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Venezia, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

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Throughout Marco Polo’s travels, he came into contact with many different groups of people from varying backgrounds. As a devout Christian from the large trading city of Venice, this had an impact on his perception of others. Throughout this time, Christians and Muslims were at odds with each other. This impacted how Marco Polo viewed and referred to Muslims in his writings, often referring to them as “primitive people” who “worship Mohammed.” This not only shows his stance on Muslims but also his lack of care for them. By referring to Muslims as “worshiping Mohammed'' when they, in reality, worship Allah, shows how Marco Polo has a bias because of his Christian background that results in him not bothering to learn more or show respect for those practicing the Muslim religion. Furthermore, because of Marco Polo’s background as a merchant, even though he may not respect the people, he still has a lot of respect for the goods they produce. This is evident through the writings, many of which focus on the goods and valuables of the region.

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Venezia, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

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Marco Polo was born into a Christian family in Venice. The continuous rivalry between Christians and Muslims began with the Crusades, a struggle over land that both religions consider sacred. Polo, who was raised in a Christian home, develops a dislike towards Muslims and their successes. Because Venice was a significant commercial center on the Silk Road, Marco Polo was exposed to the merchant's life at a young age.

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The city of Hormuz is reached through a port connected to the Indian Ocean. From here, merchants bring all kinds of merchandise including, spices, precious stones, pearls, cloth of gold, and elephant tusks. These goods are then exported throughout the world from Hormuz. Many other cities are reliant on these exports. Hormuz is incredibly hot and the Islamic natives have a very particular diet consisting of dates, and salted fish. Marco Polo describes the Hormuz natives’ diet in contrast to his European diet consisting of wheat, bread, and meat in order to show their cultural differences.

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Marco Polo traveled to the Salt mountains which surround a town called Talikhan. To the south of this town are the salt mountains along with other mountains containing almonds and pistachios. Past Talikhan there is the countryside filled with fruit, cereal, and vines. Marco Polo describes the people here as “evil and bloodthirsty”. It should be noted that the people are Islamic which can lead to bias on Marco Polo’s end. He highlights that they drink often because they make great boiled wine. They are also great huntsmen and are resourceful in the way that they use animal skins for their clothing and shoes.

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An Islamic providence with their own language and a dynasty descended from Alexander the Great. They are known for their rubies and sapphires that are used for tributes by the King and can be traded for gold and silver. These stones are incredibly protected and only the King is allowed to have access to them. They are not allowed to be exported because that would lower their high value. Marco Polo was known to have stayed in Badakhshan for a year because he had fallen sick. This was a common occurrence for merchants along the silk road because they were being exposed to things they had never been exposed to before and the technologies available at the time made it take a long time to recover. This connects to one of the consequences of having such a connected global community in that there were many more epidemic diseases and Marco Polo was one of many to experience this.

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Kashgar, along with Samarkand, was a trading city that developed after the emergence of the silk road. After the rise of the Mongols, the once independent kingdom became part of the Mongol empire and was ruled by the Great Khan. The Islamic people were described as “wretched and mean” by Marco Polo which again may be biased. The city grows cotton, flax, and hemp and it is a very important stop for merchants because of how much trade occurs in the city along with the city of Samarkand.

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Samarkand is similar to Kashgar in that it is a trading city and it is under the rule of the Mongols. However, it is ruled over by the Great Khan’s nephew. The population consists of Christians and Sacarans and is described by Marco Polo as “large and noble.” There are also many diasporic communities in the city, for example Muslims and Jewish people and tons of languages from all over the world. This rise of diaspora communities was largely in effect of the increased trade occurring along the silk road and the greater connectivity between areas of the world.

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Mansi Malai Gola, Narveer Tanaji Malusare Road, Jaydeo Nagar, Dattawadi, Pune, Maharashtra, India

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Marco Polo made his way to the city of Manzi that was located on the coast of the Indian Ocean in India. Here he witnessed the great ships that traveled with goods. The ships are made out of pine and fir and often have 4 to 6 masts. Each ship is manned by 150-300 sailors and has 60 cabins on board. The ships are also big enough to carry 5,000-6,000 sacks of pepper. The ships usually travel in groups with several other smaller ships that are used as tugs or as protection. After a year of sailing most ships need to be repaired.They do this by coating the inside with pitch made from a pine and hemp mixture. After this they apply another hull of planks to the outside of the ship. This information supports the claim that the ships were well built and were very important to trade on the Silk Road and Indian Ocean due to how big they were and how much effort was put into building, maintaining, and sailing them.

