Europeans have long been attracted by distant China. In the II century. BC e. from the Parthian and Sogdian merchants they first heard about the mysterious rich country, which produces silk in abundance. The latter was worth its weight in gold. Silk clothes were not only light and extremely pleasant to the touch - they helped to get rid of lice and other insects that so annoyed the people of the Middle Ages. Since soap was not yet known in Europe, and baths were firmly forgotten after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, wearing silk clothes became almost the only way to keep the body relatively clean. Because of silk, wars were unleashed and entire nations were destroyed, great empires were created and perished on the Great Silk Road. The distant country was called so - "the country of silk", or Serik.
The neighbors of the Chinese, and even the Europeans, made tremendous efforts to find out the secrets of silk production. The Chinese carefully guarded this secret: anyone suspected of "industrial espionage" faced the death penalty. Nevertheless, at the very beginning of our era, the culture of sericulture penetrated into East Turkestan, in the 5th century. reached Merv, and from there came to southern Iran. In 550, the Byzantine emperor Justinian sent two monks to China with the task of obtaining silkworm cocoons. Hiding them in a hollow bamboo stick, the monks were able to take the precious cargo to Asia Minor. However, the quality of silk from China remained significantly higher than from Central Asia and Byzantium. By the way, it was thanks to the Chinese that in the 8th century Europe recognized porcelain, paper, and later gunpowder, tea, and such "trinkets" as a seismograph and a compass.
In the XIII-XIV centuries. The Mongols, having conquered many countries from the Black Sea to the Sea of Japan, mastered the Eurasian trade routes. And although after the death of Genghis Khan, his empire collapsed, the Chinggisid states formed a “quartet of empires” that controlled the Great Silk Road. One of these states was the Yuan Empire in China. Unlike other territories, the Mongols conquered China for a long time: the conquest began under Genghis Khan, continued under his son Ugedei, and ended under his grandson Khubilai. He ascended the throne in 1260, at the same time he moved the capital of the empire from Karakorum to Khanbalik (now Beijing), took the Chinese name Yuan for his dynasty, and in 1279 defeated the Southern Song empire.
In 1269, the brothers Polo, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice from a long journey. Merchants who traded in Constantinople, which was then part of latin empire, they left the city in time - before the soldiers of Michael VIII Palaiologos burst into it. This saved the brothers: the emperor severely avenged the Latins for the events of 1204, when the capital of Byzantium was captured by the Catholics and plundered. The brothers went to the Crimea, then to the Middle Volga, then to Samarkand and Bukhara, and finally to China. All these were territories conquered by the Mongols.
Kublai reacted favorably to the Venetians. When they gathered for their homeland, he provided them with paiza - metal plate, which served as a letter of credence, and conveyed a message to the Pope. In addition, he ordered the brothers to return to China, accompanied by “about a hundred Christians, smart, versed in the seven arts, dexterous in disputes, such that they could prove to idolaters and people of other faiths that ... Christianity is better than their faith” (seven arts , i.e., the course of secular education, included grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy). Finally, the Khan instructed to bring oils from the sacred lamp burning in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
in Jerusalem.
When Niccolò and Maffeo returned to Venice, two pieces of news awaited them. First, Pope Clement IV has died and a new one has not yet been elected. Secondly, Niccolo's wife also died. Their son Marco by that time was 15 years old. The election of the Pope was delayed, and only two years later it became clear that the throne of the pontiff would be occupied by Tebaldo Visconti ( future Gregory X, later canonized), familiar to the Polo brothers from Palestine, where he served as a legate of the Catholic Church. Without waiting for the official election ceremony, the brothers went to the East with a return message and gifts for the khan. They were accompanied by two monks (instead of the required hundred), as well as Marco, who had already celebrated his 17th birthday.
Travelers by sea reached Acre, and then to the shores of Asia Minor. Further, their path ran overland to the northeast to the Black Sea port of Trebizond, and from there to the southeast to Hormuz. Through Persia, they got to Afghanistan, crossed the Pamir and, passing through the Ferghana Valley, reached Kashgar. Somewhere along the way, the monks accompanying them fell behind. Deserts lay ahead: Takla-Makan, Alashan and Gobi. The travelers passed along the southern edge of the Takla Makan, the Gansu corridor and reached the western point of the Great Wall of China - the Jiayuguan fortress. The journey took just under four years.
Khubilai received the papal envoys as cordially as on the first occasion. The Venetians gave him the message of the Pope, the promised oil from the Jerusalem temple and rich gifts. It would seem that the mission is over. But the Polos stayed in China for 17 years. What delayed them? The elders, of course, could engage in trade. But all the goods they brought with them would have been enough for a week, at most for a month. Buy silk and drag it in caravans to the west, to Central Asia, and then return with a new batch of goods and again exchange them for silk? And so for 17 years? Unlikely.
