Excerpt from The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East Published in 1903
" repeat that everything appertaining to this city is on so vast a scale, and the Great Kaan's yearly revenues therefrom are so immense, that it is not easy even to put it in writing, and it seems past belief to one who merely hears it told."
The Mongols were a nomadic, or wandering, people who lived in Central Asia between China and what is now Russia—the area of modern-day Mongolia. For a brief period during the 1200s, this small nation of warriors controlled much of the known world, thanks to a series of conquests begun by Genghis Khan (UNG-us KAHN; c. 1162-1227). Under his leadership and that of those who followed, the Mongols took control of an area that stretched from the Korean Peninsula to the outskirts of Vienna, Austria, a distance of about 4,500 miles.
After Genghis, the greatest Mongol khan, or ruler, was Kublai Khan (KOO-bluh; 1215-1294; ruled 1260-1294), who led the Mongols in the conquest of China. For centuries, the Chinese had regarded the Mongols and other nomadic tribes with distrust, and they regarded Kublai's victory over them in 1279 as a disaster. Yet the short-lived Mongol empire also had the effect of opening up trade routes, and as a result there was more contact between East and West than ever before.
This situation made possible one of the most celebrated journeys in history, by Marco Polo (1254-1324) and his father and uncle. Marco won such great favor with Kublai Khan
Marco Polo. Reproduced by permission of the Library of Congress.
Marco Polo
In 1271, when he was seventeen years old, Marco Polo set out from his hometown of Venice, Italy, with his father and uncle. Today one can fly from Venice to China in just a few hours; but the Polos' journey—which took them through Persia, Afghanistan, northern India, and into China—lasted three years. Along the way, Marco learned several languages, skills that would help them when they got to their destination.
China at that time was under the control of the Mongols, a nomadic tribe from Central Asia, and the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan was perhaps the most powerful man on Earth. Marco became a minister in the Khan's government, which gave him the opportunity to travel throughout southeastern Asia in the coming years.
By 1287, however, when Marco was thirty-three years old, his aging father and uncle were ready to return home. It took some time to obtain the Khan's approval for them to leave, and the return journey by ship was every bit as difficult as the trip out had been; but finally, in 1295, they returned to Venice.
In 1298, during a war with the rival Italian city of Genoa (JIN-oh-uh), Marco was captured and thrown into a Genoese prison. There he met a writer named Rus-tichello, to whom he told the story of his travels, and Rustichello began writing a book that would become known in English as The Book of Ser Marco Polo. The book would later be recognized as the basis for scientific geography, and greatly expanded Europeans' understanding of the world.
That the ruler made him a trusted official in his government, and as a result he had an opportunity to travel to lands that no European had ever seen. Marco marveled at the wonders of the Mongols' government, and at the highly advanced civilization of the Chinese they had conquered. Later, when he returned to his hometown of Venice, Italy, he recorded these
And other observations in a work the English title of which became The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East. (Ser is an abbreviation of the Italian term for "mister.")
World History
