A Mighty Journey Across the World
Throughout history, there have been many explorers and travelers leaving home to venture to far away places in search of knowledge and wisdom. One man in particular, though, has quite an interesting story to tell. That man, is Marco Polo, a man of imagination and adventure. Marco Polo was an astounding and influential traveler, author, and servant of a powerful emperor in medieval times.
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant believed to have journeyed across Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy. Little is known about Marco’s early years (Marco Polo britannica.com). He was born into a prosperous, merchant family (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). His father, …show more content…
The Polos perhaps owned a few books, which were expensive. They were hand-written on pages made of scraped calfskin (Marco Polo Biography Biography.com).
In 1269, the two brothers finally made it back to Venice, where Niccolò and Marco met for the first time. (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). He was 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 (Marco Polo britannica.com). Marco first set out at age 17 with his father and uncle, traveling overland along what later became known as the Silk Road (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com).
Marco Polo documents his journey to China. According to britannica.com, the Polos had only been on the road for a few days when they learned 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 (Marco Polo britannica.com). From Acre, the travelers proceeded to Ayas …show more content…
Marco Polo returns home. From the Persian court, the Venetians continued their journey home, arriving in 1295 after an absence of nearly tweny-five years (Marco Polo encyclopedia.com). Just a few years after his return to Venice, Marco commanded a ship in a war against the rival city-state of Genoa. He was eventually captured and sentenced to a Genoese prison, where he met a fellow prisoner and writer named Rustichello. Marco told Rustichello about his time in Asia, what he’d seen, where he’d traveled and what he’d accomplished. His stories were soon committed to paper and eventually published a book called The Description of the World, later known as The Travels of Marco Polo (Marco Polo Biography.com). The book made Marco, who was released from prison in 1299, a celebrity. It was printed in French, Italian, and Latin, becoming the most popular read in Europe (Marco Polo Biography.com). At some point after being freed from prison, Marco Polo, by then in his mid-forties, married Donata Badoer, who came from one of the oldest and best known noble families of Venice (Marco Polo’s JOURNEY TO CHINA pg 103). The couple had three daughters, Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta, all of whom married Venetian noblemen (Marco Polo’s JOURNEY TO CHINA pg 103). After this, he carried on the family business for some 25 years (Marco Polo Biography.com). Marco died inside of his home on January 8, 1324. As he lay dying, friends and fans of his book paid him
Throughout history, there have been many explorers and travelers leaving home to venture to far away places in search of knowledge and wisdom. One man in particular, though, has quite an interesting story to tell. That man, is Marco Polo, a man of imagination and adventure. Marco Polo was an astounding and influential traveler, author, and servant of a powerful emperor in medieval times.
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant believed to have journeyed across Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy. Little is known about Marco’s early years (Marco Polo britannica.com). He was born into a prosperous, merchant family (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). His father, …show more content…
The Polos perhaps owned a few books, which were expensive. They were hand-written on pages made of scraped calfskin (Marco Polo Biography Biography.com).
In 1269, the two brothers finally made it back to Venice, where Niccolò and Marco met for the first time. (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com). He was 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 (Marco Polo britannica.com). Marco first set out at age 17 with his father and uncle, traveling overland along what later became known as the Silk Road (MARCO POLO HISTORY.com).
Marco Polo documents his journey to China. According to britannica.com, the Polos had only been on the road for a few days when they learned 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 (Marco Polo britannica.com). From Acre, the travelers proceeded to Ayas …show more content…
Marco Polo returns home. From the Persian court, the Venetians continued their journey home, arriving in 1295 after an absence of nearly tweny-five years (Marco Polo encyclopedia.com). Just a few years after his return to Venice, Marco commanded a ship in a war against the rival city-state of Genoa. He was eventually captured and sentenced to a Genoese prison, where he met a fellow prisoner and writer named Rustichello. Marco told Rustichello about his time in Asia, what he’d seen, where he’d traveled and what he’d accomplished. His stories were soon committed to paper and eventually published a book called The Description of the World, later known as The Travels of Marco Polo (Marco Polo Biography.com). The book made Marco, who was released from prison in 1299, a celebrity. It was printed in French, Italian, and Latin, becoming the most popular read in Europe (Marco Polo Biography.com). At some point after being freed from prison, Marco Polo, by then in his mid-forties, married Donata Badoer, who came from one of the oldest and best known noble families of Venice (Marco Polo’s JOURNEY TO CHINA pg 103). The couple had three daughters, Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta, all of whom married Venetian noblemen (Marco Polo’s JOURNEY TO CHINA pg 103). After this, he carried on the family business for some 25 years (Marco Polo Biography.com). Marco died inside of his home on January 8, 1324. As he lay dying, friends and fans of his book paid him