And the younger one? According to his own testimony, “Marko ... very soon looked at the Tatar customs and learned their language ... and the four alphabets, and writing ... As the great khan saw that Marko was a smart man, he sent him as a messenger to a country where six months to go; but the young man did the job well and sensibly ”(Marco Polo’s book is written in the third person). Since then, the Venetian regularly carried out the diplomatic and administrative assignments of the khan - in other words, he was on public service. He visited many parts of the country, from Tibet to the coast.
The Great Khan did not let the Polo family go home for a long time. But chance intervened. In 1291, ambassadors from Arghun, the Mongol ruler of Iran, came to the khan in order to find a bride for their master. The search was successful: the Mongol princess Kokyochin was very much liked by the ambassadors.
And the Venetians volunteered to accompany her to Tabriz, where the residence of Argun was located. In the works of the classics of history geographical discoveries A. B. Ditmar and I. P. Magidovich speak of two brides going to Iran - the aforementioned Mongolian and the second, Chinese, from the Song dynasty. How many there were in fact remains unclear. Traveling with a bride (or two) and with rich gifts through the mountains and deserts could turn out to be unsafe: numerous descendants of Genghis Khan could not divide the territory of Asia in any way. Therefore, they preferred to travel by sea.
In the spring of 1292, a flotilla of 14 ships set off from the port of Zeytun. During the voyage, travelers heard about Japan and the "7448 islands" scattered in the Chin (South China) Sea, visited Sumatra (Indonesia), where they had to wait five months for good weather. From here, the flotilla moved to the island of Ceylon, passed along the western coast of India, and finally the ships anchored in Hormuz.
This journey lasted a year and a half. Of more than 600 people, only 18 made it to Hormuz, including Princess Kokyochin and three Venetians. What happened to the rest is not reported. Another thing is more interesting: Argun, who was supposed to be made happy by the princess, died at the beginning of 1291. The fact that they did not know about this is rather strange, especially if we recall the communication and notification service excellently organized by the Mongols.
In 1295, the Polos returned to their homeland. Soon a war began between Venice and Genoa for spheres of influence in the Mediterranean. Marco Polo equipped a ship and went to fight, was captured and thrown into a Genoese prison. There he talked about distant countries to his cellmates. One of them, the Pisan Rusticello (or Rusticiano), wrote down the stories of the Venetian. The manuscript that appeared in the prison did not survive, but the work quickly spread throughout Europe under various titles, the most common of which is Il Milione ("Million"), which comes either from the nickname of Marco Emilio Polo himself - Emilione, or from his love of exaggeration. The author himself called his work "Description of the World", and most of all it is known as "The Book of Marco Polo".
The book consists of four parts: in the first, the Middle East and Central Asia are rather briefly described, in the second, in detail, China and the court of the Great Khan, in the third - Japan, India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), as well as Madagascar and East Africa, where the traveler has never been. The last part tells about the countries lying to the north of China, including Russia, and about the numerous wars of the Mongols.
The Book of Marco Polo, which introduced Europeans to China and other countries of the East, was first published in 1477 and enjoyed great success, although many educated readers doubted the veracity of the author. There were many inaccuracies in the essay; it also included fantastic stories. Later, suspicions arose: had the author ever been to China? Have you copied everything from some Persian encyclopedia? The fact is that Polo does not write about the Great Wall of China, nor about tea, nor about the savage custom of bandaging girls' feet so that they remain tiny. As for the wall, Marco and his companions encountered so many fortresses and ramparts during their journey that they were already sick of the very sight of them. And they could not, seeing only fragments of the structure, assess its scale. Didn't write about tea? Could the story of a drink, which the Venetians quite possibly didn't like, interest Europeans more than the story of a giant griffin raising elephants into the sky? Or about combustible stones? By the way, the latter was regarded by everyone as a fairy tale until Europe learned about the properties of coal.
Marco Polo was not the only European in China, but he was the first to report what he saw and learned. The most valuable information about the East, collected by the Venetian during his many years of travel, played an important role in the opening of the sea route to India and even in the involuntary discovery of America.
NUMBERS AND FACTS
Main character: Marco Polo, Venetian
Other characters: Niccolo and Maffeo Polo; Gregory X, Pope; Khubilai, the great khan; Kokyochin, Mongol princess; Rusticello, writer
Action time: 1271-1295
Route: From Venice to China and back
Purpose: Trade operations, diplomatic mission
Meaning: Awakening the interest of Europeans in the countries of the East
... 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 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, 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 Karakoram, 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 off their Tatar clothes, which turned into rags, 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 Marco by his 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 the eastern rulers.
1296 - War broke out between the Venetian Republic and Genoa. In a naval 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, they were reprinted many times (the first printed edition was published in 1477). Up to the second half of XVII centuries, 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 table book 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 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 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 row 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
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" (1298) written from his words is one of the first sources of European knowledge about the countries of Central, East and South Asia.
