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| :''This article is about the trader and explorer. For other uses, see ]'' | |||
| {{Infobox Person | |||
| |name=Marco Polo | |||
| |image=Marco_Polo_portrait.jpg | |||
| |caption= 16th century painting of Marco Polo | |||
| |dead=dead | |||
| |birth_date={{birth date|1254|9|15}} | |||
| |birth_place = ] ], ], usually accepted | |||
| |death_date=on or after ] ] | |||
| |death_place = ]}} | |||
| '''Marco Polo''' (] ]<ref>] & ]: "]". Faber & Faber, 2006.</ref> – ] ] at earliest but no later than June ]<ref name=Yule>{{cite book | |||
| |title=The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian: Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East | |||
| |first=Marco | |||
| |last=Polo | |||
| |chapter=Marco Polo's Last Will | |||
| |translator=Henry Yule | |||
| |year=1875 | |||
| |location=London | |||
| |publisher=John Murray | |||
| |pages=69f}}</ref>) was a ] trader and ] who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book ''Il Milione'' ("The Million" or '']''). | |||
| Polo, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the ] to ] (which he called '']'', after the ]) and visit the ] of the ], ] (grandson of ]). | |||
| ==Voyage of Niccolò and Maffeo Polo== | |||
| ] | |||
| The ''Polo'' name originally did not belong to a family of explorers, but to a family of traders. Marco Polo's father, Niccolò (also Nicolò in ]) and his uncle, Maffeo (also Maffio), were prosperous ]s who traded with the East. They were partners with a third brother, named Marco ''il vecchio'' (the Elder). | |||
| In 1252, Niccolò and Maffeo left ] for ], where they resided for several years.<ref>"Le Livre des Merveilles", p.11</ref> The two brothers lived in the Venetian quarter of Constantinople, where they enjoyed ] because of their country's role in establishing the ] in the ] of 1204. But the family judged the political situation of the city precarious, so they decided to transfer their business northeast to ], a city in ], and left Constantinople in 1259. Their decision proved wise. Constantinople was recaptured in 1261 by ], the ruler of the ], who promptly burned the Venetian quarter.<ref name="zorzi">Zorzi, Alvise, ''Vita di Marco Polo veneziano'', Rusconi Editore, 1982</ref> Captured Venetian citizens were blinded,<ref name="zorzi"/> while many of those who managed to escape perished aboard overloaded refugee ships fleeing to other Venetian colonies in the ]. | |||
| As their new home on the north rim of the ], Soldaia had been frequented by Venetian traders since the 12th century. The ] army sacked it in 1223, but the city had never been definitively conquered until 1239, when it became a part of the newly formed Mongol state known as the ]. Searching for better profits, the Polos continued their journey to ], where the court of ], the ruler of the Golden Horde, was located. At that time, the city of Sarai — already visited by ] a few years earlier — was no more than a huge encampment, and the Polos stayed for about a year. Finally, they decided to avoid Crimea, because of a civil war between Berke and his cousin ] or perhaps because of the bad relationship between Berke Khan and the ]. Instead, they moved further east to ], in modern day ], where the family lived and traded for three years. | |||
| ], where they stayed for three years. They were invited by an envoy of ] (right) to travel east to visit the Great Khan ].]] | |||
| In 1264, Nicolò and Maffio joined up with an embassy sent by the ] Hulagu to his brother, the Grand Khan Kublai. In 1266, they reached the seat of the Grand Khan in the Mongol capital ], present day ], ]. | |||
| In his book, ''Il Milione'', Marco explains how Kublai Khan officially received the Polos and sent them back — with a Mongol named Koeketei as an ambassador to the ]. They brought with them a letter from the Khan requesting 100 educated people to come and teach ] and Western customs to his people and oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher. The letter also contained the ''paiza'', a golden tablet a foot long and three inches wide, authorizing the holder to require and obtain lodging, horses and food throughout the Great Khan's dominion. Koeketei left in the middle of the journey, leaving the Polos to travel alone to ] in the ]. From that port city, they sailed to ], capital of the ]. | |||
