12. Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a Venetian traveller, whose descriptions of his journey across the world from Venice to China and back, and of his experiences in the vast dominions of the Mongol emperor Kublai, make one of the greatest books of all time. This remarkable work, The Book of Marco Polo, Citizen of Venice, Called Million, Wherein Is Recounted the Wonders of the World, is a forerunner of scientific geography. Its author was the first to inform the West of the extent and power of China, and the first to give an intelligible account of the ways there.

Marco Polo was born either at Venice, or perhaps at Korcula (Curzola), a Venetian outpost on an island off the Dalmatian coast, in 1254. His father, Niccolo Polo, and his father's brother, Matteo, were members of a noble family of Dalmatian origin. They were merchants and had commercial interests in Constantinople. From there they set out, in 1261, on a long trading expedition which led them ultimately to the court of Kublai, the Great Khan who ruled over China. After seven years they returned to Italy, carrying letters from the Khan to the Pope.

Two years passed before the brothers resolved to start again on their travels, and this time, they took with them Niccolo's son Marco, then 17 years old. They travelled to Acre and from there rode overland to Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. From there they turned northward and made their way through Persia to Balkh, and Khotan. From Khotan they passed near Lop Nor, crossed the Gobi Desert and entered China by way of Su-chou. At length, in 1275, after a journey lasting three years, they presented themselves to Kublai Khan at his summer palace at Shang-tu.

Marco records that he made rapid progress in the Great Khan's favour; he studied the Mongol language and was entrusted by the emperor with various missions to different parts of his realm. As he became an astute man of business, Marco made careful notes of his itineraries, the state of the cities, the customs of the people, and the kinds of crops and other products. After 17 years' travelling in the service of the Khan, Marco, together with his father and uncle, obtained leave to return to Venice. The journey took them 3 years and they arrived in 1295.

Marco could not remain inactive and he is reported as being in 1298 commander of a Venetian warship. In a battle against the Genoese, he was taken prisoner. His few months as a prisoner of war formed the reason for his book. While in prison, he met Rusticiano of Pisa, to whom he dictated the story of his adventures. He returned to Venice after a year and died there in January 1324.