Not much is known about the biography of Marco Polo. It is interesting to note that there is not a single reliable portrait of him. In the 16th century, a certain John Baptist Ramusio made an attempt to collect and organize information about the life of the famous traveler. In other words, three hundred years passed from the moment of his birth to the appearance of the first mention of him. Hence the inaccuracy, the approximation of facts and descriptions.

Marco Polo was born around September 15, 1254 in Venice. His family belonged to the nobility, the so-called Venetian nobility, and had a coat of arms. His father, Niccolo Polo, was a successful trader in jewelry and spices. The mother of the famous traveler died during childbirth, so his father and aunt were engaged in his upbringing.

First travels

The largest source of income for the Venetian state was trade with distant countries. It was believed that the greater the risk, the higher the profit. Therefore, it is not surprising that the father of Marco Polo traveled a lot in search of ever new trade routes. The son did not lag behind his father: the love of travel and adventure is in his blood. In 1271, he sets off with his father on his first journey to Jerusalem.

China

In the same year, the newly elected Pope appointed Niccolò Polo, his brother Morfeo and his own son Marco as their official representatives to China. The Polo family immediately sets off on a long journey to the main ruler of China - the Mongol Khan. Asia Minor, Armenia, Mosul, Baghdad, Persia, Pamir, Kashmir - this is an approximate route for them. In 1275, that is, five years after leaving the Italian port, the merchants find themselves in the residence of Khan Kublai. The latter accepts them cordially. He especially liked the young Marco. In it, he valued independence, fearlessness and a good memory. He repeatedly offered him to participate in public life, entrusted him with important assignments. In gratitude, the youngest member of the Polo family helps the khan recruit an army, talks about the use of military catapults, and much more. So 15 years have passed.

Return

In 1291, the Chinese emperor decides to give his daughter to the Persian Shah Arghun. The passage by land was impossible, so a flotilla of 14 ships is equipped. The Polo family is in the first position: they accompany and guard the Mongolian princess. However, even during the journey, sad news comes about the sudden death of the khan. And the Polos immediately decide to immediately return to their native lands. But the way home was long and unsafe.

The book and its contents

In 1295 Marco Polo returns to Venice. Exactly two years later he was imprisoned for participating in the war between Genoa and Venice. Those few months that he spent in custody cannot be called empty and fruitless. There he meets Rusticello, an Italian writer from Pisa. It is he who denounces the stories of Marco Polo about amazing lands, their nature, population, culture, customs and new discoveries into an art form. The book was called "The Book of the Diversity of the World", which later became a desktop for many discoverers, including Christopher Columbus.

Traveler's death

Marco Polo died in his homeland, in Venice. At that time, he lived a long life - 69 years. The traveler died on January 8, 1324.

Other biography options

• The famous "Book" of Marco Polo was not taken seriously by readers at first. It was used not as a source of invaluable information about China and other distant countries, but as light, entertaining reading with a completely fictional plot.
• Christopher Columbus took the "Book" with him on his first expedition to the "shores of India". He made a lot of notes in its margins. Today, the "Columbian" copy is carefully kept in one of the museums in Seville.
• By the end of his life, Marco Polo was indecently stingy and sued his relatives more than once.
• In a brief biography of Marco Polo, it is interesting to note that Poland and Croatia also claim to be his small homeland. The Polish side claims that the surname Polo literally translates as "Pole". The Croats are sure that he was not born in Venice at all, but on their land - in Korcula.

The most interesting facts Journey of Marco Polo

A resident of Venice, Marco Polo (1254-1324) was only seventeen years old when, in 1271, together with his father, named Niccolò, and Uncle Matteo, Venetian merchants climbed onto the deck of a ship and set off on a journey to travel. The Venetians were on their way to China.

At first they traveled by sea through Anatolia, that is, to the peninsula of Asia Minor (now in Turkey). Then by land, overcoming the passes, they passed through the Armenian Highlands, crossed Mesopotamia, the Iranian Highlands, the mountainous country of the Pamirs, which today belongs to Tajikistan. Passing through the deserts of Western and Eastern Turkestan (now Xinjiang), travelers - after three and a half years of travel! - finally got to the palace of the great khan. At the time when Marco Polo traveled around Asia, China was called Catai, and the capital of Catai, Beijing, was called Khanbalik.

