Set in the 13th century, the series follows the adventures of Marco Polo, who departs with his father and his uncle to China. His journey through Asia lasts three and a half years and leads him through barren deserts and vast steppes. Marco spends several years in Beijing as a guest of the Great Khan, earning the trust of and respect from the Emperor.
Marco Polo accompanies a Venetian merchant fleet as it stops for the night. A raid results in Marco being taken as prisoner.
In the year 1299, in the Italian city of Genoa, Rustichello da Pisa is held in a prison cell and questioned for information about Marco Polo. Marco Polo is revealed to be another prisoner but is accused of lying. The people questioning him are Brother Damien of Milan and Fillipe of Genoa, both members of the Order of Saint Dominic. Both are concerned that the tales of Marco Polo are heretical and will corrupt the minds of people, especially children. As Rustichello narrates, the story shifts to Marco Polo in his youth.
In his youth, Marco Polo was eager to hear merchants tell stories of their travels. As his mother lies on her deathbed, Marco's aunt Flora laments for his father, who has been away since before Marco was born and has sent nothing but items that she sees as idols of another god.
His father Niccolò and uncle Matteo Polo return home. They appear before the Council of the Republic of Venice, hoping for a possible alliance between the Mongols and the Republic. The Polo brothers show the council Mongolian currency and tell stories of the might of the Mongols, but they are quickly rebuked due to the pagan nature of the Mongols. The council has no interest in an alliance with the Mongols. The Doge of Venice however, sees the potential of the Polos' quest and advises them to return to China immediately.
Marco's father and uncle tell him of stories of the great Kublai Khan and his court in the Yuan Dynasty in China. Intrigued, Marco asks them to take him with them, but he is refused.
As Niccolò and Matteo attempt to find a sponsor for their next voyage, the father of a girl Marco earlier attempted to run away with demands compensation for Marco taking her virginity. Niccolò and Maffeo realise that they must take Marco with them on their journey, but only as far as Jerusalem until the heat dies down in Venice. A few days before arriving at Jerusalem, Marco has his first taste of the world when he witnesses a contingent of Crusaders massacre a tribe of Bedouin.
In the city church, the Polos, at the favour of the cardinal of Acre, receive some oil of the Sepulchre via a letter from the Cardinal of Acre. The priest of the church is extremely reluctant to do it but grants it. They then receive a message that the cardinal of Acre wants to see them again. When they return to him he reveals that he has been chosen to be the new pope by the college of Cardinals, and is providing two priests to accompany them so they can tell Kublai Khan about Christianity. In real life, it corresponds with the election of Teobaldo Visconti as Pope Gregory X.
As the Polo family ready themselves to go East again, they are caught up in an ambush that kills Marco's friend Giulo.
Part Two
As they are taken prisoner, the party is taken before the Bedouin leader. The captor leader is an Italian who converted to Islam after being taken prisoner in Tripoli. He sets the party free.
Back in Genoa in 1299, Rustichello is given a break from the interrogation. They find it hard to believe that the world to the East is full of pagan culture and gods. They do reject it but want more information to consider. Looking at the things he wrote down, the council are impressed by the depth of material. Picking up where he left off in the story, Rustichello says the party reaches Badakshan, Afghanistan in 1273 and hunts for food. Continuing on into winter of the same year, they suffer an avalanche from Muztagh-ata mountain and Marco wakes alone in a mountain temple, which is filled with riches and statues and the people are very welcoming. It is revealed that the temple is a Buddhist temple in Tibet. Here he questions his spirituality at the monks' invitation study Nirvana, an invitation that was difficult to refuse.
By spring of 1275, they reach the steppes of modern-day Gansu province, where they encounter a Mongol tribe. They stay at a Chinese-speaking group who entertain them for the visit. At night, Marco engages in a wrestling match in which he is defeated. They spend a few days there.
Back in 1299, Rustichello's writings end there and the priests demand that he continue writing the stories he kept to himself.
Marco Polo arrives in the city of Shangdu in 1275. They are granted a meeting with Kublai Khan, who greets them generously. His wife is very accommodating and hosts a feast in the Polos' honour.
That night in Shangdu, Marco Polo family is treated by Kublai Khan to a feast plus live entertainment for the night. The next morning, Kublai Khan and his son, Prince Chinkin invite Marco Polo to a private meeting on the waterfront in a lake. He converses with the khan, discussing a lot of things. One of the things he is intrigued by is the devices they have to tell time, that is different from using the solar devices the western employ. The ruler asks for knowledge of other places, a request he responds with fascinated places such as Kashgar and cloths produced with asbestos. Pleasing the ruler with his knowledge, Marco Polo gains favor for his frankness to the ruler. Marco is tasked to update the maps of the empire, a task he eagerly does.
