The most Interesting Facts. The Journey of Marco Polo
A resident of Venice, Marco Polo (1254-1324), was only seventeen years old when in 1271, together with his father, named Niccolo, and uncle Matteo, Venetian merchants, he climbed onto the deck of a ship and set off to travel. The Venetians were heading to China.
First, they traveled by sea across Anatolia, that is, to the Asia Minor peninsula (now in Turkey). Then, by land, overcoming passes, we passed through the Armenian Highlands, crossed Mesopotamia, the Iranian Highlands, and the mountainous country of the Pamirs, which today belongs to Tajikistan. Having passed through the deserts of Western and Eastern Turkestan (now Xinjiang), the travelers - after three and a half years of travel! - we finally reached the palace of the Great Khan. At the time when Marco Polo traveled around Asia, China was called Cathay, and the capital of Cathay, Beijing, was called Khanbalik.
In ancient Khanbalik there was a fortress of the great Mongol Khan Kublai Khan. He was the grandson of the founder of the Mongolian state, Genghis Khan. The Great Khan greeted the Venetians with great honor. He especially liked young Marco, whom he soon invited to his service. Marco Polo became the Khan's personal envoy and traveled extensively throughout the Chinese provinces.
In 1295, Marco Polo said goodbye to the court of the Great Khan and set off on a journey back to his native Venice. According to some reports, barely having time to return to his homeland, the traveler in 1298 took part in the war with Genoa, during which the Genoese captured Marco Polo. In prison, he told the story of his amazing adventures to his fellow prisoner Rustichello (Rusticiano), who came from Pisa. The Pisan recorded the stories of Marco Polo and compiled the “Book of the Diversity of the World,” which enjoyed great success in Europe. But the essay significantly expanded Europeans’ knowledge of the Asian continent, awakening their interest in geography and travel.
about the journey of Marco Paul
Genghis Khan founded his power at the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongol Empire during his reign reached incredible proportions - neither before nor after him was there such an immense country in the history of mankind. The Mongols conquered almost all of mainland Asia and a significant part of Eastern Europe. But after the death of the conqueror, his empire began to disintegrate. Already in the middle of the 14th century. the Mongols were expelled from China. Modern Mongolia is an independent republic in Central Asia. Almost its entire territory (1,565 thousand sq. km) is occupied by steppes and deserts. But, despite the vast expanses of the country, its population is small - on average per 1 sq. km there are not even two people.
Marco Polo came from a merchant family. His father and uncle carried on extensive trade, particularly with Persia. In 1271, setting off on a long journey, they took with them Marco, who from childhood was distinguished by his keen powers of observation and intelligence. For 17 years, Marco Polo’s family was engaged in trade in the “Celestial Empire”. Marco very quickly learned languages and gained the favor of the Chinese emperor, to such an extent that his family was given the most important assignment - to accompany the Chinese princess to Asia, and in the spring of 1292 a flotilla of 14 ships sailed from the port. Polo had to make a long sea voyage, the first in the history of navigation in which Europeans took part.
The route ran along the eastern and southern coasts of Asia. The phenomenal memory of Marco Polo captured the smallest details travels: what he saw with his own eyes, he never forgot.
It was not until 1295 that the Polo family returned to Venice, bringing with them enormous wealth.
After some time, war breaks out between Venice and Genoa. These two prosperous port city-states have long competed for supremacy in trade in India. At his own expense, Marco Polo equips a ship, but in one of the battles he fails: the ship was captured, and Polo ended up in a Genoese prison. In order not to become despondent, he begins to talk about his travels to his cellmates. His story aroused keen interest not only among the prisoners, but also among the guards, who began to carry them around the city. And now the residents of Genoa begin to visit the prison to hear for themselves what Marco Polo tells. In the end, he comes to the idea that he needs to capture his memories on paper. Rusticiano, his cellmate, became the “chronicler.” Day after day, a work is born under his pen, which to this day reads like a fascinating novel. Polo himself never gave this work a title. It went down in history as “The Book of Marco Polo.” The book was roughly completed by the end of 1298. Perhaps this played a role in the fact that Marco Polo was soon released, and without ransom. Returning to Venice, he continues to work on his narrative, significantly adding to it.
It was still far from the invention of printing, but “The Book of Marco Polo” began to spread throughout Europe and was translated into many languages. Shortly before his death, Polo said: “I did not write even half of what I saw.” But what he wrote cannot be overestimated, since the “Book” significantly expanded the horizons of Europeans and for the first time gave them information about countries about which they knew only by hearsay.
One of the chapters of the book is devoted to a description of our country. “Great” he calls her. In it, Marco Polo gave a fairly reliable description of Rus'.
... Marco Polo died in 1344. For the last ten years of his life he was engaged in trade and never returned to his book. He never had to learn that his geographical observations and discoveries were far ahead of their time.
Polo Marco (c. 1254-1324), Italian traveler. Born on o. Korcula (Dalmatian Islands, now in Croatia). In 1271-75 he traveled to China, where he lived for approx. 17 years. In 1292-95 he returned to Italy by sea. The “Book” written in his words (1298) is one of the first sources of European knowledge about the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. and Yuzh. Asia.
