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After uniting feuding tribes and being acknowledged as sole ruler by the Mongols, Genghis Khan set forth with a powerful army to conquer large portions of Asia, instilling famously brutal tactics to spread fear to neighboring states. When he died in 1227, the Mongol Empire was an Asian powerhouse, and his work was continued by his successors, first by his son Ögedei who continued into Eastern Europe -
Fearing civil war with the barons, and already weakened by a recent defeat to the French, King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215 agreeing to a more balanced form of power.
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Marco Polo was born in Venice. His father and uncle were very rich, and often traveled the world. -
Ruling from 750 AD, even the powerful Abbasid Caliphate was no match for the advancing Mongol Empire, who laid siege to its capital Baghdad in 1258. Believing the city could not be taken, Caliph Al-Musta’sim refused the Mongols demands, but after just 13 days of siege he was forced to surrender.
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Marco's mother died sometime in his childhood and he was raised by an aunt and uncle. They were wealthy and he learned many important things like foreign currency and appraising.
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Marco's father and uncle traveled to China for the first time, where they met Kublai Khan, the ruler of China.
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Marco Polo went with his father and uncle on his first journey to Cathay, or what is now called China.
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Marco's journey took three years, but he finally arrived in China. He met Kublai Khan, the ruler of China, and he studied the Chinese language and learned to speak it well.
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Kublai Khan sent Marco on a mission for him. Marco Polo traveled across China, and he did his mission so well that Kublai Khan decided Marco would work for him.
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Marco Polo rose in favor with the ruler of China, and he even became the ruler of one of Kublai Khan's cities.
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There were some moments of success, but they were brief, and after two centuries of relatively mixed results, peppered with counterattacks by the superior Muslim states, the fall of Acre in 1291 ultimately led to an end in the big Crusades.
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After celebrating Kublai Khan's daughter's wedding in Persia, Marco Polo and his family returned to Venice. They found it was at war with Genoa.
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13 families put forward a claim to the throne, and asked England’s King Edward I to arbitrate. Sensing an opportunity, Edward agreed but established himself as Lord Paramount of Scotland, forcing the appointed King John Balliol to be subservient to him. When John refused to join the English in war against France, Edward invaded Scotland in 1296 and occupied the country in retaliation, defeating them at the Battle of Dunbar and forcing John to abdicate.
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Marco joined the Venetian forces, but he was captured and became a prisoner of war. In prison he met a writer, and he told the writer about his travels; the writer wrote Marco's stories down.
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Marco Polo was released from prison, but was still a prisoner of war.
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At the age of 46 Marco Polo got married and began having children. He had three daughters.
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When a book of his stories reached people around Europe, the fame of Marco Polo's travels spread quickly. People were fascinated with the world of the Chinese.
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Marco Polo died in Venice at the age of 74. His travels and explorations inspired other explorers like Christopher Columbus, and the tales he brought back from China got the people interested in other cultures.
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Marco Polo died in Venice at the age of 74. His travels and explorations inspired other explorers like Christopher Columbus, and the tales he brought back from China got the people interested in other cultures.
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In 1851 Marco Polo had a ship named after him. It was the first ship to sail around the world in under 6 months.