| ] to ] in 1271.]] | |||
| The long '']'' — between the death of ], in 1268, and the election of ], in 1271 — prevented the Polos from fulfilling Kublai’s request. As suggested by Theobald Visconti, papal legate for the realm of Egypt, in Acre for the ], the two brothers returned to Venice in 1269 or 1270, waiting for the nomination of the new Pope. | |||
| == Voyages of Marco Polo== | |||
| {{Expand|section|date=March 2007}} | |||
| === Journey to Cathay and service to the Khan=== | |||
| ] | |||
| As soon as he was elected in 1271, Pope Gregory X received the letter from Kublai Khan, remitted by Niccolo and Maffeo. Kublai Khan was asking for the dispatch of a hundred missionaries, and some oil from the lamp of Jerusalum. The two Polos (this time accompanied by the 17 year-old Marco Polo) returned to Mongolia, accompanied by two Dominican monks, Niccolo de ] and Guillaume de ]. The two friars did not finish the voyage due to fear, but the Polos reached Kanbaliq and remitted the presents from the Pope to Kublai in 1274.<ref>"Le Livre des Merveilles", p.5-17</ref> | |||
| The Tibetan monk and confidant of ], ] (1235-1280) mentions in his diaries for 1271 a foreign friend of Kublai Khan, who was quite possibly one of the elder Polos or even Marco Polo, although, unfortunately, no name is given.<ref>Klafkowski, Piotr. (1977). "History of Buddhism in Mongolia—A Preliminary Survey", p. 28 and note. ''Buddhist Studies. The Journal of the Department of Buddhist Studies'', University of Delhi. May, 1977.</ref> | |||
| The Polos spent the next 17 years in China. Kublai Khan took a liking to Marco, who was an engaging storyteller. They set him on many diplomatic missions throughout his empire. Marco carried out diplomatic assignments but also entertained the khan with interesting stories and observations about the lands he traveled. | |||
| Marco reported that apart from entrusting him with diplomatic missions, Kublai Khan also made him governor for three years of the large commercial city of ].<ref>It has been pointed out that his 'governorship' was in fact due to a typographical error. Other serious doubts have been cast on this claim, and on all his China travels, by scholars looking at Chinese records of the time and other independent evidence. See eg Wood, Frances, in ''References''.</ref> An Italian community would actually reside in Yangzhou throughout the 14th century, as documented by the findings of the 1342 tombstone of ]. | |||
| ===Return to Europe=== | |||
| According to Marco’s travel account, the Polos asked several times for permission to return to Europe but the Khan appreciated the visitors so much that he would not agree to their departure. | |||
| Only in 1291 Kublai entrusted Marco with his last duty, to escort the Mongol princess ] (''Cocacin'' in ''Il Milione'') to her betrothed, the Ilkhan ]. The party traveled by sea, departing from the southern port city of ] and sailing to ], and then to ], via ] and ] (where his visits included ], ] and ], which he nicknamed Venice of the East). Marco Polo has been described to utilise the ] although the possibility of a southern route has been advanced.<ref>''The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa'', Stephen Oppenheimer (2004)</ref> | |||
| In 1293 or 1294 the Polos reached the ], ruled by ] after the death of Arghun, and left Koekecin with the new Ilkhan. Then they moved to ] and from that city sailed to Venice. Koekecin would become the principal wife of the Mongol Il-Khan ruler ]. | |||
| <br clear="all" /> | |||
| In terms of the legacy of Marco Polo's travel to China, it was noteworthy as one of the first European visitors to travel to the East; considerable exposure of China's culture to the European continent resulted. The trip also showed Europeans the value of the ] in negotiating this travel; however, even though this ] was used since the first millennium ], the use of the ] actually declined markedly within about 150 years after Marco Polo's expedition, due to the opening of sea routes.<ref></ref> | |||
| ==''Il Milione''== | |||
| ] | |||
| :''See also: ]'' | |||