Marco Polo. From 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 Nicolò and Maffeo Polo had already traveled the lands from the Black Sea to the Volga and the Bukhara region for 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. In 1269, the ambassadors returned to Venice with rich gifts.
In 1271, together with 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 route probably lay from Akkon (Akki) through Erzurum, Tabriz and Kashan (Iran) to Hormuz (Hormuz) and from there through Herat, Balkh and Pamir to Kashgar and further to Cathay (China), to the city of Kambala (Beijing). They arrived there around 1275. They carried out trade in China, while at the same time being in the service of the Great Khan.
Marco Polo traveled to almost all the provinces of the huge state, right up to Burma and eastern Tibet. He enjoyed such great favor from Kublai Khan that he was appointed ruler of Jiangnan Province. The Venetian remained in the service of the Great Khan for seventeen years. Marco never reveals to the reader exactly what kind of cases he was sent on as a confidant of Kublai Khan for many years.
Only in 1292 were Nicolo, Maffeo and Marco Polo able to leave China. They were assigned to accompany the Mongol princess, who was being given in marriage to the Persian ruler. They sailed on junks from the eastern coast of China to the shores of Persia. In 1294 they received news of the death of their patron, the Great Khan. They left for their homeland through Persia, Armenia and Trebizond, and in 1295, after a long absence, they 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 naval skirmish. There he dictated his memories of his travels - “The Book” - to the captive Pisan Rustician. Almost all the information given by biographers about his subsequent life in Venice is based on later sources, some of which even refer to XVI century. It is believed that he lived out his life as a wealthy Venetian citizen. He died in 1324.
Portrait of Marco Polo in a medieval woodcut.
The manuscripts have not reached us completely; the publication of the humanist Ramusio, which is most often used, cannot be considered reliable. Marco Polo's contemporaries doubted the reliability of his stories about cities with a million people, the wealth and luxury of the East, considering them exaggerated. However, these stories were not forgotten, and their veracity was proven by later research. Of course, Marco Polo's work was not free from shortcomings and errors; after all, he was a merchant, not a scientist. His data on distances were based on rough estimates and were most often significantly overestimated; in connection with this, cartographers even in the 16th century. moved the eastern tip of Asia too far east. 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 of a million people, Kinsai (Hangzhou), with its huge sea harbor. He also talks about numerous islands in the South Sea, which the Chinese knew about, about Chipingu (Japan), the fur trade with the Asian north, about Indonesia and even about Madagascar. Moreover, all the data about the areas he visited turned out to be correct; at the same time, in his stories, told from eyewitnesses, there are some exaggerations, for example about Chipingu (Chipangu). Thanks to him, Europe first heard about paper money, streets lined with trees, and other innovations that soon began to be adopted in Southern and Western Europe.
Reports of the travels of Marco Polo, along with descriptions of Rubruk, are the most valuable among the works of medieval geoscience 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 Age of Discovery.
Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
Map of Marco Polo's journey.
The list of world-famous travelers of all times and peoples begins with the name of the largest merchant from ancient Venice - Marco Polo. The well-known era of the Great Geographical Discoveries takes its origins from his research. Marco Polo was the very first European of the late 13th century to make a trip to the East, where he spent a long time and collected an incredible amount of new and interesting information for Europe. He was a pioneer who established important trade routes. The renowned explorer visited Khan's court for many years in Mongolia and China, and visited Japan, Southeast Asia and Persia. The result of his wanderings was the popular “Book of Wonders of the World.” Despite the distrust of skeptics that appeared after the publication of the manuscript, Marco’s research serves as a valuable source on the geography and ethnography of many countries of the Middle Ages.
Historical reference
The largest European traveler before the Age of Discovery, Marco Polo, was born in 1254. There are two versions regarding the place of his birth: some scientists believe that he was born in the large trading city of Venice. Croatian historians claim that his birthplace was the island of Korčula (Dalmatian Islands). The father of the world famous merchant, Nicolo, and his uncle, Matteo, were Italian merchants and traded with the states of the East for many years. They developed lands from the Black Sea to the Volga. Medieval trade affected the future discoveries of the young researcher, because to trade goods he had to travel to different continents. Nikolo, after traveling to the lands of modern Uzbekistan and Mongolia with the aim of concluding a diplomatic alliance, told his son about the vast and little-explored lands inhabiting the planet, which are rich in useful goods. These amazing stories from childhood they inspired the young writer to great feats.
From 1271 to 1292 The navigator at the age of 17 made his first trip to China, the basis of which was a commercial orientation. The life of foreign merchants was extremely successful: Kublai Khan entrusted the intelligent Marco with conducting diplomatic work. Afterwards, he made his henchman the governor of a Chinese city, where he spent 3 years. Thanks to the instructions of the Mongol Khan, the foreigner Marco Polo managed to travel throughout the “Celestial Empire” and get acquainted with its history and culture. He was amazed by the history of the Great Chinese wall, stories about the creation of chopsticks, the origins of the tea tradition and Chinese porcelain. He lived in the country of silk for about 16 years.
