Marco 2010 Marco Images

Infobox Person

name = Marco Polo
image = Marco_Polo_portrait.jpg
caption = Portrait of Marco Polo
birth_date = ''c''. 1254
birth_place = Unknown locality in the Venetian Republic
death_date =
death_place = Venice, Venetian Republic
body_discovered =
death_cause =
resting_place = Church of San Lorenzo
resting_place_coordinates =
residence =
nationality =
known_for = ''The Travels of Marco Polo''
occupation = Merchant, Explorer
religion =
spouse = Danta Badoer
children = Fantina, Bellela, and Moretta
parents = Mother: Unknown
Father: Niccolò Polo
Marco Polo () (''c''. 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a merchant from the Venetian Republic who wrote ''Il Milione'', which introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had 3 children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo. ''Il Milione'' was translated, embellished, copied by hand and adapted; there is no authoritative version. It documents his father's journey to meet the Kublai Khan, who asked them to become ambassadors, and communicate with the pope. This led to Marco's quest, through Acre, into China and to the Mongol court. Marco wrote of his extensive travels throughout Asia on behalf of the Khan, and their eventual return after and 24 years of adventures. Their pioneering journey inspired Columbus and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport, the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

Life

From childhood through to Genoese captivity

The exact time and place of Marco Polo's birth are unknown, and current theories are mostly conjectural. However, the most quoted specific date is somewhere "around 1254", Meanwhile, Marco Polo's mother died, and he was raised by an aunt and uncle. Polo was well educated, and learned merchant subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and the handling of cargo ships, although he learned little or no Latin. In 1269, Niccolò and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time. In 1271, Marco Polo (at seventeen years of age), his father, and his uncle set off for Asia on the series of adventures that were later documented in Marco's book. They returned to Venice in 1295, 24 years later, with many riches and treasures. They had travelled almost . Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was taken prisoner. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa,

Death

of Castello of Venice, where Polo is buried. The photo was taken after the church was rebuilt. In 1323, Polo was confined to bed, due to illness. On January 8, 1324, despite physicians' efforts to treat him, Polo was on his deathbed. To write and certify the will, his family requested Giovanni Giustiniani, a priest of San Procolo. His wife, Donata, and his three daughters were appointed by him as co-executrices. The church was entitled by law to a portion of his estate; he approved of this and ordered that a further sum be paid to the convent of San Lorenzo, the place where he wished to be buried. He divided up the rest of his assets, including several properties, between individuals, religious institutions, and every guild and fraternity to which he belonged. He also wrote-off multiple debts including 300�lire that his sister-in-law owed him, and others for the convent of San Giovanni, San Paolo of the Order of Preachers, and a cleric named Friar Benvenuto. He ordered 220�soldi be paid to Giovanni Giustiniani for his work as a notary and his prayers. was dated January 9, 1324. Due to the Venetian law stating that the day ends at sunset, the exact date of Marco Polo's death cannot be determined, but it was between the sunsets of January 8 and 9, 1324.

The Travels of Marco Polo

from ''Il Milione''. An authoritative version of Marco Polo's book does not exist, and the early manuscripts differ significantly. The published versions of his book either rely on single scripts, blend multiple versions together or add notes to clarify, for example in the English translation by Henry Yule. Another English translation by A.C. Moule and Paul Pelliot, published in 1938, is based on the Latin manuscript which was found in the library of the Cathedral of Toledo in 1932, and is 50% longer than other versions.

Stories

The book starts with a preface about his father and uncle traveling to Bolghar where Prince Berke Khan lived. A year later, they went to Ukek In 1271, Niccolò, Maffeo and Marco Polo embarked on their voyage to fulfill Khan's request. They sailed to Acre, and then rode on camels to the Persian port of Hormuz. They wanted to sail to China, but the ships there were not seaworthy, so they continued overland until reaching Khan's summer palace in Shangdu, near present-day Zhangjiakou. Three and one-half years after leaving Venice, when Marco was about 21 years old, Khan welcomed the Polos into his palace. On reaching the Mongol court, the Polos presented the sacred oil from Jerusalem and the papal letters to their patron. Marco knew four languages, and the family had accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience that was useful to Khan. It is possible that he became a government official; Kublai Khan declined the Polos' requests to leave China. They became worried about returning home safely, believing that if Khan died, his enemies might turn against them because of their close involvement with the ruler. In 1292, Khan's great-nephew, then ruler of Persia, sent representatives to China in search of a potential wife, and they asked the Polos to accompany them, so they were permitted to return to Persia with the wedding party — which left that same year from Zaitun in southern China on a fleet of 14 junks. The party sailed to the port of Singapore, travelled north to Sumatra and around the southern tip of India, eventually crossing the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. The two-years voyage was a perilous one - of the six hundred people (not including the crew) in the convoy only eighteen had survived (including all three Polos). The Polos left the wedding party after reaching Hormuz and travelled overland to the port of Trebizond on the Black Sea, the present day Trabzon.

Legacy

Further exploration

on a Latin edition of Polo's book. Other lesser-known European explorers had already travelled to China, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, but Polo's book meant that their journey was the first to be widely known. Christopher Columbus was inspired enough by Polo's description of the Far East to visit those lands for himself; a copy of the book was among his belongings, with handwritten annotations.

Commemoration

The Marco Polo sheep, a subspecies of ''Ovis aries'', is named after the explorer,

Cartography

, published ''c.''�1450 by the Venetian monk Fra Mauro. Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the European voyages of exploration a century later. The 1453 Fra Mauro map was said by Giovanni Battista Ramusio to have been partially based on the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo:

See also

Historic

Project Gutenberg The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa
The Silk Road, which Marco Polo traveled.
Chronology of European exploration of Asia
In the early 1990s two friends (Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell), conceived of the ultime road trip to retrace the journey of Marco Polo from Venice, to China only via land and sea.

Historical Fiction

The 2007 television miniseries, ''Marco Polo'', starring Brian Dennehy as Kublai Khan, and Ian Somerhalder as Marco, portrays Marco Polo being left alone in China while his uncle and father return to Venice, to be reunited with him many years later.
The 1982 miniseries, featuring Ken Marshall and Ruocheng Ying, and having taken more than a year to make, appears to be more detailed and historically accurate.

Notes

References

Bibliography

citation|last=Bram|first=Leon L.|first2=Phillips|last2=Robert S.|first3=Norma H.|last3=Dickey|title=Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia

publisher=Funk & Wagnalls|location=New York|year=1983|isbn=9780834300514|ref=CITEREFBram1983
(Article republished in 2006 World Almanac Books, available online from History.com)

Citation|last=Landström|first=Björn |title=Columbus: the story of Don Cristóbal Colón, Admiral of the Ocean

publisher=Macmillan|location=New York City|year=1967

Further reading

External links

National Geographic Marco Polo: Journey from Venice to China
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: A Journey through the Met to the Land of the Great Khan

Persondata

NAME=Polo, Marco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Famous explorer
DATE OF BIRTH=1254
PLACE OF BIRTH=Venice, Republic of Venice
DATE OF DEATH=January 8–9, 1324
PLACE OF DEATH=Venice, Republic of Venice