In ancient Khanbalik there was a fortress of the great Mongol Khan Khubilai. He was the grandson of the founder of the Mongolian state, Genghis Khan. The Great Khan met the Venetians with great honor. He especially liked the young Marco, whom he soon invited to his service. Marco Polo became the Khan's personal envoy and traveled extensively throughout the Chinese provinces.

In 1295, Marco Polo said goodbye to the court of the great khan and set off on a journey back to his native Venice. According to some reports, having barely managed to return to his homeland, the traveler in 1298 took part in the war with Genoa, during which the Genoese captured Marco Polo. In prison, he told the story of his amazing adventures to his comrade in misfortune, the prisoner Rusticello (Rusticiano), who came from Pisa. The Pisan wrote down the stories of Marco Polo and compiled the Book of the Diversity of the World, which was a great success in Europe. But the work significantly expanded the knowledge of Europeans about the Asian continent, arousing their interest in geography and travel.

about the journey of Marco Paul

Genghis Khan founded his state at the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongol Empire in his reign reached incredible proportions - neither before nor after him such an immense country in the history of mankind was not. The Mongols conquered almost all of mainland Asia and a significant part of Eastern Europe. But after the death of the conqueror, his empire began to disintegrate. Already in the middle of the XIV century. The Mongols were expelled from China. Modern Mongolia is an independent republic in Central Asia. Almost all of its territory (1565 thousand square kilometers) is occupied by steppes and deserts. But, despite the vast expanses of the country, its population is not numerous - on average per 1 sq. km. km does not account for two people.

So who is Marco Polo? This is the most famous medieval Italian traveler (if you follow the path of Marco Polo on the map, it turns out that he traveled half the world) and a writer. The book "On the Diversity of the World" became a bestseller and sold out in huge numbers throughout Europe.

Despite the fact that the accuracy of the facts presented in it is doubtful, this work is still considered the most valuable source containing the most important information on the history, ethnography and geography of the Middle East and Asian regions.

In contact with

Attention! It is known that he used the book during his sea travels. In particular, with the help of her, the Italian tried to find the shortest route to India. This book has survived to this day. It is known that Columbus made more than 70 notes on its margins.

Brief biography of the Venetian traveler

There are a lot of white spots in the biography of the famous merchant. Historians do not question the fact of its existence, but some points not fully explored.

Family

In particular, it is not known where and when the traveler was born. There are several versions of the origin:

1. The father was a merchant Niccolo Polo. The son was born between 1254–1261. in Venice (official years of life: 1254–1324) and was the only child in the family, since at the time of birth his father had already left for China, and his mother died without waiting for her husband to return.
2. My father was from Dolmatia (Croatia) and moved to Venice only in the middle of the 19th century. Perhaps by that time the future traveler had already been born, since there is no information about the birth in the Republic in the archives of Venice. If you follow this version, it turns out that Niccolo was a Dalmatian, and not a Venetian merchant. In Venice, he and his brothers had only a trading post.

Journey of a father and his brothers

By the 13th century, Venetian merchants had taken a leading position in the Mediterranean. They were the main importers of valuable goods from Africa. But this was not enough.

The eyes of the heads of the largest trading houses in Venice turned to the East. Them beckoned mysterious and richest Asia, which could offer European businessmen a lot of very different, elite and incredibly expensive goods.

Niccolo was the head of one of the most successful trading houses in Venice and, of course, wanted to conquer the eastern markets. Together with his brother Matteo, he went to the Crimea, to the city of Sudak. There was a trading post, which was led by another of their brothers - Marco. This trip took place somewhere between 1253-1260.

From Sudak, the brothers went to Sarai-Batu, the capital of the Golden Horde. There they spent a year, and then went further to Bukhara, where they stayed for another 3 years (at this moment, there was actually a war between Batu and Berke, the Mongol khans from the Genghisid clan, who were rivals). From Bukhara with a Persian caravan they moved to Khanbalyk (Beijing), where at that time another Genghisid ruled - Khubilai (Kublai). By the time Khubilai arrived, he had completely conquered China and became the Great Khan.

In Beijing, the brothers stayed for a year, were received by the khan, received from him a golden paizu, which made it possible to freely travel through the territory of the Mongol Empire, and they were also given an assignment - convey a message from Khubilai to the Pope. The Great Khan wanted Catholic missionaries from China to be sent to China.

