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Sep 15, 1254
Marco Polo's Birth
Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy. His father was a merchant. His father and his uncle had gone exploring to the Mongol Empire where they met Kublai Khan whos father Gengis Khan had conquered alsmost all of Northeast Asia. Kublai Khan was interested in Christianity so he asked Marco's father and uncle to get 100 priests and a collection of holy water. Marco's father and uncle set out back to Venice to fulfill Kublai Khan's request.(holy water - water that has been blessed by a priest -
Jan 1, 1271
His journey Continued
Hardships, of course, came his way. In what is now Afghanistan, Marco was forced to retreat to the mountains in order to recover from an illness he'd contracted. Crossing the Gobi desert, meanwhile, proved long and, at times, arduous. "This desert is reported to be so long that it would take a year to go from end to end," Marco later
wrote. "And at the narrowest point it takes a month to cross it. It consists entirely of mountains and sands and valleys. There is nothing at all to eat. -
Dec 1, 1271
Marco Polo's Journey
In 1271, Niccolo(father) and Maffeo Polo(uncle) set out for Asia again, but this time they brought young Marco with them. Unable to recruit the 100 priests that Khan had requested, they left with only two, who, after getting a taste of the hard journey ahead of them, soon turned back for home. The Polos' journey took place on land, and they were forced to cut through challenging and sometimes harsh territory. But through it all, Marco reveled in the adventure. -
Mar 4, 1289
Journey Home
Finally, after 17 years in Khan's court, the Polos decided it was time to return to Venice. Their decision was not one that pleased Khan, who'd grown to depend on the men. In the end, he acquiesced to their request with one condition: They escort a Mongol princess to Persia, where she was to marry a Persian prince. -
Feb 3, 1291
Coming Home
Traveling by sea, the Polos left with a group of several hundred passengers and sailors. The journey proved harrowing, and many perished as a result of storms and disease. By the time the group reached Persia's Port of Hormuz, just 18 people, including the princess and the Polos, were still alive.. After two years of travel, the Polos reached Venice. They'd been gone for more than two decades, and their return to their native land undoubtedly had its difficulties. Their faces looked unfamiliar -
Feb 3, 1293
At war
Just a few years after his return to Venice, Marco commanded a ship in a war against the rival city of Genoa. He was eventually captured and sentenced to a Genoese prison, where he met a fellow prisoner and writer named Rustichello. As the two men became friends, Marco told Rustichello about his time in Asia, what he'd seen, where he'd traveled and what he'd accomplished.
Marco and Rustichello wrote a book called the travels of Marco Polo. -
Feb 3, 1297
After Prison
The book made Marco, who was released from prison in 1299, a celebrity. It was printed in French, Italian and Latin, becoming the most popular read in Europe. But few readers allowed themselves to believe Marco's tale. They took it to be fiction, the construct of a man with a wild imagination. The work eventually earned another title: Il Milione ("The Million Lies"). Marco, however, stood behind his book. He also moved on with his life. After his release from prison, he returned to Venice, where -
Feb 3, 1299
His Legacy
They'd been gone for more than two decades, and their return to their native land undoubtedly had its difficulties. Their faces looked unfamiliar to their family and they struggled to speak their native tongue. -
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