Marco polo opening. The life of a great traveler: a short biography of Marco Polo

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 him. further 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 whole line other islands, the African coast, India and many other lands entered the stories of Marco Polo.

Significance for modern times

Arriving home, Marco Polo went to prison as a participant 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 the many inaccuracies of 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.

bolivar_s wrote in November 17th, 2017

... If the travels of Marco Polo did not create a permanent connection with the Far East,
they were crowned with another kind of success: the result of them was the most amazing
the world's travel book, ever written, which has forever retained its value.
J. Baker. "History of geographical discoveries 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 Age of Discovery, merchant and writer, wandered around the lands of Central Asia and the Far East for about 17 years, describing his journey in the famous " Book about the diversity of the world. The book was subsequently used by navigators, cartographers, travelers, writers ... First of all, Marco Polo is known for discovering such a mysterious East Asia. 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 paper money for Europe, the sago palm, coal and spices, which at that time were worth their weight in gold.
For a journey unparalleled for its era in terms of duration and coverage of the territory, for the accuracy of observations and conclusions, 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.
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 particular nobility, but rather rich, came from the island of Korcula in Dalmatia.
As you can see, the desire for wandering is a family trait in the Marco Polo family. An uncle, Marco il Vecchio, traveled on business. Niccolo's father and another uncle, Matteo, lived in Constantinople for several years, where they were engaged in trade, traveled the lands from the Black Sea to the Volga and Bukhara, and as part of a diplomatic mission visited the possessions of the Mongol Khan Khubilai.

Journey of Marco Polo
1271 - taking with them the 17-year-old Marco, 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 not for the bright talent, observation and craving for the unknown in the youngest member of the expedition.
The Venetians began their journey in Acre, from where they headed north through Armenia, rounded the northern tip of the lake. Van and through Tabriz and Yazd reached Ormuz, 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 journey didn't end there. The Venetians were destined to live there for 17 years. The Polo brothers engaged in trade, and Marco entered the service of Khan Kublai and traveled a lot around the empire. He was able to get acquainted with a 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 Red River basin. Marco 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 an authorized representative of the imperial council, was the ambassador of the government with special missions in Onnan and Yanzhou. And in 1280, Polo was appointed ruler of the city of Yangtchu and 27 other cities subordinate to him. Marco held this post for three years.
Finally, life in a foreign land began to burden the Venetians. But the Khan was offended by 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 fiancé, Prince Arghun, 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 convenient opportunity to return to Venice after completing the assignment.

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 Ormuz, already familiar to him. Moreover, the travel route was not always chosen by considerations of choosing the shortest path. The desire to see new countries forced Marco to deviate more than 1.5 thousand miles 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 Gassan, the Venetians set off for their homeland via Trebizond and Constantinople.
Return to Venice
1295 - after a 24-year absence, the Polo family returned to Venice. The Wanderers were not recognized even by close relatives, who by that time had occupied Niccolo's house. They have long been considered dead. A few days later, at a feast where Polo invited the most distinguished citizens of Venice, Marco, Niccolo and Matteo, in front of those present, ripped their Tatar clothes, which turned into sackcloth, and poured out a pile of precious stones. Nothing else was taken from Polo's trip.
In Trebizond, expensive silks stockpiled in China were confiscated. Yes, and the story of the jewels, perhaps, is a legend. At least they didn't bathe in gold. The nickname "Millionaire", which was dubbed by fellow citizens of Marko, 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 the eastern rulers.
1296 - War broke out between the Venetian Republic and Genoa. AT sea ​​battle Marco, who commanded one of the ships, was seriously wounded, captured and imprisoned. There he met the same prisoner, the Pisan Rusticiano, to whom he dictated his memoirs, which brought him immortality.
Personal life
After being released 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 conducted business in the city. Upon returning, the traveler married Donata Badoer from a rich and noble family. They had three daughters - Fantine, Bellela and Moretta. According to the will, both the wife and the daughters were denied more than modest sums.