*Manzi was the name used in the writings describing Marco Polo's travels however the area is now known as Mansi Malai

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The first island Marco Polo visited on the Indian Ocean was the island of Java. The island is located 1,500 miles southwest of Champa and has a 3,000 mile perimeter making it very large. Java is also very wealthy as it is the source of many valuable goods. These include pepper, nutmeg, spikenard, galingale, cubeb, and cloves. For this reason the island is also very popular among merchants especially those from Zaiton and Manzi who were able to make a lot of money from the goods from Java. Because it is so large of an island, it is also very difficult to control as Kublai Khan proved when he was unable to conquer it. The people on the island are also non religious and don’t worship a god. Marco Polo’s tales of Java again support the claim that he had bias in his telling of his adventures due to his mention of the many valuable goods of the island and how he refers to the inhabitants. This helps to illustrate how his background as a Christian merchant influenced how he recounted his journey.

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One of Marco Polo’s final stops, the Kingdom of Gujarat was home to many pirates. Given that Marco Polo was a merchant he most likely had a bad time with them as he reported that they would feed merchants a mixture of tamarind and sea water in an attempt to get them to vomit. From there they would search through their throw-up to see if they could find any jewels as merchants were known to swallow jewels to hide them from pirates. Aside from the pirates, the Kingdom is home to many people who don’t practice a religion, speak their own language, and have a king in command. Valuable goods are traded here such as pepper, ginger, and indigo. Furthermore there are also well producing cotton trees on the land which produce cotton for padding and quilting. There are also many different types of leather available on the island due to the abundance of different animal species. These types of leather include buffalo hides, deer skins, and wild ox hides. Because of the large quantities of leather available, red and blue mats are made and embroidered with different types of metals such as gold and silver. Marco Polo also claims that unicorn hides are found here which may indicate a flaw in his credibility or the credibility of Rustichello da Pisa who wrote down the stories of Marco Polo. This piece of evidence refutes the claim that Marlo Polo is a trustworthy person because unicorns don’t exsist. However, because Marlo Polo provides credible information about other locations, misinformation about one location is not enough to deem him an entirely unreliable source.

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This was the final stop on Marco Polo’s journey and took him to the Island of Madagascar. The island is 1,000 miles off the coast of Socotra and has a perimeter of 4,000 miles. Many of the island’s inhabitants are muslim and follow the rule of four sheiks. Their way of life follows trade and crafting using the natural resources of the island to make goods. Some of the more valuable goods traded are clothes of gold. One of the most valuable natural resources is the red sandalwood trees. These trees are considered very valuable in outside countries but grow in abundance in Madagascar. Aside from the people, the island is also home to many animals including lots of elephants and camels. The camels are eaten for food as their meat is believed to be superior to that of other animals. Some of the other animals include leopards, lynxes, lions, deer, and roebuck. However, Marco Polo also mentions that there have been reports of griffins living on the far side of the island. Because this is incorrect, this has an impact on the credibility of Marco Polo. Similar to the island of Java, the writings of Madagascar provide strong evidence against the reliability of Marco Polo and whether or not his writings can be trusted.

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The crusades were battles that took place between Christians and Muslims across the middle east over control of the Holy Land in Jerusalem. This was because Juresalem was an important place in both religions. The crusades took place from between 1095 and 1291 and resulted in the expansion of Islam across the Middle East. This had several short term effects on the area because as a result of the expansion of Islam, as many more communities that practiced Islam arose across parts of Africa. As a long term effect, the crusades contributed to Islam’s breakthrough as a major world religion, helped in part by its adoption by many global leaders of the time. The crusades were also responsible for opening up trade routes through the Indian Ocean which led to an increased desire by people to travel and explore. Furthermore, the crusades led to an increased desire for goods from other parts of the world. This in turn fueled the growing number of merchants who traveled between the different empires of the Middle East. Areas in the Middle East such as Iran and Israel where battles from the Crusades took places are still divided areas when it comes to religion and have experienced many disputes in recent times over the land due to religious beliefs.

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Disease Along the Silk Road and the Bubonic Plague

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Disease Along the Silk Road and the Bubonic Plague

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One of the many long term effects of the silk road and other trading routes was the spread of disease. Passed along by traveling traders and merchants, diseases made their way across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The silk road had a major role in this due to its vastness and the large number of trading communities along the way where people potentially carrying diseases interacted with others. Arguably the most notable and horrific of these diseases was the bubonic plague or black death. It is thought to have originated in China during the early to mid 1300s, after the journeys of Marco Polo and close to his death. From there it spread to the Mediterranean and Northern Africa before making its way to Europe by the 1350s. The black death is estimated to have killed between 30 and 60% of the population in Europe with between 75 and 200 million deaths. This had a profound impact on the course of history and had ripple effects lasting hundreds of years after. These statistics support the claim that disease had a major impact on the world which came as a result of trade routes such as the Silk Road. By passing along diseases through the Silk Road disease was allowed to spread and consume much of the worlds population.