In 1292 Marco returns back to Italy. During the Venetian War, Polo is captured by the Genus. In prison, a lucky chance brings him together with the writer of novels about the world of kings - Rustician. The traveler decides to tell about his adventures in Asia and what impressions he received. In 1298, the world-famous “Book” was born, which became the very first source of European knowledge about states in Asia. It describes a new amazing and exotic area: Sumatra, Ceylon, Madagascar, Malaysia, etc., India and many other lands, unknown civilizations and countless treasures. The travels of the Italian merchant excited the imagination of his readers. The notes summed up all the activities of Marco Polo and his unprecedented knowledge gained during his campaigns. The manuscript was rendered significant influence on sailors, cartographers and writers of the Middle Ages.
In 1324, the famous explorer was redeemed from prison, he returned to his native Italy and got married to a rich and noble girl, they had 3 daughters. Polo spent the rest of his life in prosperity in a luxurious mansion.
In 1888, a butterfly was named after the popular explorer - Marco Polo's Jaundice.
Conclusion
The famous navigator from Venice had a truly eventful life of campaigns, in which he did a lot trade routes. The result of his greatest experience and accumulated knowledge was reflected in the work “The Book of Wonders of the World,” in which he described the events that happened to him during the period exciting travels. This creation is an invaluable work for the history of all Mankind, which has repeatedly helped people many centuries later. His work was used as a reference book with drawn maps, and as a highly entertaining tale of adventure. It was in demand for 800 years, reprinted and translated into different languages, was considered historical value. All subsequent great discoveries were made thanks to this valuable manuscript. Even the famous Spanish navigator who discovered America, Christopher Columbus, used Marco's creation as an authoritative reference book for finding India.
Not much is known about the biography of Marco Polo. It is interesting to note that there is not a single reliable portrait of him. In the 16th century, a certain John Baptist Ramucio made an attempt to collect and organize information about the life of the famous traveler. In other words, three hundred years passed from the moment of his birth to the appearance of the first mentions of him. Hence the inaccuracy and approximateness of facts and descriptions.
Marco Polo was born around September 15, 1254 in Venice. His family belonged to the noble class, the so-called Venetian nobility, and had a coat of arms. His father, Niccolo Polo, was a successful trader jewelry and spices. The famous traveler’s mother died during childbirth, so his father and aunt were involved in his upbringing.
First travels
The largest source of income for the Venetian state was trade with distant countries. It was believed that the more risk, the higher the profit. Therefore, it is not surprising that Marco Polo’s father traveled a lot in search of new trade routes. The son did not lag behind his father: the love of travel and adventure is in his blood. In 1271 he went with his father on his first trip to Jerusalem.
China
That same year, the newly elected Pope appoints Niccolò Polo, his brother Morfeo and his own son Marco as his official representatives To China. The Polo family immediately sets off on a long journey to the main ruler of China - the Mongol Khan. Asia Minor, Armenia, Mosul, Baghdad, Persia, Pamir, Kashmir - this is their approximate route. In 1275, that is, five years after leaving the Italian port, the merchants found themselves at the residence of Kublai Khan. The latter receives them cordially. He especially liked young Marco. In him he valued independence, fearlessness and a good memory. He more than once invited him to participate in public life and entrusted him with important assignments. In gratitude, the youngest of the Polo family helps the khan recruit an army, talks about the use of military catapults and much more. So 15 years passed.
Return
In 1291, the Chinese Emperor decides to give his daughter to the Persian Shah Arghun. The transition by land was impossible, so a flotilla of 14 ships was equipped. The Polo family is in the first positions: they accompany and protect the Mongolian princess. However, even during the journey, sad news comes about the sudden death of the khan. And the Polos immediately decide to immediately return to their native land. But the journey home turned out to be long and unsafe.
The book and its contents
In 1295, Marco Polo returns to Venice. Exactly two years later he is sent to prison for participating in the war between Genoa and Venice. The few months that he spent in custody cannot be called empty and fruitless. There he meets Rustichello, an Italian writer originally from Pisa. It is he who brings into artistic form Marco Polo’s stories about amazing lands, their nature, population, culture, customs and new discoveries. The book was called “The Book of the Diversity of the World,” which later became a reference book for many discoverers, including Christopher Columbus.
Death of a Traveler
Marco Polo died in his homeland, Venice. At that time, he lived a long life - 69 years. The traveler died on January 8, 1324.
Other biography options
- The famous “Book” of Marco Polo was not taken seriously by readers at first. It was used not as a source of invaluable information about China and other distant countries, but as an easy, entertaining read with a completely fictional plot.
- Christopher Columbus took the “Book” with him on his first expedition to the “shores of India.” He made a lot of notes in its margins. Today, the “Columbus” copy is carefully stored in one of the museums in Seville.
- Towards the end of his life, Marco Polo was indecently stingy and sued his relatives more than once.
- In a short biography of Marco Polo, it is interesting to note that Poland and Croatia also claim to be his small homeland. The Polish side claims that the surname Polo literally translates as “Pole.” The Croats are confident that he was not born in Venice, but on their land - in Korcula.
