father to Jerusalem in 1271. After that, his father sent his ships to China, to Khan Kublai, at whose court the Polo family lived for 15 years. The khan liked Marco Polo for his fearlessness, independence and good memory. He, according to his own book, was close to the khan, participated in solving many state issues. Together with the khan, he recruited a great Chinese army and suggested that the ruler use catapults in military operations. Khubilai appreciated the quick and intelligent Venetian youth beyond his years. Marco traveled to many Chinese cities, carrying out the most complex diplomatic missions of the khan. Possessing a good memory and powers of observation, he delved into the life and way of life of the Chinese, studied their language, never tired of marveling at their achievements, which sometimes surpassed even European discoveries in their level. Everything that Marco saw in China over the years he lived in an amazing country, he described in his book. Shortly before leaving for Venice, Marco was appointed ruler of one of the Chinese provinces - Jiangnan.

Khubilai never agreed to let his pet go home, but in 1291 he sent the entire Polo family to accompany one of the Mongol princesses married to the Persian ruler to Ormuz, the Iranian island. During this trip, Marco visited Ceylon and Sumatra. In 1294, when they were still on the road, they received news of the death of Khan Kublai. Polo no longer had any reason to return to China, so it was decided to go home to Venice. A dangerous and difficult path lay across the Indian Ocean. Of the 600 people who sailed from China, only a few managed to reach the final destination of the journey.

At home, Marco Polo is involved in the war with Genoa, with which Venice competed for the right of sea trade routes. Marco, participating in one of the naval battles, is captured, where he spends several months. It was here that he dictated to his comrade in misfortune, the Pisan Rusticiano, who found himself in the same cell with him, his famous book.

Nicolo Polo was not sure that his son would return alive from captivity and was very worried that their family might be interrupted. Therefore, the prudent merchant remarried, and he had 3 more sons in this marriage - Stefano, Maffio, Giovanni. Meanwhile, his eldest son, Marco, returns from captivity.

Upon his return, Marco's business is going well: he successfully marries, buys a big house, he is called Mr. Million in the city. However, the townspeople derisively treated their compatriot, considering this eccentric merchant a liar who tells tales about distant lands. Despite the material well-being of the last years of his life, Marco yearns for travel and, in particular, for China. He was never able to get used to Venice, until the end of his days remembering the love and hospitality of Khubilai. The only thing that pleased him in Venice was the carnivals, which he attended with great pleasure, as they reminded him of the splendor of Chinese palaces and the luxury of the khan's outfits.

Personal life

Returning from captivity in 1299, Marco Polo married a rich, noble Venetian Donata, and in this marriage they had three lovely daughters: Bellela, Fantina, Maretta. However, it is known that Marco was very sorry that he did not have a son who could inherit his merchant property.

Death

Marco Polo was ill, and in 1324 he died, leaving a prudent will. He was buried in the church of San Lorenzo, which was demolished in the 19th century. The luxurious house of Marco Polo burned down at the end of the 14th century.

Main achievements of Polo

Marco Polo is the author of the famous "Book of the Diversity of the World", about which the controversy has not subsided so far: many question the reliability of the facts described in it. Nevertheless, it very masterfully describes the story of Polo's journey through Asia. This book has become an invaluable source on the ethnography, geography and history of Iran, Armenia, China, India, Mongolia, Indonesia in the Middle Ages. It has become a reference book for such great travelers as Christopher Columbus, Fernando Magellan, Vasco da Gama.