| On their return from China in 1295, the family settled in Venice where they became a sensation and attracted crowds of listeners who had difficulties in believing their reports of distant China. According to a late tradition, since they did not believe him, Marco Polo invited them all to dinner one night during which the Polos dressed in the simple clothes of a peasant in China. Shortly before the crowds ate, the Polos opened their pockets to reveal hundreds of rubies and other jewels which they had received in Asia. Though they were much impressed, the people of Venice still doubted the Polos. | |||
| Marco Polo was later captured in a minor clash of the war between Venice and ], or in the ], according to a dubious tradition. He spent the few months of his imprisonment, in 1298, dictating to a fellow prisoner, ], a detailed account of his travels in the then-unknown parts of China. | |||
| His book, ''Il Milione'' (the title comes from either "The ]", then considered an extremely big number, or from Polo's family nickname ''Emilione''), was written in ], a language Polo did not speak, and entitled ''Le divisament dou monde'' ("The description of the world"). The book was soon translated into many European languages and is known in English as '']''. The original is lost and there are now several often-conflicting versions of the translations. The book became an instant success — quite an achievement at a time when the invention of the printing press was two hundred years away in Europe. | |||
| ==Later life== | |||
| ] | |||
| Marco Polo was finally released from captivity in the summer of 1299, and he returned home to Venice, where his father and uncles had bought a large house in the central quarter named ''contrada ]'' with the company's profits. | |||
| The company continued its activities, and Marco was now a wealthy merchant. While he personally financed other expeditions, he would never leave Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, a woman from an old, respected patrician family. Marco would have three children with her: Fantina, Bellela and Moreta. All of them later married into noble families. | |||
| Between 1310 and 1320, he wrote a new version of his book, ''Il Milione'', in ]. The text was lost, but not before a ] friar, named Francesco Pipino, translated it into ]. This Latin version was then translated back into the Italian, creating conflicts between different editions of the book. | |||
| Marco Polo died in his home on January 1324, at almost 70 years old. He was buried in the Church of ]. | |||
| ==Historical and cultural impact== | |||
| ] on the Latin edition of Marco Polo's ''Le livre des merveilles''.]] | |||
| ], ], near the ]]] | |||
| Although the Polos were by no means the first Europeans to reach China overland (see, for example, ]), thanks to Marco's book their trip was the first to be widely known, and the best-documented until then. Marco Polo's description of the Far East and its riches inspired ]' decision to try to reach those lands by a western route. A heavily annotated copy of Polo's book was among the belongings of Columbus.<ref>Björn Landström, ''Columbus''; Macmillan, NY, 1967; p.27</ref> | |||
| The name ''Marco Polo'' was also given to a children's game (]), a story in the ] series '']'' (]) and a three-masted ] built in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1851. The fastest ship of her day, ] was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months. Several ships of the Italian navy were named ''Marco Polo''. The airport in ] is named ]. See also the ] satellites. | |||
| The travels of Marco Polo are given an extended ] treatment in the ] writer ]'s ''Messer Marco Polo'', and in ]' 1984 novel '']''. He also appears as the pivotal character in ]'s novel '']''. | |||
| Marco Polo also inspired the creation of Marco Volo, a character in the ] ]. | |||
| In 1982, ] directed an ambitious ], simply titled "Marco Polo". The Italian financed project starred ] as Marco Polo and guest-starred a handful of ] winning actors, like ], ], ], ], ], ] and also ] and ]. The music was scored by the famous Italian music composer ]. The miniseries won 2 ]s and was nominated for 6 more. | |||
| ] is named for the explorer, who described the species during his crossing of ] (ancient ]) in 1271.<ref>Polo, Marco and Rustichello of Pisa. . Ed. Henry Yule (1903), and Henry Cordier (1920). Gutenberg Project, 2004.</ref>. | |||
| ===Cartography=== | |||
| ].]] | |||