The book of the Venetian traveler to China, Marco Polo, is mainly compiled from personal observations, as well as from the stories of his father Niccolo, uncle Maffeo and people he met.
The older Polos not once, like Marco himself, but crossed Asia three times, two times from west to east and once in the opposite direction, during the first trip. Niccolo and Maffeo left Venice around 1254 and, after a six-year stay in Constantinople, left from there for trading purposes in the southern Crimea, then moved in 1261 to the Volga. From the middle Volga, the Polo brothers moved southeast through the lands of the Golden Horde, crossed the Trans-Caspian steppes, and then through the Ustyurt plateau went to Khorezm, to the city of Urgench. Their further path ran in the same southeast direction up the valley of the Amu Darya to the lower reaches of the Zarafshan and up along it to Bukhara. There they met with the ambassador of the conqueror of Iran, Ilkhan Hulagu, who was heading to the great Khan Khubilai, and the ambassador invited the Venetians to join his caravan. They went with him "north and northeast" a whole year.
Along the valley of Zarafshan they climbed to Samarkand, crossed into the valley of the Syr Darya and went down to the city of Otrar along it. From here, their path lay along the foothills of the Western Tien Shan to the Ili River. Further to the east, they went either up the Ili valley, or through the Dzungarian Gates, past Lake Alakol (east of Balkhash). Then they moved along the foothills of the Eastern Tien Shan and reached the Khami oasis, an important stage on the northern branch of the Great Silk Road from China to Central Asia. From Khami they turned south, into the valley of the Sulehe River. And further east, to the court of the great khan, they followed the same path that they did later with Marco. Their return route is not clear. They returned to Venice in 1269.
Marco Polo talks sparingly about his childhood, about the first steps of his life until the day he left Venice and went on a journey that brought him immortal fame.
Marco Polo's mother died early, and the boy's uncle, also Marco Polo, probably traded all these years in Constantinople without a break, and future traveler lived in Venice with his aunt Flora (on the paternal side). He had several cousins and sisters. It is likely that until Marco's father returned from Asia, the boy was raised by relatives.
Marco's life proceeded as it proceeded at that time for all the boys. Marco acquired knowledge on the canals and embankments, bridges and squares of the city. Formal education was then received by very few; however, contrary to the opinion of many publishers and commentators, it is possible that Marco could read and write mother tongue. In the introductory chapter to his book, Polo states that "he entered in a notebook only a few notes", because he did not know if he would ever return from China to his homeland. In another chapter of the book, Polo states that during his journey to the great khan, he tried to be as attentive as possible, noting and writing down everything new and unusual that he heard or saw. "Therefore, we can conclude that the boy, who, as you know, later, while in Asia, he learned four languages, could read and write at least a little Italian, and it is possible that he had some knowledge of French as well.
The arrival of Niccolo and Maffeo in Venice was a turning point in Marco's entire life. He eagerly listened to the stories of his father and uncle about the mysterious countries they visited, about the many peoples among whom they lived, about their appearance and clothing, their manners and customs - how they are similar and how they are not similar to Venetian ones. Marco even began to learn some words and expressions in Tatar, Turkic and other outlandish languages - his father and uncle often explained themselves in them, and they often filled their Venetian speech with other people's words. Marco learned what goods various tribes buy and sell, what kind of money they use, where which people are found along the great caravan routes, what they eat and drink where, what rituals they perform with newborns, how they marry, how they bury, what they believe in and what worship. Unconsciously, he accumulated practical knowledge, which in the future served him invaluable service.
Niccolo and his brother, after a fifteen-year journey, did not easily put up with a relatively monotonous existence in Venice. Fate persistently called them, and they obeyed her call.
In 1271, Nicollo, Maffeo, and seventeen-year-old Marco set off on a journey.
Before that, they met with Pope Gregory X, who had just ascended the throne, who gave them as companions two monks from the Order of Preachers - Brother Piccolo of Vicenza and Brother Guillaume of Tripoli.
Three Venetians and two monks reached Layas and began to advance to the East. But as soon as they reached Armenia, they learned that Baybars the Arbalest, a former slave who had taken the throne of the Mamelukes, had invaded these places with his Saracen army, killing and destroying everything that came to hand. The travelers faced a very real danger, but they decided to move on. However, the frightened monks preferred to return to Acre. They gave the Polo brothers papal letters and gifts intended for the great khan.
The desertion of cowardly monks did not at all discourage the Venetians. They knew the way from their previous journey, they knew how to speak local languages, they carried letters and gifts from the highest spiritual shepherd of the West to the greatest monarch of the East, and - most importantly - they had a golden tablet with the personal seal of Khubilai, which was a safe-conduct and a guarantee that they will be provided with food, shelter and hospitality in almost the entire territory through which they had to pass.
The first country they passed through was "Lesser Armenia" (Cilicia) with the port of Layas. There was a lively, extensive trade in cotton and spices.