Important dates in Polo's biography

1254 - birth
1271 - the first journey with his father to Jerusalem
1275–1290 - life in China
1291–1295 return to Venice
1298-1299 - war with Genoa, captivity, "The Book of the Diversity of the World"
1299 - marriage
1324 - death

The right to be called the Motherland of Marco Polo is presented by Croatia and Poland: the Croats found documents according to which, until 1430, the family of the Venetian merchant lived on the territory of their state, and the Poles argue that “polo” is not a surname at all, but a national identity of the great traveler.
By the end of his life, Marco Polo turned into a rather stingy, stingy man who sued his own relatives for money. However, for historians, it is still a mystery why Marco, shortly before his death, released one of his slaves into the wild and bequeathed to him a fairly large amount of money from his inheritance. According to one version, the slave Peter was a Tatar, and Marco did this in memory of his friendship with the Mongol Khan Kublai. Perhaps Peter accompanied him on his famous journey and knew that most of the stories in his master's book were far from fiction.
In 1888, a butterfly, the Marco Polo Jaundice, was named after the great explorer.

Polo (Polo) Marco (c. 1254-1324), Italian traveler. Born on about. Korcula (Dalmatian Islands, now in Croatia). In 1271-75 he traveled to China, where he lived approx. 17 years. In 1292-95 he returned to Italy by sea. The “Book” (1298) written from his words is one of the first sources of European knowledge about the countries of Central, East. and Yuzh. Asia.

Marco Polo. By Yules Book of Ser Polo. London. 1874.

Marco Polo - the largest European traveler before the Age of Discovery was born on the island of Korcula (Dalmatian Islands, Croatia).

By 1254, father and uncle Marco-Nikolo and Maffeo Polo had already traveled the lands from the Black Sea to the Volga and the region of Bukhara with trading purposes. Then, on a diplomatic mission, they went through East Turkestan to the possessions of the great Mongol Khan Kublai (Khubilai), who gave them a warm welcome. With rich gifts in 1269, the ambassadors returned to Venice.

In 1271, together with the 17-year-old Marco Polo, they made a second trip as merchants and envoys of Pope Gregory X to Asia, where they stayed for many years. Their path lay probably from Akkon (Akka) through Erzerum, Tabriz and Kashan (Iran) to Hormuz (Hormuz) and from there through Herat, Balkh and Pamir to Kashgar and further to Katai (China), to the city of Kambala (Beijing). They arrived there around 1275. They traded in China, while at the same time in the service of the great khan.

Marco Polo traveled almost all the provinces of the vast state up to Burma and eastern Tibet. He enjoyed such great favor with Khan Kublai that he was appointed governor of Jiangnan province. The Venetian stayed in the service of the Great Khan for seventeen years. Marco nowhere reveals to the reader on what particular cases he was sent as a confidant of Khan Kublai for many years.

Only in 1292 Nicolo, Maffeo and Marco Polo were able to leave China. They were instructed to accompany the Mongol princess, who was being married to the Persian ruler. On junks they sailed from the east coast of China to the shores of Persia. In 1294, they received news of the death of their patron, the great khan. Through Persia, Armenia and Trebizond they left for their homeland and in 1295, after a long absence, arrived in Venice, bringing with them great wealth.

From September 1298 to July 1299, Marco Polo was in a Genoese prison, where he was imprisoned for participating in a sea skirmish. There he dictated to the captive Pisan Rustichan his memoirs about travels - "The Book". Almost all the information given by biographers about his subsequent life in Venice is based on later sources, some of which even date back to the 16th century. It is believed that he lived out his life as a wealthy Venetian citizen. He died in 1324.

Portrait of Marco Polo on a medieval woodcut.

The manuscripts have not come down to us in full; the edition of the humanist Ramusio, which is most often used, cannot be considered reliable. Contemporaries of Marco Polo doubted the authenticity of his stories about cities with a million inhabitants, wealth and luxury of the East, considering them exaggerated. However, these stories were not forgotten, and their veracity was proven by later studies. Of course, the work of Marco Polo was not free from shortcomings and errors; after all, he was a merchant, not a scientist. His data on distances were based on their approximate estimate and were most often significantly overestimated; in this regard, cartographers even in the XVI century. moved too far to the east the eastern tip of Asia. However, Marco Polo was an excellent observer and skillfully described what he saw; in this he far surpassed his contemporaries. Particularly expressive is the description of the city with a million inhabitants of Kinsai (Hangzhou) with its huge sea harbor. He also reports on the numerous islands in the South Sea that the Chinese knew about, Chipingu (Japan), the fur trade with the Asian north, Indonesia, and even Madagascar. At the same time, all the data on the areas in which he visited turned out to be correct; at the same time, in his stories, transmitted from the words of eyewitnesses, there are some exaggerations, for example, about Chipingu (Chipangu). Thanks to him, Europe heard for the first time about paper money, about streets lined with trees, and about other innovations that soon began to be adopted in Southern and Western Europe.