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Inventions and Innovations during the time of Marco Polo

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Inventions and Innovations during the time of Marco Polo

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One of the many things that characterized the Silk Road and the time of Marco Polo were the many inventions that revolutionized trade. Some of the most well known inventions and innovations were flying cash, the use of credit, and caravans. Flying cash was invented by the Tang Dynasty around the year 800 and was an early version of paper money. This allowed merchants to not only trade large quantities of goods but also to trade goods of much higher value. This was because previously merchants needed to trade and travel with coins which were much heavier limiting how much could be carried and, subsequently, traded. The use of credit was another major innovation. Similar to flying cash, it allowed merchants to trade much more valuable goods and larger quantities of goods because they weren't hindered by what they could carry. Finally the invention and use of caravans was a big trade booster because it meant larger quantities of goods could be traded and moved and caravans provided merchants with the added security of being in a group. Overall, the results that came after the introduction of these inventions and innovations supports the claim that they had a major impact on the Silk Road and the trade that was conducted. Furthermore they had a long term effect on the world which is evident in our current practices. For example, flying cash was the basis for paper money and we still utilize credit today as a way of paying for expensive items.

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Turkey is divided into three races: Turkomans, Armenians, and Greeks. The most well-known cities in Turkey are Konya, Kaisarieh, and Sivas, which are all dominated by Tartar, the Levant's Mongols. The Tartar sent noblemen to administer these portions of Turkey, and during this time there was a lot of animosity between the leaders and the lower people. While journeying across Turkey, Marco Polo saw Turkomans who practiced Islam. This prompted Polo to write disparagingly about them, including condemning their language and culture ("primitive people who speak a rough uncouth language"), owing to his Christian heritage.

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The Kingdom of mosul is home to Christian (who are Nestorians, a.k.a they don’t follow the pope), Muslims, and Jacobites. They have a massive supply of rare spices and are home to all sorts of merchants. They are famous for having  muslim which is gold and silk threads woven together. Mosul is also home to the Kurds who live high in the dense mountains, Marco Polo paints them out to be “warlike and ferocious people who frequently attack and rob merchants.” .  As a merchant Marco Polo makes note of all trades and goods the Kingdom of mosul has to offer (explaining why he felt so threatened by the kurds as they supposedly attack other merchants).  As a christian he destained other religions, especially those who christianity has had problems with in the past (explaining the reasoning for him to mistake muslims for worshiping mohamad insulting their faith).

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The city of Baghdad was built right next to a large river that flows into the indian ocean making it perfect for trade. It is also very close to the cities of Keis and Basra which were also built next to the river. The cities of Baghdad deals in gold,silk,damask,brocade,cramoisy, and pearls. The people of Baghdad are also well educated, this is because the city has become a hub for studying the laws of mohammed. These laws include necromancy,physics,geomancy, and physiognomy. Marco Polo notes that a nearby city of Baghdad has some of the world's best dates (which are very useful for trade, Marco makes note of this because he views this land through a merchant's eye because he is and was raised as a merchant.).

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Ever since Marco Polo was born, the crusades have been happening, a fight for the holy land between Christians and Muslims. Short term this led to fighting between Christians and Muslims (reason why Marco Polo doesn’t like Muslims) but long term this opened up new ways for trade to support either side. This heavily affected the silk road as Muslims have been on many conquests, specifically during the silk road. They spread throughout the Middle East creating short lived Muslim communities but the combination of all of these small communities created a long term effect, Islam being spread across massive parts of the middle east. Marco Polo didn’t only travel through the Middle East and Europe he was also a part of big things in Asia. When Marco Polo was traveling throughout he ran into the Mongol empire several times. He later wanted to help them and was soon appointed by Khan himself to be his foreign emissary. A short term effect of this is that Marco Polo was able to carry out these missions and with this increase the mongol empire's territory. A long term effect of this is that the Mongol empire got so big long after Marco Polo left that it collapsed and split into 5 parts starting the golden age for Asia.

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Stop #11 & 12- Mongolia and Ghengis Khan

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Stop #11 & 12- Mongolia and Ghengis Khan

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Ghengis Khan was elected king by the Tartars in the beginning of the 12th century. He was followed diligently by many and his kingdom spread rapidly into the largest land empire in history, stretching from China, to India, to Armenia, and to the edge of Europe. He is described by Marco Polo as “a good and noble king” although he was violent to those who resisted his conquest. The Mongol Military was incredibly advanced and used specific maneuvers in order to win in battle. They were organized in units of ten and they were trained in the use of bows and arrows and were very good at using them. Marco Polo states that they barely value their lives and are therefore more bold in battle. They are also incredibly disciplined all of which lead to the success in their conquest. After the Mongol conquest, the world was irreversibly connected and many cultures had arisen through cultural diffusion. The Mongols revitalized the silk road and merchants were much more secure. This was the era of “Pax Mongolia” which meant Mongol peace.

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Malabar Coast, Vallarpadam, Kochi, Ernakulam, Kerala

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Stop #15 - The Kingdom of the Malabar Coast

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Stop #15 - The Kingdom of the Malabar Coast