From Cilicia the travelers ended up in present-day Anatolia, which Marco calls "Turcomania". He informs us that the Turkomans make the finest and most beautiful carpets in the world.
Having passed Turkomania, the Venetians entered the borders of Greater Armenia. Here, Marco tells us, on the top of Mount Ararat, is Noah's Ark. The Armenian sovereign Khaiton, who wrote the history of his homeland in 1307, when he was the abbot of the monastery, says that " this mountain is higher than all the mountains in the world". Both Marco and Khaiton tell the same thing - this mountain is inaccessible because of the snows that cover its winter and summer, but something black (the ark) appears on the snow, and this can be seen at any time of the year.
The next city that the Venetian traveler talks about was Mosul - "all silk and gold fabrics, which are called Mosulins, are made here." Mosul is located on the western bank of the Tigris, opposite ancient Nineveh, it was so famous for its wonderful woolen fabrics that we still call a certain type of fine woolen fabric "muslin".
The travelers then stopped in Tabriz, the largest shopping center, where people from all over the world gathered - there was a flourishing merchant colony of the Genoese.
In Tabriz, Marco first saw the world's largest pearl market - pearls were brought here in large quantities from the shores of the Persian Gulf. In Tabriz, it was cleaned, sorted, drilled and strung on threads, and from here it dispersed all over the world. Marco watched with curiosity as pearls were bought and sold. After the pearls were examined and evaluated by experts, the seller and the buyer squatted opposite each other and carried on a silent conversation, shaking hands covered with folded sleeves, so that none of the witnesses knew on what terms they bargained.
Leaving Tabriz, the travelers crossed Iran in a southeasterly direction and visited the city of Kerman.
After seven days of travel from Kerman, the travelers reached the top of a high mountain. It took two days to overcome the mountain, and the travelers suffered from severe cold. Then they came to a vast, flowering valley: here Marco saw and described bulls with white humps and sheep with fat tails - "their tails are thick, large; in a different weight, thirty pounds."
Now the Venetians entered into dangerous places, since in this part of Persia there were many robbers, called Karaunas. Marco writes that they descended from Indian women, and their fathers were Tatars. Acquaintance with the caraunases almost cost Polo his life and almost deprived the world of one of the most interesting books. Nogodar, the leader of the robbers, attacked the caravan with his gang, taking advantage of the fog that is frequent in this area (Marko attributes the fog to the witchcraft of the Karaunas). The robbers took the travelers by surprise, and they rushed in all directions. Marco, his father and uncle, and some of their guides, seven in all, escaped in a nearby village. The rest were captured and killed or sold into slavery.
Having recomposed the caravan, the undaunted Venetians moved towards their goal - to the Persian Gulf, to Hormuz. Here they were going to board a ship and sail to China - Hormuz was then the final point of maritime trade between the Far East and Persia. The transition lasted seven days. At first, the road went along a steep descent from the Iranian plateau - a mountain path, where many robbers were outrageous. Then, closer to Hormuz, a beautiful, well-watered valley opened up - date palms, pomegranates, oranges and other fruit trees grew here, countless flocks of birds flew.
In Polo times, Ormuz was on the mainland. Later, as a result of raids by hostile tribes, it was destroyed, and "the inhabitants moved their city to an island five miles from the mainland."
Obviously, the Venetians came to the conclusion that a long voyage on the local unreliable ships, and even with horses, usually loaded on top of leather-covered goods, was too risky - they turned to the northeast, inland, towards the Pamirs.
For more than a week they traveled through desert places where the water is green as grass and very bitter, reached Kobian, and then made a many-day journey through the desert and arrived in Tonokain. Marco liked the inhabitants of these countries very much. Here he draws his conclusions about women, the first of many. The Tonokain women made a very strong impression on him, for when, twenty-five years later, having already visited many countries, seen many women and, no doubt, experienced many hobbies, he wrote his book, he could still say that Muslim girls in Tonokaine are the most beautiful in the world.
For many days the Venetians traveled through hot deserts and fertile plains and ended up in the city of Sapurgan (Shibargan), where, to Marco's pleasure, game was found in abundance and hunting was excellent. From Sapurgan the caravan headed for Balkh, in northern Afghanistan. Balkh is one of the oldest cities in Asia, once the capital of Bactriana. Although the city surrendered to the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan without resistance, the conqueror sold all the youth into slavery, and killed the rest of the city's population with incredible cruelty. Balkh was swept off the face of the earth. The Venetians saw sad ruins in front of them, although some of the inhabitants of the city, who had survived from the Tatar sword, were already returning to their old place.
It was in this city, as the legend says, that Alexander the Great married Roxana, the daughter of the Persian king Darius.
Leaving Balkh, travelers for many days moved through the lands abounding in game, fruits, nuts, grapes, salt, wheat. Leaving these beautiful places, the Venetians again ended up in the desert for several days and finally arrived in Badakhshan (Balashan), a Muslim region along the Oka River (Amu Darya). There they saw large mines of rubies, called "balash", deposits of sapphires, lapis lazuli - Badakhshan was famous for all this for centuries.