Travel reports of Marco Polo, along with Rubruk's descriptions, are the most valuable among the works of medieval Earth science in the Christian West and for a long time served as the most important source for the knowledge of Central, East and South Asia. The work of Marco Polo was of great importance for the era of geographical discoveries.

Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/

Travel map of Marco Polo.

Marco Polo was born around 1254, in Venice or on the island of Korcula (the territory of modern Croatia).

Marco Polo's father, Nikolo, and uncle Maffeo are considered by supporters of the version of the Croatian origin of the family to come from Eastern Slavs. Nicolo and Maffeo were merchants who traded with the countries of the East for many years, visited the Volga and Bukhara. In 1269 they returned to Venice from another journey, from

possessions of Khan Kublai (Khubilai).

1271 - Father and uncle take seventeen-year-old Marco Polo on their next journey. Pope Gregory X sent Polo to Asia. The ultimate goal of their route was China - the city of Kambala (Beijing), the starting point - Venice. Path descriptions vary. Some researchers claim

that the Polos were moving through Akka, Erzurum, Hormuz and Pamir to Kashgar and from there to Beijing. Others believe that the main points of the route were Akka, the southern coast of Asia, the Armenian Highlands, Basra, Kerman, the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, the Takla-Makan desert, the city of Zhangye (this is already China, and travelers

lived here for about a year), Karakorum.

1275 - one way or another, the merchants arrived in Beijing. For many years they traded in China, and Marco Polo was in the service of the great Khan Kublai and was in great favor with the ruler.

While holding his position, Marco Polo traveled almost all of China. Later he was on

appointed ruler of Jiangnan Province. In total, Marco, Nicolo and Maffeo Polo stayed in China for about seventeen years.

1292 Polos leave China. Now they are heading to Persia, as they are instructed to accompany the Mongol princess, married to the Persian ruler.

1294 - in

The Polos of Persia receive news of the death of the great Khan Kublai, after which they set off for their homeland.

1295 Polos return to Venice.

1297 - Marco Polo participates in a naval battle between Venice and Genoa. Gets captured.

dictates to another prisoner, Pisan Rustichan, "The Book" - his memories of a distant journey.

This work at that time was hardly the only source of Western knowledge about Central, South and East Asia. Marco Polo was not a geographer, so the distances in his description turned out to be

are much overestimated, as a result of which the cartographers made not entirely accurate maps. On the other hand, the descriptions of the life of the Eastern peoples, skillfully presented observations, turned out to be invaluable. Thanks to Polo, Europe learned not only about paper money and cities with a million people (however, not everyone believed in this), but

about and about the islands of Java and Sumatra, about the country of Chipingu (Japan), about Ceylon and Madagascar, about Indonesia. It was from Marco Polo that Europe learned about spices, which were later valued in the same way as gold.

Little is known about Marco Polo's family - he was married and had three daughters, as well as several close relatives.

relatives. In the Polo family, not everything was smooth, sometimes it came to litigation.

January 8, 1324 - Marco Polo dies in Venice. According to researchers, the last period of his life he was a very rich man. It is also known that before his death, Polo gave freedom to one of his slaves and

Marco Polo (1254─1324) - a famous Italian merchant and traveler, author of the famous "Book of the Diversity of the World", in which he spoke in detail about his journey through Asian countries. Despite the fact that for many centuries doubts have been expressed about the truth of the facts presented, this work continues to be an important source on the history, geography, and ethnography of many medieval Asian states and peoples. The work of Marco Polo had a huge impact on future travelers and discoverers. It is known that H. Columbus actively used the book during his voyage to America.