Book. The Significance of Marco Polo's Journey
Memoirs of Marco Polo, recorded by Rusticiano on French and called by him "The Book of Sir Marco Polo Concerning the Kingdoms and Wonders of the East", was destined to survive the centuries. In them, the wanderer appears not so much as a merchant or a khan's official, but as a person passionately carried away by the romance of travel, the multicolored world, and the variety of impressions. Perhaps she became such thanks to Rusticiano, who sought to create a fairy tale about the wonders of the East. But most likely it is all the same Marco. Otherwise, the narrator simply would not have material. And the fate of the traveler himself, who did not gain wealth overseas, makes him look not like a merchant hungry for profit, but like Afanasy Nikitin, also a merchant who went on a journey “over the three seas” and brought back 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 printing, it was reprinted many times (the first printed edition was published in 1477). Up to the second half of XVII century, the book was used as a guide for establishing trade routes to India, China and Central Asia. It acquired a particularly large role in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, becoming the reference book of Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and everyone who sought to find a sea route to India and the Far East.
Memoirs are read with great interest in our time. They are published in Russian in several translations. One of the best is the translation of Professor I.P. Minaev, first published in 1940.
Doubts. Reliability of information
Unfortunately, during the life of Marco, the Venetians questioned his stories, considering them fiction. In this sense, he shared the fate of others famous travelers, in the example of Pytheas and Ibn Battuta. The book, in which Rusticiano, seeking to make it entertaining, placed not only the direct observations of the narrator, but also legends, as well as stories about countries that Polo did not see, only aggravated the situation. Rumors, conjectures, hostility, despite the obvious facts, have successfully survived to this day and, having fallen on the favorable soil of the desire for sensations, have flourished.
A book by the historian Francis Wood has been published in the West under the eloquent title "Has Marco Polo ever been to China?". In his work, he questioned this. 1999 - gullible Internet fans go even further. They organized a discussion to determine the degree of reliability of the information contained in Marco's memoirs. Participants virtually, on the computer screen, repeated his route of more than 3.5 thousand km. At each stage, they got acquainted with documented historical and geographical data about the area, compared them and even voted to find out a collegiate opinion. Most concluded that Polo had not actually been in China. If, in their opinion, he visited the Celestial Empire, then for a very short time. True, the question remained unanswered, where did he spend these 17 years.
However, not only the book of memoirs keeps the memory of Marco Polo's journey. He was a man of such extraordinary character that in China he was even honored with something resembling 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 line of statues, he saw one with energetic features of a clearly non-Mongolian type. He was told it was a statue of Marco Polo. It is unlikely that a random merchant who casually visited the country could receive such attention.
V. Miroshnikova

Marco Polo - Italian, Venetian merchant, traveler and writer, born in the Venetian Republic.

Marco Polo ( 8 - 9 January 1254 G. - 1324 d.) presented the story of his travels in Asia in the famous "Book of the Diversity of the World" or also known as "The Travels of Marco Polo" published in 1300 year.

A book in which he described to Europeans the wealth and vast size of China, its capital Beijing and other cities and countries of Asia.

Despite doubts about the reliability of the facts presented in this book, expressed from the moment of its appearance to the present time, it serves as a valuable source on geography, ethnography, history of Armenia, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, India, Indonesia and other countries in the Middle Ages. .

The book written by Marco had a significant impact on sailors, cartographers, writers XIV-XVI centuries.

In particular, she was on the ship of Christopher Columbus during his search for a route to India. According to researchers, Columbus made on it 70 notes.

Trade route

Marco learned about the trade route from his father and uncle Maffeo Polo when the two of them traveled through Asia and fatefully met Kublai Khan.

AT 1269 after the end of the journey, the brothers returned to and met for the first time with their 15 summer son Marco.

AT 1271 - 1295 after careful preparation Marco Polo makes his epic journey to China with his father Niccolò and father's brother Mafeo Polo.

There is another war between Venice and Genoa.

Marco Polo goes to jail. While in prison, Marco dictated his first stories to his cellmate and managed to write an interesting library of his manuscripts, which were later used to create a unique book of that period of time.

Marco was released in 1299 year, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324 year and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in.

On the edge XIV-XVI centuries, his book was read to develop the concept of the world.

Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to be able to leave a detailed chronicle of his journey.

This book inspired not only Christopher Columbus, but also many other travelers.

Polo family

Marco Polo was born into the family of the Venetian merchant Nicolo Polo, whose family was engaged in the trade of jewelry and spices.

He made the most important journey of his life in 1274 from the city of Soldaya ().

The Travels of the Polo Brothers

AT 1260 year Nicolo (father of Marco Polo), together with his brother Maffeo, went to the main seaport of the Venetians on the Black Sea in Soldaia.

Maffeo, seeing the flourishing of trade, stayed and founded a large trading house in Soldai.

In the same 1260 year Maffeo founds in Soldaia a new trademark Polo.

In preparation for such a long and dangerous journey, the Maffeo Polo Soldier Base helped.

The route the brothers took 1253 year has passed.