The brothers returned to Venice only in 1271. At the same time, Niccolo found out that his wife had died, and that he had a fully grown 16-year-old son.

Journey to China and life at the court of the Great Khan

In 1271 the whole family (father, son and father's brothers) traveled to Jerusalem. From there, the merchants set off on their way back to China. In 1275, Marco arrived in Shangdu with his father and uncle. It can be said that the young Venetian did a brilliant career at the Khan's court. He writes that he was a military adviser to the Khan, as well as the governor of one of the Chinese provinces.

Attention! The traveler wrote that he spent about 17 years in China. The chronology in the book is not always accurate, but the geographical and ethnographic descriptions, descriptions of the mores that existed in the Celestial Empire at that time, are as detailed as possible.

The family managed to return to their homeland, to Venice, only in the 90s of the XIII century. Merchants took advantage of the marriage of one of the Mongol princesses, volunteering to accompany her by sea to her fiance in Persia.

Book

In Venice, no one doubted the reality of the journey made by the family(The path of Marco Polo on the map of the Republic of that time is shown very clearly).

On his return, the merchant managed to make war with the Genoese and even spent some time in a Genoese prison.

It was in prison that the book was written. More precisely, it was not the traveler who wrote, but his cellmate Rusticiano.

Marco dictated his notes and thoughts to him.

Attention! The authentic handwritten text has not been preserved. Some researchers believe that a mixture of Old French and Italian was used, others that a little-known Venetian dialect. One way or another, only lists from the original manuscript have survived to our time.

The book originally consisted of four parts:

• the first part is about the journey to China through the countries visited by Marco;
• the second part - the customs of the Celestial Empire and the court of the Great Khan;
• the third part is a description of the countries of Southeast Asia, Japan and India;
• the fourth part is a story about the wars waged by the Mongols.

Path of Marco Polo on the map(according to his book) looks like this:

• there: Venice - Jerusalem - Akka - Baghdad - Ormuz - Kerman - Kashkar - Karakorum - Beijing - Chengdu - Pagan - Beijing;
• back: Beijing - through the whole of Southeast Asia, Hindustan and the Middle East by sea - Hormuz - Tabriz - Constantinople - Venice.

The book was translated into many languages. It is clear that at the time of rewriting and translations, errors were made, inaccuracies, perhaps whole fragments of the authentic text were thrown out or fantastic additions were made, as a result, the path of Marco Polo on the map was partially changed.

last years of life

Not much is known about the last years of the life of the Venetian traveler, but all the data are documented. The merchant was married to a noble Venetian, had several houses and offices in Venice, was engaged in business, participated in litigation.

In marriage, the couple had three children, all girls. Two married merchants from Dolmatia (perhaps version of the Croatian origin of the family and is correct).

Died in 1324. Buried in the church of San Lorenzo.

Fake trip version

Some modern researchers doubt that the famous merchant really made such a journey and lived in China for a long time. They argue their point of view by saying that there are chronological inaccuracies in the book, there are no mentions of:

• hieroglyphs;
• typography;
• porcelain;
• gunpowder;
• the Great Wall;
• traditions of tea drinking and bandaging of women's feet.

Skeptics also refer to the fact that in the Chinese source there is not a word about the stay of the Venetians at the court of the Great Khan.

Arguments in defense of the traveler

Many historians believe that Polo really traveled, and did not learn from the lips of Persian merchants. Proponents of this version say that

• he spoke excellent Mongolian and Persian, he did not need to know the Chinese language (especially writing), since Mongolian was the official language of the court;
• knew little about the traditions of China and the Chinese, as he lived rather apart, and the Chinese themselves did not favor European barbarians;
• did not describe the Great Wall of China, since it was only fully completed during the Ming Dynasty;
• wrote from memory, so topographical, geographical and historical inaccuracies are quite acceptable.

As for the Chinese chronicles, Europeans were rarely mentioned there at all. But in the annals of Yuan-Shi there is a mention of a certain Po-Lo, who lived and worked at the court of the Great Khan.

Attention! The Venetian's book contains many interesting facts about the life of Kublai Khan's court. An outsider could hardly be so aware of the smallest details of life and court intrigues.

What did Marco Polo discover?

It cannot be said that the Marco Polo family has become trade route pioneer To China. Nor can it be said that this was the first contact between Europeans and Chinese.

