… If Marco Polo's travels did not create a permanent connection with the Far East,
they were crowned with success of a different kind: the result was the most amazing
in the world is a travel book ever written, which forever retained its value.
J. Baker. "History of Geographical Discovery and Research"
Who is Marco Polo? What did you discover?
Marco Polo (born September 15, 1254 - death January 8, 1324) - the largest Venetian traveler before the era of the great geographical discoveries, merchant and writer, wandered around the lands of Central Asia and the Far East for about 17 years, describing his journey in the famous “A book about the diversity of the world. The book was later used by navigators, cartographers, travelers, writers … First of all, Marco Polo is known for discovering such mysterious East Asia for Europeans. Thanks to his travels, Europeans discovered the country of China, the richest Japan, the islands of Sumatra and Java, the fabulously rich Ceylon and the island of Madagascar. The traveler discovered for Europe paper money, a sago palm, coal and spices, which at that time were worth their weight in gold.
For an unprecedented journey for its era in terms of duration and coverage of the territory, for the accuracy of observations and conclusions of the legendary Italian traveler, Marco Polo is sometimes called the "Herodotus of the Middle Ages". His book - the first direct story of a Christian about India and China - played a very important role in the history of geographical discoveries and for several centuries became an encyclopedia of the life of the peoples of Central Asia and the Far East.
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Origin
Apparently, Marco Polo was born in Venice. At least his grandfather, Andrea Polo, lived there in the parish of the Church of San Felice. But it is known that the Polo family, which was not distinguished by special nobility, but rather rich, originated from the island of Korcula in Dalmatia.
As you can see, the desire for wandering is a family trait in the Marco Polo family. His uncle, Marco il Vecchio, traveled on business. Father Niccolò and another uncle, Matteo, for several years lived in Constantinople, where they were engaged in trade, traveled the lands from the Black Sea to the Volga and Bukhara, as part of a diplomatic mission they visited the possessions of the Mongol Khan Kublai.
Marco Polo in China
Journey of Marco Polo
1271 - Taking 17-year-old Marco with them, the Polo brothers again went to Asia as merchants and envoys of the Pope. They were carrying a letter from the head of the Roman church to the khan. Most likely, this journey would have become one of many, lost in the annals of history, if it were not for the bright talent, observation and craving for the unknown in the younger member of the expedition.
The Venetians began their journey in Acre, from where they headed north through Armenia, rounded the northern end of the lake. Van and through Tabriz and Yazd reached Hormuz, hoping to go east by sea. However, there were no reliable ships in the port, and the travelers turned back to pass through Persia and Balkh. Their further path passed through the Pamirs to Kashgar, then through the cities located at the foot of the Kunlun.
Life in china
After Yarkand and Khotan, they turned east, passed south of the lake. Lop Nor and in the end were able to reach the goal of their journey - Beijing. But their travels did not end there. The Venetians were destined to live there for 17 years. The Polo brothers went into trade, and Marco entered the service of Khan Kublai and traveled a lot around the empire. He was able to get acquainted with part of the Great Chinese Plain, pass through the modern provinces of Shanxi and Sichuan, up to distant Yunnan and even to Burma.
He probably visited the northern region of Indochina, in the basin of the Red River. Marko saw the old residence of the Mongol khans Karakorum, India and Tibet. With his lively mind, sharpness and ability to easily master local dialects, the young Italian fell in love with the khan. 1277 - he became a commissioner of the imperial council, was the government ambassador with special missions in Onnan and Yanzhou. And in 1280 Polo was appointed the ruler of the city of Yangtchu and 27 more cities subordinate to him. Marko held this post for three years.
Finally, life in a foreign land began to weigh on the Venetians. But the khan was offended at any request from Mark to let him go home. Then the Polos decided on a trick. 1292 - they, including Marco, were entrusted to accompany the daughter of Kublai Khan, Kogatra, to her fiance, Prince Argun, who reigned in Persia Khan ordered to equip a whole fleet of 14 ships and supplied the crews with supplies for 2 years. This was a good opportunity to return to Venice after completing the order.
Marco Polo with the Mongol Khan Kublai
Way home
During this trip, Marco Polo was able to see the islands of the Malay Archipelago, Ceylon, the Indian coast, Arabia, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Abyssinia. The voyage ended in the already familiar Hormuz. Moreover, the travel route was not always chosen for reasons of choosing the shortest path. The desire to see new countries forced Marco to deviate more than 1,500 miles to the side to explore the African coast.
