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Marco Polo

Venetian merchant whose travels opened the East to European understanding.

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Marco Polo

Marco Polo · Public domain

Marco Polo was born around 1254 in Venice, but the exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown.[1] His father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan before Marco's birth.[2] He was probably caught by Genoese in a skirmish in 1296, and spent several months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa.[3][4] Polo was finally released from captivity in August 1299, and returned home to Venice, where he soon became a wealthy merchant.[5]

(Venice) Marco Polo will - Biblioteca Nazinale Marciana
(Venice) Marco Polo will - Biblioteca Nazinale Marciana. Image: Marco Polo · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Kublai appointed Marco as his foreign emissary, sending him on many diplomatic missions throughout the empire and into Southeast Asia.[2] Polo became ill and was confined to bed in 1323, and he died on 8 January 1324.[6]

Marco Polo 1965
Marco Polo 1965. Image: Cavernia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Marco-Polo-Tower
Marco-Polo-Tower. Image: Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Marco-Polo-Tower
Marco-Polo-Tower. Image: Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
"Marco Polo" at Tilbury International Cruise Terminal - geograph.org.uk
"Marco Polo" at Tilbury International Cruise Terminal - geograph.org.uk. Image: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

The Treccani account describes his book as rich with observations collected with acute critical spirit during his long journey.[7] A 2013 paper by Olga Orlić discusses theories suggesting Marco Polo's birthplace was the island of Korčula, but notes such hypotheses failed to gain acceptance among most scholars.[8][9]

Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 125, f. 273v – Marco Polo Devisement du monde, Jean de Mandeville Voyages, Jean le Long d'Ypres Récits de voyages
Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 125, f. 273v – Marco Polo Devisement du monde, Jean de Mandeville Voyages, Jean le Long d'Ypres Récits de voyages. Image: Marco Polo, Jean de Mandeville, Jean le Long d'Ypres · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Peklić, "Marko Polo – Svjetski Putnik", Metodički Ogledi, 2011, p. 50; (online copy pp. 24–25); "Pòlo, Marco", Istituto Treccani; Gullino, "Polo, Marco", Istituto Treccani, 2015; Wood 1998, p. 111–113; "Marco Polo | Biography, Travels, & Influence", Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 January 2024; Hinds, "Venice and Its Merchant Empire", Benchmark Books, 2002; Puljiz-Šostik 2015, p. 5–6; Peklić, "Marko Polo – Svjetski Putnik", Metodički Ogledi, 2011, p. 50; Benedetto, L. F. (2014). The Travels of Marco Polo. Taylor & Francis. p. 8. (we also rea en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zhao, "A History Of Food Culture In China", p. 94; Kleinhenz, "Routledge Revivals: Medieval Italy (2004): An Encyclopedia – Volume II, Volume 2", p. 923; "Marco Polo", Worldatlas.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: According to fr. Jacopo d'Aqui, Chronica mundi libri imaginis; Puljiz-Šostik 2015, p. 5–6; Polo, Marco; Latham, Ronald (translator) (1958). The Travels of Marco Polo, p. 16. New York: Penguin Books. .; Puljiz-Šostik 2015, p. 5–6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Bergreen 2007, p. 340–42; Bergreen 2007, p. 340–42 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergreen 2007, p. 340–42; Bergreen 2007, p. 340–42 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Pòlo, Marco", Istituto Treccani. facts only, no text reused. treccani.it
  8. Olga Orlić, "The curious case of Marco Polo from Korčula: An example of invented tradition", Journal of Marine and Island Cultures (2013), doi:10.1016/j.imic.2013.05.001. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Marco Polo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chiappori, "Polo, Marco", Istituto Treccani, 1998; "Polo, Marco", Istituto Treccani, 2011; Peklić, "Marko Polo – Svjetski Putnik", Metodički Ogledi, 2011, p. 50; "Pòlo, Marco", Istituto Treccani; Bergreen 2007, p. 340–42; Brook 2010, p. 24; Peklić, "Marko Polo – Svjetski Putnik", Metodički Ogledi, 2011, p. 50; Puljiz-Šostik 2015, p. 5–6; Puljiz-Šostik 2015, p. 5–6; Orlić, "The curious case of Marco Polo from Korčula: An example of invented tradition", Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, 2013, p. 20–28 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marco Polo (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Republic of VeniceSilk RoadYuan dynastyCartographyLatin EmpireAcre, IsraelGemstoneAnatolia

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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