Marco continues to bond with Chinkin, the ruler's son. As they went on a hunting trip, the son has an epileptic seizure and is brought back to Kublai. Marco Polo is appointed at a position in the court of the Kublai Khan. Due to his rise of the power in the court, he is gaining new enemies: the priests led by Saiamon who believe that the Kublai is coming under bad influence from foreigner influence. As Chinkin and Marco arrive at the Great Wall, he learns the Great Wall is constructed by people commanded by the emperor. He is also told of the story of Meng Jiangnu, who cries of the grief of her dead husband, who worked on the great wall, destroyed a portion of the wall so it was unable to be reconstructed.
Later that night, Marco's good Chinese friend is executed because he witnessed the epilepsy of the son of Kublai.
In the autumn, Kublia Khan's subordinate in Persia, Ahmad Fanakati, returns to the Kublai's place, with the news that he has completed the conquest of the empire.
As Ahmad meets Marco Polo, he is planning more conquests to strengthen the presence of the Mongols.
As Marco's father and uncle work on trade routes, Marco is given some time to relax at the imperial complex and shown some of the people and life. He met some of the astronomers of China, then shown typical acupuncture done on the streets. However, it's impossible to avoid the interest of the Chinese who have grown a bit fond of the non-Asian.
That evening, the gathering of leaders introduces rulers from the region, including one who has converted to Christianity. Kublai plans to invade Japan, but the advisers are cautious and believe it is foolish because they are experts on horseback and weak in the sea. Afterwards, Kublai Khan's consort convincingly tells Kublai to forgo invasion of Japan, since the other leaders did not dare to stand up to Kublai due to his fearsome temper.
Marco Polo's father and uncle return to him. After the reunion, Ahmad Fanakati grants the Polo family an audience. He tells Marco of two things to learn. One, Marco is to not trust anyone, especially people who seem friendly. Second, he reveals that he is the master at the financial system of the Empire and wants to send Marco to the region of Yanzhou to help collect taxes to the treasury. Marco is to go out and consort to the person named Talib, who is to be trusted. And no one else.
The next day, Kublai spends time with the Chinkin. Chinkin is to be married and is not welcome to the people who despise Marco Polo. As he bids him farewell, the son leaves. That afternoon, Marco Polo leaves for Yanzhou.
As Marco Polo comes at a river, an assassin fails, having been killed by Jacopo.
Back in 1299 in Genoa, Rustichello da Pisa, is to be summoned to answer for his words. The brothers are deeply resistant and intolerant in the belief of the stories Rustichello has told. They are undignified about it.
As Marco Polo arrives at Talib's place, he is told people know of the attempt on his life, since news travels extremely fast. Arriving into town, he witnesses a short demonstration of protest against the rulers. Meeting the head of the town, Marco is welcomed to the house, seeking his advice. He is warned that the town's secrets are best not be revealed, having a white woman resident accidentally reveals herself. As he goes outside, he meets a villager Wang Zhu preparing a boat for the Dragon Boat Festival. Wang Zhu reveals that corruption occurs greatly and Talib pockets half of the town's tax, sending the other half to the empire's treasury. The next day, Wang Zhu takes the Polos to visit the Immortals, wise men who live in the mountain. One Immortal tells of the yin-yang.
As Marco wants to see his departed father and uncle, the resident foreign lady, Monica wishes to take him to them. As they pause for the night, they find his father and uncle. When they go back, they witness Talib's soldiers raid and ransack the village, having not paid the taxes.
Upon completion of the tax collection, Jacopo decides to stay while Marco and the family leave back to Kublai's court.
In the court of the Kublai Khan, the two commanders in the invasion of Japan report back their defeat. Kublai Khan orders their death.
Rebels sneak into the imperial palace to assassinate Achmed as his corruption is ruining Chinese peasants' lives. The plot is uncovered just in time, and Kublai orders the deaths of everybody involved, including Achmed.
A governor of a region, Nayan has risen up in revolt. Marco reaches out in peace but fails. In a private meeting after a meeting of the most prominent leaders, Marco Polo is asked: "what would you do if you were the great khan?". Mercy is the answer to the rebellious Nayan. However, Kublai Khan declares mercy to be inconsistent to the khans. He leads an army to crush the army but finds none as Nayan has dispersed the troops to avoid much bloodshed.
Years pass and Marco Polo decides to leave. Kublai Khan is disappointed and reluctantly sees him off in one final ride. Two years later in 1294, the great khan dies, never having seen Marco again.
Back in 1299 Genoa, Marco Polo is brought before the court in Genoa. The knowledge is believed to be heretical and different from "current" knowledge. However, Brother Damien confirms the truth by knowledge produced by various travelers and Arab traders. The monks confirm that the knowledge brought back from the East are not heretical, as sailors and traders have confirmed their star charts. Furthermore, they have brought similar stories, thus exonerating Marco Polo who is released as a free man.
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, a book that described to Europeans the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.
Year 1271 (MCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Book of the Marvels of the World, in English commonly called The Travels of Marco Polo, is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Italian explorer Marco Polo. It describes Polo's travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.