After spending a year in Sarai-Batu, the brothers moved on to Bukhara. Due to the danger of hostilities conducted by Khan Berke (Batu's brother) in this region, the brothers were forced to postpone their return home.

After staying in Bukhara for three years and not being able to return home, they joined the Persian caravan, which Khan Hulagu sent to Khanbalik (modern Beijing) to his brother, the Mongol Khan Kublai, who by that time had practically completed the defeat of the Chinese Song dynasty and soon became the sole ruler Mongol Empire and China.

Brothers Niccolo and Maffeo Polo became first"Europeans" visiting China.

Traveler Marco Polo

They owned the city for a century and a half. It was a time of unprecedented prosperity for Soldaya, years of glory and wealth, but also a time of severe upheavals, enemy invasions and devastation.

The famous traveler Marco Polo tells about the trade of the Venetians in Soldaia:

“At the time when Baldwin (one of the leaders of the crusaders) was emperor in Constantinople, i.e. in 1260 Mr., two brothers, Mr. Nicolo Polo, Mr. Marco's father, and Mr. Maffeo Polo, were also there; they came there with goods from . They consulted among themselves and decided to go to the Great Sea () for profit and profit. They bought all sorts of valuables and sailed from Constantinople to Soldaia.

From the spiritual testament it is known that the house of the Polo family in Soldaya remained.

The book written by Marco Polo is one of the most popular objects of historical research. Bibliography compiled in 1986 year, contains more 2300 scientific works only in European languages.

In December 2011 In the 1990s, a monument to Marco Polo by the Mongolian sculptor B. Denzen was erected in Ulaanbaatar near Genghis Khan Square.

In honor of Marco Polo there is an Italian satellite TV channel that broadcasts via satellite Hotbird 13E

AT 2014 The series "Marco Polo" was filmed.

Page of a manuscript completed during Polo's lifetime

The Diversity of the Marco Polo World

The wind of wandering called Marco on a long journey at a very young age. His father Niccolo and uncle Matteo were wealthy merchants. Their trade caravans often visited the east: in Constantinople, the Crimea, at the mouth of the Volga, and even in China. Marco went on one of the expeditions with them. Travelers traveled for a long time, having visited many parts of the Eurasian continent. For 17 years, Marco was in the service of the Mongol Khan Kubilai (Khubilai) in China, and deciding to return to his homeland, he sailed along the entire coast of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia

Marco Polo became the discoverer thanks to the great khan, who included the young man in his honorary retinue. On behalf of the Khan, Marko constantly traveled around the vast empire, acting as an ambassador, and wrote down his observations. These notes were lost, but their contents were preserved in the traveler's memory. Time passed, and Marco Polo began to think about returning to his homeland, but the emperor did not want to let him go, because he highly appreciated his abilities: Marco fulfilled every order of the Great Khan with invariable success. Who knows how much more time the traveler would have spent in a foreign land, if not for a happy coincidence.

In one of his children's stories, Viktor Shklovsky claimed that Marco Polo was a scout-observer. But this exploration was geographical: the traveler traveled a long way through Southeast Asia and made many geographical discoveries.

One day, the Persian king turned to Kublai with a request to give him one of his daughters in marriage. Since the way by land in those days was quite dangerous, Marco, along with his other compatriots, experienced sailors, volunteered to accompany the princess by sea. A flotilla with food supplies for two years, accompanied by a thousand soldiers, set off on a long journey in 1292. The Venetians sailed along the entire southeastern coast of Asia and returned to their homeland after a 24-year absence.

During his imprisonment in a Genoese prison, where Marco Polo ended up as a prisoner of war after participating in one of naval battles, he told another prisoner, Rusticano, about his travels. He wrote down these stories. This is how the “Book on the Diversity of the World” appeared, which quickly gained extraordinary popularity and brought worldwide fame to its author.

India

Marco Polo enthusiastically talks about Chinese and Mongolian cities, describes unusual bridges, the splendor of the rulers' palaces, paved roads, the customs and customs of their inhabitants. It also contains information about Japan, Indonesia, India and Arabia. Much in the book of Marco Polo looked absolutely fantastic for Europeans, but despite this, there were still people who went in search of distant lands, inspired by the reports of the great traveler about them. Among them was Christopher Columbus, who discovered the New World. The book of Marco Polo traveled with him. But what about himself? After being released from prison and returning to Venice, Marco Polo married, had three daughters and lived happily into old age.

