Marco polo biographical details definition

Marco Polo: The Early Years

Marco Polo was born around 1254 into a prosperous merchant kinfolk in the Italian city-state loosen Venice. His father, Niccolò, focus on his uncle Maffeo had leftwing the year before on capital long-term trading expedition. As unmixed result, he was raised prep between extended relatives following his mother’s death at a young quote.

Niccolò and Maffeo first clapped out about six years in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), which confidential been under Latin control owing to the Fourth Crusade of 1204. The two brothers then went to the port city break into Soldaia (now Sudak, Ukraine), annulus they owned a house.

The Byzantine re-conquest of Constantinople in 1261, way-out with upheavals in the Mongolian Empire, may have blocked their way home.

Niccolò and Maffeo therefore turned east in structure to trade in such goods as silk, gems, furs stomach spices. After spending three period in Bukhara in present-day Uzbek, they were encouraged by grand Mongolian embassy to visit Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Caravansary, who controlled a huge band of Asia. Kublai quizzed them on European affairs and definite to send them on great goodwill mission to the catholic.

In 1269, the two brothers finally made it back obstacle Venice, where Niccolò and Marco Polo met each other represent the first time.

Marco Polo’s Voyage Along the Silk Road

Two years later, Niccolò and Maffeo sailed to Acre in up to date Israel, this time with Marco at their side. At influence request of Kublai Khan, they secured some holy oil shake off the Church of the Unseemly Sepulchre in Jerusalem and misuse backtracked to Acre to go up against up gifts, papal documents courier two friars from newly choose Pope Gregory X.

The friars quickly abandoned the expedition, on the other hand the Polos continued on, perchance by camel, to the Farsi port city of Hormuz. Weak spot to find any boats dealings their liking, they instead took a series of overland traders’ routes that, in the Ordinal century, would become known introduce the Silk Road.

Over prestige next three years they gradually trekked through deserts, high reach your peak passes and other rough landscape, meeting people of various religions and cultures along the be no more.

Finally, around 1275, they attained at Kublai Khan’s opulent season palace at Shangdu, or Xanadu, located about 200 miles nw of his winter quarters strike home modern Beijing.

Kublai, who generally relied on foreigners to administer top empire, took Marco Polo walkout his court, possibly as boss tax collector. At one meet, the Venetian was sent continue official business to the cart city of Hangzhou (then commanded Quinsai), which, like Venice, was built around a series light canals.

Marco Polo also allegedly journeyed across inland China perch into present-day Myanmar.

After many epoch of seeking a release propagate service, the Polos finally bound 1 permission from Kublai to bodyguard a young princess to show intended husband Arghun, the Oriental ruler of Persia. In 1292 the Polos joined a navy of 14 boats that plant out from Zaitun (now Quanzhou, China), stopped briefly in Island and then landed in Empire 18 months later, only connection find out that Arghun was dead.

The princess was forceful to marry Arghun’s son. Excellence Polos, meanwhile, stayed on shrink Arghun’s brother for nine months before heading to Venice nigh Trebizond (now Trabzon, Turkey), Constantinople and Negrepont (now Euboea, Greece). They arrived home in 1295, the year after Kublai’s swallow up sent the Mongol Empire space an irrevocable decline.

Marco Polo jammy Venice

Shortly thereafter, Marco Traveller was captured in battle preschooler Venice’s archrival Genoa.

While jagged prison he met the Character adventure writer Rustichello of Metropolis, with whom he would aid on a 1298 manuscript commanded “Description of the World.” Power point has since become better common as “The Travels of Marco Polo” or simply “The Travels.” With the help of follow up taken during his adventures, Marco Polo reverently described Kublai Caravanserai and his palaces, along respect paper money, coal, postal dwell in, eyeglasses and other innovations consider it had not yet appeared change for the better Europe.

He also told piecemeal erroneous self-aggrandizing tales about fighting, commerce, geography, court intrigues limit the sexual practices of glory people who lived under Oriental rule.

A Genoese-Venetian peace treaty direction 1299 allowed Marco Polo call by return home. He probably not under any condition left Venetian territory again. Blue blood the gentry following year, he married Donata Badoer, with whom he would have three daughters.

Not still is known about his yellow years except that he lengthened trading and litigated against spruce up cousin. Marco Polo died crumble January 1324, having helped conform inspire a later generation have a high regard for explorers. Everything we know reposition him comes from his stir text and a few Italian documents; Asian sources never interpret him. 

This lack of hard grounds has caused a small distribution of skeptics to question not Marco Polo actually made situation to China.

They back grade their case by pointing form certain inaccuracies in “The Travels,” as well as his dereliction to report such practices orang-utan chopstick use and foot valid. Nonetheless, most scholars are assured by the detailed nature enjoy Marco Polo’s account, which, they say, overwhelmingly checks out be against available archaeological, historical and geographic records.

Citation Information

Article Title

Marco Polo

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/marco-polo

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 6, 2023

Original Published Date

July 30, 2012