The caravan was delayed here for a whole year either due to Marco's illness, or because the Polo brothers decided to live in the wonderful climate of Badakhshan in order to make sure that the young man would fully recover.
From Badakhshan, the travelers, rising higher and higher, went in the direction of the Pamirs - upstream of the Oka River; they also passed through the Kashmir valley. Marko, who was undoubtedly deeply impressed by these places, claims that the local inhabitants are engaged in witchcraft and black magic. According to Marco, they can make idols speak, change the weather at will, turn darkness into sunlight, and vice versa. Despite the popular belief that the people of Kashmir were swindlers and deceivers, Marco found that the women there "although they are black, they are good". Indeed, Kashmiri women were famous for their beauty throughout India for centuries, they were everywhere sought to be taken as wives and concubines.
From Kashmir, the caravan went to the northeast and climbed the Pamirs: Marko's guides assured him that this was the highest place in the world. Marco notes that during his stay there, the air was so cold that not a single bird could be seen anywhere. The stories of many ancient Chinese pilgrims who crossed the Pamir confirm Marco's message, and the latest researchers say the same. The Venetian had a sharp eye, and the ascent to the roof of the world was so engraved in his memory that when, almost thirty years later, he was dictating his book in distant Genoa, he remembered how dimly the fire burned at this height, laid out by travelers, how it shone with others , an unusual color, how much more difficult it was to cook food there than usual.
Descending from the Pamirs along the gorge of the Gyoz River (Gyozdarya is the southern tributary of the Kashgar River), the Polos entered the wide plains of East Turkestan, now called Xinjiang. Here deserts stretched, then rich oases met, irrigated by many rivers flowing from the south and west.
Polo, first of all, visited Kashgar - the local climate seemed to Marco moderate, nature, in his opinion, gave here "everything you need for life". From Kashgar, the caravan route continued to the northeast. Although Niccolò and Maffeo probably lived in Samarkand during their first trip, we have no evidence that Marco was there.
During his journey, Polo described the ancient city of Khotan, where emeralds had been mined for centuries. But much more important was the trade in jade, which went from here to the Chinese market from century to century. Travelers could watch how workers dig up pieces of a precious stone in the beds of dried up rivers - this is how it is done there to this day. From Khotan, jade was transported through the deserts to Beijing and Shazhou, where it was used for polished products of a sacred and non-sacred nature. The thirst of the Chinese for jade is insatiable, there is nothing more valuable for them, they consider it the quintessence, the material embodiment of the power of yang - the bright masculine principle of the universe.
Leaving Khotan, Polo, stopping to rest at rare oases and wells, drove through a monotonous desert covered with dunes.
The caravan moved through vast desert spaces, occasionally bumping into oases - Tatar tribes, Muslims lived here. The transition from one oasis to another took several days, it was necessary to take with them more water and food. In Lon (modern Charklyk), travelers stood for a whole week to gain strength to overcome the Gobi desert ("gobi" in Mongolian and means "desert"). A large supply of food was loaded onto camels and donkeys.
On the thirtieth day of the journey, the caravan arrived at Shazhou ("Sand District"), located on the border of the desert. It was here that Marco first observed purely Chinese manners and customs. He was especially struck by the funeral rites in Shazhou - he describes in detail how coffins were made, how the deceased was kept in the house, how they made offerings to the spirit of the deceased, how paper images were burned, and so on.
From Ganzhou, our travelers went to the city that now bears the name of Lanzhou. On the way, Marco saw yaks: the size of these animals and their role in the economy made a vivid impression on him. Valuable small musk deer (musk deer) - this animal is found in in large numbers there to this day - Marco Polo was so interested that, returning to his homeland, he brought with him thousands of miles to Venice "the dried head and feet of this beast."
And now a long journey through the plains, mountains and deserts of Asia is already coming to an end. It took three and a half years: during this time, Marco saw and experienced a lot, learned a lot. But this endless journey, one must think, is tired of both Marco and his senior companions. One can imagine their joy when they saw on the horizon a cavalry detachment sent by the great khan to accompany the Venetians to the khan's court. The squad leader told Polo they had more to do. "forty day marches"- he meant the way to Shangdu, the summer residence of the khan, - and that the convoy was sent so that the travelers would arrive in complete safety and come directly to Kublai. "Is- said the head of the detachment, - noble Messers Piccolo and Maffeo are not plenipotentiary ambassadors of the khan to the apostle and should not be received according to their rank and position?
The rest of the journey flew by unnoticed: at each stop they were given the best reception, they had everything that was required at their service. On the fortieth day, Shandu appeared on the horizon, and soon the exhausted caravan of the Venetians entered its high gate.
