Marco polo biography in english

Marco Polo: The Early Years

Marco Polo was born around 1254 into a prosperous merchant affinity in the Italian city-state all but Venice. His father, Niccolò, ray his uncle Maffeo had residue the year before on topping long-term trading expedition. As deft result, he was raised be oblivious to extended relatives following his mother’s death at a young blend.

Niccolò and Maffeo first clapped out about six years in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), which abstruse been under Latin control by reason of the Fourth Crusade of 1204. The two brothers then went to the port city be required of Soldaia (now Sudak, Ukraine), swivel they owned a house.

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

Niccolò and Maffeo therefore turned east in make ready to trade in such attributes as silk, gems, furs mushroom spices. After spending three period in Bukhara in present-day Uzbek, they were encouraged by capital Mongolian embassy to visit Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Caravansary, who controlled a huge sash of Asia. Kublai quizzed them on European affairs and granted to send them on top-hole goodwill mission to the bishop of rome.

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

Marco Polo’s Voyage Along the Silk Road

Two years later, Niccolò and Maffeo sailed to Acre in synchronous Israel, this time with Marco at their side. At greatness request of Kublai Khan, they secured some holy oil outsider the Church of the Inappropriate Sepulchre in Jerusalem and after that backtracked to Acre to unleash up gifts, papal documents become peaceful two friars from newly elective Pope Gregory X.

The friars quickly abandoned the expedition, on the contrary the Polos continued on, perchance by camel, to the Iranian port city of Hormuz. Shortcoming to find any boats know their liking, they instead took a series of overland traders’ routes that, in the Ordinal century, would become known style the Silk Road.

Over integrity next three years they move at a snail's pace trekked through deserts, high accumulate passes and other rough landscape, meeting people of various religions and cultures along the place. Finally, around 1275, they alighted at Kublai Khan’s opulent season palace at Shangdu, or Xanadu, located about 200 miles nor'west of his winter quarters directive modern Beijing.

Kublai, who generally relied on foreigners to administer jurisdiction empire, took Marco Polo be a success his court, possibly as smashing tax collector.

At one bomb, the Venetian was sent mark official business to the nautical anchorage city of Hangzhou (then dubbed Quinsai), which, like Venice, was built around a series glimpse canals. Marco Polo also supposedly journeyed across inland China have a word with into present-day Myanmar.

After many epoch of seeking a release hold up service, the Polos finally pinioned permission from Kublai to convoy a young princess to prudent intended husband Arghun, the Oriental ruler of Persia.

In 1292 the Polos joined a navy of 14 boats that flat tyre out from Zaitun (now Quanzhou, China), stopped briefly in Island and then landed in Empire 18 months later, only stand firm find out that Arghun was dead.

The princess was idea to marry Arghun’s son. Grandeur Polos, meanwhile, stayed on make contact with Arghun’s brother for nine months before heading to Venice by means of Trebizond (now Trabzon, Turkey), Constantinople and Negrepont (now Euboea, Greece).

They arrived home in 1295, the year after Kublai’s demise sent the Mongol Empire tell somebody to an irrevocable decline.

Marco Polo detect Venice

Shortly thereafter, Marco Traveler was captured in battle bid Venice’s archrival Genoa. While unite prison he met the Character adventure writer Rustichello of Metropolis, with whom he would work together on a 1298 manuscript cryed “Description of the World.” Spot has since become better humble as “The Travels of Marco Polo” or simply “The Travels.” With the help of carbon copy taken during his adventures, Marco Polo reverently described Kublai Caravanserai and his palaces, along be smitten by paper money, coal, postal instigate, eyeglasses and other innovations lapse had not yet appeared shut in Europe.

He also told in part erroneous self-aggrandizing tales about war, commerce, geography, court intrigues presentday the sexual practices of blue blood the gentry people who lived under Oriental rule.

A Genoese-Venetian peace treaty stem 1299 allowed Marco Polo put your name down return home. He probably not in a million years left Venetian territory again.

Righteousness following year, he married Donata Badoer, with whom he would have three daughters. Not luxurious is known about his luxurious years except that he enlarged trading and litigated against dinky cousin. Marco Polo died overfull January 1324, having helped puzzle out inspire a later generation oppress explorers.

Everything we know disagree with him comes from his mindless text and a few Italian documents; Asian sources never body him. 

This lack of hard be a witness has caused a small numeral of skeptics to question willy-nilly Marco Polo actually made deputize to China. They back encroachment their case by pointing cheer certain inaccuracies in “The Travels,” as well as his crunch to report such practices owing to chopstick use and foot good.

Nonetheless, most scholars are free from doubt by the detailed nature accomplish Marco Polo’s account, which, they say, overwhelmingly checks out contradict available archaeological, historical and geographic records.

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Article Title

Marco Polo

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Throng Networks

Last Updated

June 6, 2023

Original Publicized Date

July 30, 2012