Marco Polo was the first among Europeans who decided on such a long and risky journey into an unknown world. The right to be called the homeland of the traveler is disputed by Poland and Croatia. Representatives of the first state claim that the surname Polo comes from the abbreviated name of the Pole nationality. Croats, on the other hand, claim that the roots of the Italian clan are located on the territory of their state in Dolmatia.

Childhood and youth

Marco Polo was born in Venice on September 15, 1254 into a noble family. His mother died in childbirth, so the upbringing of the future traveler was taken over by his aunt and father Nikolo, who, like many residents of a large trading city, was selling spices and jewelry. By virtue of his profession, he traveled a lot around the world, visiting Central Asia, Mongolia and the Crimea. In 1260, together with their brother Matthew, they came to Sudak, after which they proceeded to Bukhara and further to Beijing, where the Mongols then ruled.

The older relatives returned to Venice in 1269 and enthusiastically talked about their wanderings. They managed to get to the court of Kublai Khan, where they were received with great honor, and they were even granted Mongol titles. Before leaving, the Khan asked the Venetians to turn to the Pope, so that he would send him scientists who mastered the seven arts. However, upon arrival at home, it became clear that the previous head of the Catholic Church, Clement IV, had died, and a new one had not yet been elected.

It is not known for certain whether Marco received any education, but during his travels he managed to learn several languages. In his book, Polo indirectly confirms his literacy by writing "I entered a few notes in my notebook." In one of the chapters, he notes that he tried to be more attentive to all the events taking place in order to write down everything new and unusual in more detail.

Travel to Asia

Only in 1271 was a new pope elected. They became Teobaldo Visconti, who received the name Gregory X. This prudent politician appointed the Polo family (Nicolo, Morfeo and Marco) as his official envoys to the Mongol Khan. So the brave merchants set off on their long journey to China.

The first stop on their way was the port of Layas, located on the Mediterranean coast. It was a kind of transit point where East and West met. It was here that goods were brought from Asian countries, which were then bought up and taken to Europe by the Venetians and Genoese.

From here, the Polos proceeded to Asia Minor, called by Marco "Turkmania", after which they passed through Armenia. The traveler will mention this country in connection with the ark of Noah, which is allegedly located on the very top of Ararat. Further, their path ran through Mesopotamia, where they visited Mosul and Baghdad, in which "the caliph lives with untold riches." After living here for some time, the Polos rush to the Persian Tabriz, where the largest pearl market was located. In his book, Marco described in detail the process of buying and selling this jewel, which looked like some kind of sacred ritual. They also visited the city of Kerman, after which a high mountain and a rich valley with unusually well-fed bulls and sheep awaited them.

While moving across Persia, the caravan was attacked by robbers who killed some of the escorts, but the Polo family miraculously managed to survive. Being on the verge of life and death from the strongest thirst that tormented travelers in the hot desert, the Italians were lucky enough to get to the once prosperous Afghan city of Balkh, where they found their salvation. Further to the east, endless fertile lands began, which abounded in fruits and game. The next region visited by Europeans was Badakhshan. There was an active mining of precious stones, carried out by numerous slaves. There is a version that the Europeans stayed in these places for almost a year due to Marco's illness.

The further path ran through the Pamirs, having overcome the spurs of which, the travelers ended up in Kashmir. Polo was struck by local sorcerers who "change the weather with conspiracies, let in great darkness." The Italian also noted the beauty of local women. Further, the Italians ended up in the Southern Tien Shan, where the foot of the Europeans had not yet set foot. Polo notes clear signs of highlands: the fire flares up with difficulty and glowed with an unusual flame.