The reception given to travelers by Kublai Khan, surprisingly, Marco described very simply and restrainedly. Usually, he does not hesitate to describe at length the splendor and splendor of the khan's receptions and feasts, processions and festivities. Venetians on their arrival in Shandu "went to the main palace, where the great khan was, and with him a large gathering of barons". The Venetians knelt before the khan and bowed to the ground. Khubilai graciously ordered them to get up and "received them with honor, with merriment and feasts."
The Great Khan, after the official reception, talked for a long time with the Polo brothers, he wanted to find out about all their adventures, starting from the day they left the Khan's court many years ago. Then the Venetians presented him with gifts and letters entrusted to them by Pope Gregory (and two timid monks who turned back), and also handed over a vessel with holy oil, taken at the request of the khan from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and carefully preserved in all vicissitudes and dangers long way from the shores of the Mediterranean. Marco was added to the list of courtiers.
The young Venetian very soon attracted the attention of Khubilai - this happened thanks to the mind and ingenuity of Marco. He noticed how eagerly Khubilai perceived all kinds of information about the lands subject to him, about their population, customs, wealth; the Venetian also saw that the khan could not stand it when the ambassador, having completed all the assigned tasks, returned without any additional information and observations obtained beyond the instructions. Cunningly deciding to take advantage of this, Marco began to collect information, making notes about every place he went to, and always sharing his observations with the Khan.
According to Marco himself, the Great Khan decided to test him as an ambassador and sent him to the remote city of Karajan (in Yunnan province) - this city was so far from Khanbalik that Marco "barely turned around in six months". The young man coped with the task brilliantly and delivered to his master a lot of very interesting information. Marko's stories enchanted the great khan: "In the eyes of the sovereign, this noble youth had a divine mind rather than a human one, and the sovereign's love increased,<...>until the sovereign and the whole court spoke of nothing with such astonishment as the wisdom of a noble youth.
The Venetian stayed in the service of the Great Khan for seventeen years. Marco nowhere reveals to the reader on what particular cases he was sent as a confidant of Khan Kublai for many years. It is impossible to accurately trace his travels in China.
Marco reports on the peoples and tribes of China and neighboring countries, on the amazing views of the Tibetans on morality; he described indigenous people Yunnan and other provinces.
The chapter of Marco's book is very interesting, in which he talks about the ancient custom of using cowrie shells as money, about crocodiles (Marco considered them snakes with two legs) and how to catch them. He also tells about the custom of the Yunnanese: if a handsome or noble stranger or any person stayed in their house "with good reputation, influence and weight", at night he was poisoned or killed in another way. "They didn't kill him to steal his money, and they didn't kill him out of hatred.", but in order for his soul to remain in the house where he was killed, and bring happiness. The more beautiful and noble the dead, the Yunnanese believed, the happier the house in which his soul remained would be.
As a reward for his loyalty and in recognition of his administrative ability and knowledge of the country, Kublai appointed Marco governor of the city of Yangzhou, in the province of Jiangsu, on the Grand Canal, near its junction with the Yangtze.
Given the commercial importance of Yangzhou and the fact that Marco lived there for a long time, one cannot help but be surprised that the traveler devoted one short chapter to it. stating that "Mr. Marco Polo, the same one mentioned in this book, ruled this city for three years"(approximately from 1284 to 1287), the author remarks sparingly that "the people here are commercial and industrial", that especially a lot of weapons and armor are made here.
The Venetians enjoyed the patronage and great favors of Khubilai, in his service they acquired both wealth and power. But the khan's favor aroused envy and hatred towards them. Enemies at the court of Khubilai among the Venetians became more and more. They were afraid of the day when the khan would die. Cost their mighty patron "ascend up" on a dragon, how they would be unarmed in the face of enemies, and their riches would almost inevitably doom them to death.
And they were on their way. However, the Khan at first did not want to let the Venetians go.
Khubilai summoned Marco to him along with his father and uncle, spoke to them about his great love for them and asked them to promise, having been in a Christian country and at home, to return to him. He ordered them to be given a golden Tablet with commands that they should not be delayed throughout his land and food was given everywhere, he ordered that they be provided with escorts for safety, and also authorized them to be his ambassadors to the pope, the French and Spanish kings and to other Christian rulers. .
The Great Khan ordered fourteen vessels of the Court to be set afloat, probably stationed in Zaiton (Quanzhou), they had four masts and so many sails that Marco marveled, as all medieval travelers who came to the Far East marveled.
After spending many years in the service of Khubilai, the Venetians returned to their homeland by sea - around South Asia and through Iran. On behalf of the Great Khan, they accompanied two princesses - Chinese and Mongol, who were given in marriage to the Ilkhan (Mongol ruler of Iran) and his heir, to the capital of the Ilkhans, Tabriz. In 1292, the Chinese flotilla moved from Zeytun to the southwest, through the Chip (South China) Sea, during this transition, Marko heard about Indonesia - about "7448 islands", scattered in the Chin Sea, but he visited only Sumatra, where the travelers lived for five months. From Sumatra, the flotilla moved to the island of Sri Lanka past the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. Sri Lanka (as well as Java) Marco incorrectly classifies as "the biggest in the world" islands, but truthfully describes the life of the Sri Lankans, the deposits of precious stones and the famous pearl fishing in the Polk Strait. From Sri Lanka, the ships passed along Western India and Southern Iran, through the Strait of Hormuz to the Persian Gulf.