Historians know that even the Roman emperors managed to establish contact with the Chinese Han dynasty, that in Chinese chronicles there are references to certain merchants from the countries of the “midnight sun”

(perhaps, it was about the Scandinavians or Slavs from Novgorod the Great, who made long expeditions even before the Tatar-Mongol invasion), that shortly before the trip of his father and uncles, an envoy of the French king Louis IX visited China.

However, the journey of Marco Polo and his subsequent detailed description gave an opportunity for Europeans to learn a lot about China and the Chinese. In Europe, they started talking about paper money, coal, sago palms. A detailed description of the cultivation of spices and places of trade in them made it possible for European merchants to eliminate the Arab monopoly on this type of trade.

Marco Polo, travel map, biography

Brief biography of the traveler Mark Polo

Conclusion

In general, the travels of this family did something incredible - they brought Europe and Asia as close as possible. Marco Polo and his relatives visited many countries, thus the Venetian merchants proved that an overland journey through the Mongol Empire could be relatively safe, and therefore profitable. The question of who is Marco Polo and what did he do for rapprochement between Europe and Asia, can be considered sufficiently studied.

The Venetian merchant and traveler does not mention in his notes either the Great Wall of China or tea, just as he does not talk about chopsticks or the custom of bandaging the feet of girls from noble families. Historians, on the other hand, pay attention to the fact that today completely different traditions are associated with Chinese culture than in the days of Marco Polo.

The traveler's contemporaries hardly believed his stories about distant China. In his work entitled "The Book of the Diversity of the World", he described exotic lands, unknown civilizations and countless treasures that were delivered to European markets. The travels of the Venetian merchant excited the imagination of his readers. But let's think about how plausible his stories are? Has Marco really been to China?

The history of the Polo family in East Asia began in 1260. Nicolò and Mateo Polo, Marco's father and uncle, sold everything they owned in Constantinople, an important trading center in both Europe and Asia, and went to Sarai Batu, located in the territory of the Mongol Empire. A group of Venetians caught the attention of the Great Khan, who had never met the Italians before and was fascinated by the interaction with them.

A year later, the Polo family came to the court of Khubilai, the grandson of the founder of the empire, Genghis Khan. Khan ordered the Polo brothers to return to Italy in order to find 100 outstanding people who could become an ornament to his court. Upon his return to Venice, Nicolò learned that in his absence his son Marco was born. During the second expedition of Nicolo Polo to the court of the Great Khan, in 1271, he was accompanied by his 17-year-old son.

From 1271 to 1295 Marco and his family spent in the heart of Asia, in China, at the Court of Kublai. All this time, Marco Polo dictated incredible, amazing stories to the clerk. One of these stories described the mobile bamboo palace of Kublai Khan, as well as his summer residence, Shangdu, which, thanks to the memoirs of the Venetian, became a real symbol of oriental luxury. From another story, we learn about the Khan's court, which shone with noble nobles, sages, monks and sorcerers.

On the territory of Armenia, Marco Polo visited the mountain where Noah's Ark was said to have ended up; in Persia, he visited the supposed tomb of the Magi, where the imperishable relics of Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar rested. Upon his arrival in China, he became one of the first European writers to mention oil and understand, albeit partially, the importance of coal. Marco Polo and his clerk Rustichello of Pisa embellished their stories with numerous legends and set out all the adventures in a very accessible language, not alien to literary canons.

However, as the story unfolds and travelers move deeper into Asia, some inconsistencies become more and more apparent. The world of the East turns out to be shrouded in a haze of legends and fiction, and the genre of memoirs smoothly flows into science fiction, more and more reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels. After the Polo family reached Beijing, Marco, among other foreigners, entered the service of the Great Khan. According to some records, everything at the court was truly gigantic. Marco Polo revealed to Europeans the most severe discipline that reigned in the Mongol army, as well as the existence of huge cities, such as Kinsai, modern Hangzhou, where there were about one million inhabitants and 12 thousand bridges.

How plausible are the stories of Marco Polo?

A clear penchant for fiction and some unconvincing details have led historians to doubt that Marco Polo really ended up as far away in Asia as his book claimed. It is known that he visited Mongolia, however, some researchers wonder why he does not mention the Great Wall of China, tea, chopsticks, or the custom of bandaging the feet of girls from noble families? Maybe the Venetian's foot never set foot on the lands of the Celestial Empire, and he learned all the details from travelers and from Persian books?