The subsequent movement of the caravan went in a northeasterly direction through the oases along the outskirts of the Takla-Makan desert. Some time later, they reached the first Chinese city of Shangzhou (“Sandy Circle”), where Marco managed to see local rites with his own eyes, among which he highlighted the funeral. After they passed through Guangzhou and Lanzhou. In the latter, he was struck by yaks and a small musk deer, whose dried head he then took home.

Visiting Khan

After three and a half years of long wanderings, the travelers finally reached the Khan's possessions. The cavalry detachment that met them with great honor accompanied them to the summer residence of Kublai Shandu. Polo does not describe in detail the solemn ceremony of meeting with the ruler, limiting himself to the general words "received with honor, fun and feast." But it is known that Khubilai talked to the Europeans for a long time in an informal setting. They handed over the gifts they had brought, including a vessel with sacred oil from the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as well as letters from Gregory X. After that, Marco Polo became one of the Khan's courtiers.

In order to win Khubilai's favor, the smart Italian told him in great detail about the population of the territories subject to him, their customs and moods. He always tried to please the ruler with additional information that might interest him. One day, Marco was sent to the distant city of Karanjan, a trip to which took six months. As a result, the young man brought a lot of important information that made him talk about the divine mind and wisdom of the Venetian.

In total, Polo was an ambassador-at-large for 17 years. During this time, he traveled all over China, though without leaving details about the purpose of his trips. By the end of this period, the khan had aged a lot, and the process of decentralization began in his state. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to maintain power over the provinces. All this, as well as a long separation from home, made the Polo family think about returning to their homeland.

The way home

And then there was a convenient excuse to leave China. In 1292, messengers arrived to Khubilai from one of his governors, who lived in Persia, who asked him to find a bride for him. After the girl was found, the Venetians volunteered to accompany her.

As M. Polo wrote: “If not for this lucky break, we would never have left there”. The path of the flotilla, which consisted of 14 ships, lay by sea from Zayton. Marco left a description of the route, where he indicated that they sailed past the island of Java, landed in Sumatra, crossed the Straits of Singapore and Malacca, walked past the Nicobar Islands, about the inhabitants of which the traveler wrote that they go completely naked.

At this time, the team thinned to 18 people, where the rest of the 600 who sailed Polo did not specify. But he became the first European to leave information about Madagascar (although in part they turned out to be incorrect). As a result, the ship managed to reach the Persian Hormuz, from where Princess Kokechin was taken to her destination in Tabriz. Then the road was well known - through Trebizond to Constantinople. In the winter of 1295, after 24 years of wandering, Marco Polo returned to his homeland.

Birth of the book

Two years later, the war between Venice and Genoa will begin, in which Polo took part. During one of the battles, he was captured and was put in prison. Here he shared his memories with Rusticiano's cellmate, who wrote down his vivid stories, included in the Book of the Diversity of the World. More than 140 versions of the work, written in 12 languages, have been preserved, which give certain ideas about the life of the countries of Asia and Africa.

Despite the presence of obvious conjectures, for which the author was nicknamed "Million", it was from Polo that Europeans learned about coal, paper money, the sago palm, and also the places where spices grow. His book served as a guide for cartographers, although over time Marco's errors in calculating distances were proven. In addition, the work contains rich ethnographic material that tells about the rituals and traditions of the Asian peoples.

last years of life

After returning to his homeland, fate will release Marco Polo for another 25 years of life. At this time, he, like a true Venetian, will engage in trade, start a family and give birth to three children. Thanks to his book, translated into Latin and Italian, the traveler will become a real celebrity.

In his declining years, excessive stinginess was revealed in him, which became the reason for litigation with his wife and children. Marco Polo lived to the age of 70 and died in his native Venice. Today, only a small house reminds of the great countryman here. Despite this, in the memory of many people he will remain as a man who discovered an amazing and unknown world full of secrets, mysteries and adventures.