From the book of 100 great geographical discoveries author

MEETING WITH THE MAGNIFICENT ASIA (Marco Polo) The famous Soviet writer and publicist Viktor Shklovsky has one little-known story for children: "Marco Polo the Scout" (1931). A strange title for a work about a great traveler, who is rightly considered

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (MA) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PO) of the author TSB

From the book Travelers author Dorozhkin Nikolay

From the book Beijing and its environs. Guide author Bergmann Jürgen

Marco Polo and his relatives Marco Polo (1254–1324), Italian traveler. He traveled to China, where he lived for about 17 years. The “Book” written in his words is one of the first sources of European knowledge about the countries of Central, East and South Asia. In the Soviet

From the book of 100 great travelers author Muromov Igor

*Marco Polo Bridge and *Wanping In Western history books Second World War begins on September 1, 1939, and from the point of view of the Asians, it began two years earlier, already on July 7, 1937. On this day, Japanese troops provoked a skirmish at the * Marco Polo Bridge (69), 15 km

From the book 100 great originals and eccentrics author Balandin Rudolf Konstantinovich

Polo Marco (c. 1254 - 1324) Venetian traveler. Born on the island of Korcula (Dalmatian Islands, now in Croatia). In 1271-1275 he traveled to China, where he lived for about 17 years. In 1292-1295 he returned to Italy by sea. The "Book" written from his words (1298) is one of the first

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 3 [Physics, chemistry and technology. History and archeology. Miscellaneous] author

Marco Polo The famous Soviet writer and publicist Viktor Shklovsky has a little-known story for children: "Marco Polo Scout" (1931). A strange title for a work about a great traveler, who is rightly considered a Venetian merchant. In favor of whom

From the book 3333 tricky questions and answers author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

From the book 100 great travelers [with illustrations] author Muromov Igor

What "black stones" were burned, to the surprise of Marco Polo, by the Chinese instead of firewood? During his stay in China, the Italian traveler Marco Polo (circa 1254-1324) made an amazing discovery: the Chinese widely used coal to produce heat. That's how Marco

From the book 100 great secrets of the East [with illustrations] author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324) Venetian traveler. Born on the island of Korcula (Dalmatian Islands, now in Croatia). In 1271-1275 he traveled to China, where he lived for about 17 years. In 1292-1295 he returned to Italy by sea. Written from his words "The Book" (1298) - one

From the book Who's Who world history author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

From the book Who's Who in the World of Discoveries and Inventions author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

Why was the traveler Marco Polo given the nickname "A Thousand Fables"? In the 13th century, Kithai, as China was then called, was an unfamiliar country for Europeans, full of secrets and wonders. When Marco Polo turned eighteen, he was invited by his father Niccolò and uncle Matteo

From the author's book

What is told in the "Book" of Marco Polo? The “Book” of Marco Polo is one of the rare medieval writings: it combines a lively account of an eyewitness and a participant in the events with the meticulousness of a scientific researcher. It is curious that in the XIV-XV centuries it was used as

From the author's book

Can Marco Polo be trusted? Although the attitude of contemporaries to the "Book" was ambiguous, in the XIV-XV centuries. the work of the Venetian served as one of the guidelines for compiling geographical maps Asia. It played a special role in the era of the great geographical discoveries. Leaders

From the author's book

Why did the countrymen call the traveler Marco Polo "A Thousand Fables"? In the 13th century, Kithai, as China was then called, was an unfamiliar country for Europeans, full of secrets and wonders. When Marco Polo turned eighteen, he was invited by his father Niccolò and uncle Matteo

Marco Polo - famous Italian traveler, Venetian merchant, writer.

Marco's birth documents have not been preserved, so all information is approximate and inaccurate. It is well known that he was born into a merchant family that was engaged in trade. jewelry and spices. He was a nobleman, had a coat of arms and belonged to the Venetian nobility. Polo became a merchant by inheritance: his father's name was Nikolo, and it was he who introduced his son to travel in order to open new trade routes. Marco did not know his mother, since she died during childbirth, and this event happened when Nicolo Polo was far from Venice, on his next trip. The boy was raised by his paternal aunt until long journey Nicolò did not return with his brother Maffeo.