Some doubts resolve themselves. The state of the Great Wall of China in the Middle Ages is unknown, since at the beginning of the New Age it was almost completely rebuilt by order of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty. It is likely that during the journey of Marco Polo, only ruins remained from the fortification.

Some of the traditions that are today associated in our minds with Chinese culture may not have been of particular importance to the Venetian, and besides, Marco's opinion was strongly influenced by the Mongols who then ruled in this part of the world.

In 2012, the German researcher Hans Ulrich Vogel published the most comprehensive historical study examining Marco Polo's voyages for credibility. In addition to the arguments already given in defense of the Venetian, the scholar-historian draws our attention to the fact that not a single European and, in general, not a single author provides such a complete description of the Chinese coins of that period, as well as the process of obtaining salt. A comparison was made between Polo's story about how salt was mined in the Chinese city of Shanglu and authentic documents from the Yuan Dynasty era. In addition, Marco is the only one who has described the technique of making paper from mulberry bark with amazing accuracy. Only someone who personally saw how this happens could describe everything in such detail.

History reference

Marco Polo was born on September 15, 1254 in the major Italian trading city of Venice. He was from a merchant family, which partly determined his future fate. Medieval trade was based on trips to other countries for valuable goods, which can partly be considered a journey. Marco's father, returning in 1269 from Mongolia, the Crimea and the lands of modern Uzbekistan, spoke about large and little-known countries that are rich in outlandish goods. The commercial orientation became the basis of a new campaign that lasted 24 years, in which the young Marco Polo set off in 1271.

Life in China, where the merchants arrived in 1275, was successful, except for the excessive guardianship over them by Khan Kublai. According to historians, the older Polo brothers were good advisers on the technical re-equipment of the Chinese army. Marco was also quite smart, and the khan entrusted him with diplomatic work. With instructions from Khubilai, Marco Polo traveled almost all of China, getting acquainted with the history of the country and its culture. Foreigners were probably beneficial to the khan, so they lived until 1292, as if in a golden cage.

Only a chance helped them to leave China. To accompany the princesses to Persia, who were given as wives to the ruler of this country, the khan needed especially confidants. There were no better candidates than the Polo brothers. Travelers decided to go by sea: by land it was quite dangerous because of the strife between the princes within the country. The sea voyage ended successfully both for the future wives in the harem of the Persian ruler, and for Marco Polo, the traveler and writer. The road home passed not only through Persia, where the fleet with royal persons was actually heading. Along the way, Marco Polo described the new lands he saw. Sumatra, Ceylon, Madagascar, Malaysia and a number of other islands, the African coast, India and many other lands entered the stories of Marco Polo.

Significance for modern times

Arriving home, Marco Polo was imprisoned as a participant in the civil war, but was soon released. Death overtook him in 1324, when he was known and respected for writing a book and tales of his own adventures. Despite many inaccuracies in his narrative, it was from the pages of the original handwritten (and since 1477 printed) edition that Europeans first learned about Japan, Indonesia, and Indochina. Today, this campaign of Marco Polo, his story about what he saw, makes it possible to spend holidays in Bali, travel to Sumatra, Java, Borneo and many other islands. These places are loved by many connoisseurs of beach holidays, diving, surfing. The nature of the region is untouched by civilization, and admirers of ecotourism will appreciate the primordial flora of the Indonesian islands.

The description of Chipingu Island opened Japan to readers, and modern tourists - the opportunity to visit this island country. Although this island is one of 3922 that are part of Japan, the information received about it then has turned into a powerful tourism industry today, offering tours to the most technological state in the world. Traveling in the spring, during the cherry blossom season, is most popular with Russian tourists. Hot springs and various natural parks are also favorite places for vacationers in Japan. And, of course, the culture unusual for Europeans attracts.

Despite the popularity of China during Polo's time, his popularization of this country, the abundance of information received during his 17 years in China attracted many Europeans to these places. Today, tours to China are becoming more and more in demand, and the Chinese themselves, in gratitude to Marco Polo for his achievements in the development of their country, erected a monument to him.

Conclusion

Christopher Columbus used The Diversity of the World as an authoritative reference in his search for India. Despite the seeming fame of the biography of Columbus, many facts from his fate will be of interest to readers.