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Marco Polo (/ ˈ m ɑːr k oʊ ˈ p oʊ l oʊ / ⓘ, Venetian: [ˈmaɾko ˈpolo], Italian: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo] ⓘ; c. 1254 – 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295.
- 8 January 1324 (aged 69–70), Venice, Republic of Venice
- Overview
- Travels of the Polo family
- Polo’s journey to Asia
The Polos were likely shrewd, alert, and courageous; they traded with the Middle East and acquired considerable wealth and prestige. Marco Polo’s father, Niccolò, and uncle, Maffeo, continued this legacy. Traveling east as far as Mongol emperor Kublai Khan’s summer residence, Shangdu, they established friendly relations with him before returning to Europe as his ambassadors.
What did Marco Polo do?
Marco Polo was 17 or 18 when he began his journey from Venice to the farthest reaches of the Mongol empire. Living among the emperor’s dominions, with his father and uncle, as an advisor and emissary for 16 or 17 years, he returned to Venice by way of Hormuz (aboard ship) and Constantinople (overland).
Why was Marco Polo so influential?
Marco Polo’s account in Il milione opened new vistas to the European mind, and, as Western horizons expanded, Polo’s legacy grew as well. The wealth of new geographic information recorded by Polo was widely used in the late 15th and the 16th centuries, during the age of the great European voyages of discovery and conquest.
What were Marco Polo’s other accomplishments in Asia?
Polo’s way was paved by the pioneering efforts of his ancestors, especially his father, Niccolò, and his uncle, Maffeo. The family had traded with the Middle East for a long time, acquiring considerable wealth and prestige. Although it is uncertain if the Polos were of the nobility, the matter was of little importance in Venice, a city of republican and mercantile traditions.
The family appears to have been shrewd, alert, and courageous; about 1260 they foresaw a political change in Constantinople (e.g., the overthrow of the Crusaders who had ruled since 1204 by Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261), liquidated their property there, invested their capital in jewels, and set off for the Volga River, where Berke Khan, sovereign of the western territories in the Mongol Empire, held court at Sarai or Bulgar. The Polos apparently managed their affairs well at Berke’s court, where they doubled their assets. When political events prevented their return to Venice, they traveled eastward to Bukhara (Bokhara) and ended their journey in 1265, probably at the grand khan’s summer residence, Shangdu (immortalized as Xanadu by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge). Establishing friendly relations with the great Kublai Khan, they eventually returned to Europe as his ambassadors, carrying letters asking the pope to send Kublai 100 intelligent men “acquainted with the Seven Arts”; they also bore gifts and were asked to bring back oil from the lamp burning at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Little is known about Marco’s early years except that he probably grew up in Venice. He was age 15 or 16 when his father and uncle returned to meet him and learned that the pope, Clement IV, had recently died. Niccolò and Maffeo remained in Venice anticipating the election of a new pope, but in 1271, after two years of waiting, they departed with Marco for the Mongol court. In Acre (now in Israel) the papal legate, Teobaldo of Piacenza, gave them letters for the Mongol emperor. The Polos had been on the road for only a few days when they heard that their friend Teobaldo had been elected pope as Gregory X. Returning to Acre, they were given proper credentials, and two friars were assigned to accompany them, though they abandoned the Polos shortly after the expedition resumed.
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Exploration and Discovery
From Acre the travelers proceeded to Ayas (“Laiazzo” in Marco’s writings, now Yumurtalik, on the Gulf of İskenderun, also called the Gulf of Alexandretta, in southeastern Turkey). During the early part of 1272, they probably passed through Erzurum, in what is now eastern Turkey, and Tabrīz, in what is now northern Iran, later crossing inhospitable deserts infested with brigands before reaching Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. There the Polos decided not to risk a sea passage to India and beyond but to proceed overland to the Mongol capital.
They next traveled through deserts of “surpassing aridity” toward the Khorasan region in what is now eastern Iran. Turning gradually to the northeast, they reached more hospitable lands; Badakhshān (“Balascian”), in Afghanistan, in particular, pleased the travelers. Marco suggests that they remained there for a year; detained, perhaps, by illness (possibly malaria) that was cured by the benign climate of the district. It is also believed that Marco visited territories to the south (other parts of Afghanistan, Kafiristan in the Hindu Kush, Chitral in what is now Pakistan, and perhaps Kashmir) during this period. It is, however, difficult to establish which districts he traversed and which he may have described from information gathered en route.
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Jul 30, 2012 · Updated: June 6, 2023 | Original: July 30, 2012. copy page link. Print Page. DeAgostini/Getty Images. Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a Venetian merchant believed to have journeyed across Asia at...
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Feb 12, 2019 · Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who travelled to China and served the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (l. 1214-1294 CE) between c. 1275 and 1292 CE. Polo's adventures are recounted in his own writings, The Travels, where he describes the peoples, places, and customs of the East, including the fabulous court of the Khan.
- Mark Cartwright
- What is Marco Polo famous for?Marco Polo is famous for travelling overland from Venice to China in the last quarter of the 13th century, staying at the Mongol court of Kublai Kh...
- Why did Marco Polo travel to China?Marco Polo travelled to China because he and his father were Venetian merchants. Looking for new business opportunities, they travelled such roads...
- What did Marco Polo discover on his travels?Marco Polo discovered many new people, places and customs on his travels to China and back. In his book, Polo records such sights as Xanadu, the ca...
- Did Marco Polo really travel to China?There has been some controversy that Marco Polo did not actually travel to China because in his book he does not mention some things we might expec...
- What was the impact of Marco Polo's travels to China?Marco Polo's 'Travels', the book first circulated in 1298 which recorded his experiences travelling to China, caused a sensation. The impact of Pol...
Aug 2, 2023 · Who Was Marco Polo? Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer known for the book The Travels of Marco Polo, which describes his voyage to and experiences in Asia. Polo traveled extensively with...
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Jan 8, 2024 · Filled with wonders, Marco Polo's tales are the first European account of the Silk Road. But, 700 years after the famed Venetian merchant and explorer's death, can they be trusted?
Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]—died Jan. 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and traveler who journeyed from Europe to Asia (1271–95). Born into a Venetian merchant family, he joined his father and uncle on a journey to China, traveling along the Silk Road and reaching the court of Kublai Khan c. 1274.