Khanbaliq or Dadu of Yuan was the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty of China in what is now Beijing, the capital of China today. It was located at the center of modern Beijing. The Secretariat directly administered the Central Region of the Yuan dynasty and dictated policies for the other provinces. As emperors of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan and his successors also claimed supremacy over the entire Mongol Empire following the death of Möngke in 1259. Over time the unified empire gradually fragmented into a number of khanates.
Öljeyitü Khan, born Temür, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzong of Yuan, was the second emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China, ruling from May 10, 1294 to February 10, 1307. Apart from Emperor of China, he is considered as the sixth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, although it was only nominal due to the division of the empire. He was an able ruler of the Yuan dynasty, and his reign established the patterns of power for the next few decades.
Kaidu was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire. He ruled parts of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai, who established the Yuan dynasty. Medieval chroniclers often mistranslated Kadan as Kaidu, mistakenly placing Kaidu at the Battle of Legnica. Kadan was the brother of Güyük, and Kaidu's uncle.
Khutulun, also known as Aigiarne, Aiyurug, Khotol Tsagaan or Ay Yaruq was a Mongol noblewoman, the most famous daughter of Kaidu, a cousin of Kublai Khan. Both Marco Polo and Rashid al-Din Hamadani wrote accounts of their encounters with her.
The Journeyer is a historical novel about Marco Polo, written by Gary Jennings and first published in 1984.
In modern times the Mongols are primarily Tibetan Buddhists, but in previous eras, especially during the time of the Mongol empire, they were primarily shamanist, and had a substantial minority of Christians, many of whom were in positions of considerable power. Overall, Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions, and typically sponsored several at the same time. Many Mongols had been proselytized by the Church of the East since about the seventh century, and some tribes' primary religion was Christian. In the time of Genghis Khan, his sons took Christian wives of the Keraites, and under the rule of Genghis Khan's grandson, Möngke Khan, the primary religious influence was Christian.
Bayan of the Baarin, or Boyan, was an ethnic Mongol general of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was known to Marco Polo as "Bayan Hundred Eyes". He commanded the army of Kublai Khan against the Southern Song dynasty, ushering in the Southern Song collapse and the conquest of southern China by the Yuan dynasty.
Zhenjin, also rendered as Jingim, Chinkim, or Chingkim, was a crown prince of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was the son of Kublai Khan and grandson of Tolui.
Kublai Khan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294, although after the division of the empire this was a nominal position. He proclaimed the dynastic name "Great Yuan" in 1271, and ruled Yuan China until his death in 1294.
Marco Polo is a 2007 American made-for-television historical adventure film directed by Kevin Connor, starring Ian Somerhalder, BD Wong and Brian Dennehy. In the 13th century, imprisoned in Genoa, Marco Polo, a Venetian trader, recounts his days as a young man in China to a fellow prisoner who is dying. He reminisces about his fantastic adventures, his rise to governorship in Kublai Khan's court in Mongolia, his love for a kidnapped concubine and his escape back to Italy as a wealthy man.
Niccolò Polo and Maffeo Polo were Italian traveling merchants from the Republic of Venice, best known as the father and uncle, respectively, of the explorer Marco Polo. The brothers went into business before Marco's birth, established trading posts in Constantinople, Sudak in Crimea, and in a western part of the Mongol Empire in Asia. As a duo, they reached modern-day China before temporarily returning to Europe to deliver a message to the Pope. Taking Niccolò's son Marco with them, the Polos then made another journey through Asia, which became the subject of Marco's account The Travels of Marco Polo.
The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) was a dynasty of China ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan. Founded by Kublai Khan, it is considered one of the successors to the Mongol Empire.
La Fabuleuse Aventure de Marco Polo or Marco the Magnificent is a 1965 international co-production adventure film directed by Denys de La Patellière and Noël Howard. Raoul Levy committed suicide after losing most of his fortune financing this film.
John Anthony Garnet Man is a British historian and travel writer. His special interests are China, Mongolia and the history of written communication.
Marco Polo is an American drama streaming television series inspired by Marco Polo's early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The show premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2014. The series was created by John Fusco and stars Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role, with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. It was produced by The Weinstein Company. On January 7, 2015, Marco Polo was renewed by Netflix for a 10-episode second season, which premiered on July 1, 2016.
Marco Polo – The Journey is an album by Ensemble Renaissance, released in 1992 on the Artelier Music label in Germany. It is Renaissance's 11th album. The heme of the album is early music from the time of the travels of Marco Polo. It is one of the Renaissance's more eclectic works, covering not only the instrumental istanpittas of the Italian Trecento and earlier Franciscan laudas, but also Byzantine chant, girl songs from Cyprus preserved in the Manuscript 1203 kept in Iviron monastery, Persian and Arabic dances, traditional Music of Mongolia and Ancient Chinese ceremonial music. Marco Polo is one of the Ensemble's biggest successes, having spent a few weeks at the top of the classical music charts in Germany, in the 1993.
Nayan was a prince of the Borjigin royal family of the Mongol Empire. He raised a noteworthy and serious rebellion against the Mongolian Khagan, Kublai Khan. He was a Nestorian Christian. Much of what is known of Nayan was recorded by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo.
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