What countries visited Marco Polo during their travels in Asia?

Marco Polo is a famous traveler of the Middle Ages. All his wanderings he described in details in the "Book of Wonders of the World", which became a very important source of geographical knowledge in those days. Which countries visited Marco Polo? You will learn about this from our article.

Marco Polo: brief biography

All of the same "Book of Wonders of the World" we get the basic information about the traveler's biography. Where was born and when he died, which countries visited Marco Polo and when his first major journey began, the humanist Giovanni Ramucio was the first to answer all these questions. In the XVI century, he wrote a detailed biography of the Italian traveler and writer.

Approximate years of Marco Polo's life: 1254-1324. He was born in Venice or, according to other assumptions, on the island of Korcula (in the territory of modern Croatia). His fate was predetermined in advance, since Marco's father was also a merchant, and quite famous. Therefore, the son followed in the footsteps of his parent. On his first trip, he went as early as 6 years of age. The purpose of this voyage was the city of Sudak in the Crimea.

It is also known that the merchant spent two years in captivity with the Genoese. It was there that a detailed report was written about which countries Marco Polo visited in his life. However, his contemporaries did not show much interest in the book.

Marco Polo was the richest of all the Venetian merchants. On the slope of the years the local people called him a millionaire. The legendary traveler died in 1324. He was buried, most likely in Venice, in the church of San Lorenzio.

Which countries visited Marco Polo during their travels in Asia

The great journey of the Venetian merchant began in 1271. At that time he was only 17 years old. Marco Polo went on a voyage with his father and uncle.

Which countries visited Marco Polo in this journey? The answer to this question is not so simple. Historians have restored the route of this journey only hypothetically. So, the Polo family went to China through Mesopotamia, Pamir and Mongolia. Along the way, they also visited Iran, Ceylon, India and Sumatra. Although in the book of Marco mentioned and quite incredible place names: for example, Japan, the island of Madagascar and even Brazil!

In 1275 the Polo family reached the territory of China. In the same year, they reached the city of Shandu, which housed the summer residence of Khan Khubilai. In China, Marco Polo spent almost 17 years. He even served as governor of Yangzhou at one time.

The family left China only in 1291. In Venice, they returned with a lot of gifts and treasures. Thus, the journey of Marco Polo to Asia lasted more than 20 years. During this time, he covered about 24,000 kilometers.

"Book of Wonders of the World"

This work has survived in its history 57 editions. It was printed in nine European languages! Although it is believed that the original work was written in French.

"Book of Wonders of the World" includes four chapters, each of which is dedicated to individual countries or events:

1. Central Asia and the Middle East.
2. China.
3. India, Japan, Ceylon, as well as the eastern shores of Africa.
4. This part describes the wars of the Mongols with their northern neighbors.

The book of Marco Polo was rewritten many times and refined, completely new fragments of the text were added to it.

Was there a trip?

Many modern researchers doubt: was Marco Polo in the Far East in principle? In this regard, Francis Wood in 1995, even released a book called: "Did Marco Polo go to China?" In it, the researcher assumes that the merchant was not east of the Levant. After all, how could he not notice and write in his work about such things as wooden chopsticks, or a fanatical love of tea drinking.

Earlier, back in 1966, Herbert Franke in his article suggested that "The Book of Wonders of the World" is nothing more than the plagiarism of several chapters of the now lost Arabic Encyclopedia. But in the Far East, according to the German scientist, Marco Polo never got.

But, perhaps, Marco Polo still visited China. The lawyers of this version explain many inconsistencies in the book by two reasons: the first is inadequate translation, and the second is the numerous conjectures of labor scribes. In other words, the well-known principle of a "spoiled phone" played its part here.

One way or another, Marco Polo forever entered the history of world geographical discoveries. The name of the traveler is an asteroid, a lunar crater, a butterfly and a bridge in China, which was allegedly seen by Marco during his travels to the East.

Conclusion

The so-called "Book of Wonders of the World," written by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, has become an important source of geographical and ethnographic knowledge in the Middle Ages. In fact, this was the first serious work that introduced Europeans to the mysterious and distant East.

Now you know which countries Marco Polo visited during his travels. It was China, Pamir, Tibet, Mesopotamia, Kashgariya, Ceylon, Sumatra and Iran.