Education

No documents have been preserved on whether Marco studied anywhere. But the fact is known that he dictated his book to his cellmate, the Pisan Rusticiano, while he was a prisoner of the Genoese. It is known that in the future he learned many languages ​​​​during his travels, but whether he knew the letter is still a moot point.

life path

Marco made his first journey with his father to Jerusalem in 1271. After that, his father sent his ships to China, to Khan Kublai, at whose court the Polo family lived for 15 years. Khan liked Marco Polo for his fearlessness, independence and good memory. He, according to his own book, was close to the khan, participated in solving many state issues. Together with the Khan, he was gaining a great Chinese army and invited the ruler to use catapults in military operations. Khubilai appreciated the quick and intelligent Venetian youth beyond his years. Marco traveled to many Chinese cities, carrying out the most complex diplomatic missions of the khan. Possessing a good memory and powers of observation, he delved into the life and way of life of the Chinese, studied their language, never tired of marveling at their achievements, which sometimes surpassed even European discoveries in their level. Everything that Marco saw in China over the years he lived in an amazing country, he described in his book. Shortly before leaving for Venice, Marco was appointed ruler of one of the Chinese provinces - Jiangnan.

Khubilai never agreed to let his pet go home, but in 1291 he sent the entire Polo family to accompany one of the Mongol princesses married to the Persian ruler to Ormuz, the Iranian island. During this trip, Marco visited Ceylon and Sumatra. In 1294, when they were still on the road, they received news of the death of Khan Kublai. Polo no longer had any reason to return to China, so it was decided to go home to Venice. A dangerous and difficult path lay across the Indian Ocean. Of the 600 people who sailed from China, only a few managed to reach the final destination of the journey.

At home, Marco Polo is involved in the war with Genoa, with which Venice competed for the right of sea trade routes. Marco, participating in one of the naval battles, is captured, where he spends several months. It was here that he dictated to his comrade in misfortune, the Pisan Rusticiano, who found himself in the same cell with him, his famous book.

Nicolo Polo was not sure that his son would return alive from captivity and was very worried that their family might be interrupted. Therefore, the prudent merchant remarried, and he had 3 more sons in this marriage - Stefano, Maffio, Giovanni. Meanwhile, his eldest son, Marco, returns from captivity.

Upon his return, Marco's business is going well: he successfully marries, buys big house, he is called in the city Mr. Million. However, the townspeople were derisive towards their compatriot, considering this eccentric merchant a liar who tells tales about distant lands. Despite material well-being recent years his life, Marco yearns for travel and in particular - for China. He was never able to get used to Venice, until the end of his days remembering the love and hospitality of Khubilai. The only thing that pleased him in Venice was the carnivals, which he attended with great pleasure, as they reminded him of the splendor of Chinese palaces and the luxury of the khan's outfits.

Personal life

Returning from captivity in 1299, Marco Polo married a wealthy, noble Venetian Donata, and in this marriage they had three lovely daughters: Bellela, Fantina, Maretta. However, it is known that Marco was very sorry that he did not have a son who could inherit his merchant property.

Death

Marco Polo was ill, and in 1324 he died, leaving a prudent will. He was buried in the church of San Lorenzo, which was demolished in the 19th century. The luxurious house of Marco Polo burned down at the end of the 14th century.

Main achievements of Polo

• Marco Polo is the author of the famous "Book of the Diversity of the World", about which the controversy has not subsided so far: many question the reliability of the facts described in it. Nevertheless, it very masterfully describes the story of Polo's journey through Asia. This book has become an invaluable source on the ethnography, geography and history of Iran, Armenia, China, India, Mongolia, Indonesia in the Middle Ages. It has become a reference book for such great travelers as Christopher Columbus, Fernando Magellan, Vasco da Gama.

Important dates in Polo's biography

• 1254 - birth
• 1271 - the first journey with his father to Jerusalem
• 1275–1290 - life in China
• 1291–1295 return to Venice
• 1298-1299 - war with Genoa, captivity, "The Book of the Diversity of the World"
• 1299 - marriage
• 1324 - death

• The right to be called the Motherland of Marco Polo is presented by Croatia and Poland: the Croats found documents according to which, until 1430, the family of a Venetian merchant lived on the territory of their state, and the Poles argue that “polo” is not a surname at all, but a national identity of the great traveler.
• Towards the end of his life, Marco Polo turned into a rather stingy, stingy man who sued his own relatives for money. However, for historians, the fact that Marco, shortly before his death, released one of his slaves into the wild and bequeathed to him a fairly large amount of money from his inheritance, remains mysterious. According to one version, the slave Peter was a Tatar, and Marco did this in memory of his friendship with the Mongol Khan Kublai. Perhaps Peter accompanied him on his famous journey and knew that most of the stories in his master's book were far from fiction.
• In 1888, a butterfly, the Marco Polo Jaundice, was named after the great explorer.