His accounts of his journey are remarkable for their vividness. The majority of the descriptions are drawn from his personal experience of life in Mongol-ruled lands. He recounted the magnificent buildings and fortresses of the Mongol capital, Khanbaliq (present day Beijing), and of the region around the Great Wall, which he had travelled through.
A map of Marco Polo's Travels (1550)
Contents
Early life
Although the date of his birth is not known, it is generally accepted to have been between 1254 and 1257. His father, Niccolo Polo, was a Venetian merchant of the lower classes. When Marco was a young child, his parents moved to Rome. They had Marco baptized as a Catholic (though he showed a strong preference for Eastern Orthodoxy), so that he could receive confirmation and the name Niccolò. However, they did not reside in Rome long, and soon returned to Venice, where Niccolò became a notary in the merchant guild, and a member of the consigliere.
Marco was extremely close to his father, and studied with him. They met daily in the mornings, when Niccolò would read him the latest news of the day. After these readings, they went for a walk in the local parks, or went into the city to visit friends or the theatre, though Niccolò had a reputation as a loner.
Their relationship was broken when Niccolò discovered that he was to be assigned to a mission in the Kingdom of Georgia, and insisted that Marco travel to visit relatives in Toulouse. Niccolò left with a party of fellow merchants, intending to travel back to Toulouse at a later date.
Marco and his mother stayed in Venice for two years, before moving to Toulouse, where they met Niccolò's relatives and friends, including the queen's cousin (Niccolò's uncle), who was also queen of Georgia.
Marco was growing up, and developing his trade. At the age of 10, he went on his first voyage as a merchant. It lasted two years, in an effort to discover new trade routes for the Genoese merchants. During this time, he met people from all different countries, and learned many things.
In 1275, at the age of 17, he returned to Venice to open his own business. Niccolò wished to travel to the war between the King of Hungary
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