As a result, the voyage lasted 18 months, and when the flotilla arrived in Persia, Argun managed to die. Leaving Kogatra in the care of his son Hassan, the Venetians went home through Trebizond and Constantinople.
Return to Venice
1295 - after a 24-year absence, the Polo family returned to Venice. Even close relatives, who had occupied Niccolo's house by that time, did not recognize the wanderers. They have long been considered dead. A few days later, at a feast where Polo invited the most noble citizens of Venice, Marco, Niccolo and Matteo, in front of those present, ripped open their Tatar clothes, which had turned into rags, and poured out a heap of precious stones. Nothing else was taken out of Polo's journey.
In Trebizond, the expensive silks stored in China were confiscated. And the story with the jewels is perhaps a legend. At least they didn't bathe in gold. The nickname "Millionaire", which Marco was christened by fellow citizens, is most likely due to the fact that during the stories about his adventures he often repeated this word in relation to the wealth of eastern rulers.
1296 - war broke out between the Venetian Republic and Genoa. In a naval battle, the commander of one of the ships, Marco was seriously wounded, captured and imprisoned. There he met the same captive, the Pisan Rusticiano, to whom he dictated his memories that brought him immortality.
Personal life
After his release from captivity in 1299, Polo lived quietly until 1324 in Venice and died on January 8 at the age of 69. At the end of his life, he did business in the city. On his return, the traveler married Donata Badoer from a wealthy and noble family. They had three daughters - Fantina, Bellela and Moretta. According to the will, both the wife and daughters were denied more than modest sums.
Marco Polo Travel Route Map
Book. The meaning of Marco Polo's journey
Memories of Marco Polo, recorded by Rusticiano in French and called by him "The Book of Ser Marco Polo concerning the kingdoms and wonders of the East", was destined to survive for centuries. In them, the wanderer appears not so much as a merchant or a khan's official, as as a person passionately carried away by the romance of travel, the multicolored world, and a variety of impressions. Maybe she became so thanks to Rusticiano, who sought to create a tale of the wonders of the East. But most likely all the same is behind this Marco. Otherwise, the storyteller would simply have no material. And the fate of the traveler himself, who has not acquired wealth across the sea, makes him look not like a merchant eager for profit, but like Afanasy Nikitin, also a merchant who went on a journey “across three seas” and brought only a book from there.
The manuscript was read with interest. Very soon it was translated into Latin and other European languages, and after the spread of book printing, it was reprinted many times (the first printed edition was published in 1477). Until the second half of the 17th century, the book was used as a guide for establishing trade routes to India, China and Central Asia. In particular, it acquired a large role in the era of the great geographical discoveries, becoming the handbook of Heinrich the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Fernand Magellan and everyone who sought to find a sea route to India and the Far East.
Memories are read with great interest in our time. They have been published in Russian in several translations. One of the best is the translation of Professor I. P. Minaev, first published in 1940.
Doubt. Reliability of information
Unfortunately, during Marco's lifetime, the Venetians questioned his stories, considering them fiction. In this sense, he shared the fate of other famous travelers, such as Pytheas and Ibn Battuta. The book, in which Rusticiano, trying to make it entertaining, placed not only the direct observations of the narrator, but also legends, as well as stories about countries that Polo had not seen, only exacerbated the situation. Rumors, speculation, ill will, despite the obvious facts, have safely survived to this day and, having fallen on the fertile soil of striving for sensations, blossomed in magnificent color.
A book by the historian Francis Wood has been published in the West under the eloquent title "Has Marco Polo been to China?" In his work, he questioned this. 1999 - Gullible Internet fans went even further. They organized a discussion to determine the degree of reliability of the information contained in the memoirs of Marco. The participants virtually, on a computer screen, repeated its route over 3.5 thousand kilometers. At each stage, they got acquainted with documentary historical and geographical data about the area, compared them and even voted to find out the collegial opinion. The majority concluded that Polo had not actually been in China. If, in their opinion, he visited the Celestial Empire, then for a very short time. However, the question remained unanswered: where did he spend these 17 years.
However, not only the book of memories keeps the memory of Marco Polo's journey. He was such an extraordinary person that in China he was even awarded something like a religious veneration. In Europe, this became known only at the beginning of the 20th century. The Italian Geographical Society has a letter from one of its members dated April 12, 1910. He writes that in 1902 in Canton, in the temple of the Five Hundred Buddhas, in a long row of statues, he saw one with energetic features of a clearly non-Mongolian type. He was told that it was a statue of Marco Polo. It is unlikely that a casual merchant who visited the country in passing could deserve such attention.
V. Miroshnikova