Marco also talks about African countries adjacent to Indian Ocean, which he, apparently, did not visit: about the great country of Abasia (Abyssinia, that is, Ethiopia), about the islands of Zangibar and Madeigascar located near the equator and in the southern hemisphere. But he mixes Zanzibar with Madagascar, and both islands with the seaside region. East Africa and therefore gives a lot of false information about them. Yet Marco was the first European to report on Madagascar. After a three-year voyage, the Venetians brought the princesses to Iran (about 1294), and in 1295 they arrived home. According to some reports, Marco participated in the war with Genoa and around 1297, during a naval battle, he was captured by the Genoese. In prison in 1298 he dictated the "Book", and in 1299 he was released and returned to his homeland. Almost all the information cited by biographers about his later life in Venice is based on later sources, some of which even refer to XVI century. Very few documents of the XIV century about Marco himself and his family have come down to our time. It has been proven, however, that he lived out his life as a wealthy, but far from rich, Venetian citizen. He died in 1324.
The overwhelming majority of biographers and commentators believe that Marco Polo really made those journeys that he speaks of in his Book. However, many mysteries still remain.
How could he, during his travels, "not notice" the most grandiose defensive structure in the world - the Great Wall of China? Why did Polo, who lived for so many years in the northern capital of China and visited many Chinese cities, and therefore saw many Chinese women, not mention a word about the custom of disfiguring the feet, which was already widespread among Chinese women? Why does Polo never mention such an important and typical Chinese consumer product as tea? But precisely in connection with such gaps in the "Book" and the fact that Marco, undoubtedly, did not know Chinese, no Chinese geographical nomenclature (with few exceptions), some of the most skeptical historians in the first half of the 19th century suggested that Marco Polo had never been to China.
In the XIV-XV centuries, the "Book" of Marco Polo served as one of the guides for cartographers. The "Book" of Marco Polo played a very important role in the history of great discoveries Not only did the organizers and leaders of the Portuguese and first Spanish expeditions of the 15th-16th centuries use maps compiled under the strong influence of Polo, but his work itself was a reference book for outstanding cosmographers and navigators, including Columbus. The "Book" of Marco Polo is one of the rare medieval writings - literary works and scientific papers that are currently being read and reread. It entered the golden fund of world literature, translated into many languages, published and republished in many countries of the world.
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Marco Polo is a famous Venetian traveler. It is known that he was born on the island of Korcula, one of the Dalmatian Islands (now the territory of Croatia). In 1271-1275. traveled to China and in 1292-1295. returned by sea to Italy.
It all started with the fact that the Venetian merchants, natives of the Dalmatian Slavs Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, Marco's father and uncle, traded with the countries of the East for many years. In 1271, the Polo merchants were going to go to Palestine and decided to take Marco with them, who was then 17 years old.
From Venice they got to Akka (Palestine), from there to the port of Ayas (the southern coast of Asia), crossed the Armenian Highlands and went down the Tigris River to the port of Basra. Further, the Polo merchants probably reached Tabriz and through Kerman got to Hormuz, deciding to reach China by sea. However, the ships seemed to them very unreliable, and they returned to Kerman. Having traveled with a caravan along the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush, the Polos crossed the Pamirs in 12 days and descended into the Kashgar oasis. Then, rounding the Takla-Makan desert from the south, they moved from oasis to oasis through the sands of Kumtag.
During the journey, the merchants crossed the central part of Asia Minor, the Armenian Highlands, Kurdistan and from south to east passed through the territory of Iran, having visited most of Central Asia. Finally, the Venetians proceeded to the valley of the Shulehe River and reached the Chinese city of Ganzhou (Zhangye). They lived in it for a year. Probably, it was then that M. Polo visited the city of Karakoram, through which the Polos passed on their way to Xining. In 1274, M. Polo enters the service of the Chinese ruler.
For more than 15 years, together with his uncle, he lived in China at the court of the great Khan Khibulai, engaged in trade (Polo was fluent in Mongolian and two more languages of the Turkic group). During this time, he had to cross East China several times. According to the stories of M. Polo, only two routes can be approximately determined: one - along the seaside strip directly to the south - to the cities of Qingsai (Hangzhou) and Zeitun (Quanzhou), the other - to eastern Tibet, Yunnan and to the north of Indochina.
