Traveling east as far as Mongol emperor Kublai Khan’s summer residence, Shangdu, they established friendly relations with him before returning to Europe as his ambassadors. He was among the first Europeans to visit this part of the world and was the first to record in detail the many things he observed there. That is only natural because Zheng He was part of a large government operation while Marco Polo was just a merchant unrecognized by the majority in Europe. While in Asia, Marco Polo, his father and his uncle encountered a number of strange sights, and they even achieved some political success. Why is Marco Polo so Important? Ibn Battuta. Why is Marco Polo important to history? But why the name Marco Polo sheep? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. They arrived in the Crimean port Sudak in 1260, and then continued to Surai, located on the Volga river, where they engaged in trading fo… Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree, Get access to this video and our entire Q&A library. Services, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Descending on the northeastern side of the chain, they reached Kashi (“Cascar”) in what is now the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China. Why is she so important to Canadian history and Canadians in general? Marco Polo was very famous for his travels and stories he told from Ancient China. The family had traded with the Middle East for a long time, acquiring considerable wealth and prestige. Email. Omissions? It is also believed that Marco visited territories to the south (other parts of Afghanistan, Kafiristan in the Hindu Kush, Chitral in what is now Pakistan, and perhaps Kashmir) during this period. He was age 15 or 16 when his father and uncle returned to meet him and learned that the pope, Clement IV, had recently died. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. They are also known as Pamir Argali or Marco Polo’s Argali. Marco Polo was born around 1254 into a wealthy Venetian merchant family, though the actual date and location of his birth are unknown. As travel technology (e.g. When will we ever see her again? They next traveled through deserts of “surpassing aridity” toward the Khorasan region in what is now eastern Iran. Former Lecturer in Japanese, University of Florence. Hey, enjoy Marco Polo all you want, but I will judge you if you enjoy the character of Marco Polo more than any of the supporting leads. Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal Activity: World Travelers. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. In Acre (now ʿAkko, Israel) the papal legate, Teobaldo of Piacenza, gave them letters for the Mongol emperor. For over 3000 years the great Silk Road was the longest land route in the world. It is, however, difficult to establish which districts he traversed and which he may have described from information gathered en route. The wealth of new geographic information recorded by Polo was widely used in the late 15th and the 16th centuries, during the age of the great European voyages of discovery and conquest. However, when they each returned Zheng He’s accomplishments were more lauded and important than Marco Polo’s. Establishing friendly relations with the great Kublai Khan, they eventually returned to Europe as his ambassadors, carrying letters asking the pope to send Kublai 100 intelligent men “acquainted with the Seven Arts”; they also bore gifts and were asked to bring back oil from the lamp burning at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Marco Polo, (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]—died January 8, 1324, Venice), Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271–95, remaining in China for 17 of those years, and whose Il milione (“The Million”), known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo, is a classic of travel literature. Marco Polo’s writings on the places and cultures he witnessed were remarkable and exceptionally accurate – his sharing was valuable! Marco Polo was one of the most important and famous explorers and writers from Europe; however, the details of his early life and person life are hard to discover. I am going to take a deep dive into Marco Polo Marine Ltd’s most recent ownership structure, not a frequent subject of discussion among individual investors. Marco Polo may be considered important to the Renaissance, as he seemed to embody the humanist ideals in his exploration via East India. No. Polo’s adventures are recounted in his own writings, The Travels, where he describes the peoples, places, and customs of the East, including the fabulous court of the Khan. He was considered very "Brave" because he sailed the Ocean of "Risk" of falling out of Earth. He was considered very "Brave" because he sailed the Ocean of "Risk" of falling out of Earth. What navigation tools did Marco Polo use? Marco traveled much of China and the east, and his stories were written into a popular book. Not realizing that the Mongol empire had already fallen by the time of his voyage, Columbus even planned to follow in Polos footsteps by making contact with Kublai Kahns successor. Through it all, Marco Polo marveled at China's cultural customs, great wealth and complex social structure. There the Polos decided not to risk a sea passage to India and beyond but to proceed overland to the Mongol capital. They were first described by Marco Polo in his book The Travels of Marco Polo and since then have been named after him. He escorted a Mongol princess, with his father and uncle, by sea to Hormuz, and by land to Khorasan, during his return voyage to Venice. The three of them embarked on an … 1 Questions & Answers Place. Kublai Khan sent Marco Polo on fact-finding missions to distant parts of the empire, including visits to Yunnan (and possibly Myanmar [Burma]) and through southeastern China to “Quinsay” (now Hangzhou). 8.1—Exploration & Interconnection. This timeline covers his life and travels. Marco Polo was very famous for his travels and stories he told from Ancient China. His father, Niccolo, and uncle, Maffeo, were successful travelers and traders who had set off to Asia just after Polo's birth. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. 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