| Marco Polo's travels may have had some impact on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the ] a century later. The 1453 ] is said by ] to have been an improved copy of the one brought from ] by Marco Polo: | |||
| :"That fine illuminated world map on ], which can still be seen in a large cabinet alongside the choir of their monastery (The Calmoldese monastery of Santo Michele on Murano) was by one of the brothers of the monastery, who took great delight in the study of ], diligently drawn and copied from a most beautiful and very old ] and a world map that had been brought from ] by the most honourable Messer Marco Polo and his father." Ramusio v.3.<ref>"Dichiarazione d'alcuni luoghi ne' libri di messer Marco Polo, con l'istoria del reubarbaro", preface to Marco Polo's book. Quoted in "Fra Mauro's world map" Piero Falchetta, p61</ref> | |||
| == Controversies== | |||
| {{main|Birth Place of Marco Polo}} | |||
| Croatia claims to host the real ] on the island of ] (the Venetian "Curzola"), in the ]. The claim is controversial, since most literature usually connected him to Venice in the past. However, since no original document is known to record his birthplace, Venice as his birthplace is somewhat controversial as well. | |||
| Some modern historians question the veracity of Marco Polo's account, and wonder whether he really visited the Mongol empire, or whether Marco Polo was simply repeating stories that he had heard from other traders. Dr. John Critchley has pointed out that Marco Polo's stories tend to give more information about minds of Western Europeans than those in Asia.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Dr. Frances Wood has questioned whether or not Marco Polo was even in China.<ref>{{cite book|title=Did Marco Polo Go To China?|last=Wood|first=Frances|publisher=Secker & Warburg|location=London|year=1995|}}</ref> Dr. ] has pointed out several things that a European traveler probably would have mentioned, but did not, and that there is no mention of Marco Polo in Chinese accounts of the period. Jackson also argues that there are several different versions of Polo's book, and questions whether it even represents Polo's account at all, but was instead simply written by a romance writer of the time. Questions have also been raised as to whether Marco Polo, if he did visit China, was genuinely an ambassador, or if he was simply one of the many travelers at the time who claimed to be an ambassador.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Marco Polo and his 'Travels'|author=]|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=61|issue=1|date=1998|pages=82-101}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *]s | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] (1254-1255) | |||
| *] | |||
| *] (A Turco-Mongol who visited Europe in the 1280s) | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| * Hart, Henry H., ''Marco Polo, Venetian Adventurer'', ], 1967 | |||
| * Larner, John, ''Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World'', ], 1999 | |||
| * Wood, Frances, ''Did Marco Polo Go to China?'', Westview Press, 1995 | |||
| * Yule, Henry (Ed.), ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', Dover Publications, New York, 1983 | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{commonscat|Marco Polo}} | |||
| * | |||
| * {{dmoz|Society/History/By_Topic/Exploration/Explorers/Polo,_Marco/|Marco Polo}} | |||
| * | |||
| * - from ]'s book '']'' | |||
| * - A critical analysis of this theory by Dr Igor de Rachewiltz of the ] | |||
| * {{gutenberg author| id=Marco+Polo | name=Marco Polo}} | |||
| * based on the Italian text | |||
| * {{CathEncy|wstitle=Marco Polo}} | |||
| ===IMDb=== | |||
| *{{imdb title|id=0083446|title="Marco Polo" (1982) (mini) TV Series}} | |||
| *{{imdb title|id=0956188|title=Animated Hero Classics: Marco Polo (1997)}} | |||
| *{{imdb title|id=0813789|title="Marco Polo" (2007) (mini) TV Series}} | |||
| <!-- Metadata: see ] --> | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| |NAME=Polo, Marco | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Famous explorer | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH=] ] | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH=] - ] | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
| }} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Polo, Marco}} | |||
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