After spending several years in the service, they returned to their homeland by sea, which ran through Iran, around South Asia. On behalf of the Great Khan, Polo and his uncle accompanied the Chinese and Mongol princesses to the capital of the Ilkhans, Tabriz, who were given in marriage to the Mongol Ilkhan (ruler) and his heir. In 1292, the flotilla left Zeytun in a southwestern direction through the South China Sea (called the Chin Sea at that time). During this trip, he first heard about Indonesia, about "7448 islands scattered in the Chin Sea", but he could only visit Sumatra, where he lived for five months. From there, the flotilla headed for Sri Lanka, which Marco Polo incorrectly ranked among the largest islands. From Sri Lanka along Western India and Southern Iran, the ships of travelers passed through the Strait of Hormuz to the Persian.
Having delivered the princesses to Iran, in 1295 the merchants returned to Venice. According to some reports, after the trip, Polo participated in the war with the Genoese and was captured by them. In prison in 1298, he dictated his "Book on the diversity of the world", which in the XIV-XV centuries. became one of the first guides for cartographers in the countries of Central, East and South Asia. It has been a reference book for many prominent cosmographers and navigators. The book played a very important role in the history of geographical discoveries. In 1299, M. Polo was released from captivity and he returned to his homeland.
In his "Book" M. Polo also talks about the African countries adjacent to the Indian Ocean: about Abasia (Ethiopia) and the islands of Zanzibar and Madagascar located in the southern hemisphere, which he confused with each other and gave a lot of incorrect information about them. Nevertheless, it was M. Polo who was the first European to report on the island of Madagascar.
Marco Polo was born on September 15, 1254. There are two versions about the place where it happened. According to the first version, this is Venice. However, Croatian historians claim that his birthplace is the island of Korcula, now part of the territory of Croatia.
Biography of Marco Polo
Marco's father was Nicolo Polo, who was engaged in merchant business. He traded in jewelry, as well as spices. Together with Uncle Maffeo, they traded with eastern countries.
Marco Polo set out on his first journey in 1271. This happened after his father and uncle returned from their travels in Central Asia. It is worth noting that during their journey, the Mongol Khan Kubilai asked to deliver a letter to Pope Clement IV of Rome, as well as send oil from the tomb of Christ, which was located in Jerusalem. When they arrived in Italy, the Pope had already died, and they were in no hurry to choose a new one. However, they wanted to fulfill the order of the Khan and after 2 years they went to Jerusalem themselves. And so the long journey began.
Marco Polo spent about 17 years in the countries of the East. During this time, he got the opportunity to travel not only all over China, but also other no less interesting places. During his travels, he wrote down everything, which eventually resulted in the "Book of Wonders". This book has been the main source of information for Westerners about Asia. It spoke in detail about Everyday life eastern people.
It was thanks to this book that the West learned about paper money and huge cities in terms of population. The islands of Java and Sumatra, Madagascar and Ceylon, Indonesia and Chipingu were also mentioned there. Previously, nothing was known about them. As a result of writing this book, the traveler Marco Polo made a significant contribution to the development of relations between West and East.
The return to Venice after a long wandering took place only in 1295. 2 years after his return, Marco was captured during naval battle. It was during the captivity that his "Book of Miracles" was written.
As for the family life of the traveler Marco Polo, very little is known about it. He had a wife and 3 daughters. As historians point out, family life didn't always go well with him. Sometimes even had to turn to litigation. It is worth noting that in last years During his life he was a very wealthy man. Enough interesting fact his life is that before his death he gave freedom to his slave, and also provided him with money.
Death overtook the traveler in Venice in 1324. Thus ended the biography of Marco Polo. A lot of interesting events happened in his life.
Travel Asia
In 1271, the journey of Marco Polo, his father and uncle from Venice to China began. The path was quite long, and took about 4 years.
There are two versions about how they got to China:
- In accordance with the first version, Marco Polo's route ran through Akka - Erzerum - Hormuz - Pamir - Kashgar, and only after that they reached Beijing.
- Experts who adhere to the second version argue that the route of Marco Polo ran through Akka - the southern part of Asia - the Armenian Highlands - Basra - Kerman - the southern part of the Hindu Kush mountains - Pamir - the Takla Makan desert.
But, be that as it may, by 1275 they safely reached Beijing, where they spent a large period of time. Uncle and father were engaged in trade in China, while Marco served the great Khan Kublai. Khan treated him very well.
Being in the service of Khubilai, the traveler had a chance to travel around almost the entire territory of China. During these 17 years, he was even appointed to the post of ruler of Jiangnan Province.
During their stay in China, Marco, his father and uncle received a very good favor from the khan, as a result of which he did not want to let them go. However, in 1292 it did happen. Khubilai instructed them to escort the Mongol princess to Persia, where she was to be married.
They successfully delivered the princess to Persia, where in 1294 they received news that Khan Kublai had died. After that, the final stage of Marco Polo's journey began. In 1295 he returned to his homeland - to Venice.
It is worth noting that thanks to his wanderings and the book that he wrote after his return, Marco Polo opened the way for Europeans to the still unknown East Asia!
