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Pink - Major stops and milestones on Marco Polo's journey
Blue - Sourcing
Purple - Contextualization

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Marco Polo was born in Venice around the year 1254. Venice was a large trading city in Italy and it was a part of the Silk Road trade route. The Silk Road went through Asia, Africa, and Europe and Polo traveled the length of the Silk Road from 1271-1295.

Something to keep in mind while viewing Polo’s journey on the Silk Road is that he was a strong follower of the teachings of the Roman Catholic church and this influenced his perspective throughout his travels. He often displayed ignorance toward Muslims and other branches of Christianity, saying that they “...fall into considerable error” for not adhering to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church (The Travels of Marco Polo). This suggests that Polo’s perspective was biased and perhaps his writings would be more accurate if he wasn’t as religiocentric.

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Turkey was a major trading site during the Silk Road. The people of Turkey (the Turkomans, Armenians, and Greeks) were all subject to the Tartar, the Mongol of the Levant. To encourage trade with the East, there were caravanserais as stopping points for traders and merchants. Furthermore, Turkey contributed to trade, offering all kinds of goods including horses, mules, silk, carpets, and other crafts and livestock (The Travels of Marco Polo). Today, Turkey is still a large hub for trade and culture.

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Baghdad, Iraq (Sourcing; historical context)

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Baghdad, Iraq (Sourcing; historical context)

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Baghdad is a huge city in what is now Iraq. In the 1200s it was the home to all Saracens or Muslims. It was built on a river that flowed into the Indian Sea, which made trade very convenient. In between Bagdad and the Indian Sea, there are two cities, Kais and Basra. These cities are known for their luxury trade items such as gold cloth and silk. The center of Baghdad is known for its intellectual and educational advances such as the study of Muslim laws, necromancy, physics, geomancy, physiognomy, etc. Furthermore, the Caliph of Baghdad owns the largest collection of gold and silver ever. (The Travels of Marco Polo)

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Tabriz was a large major trading city in the district known as Iraq. The people of Tabriz including Armenians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Georgians, and Persians were all taught by the law of the Prophet Mohammed. Many traders such as Genoese traveled to Tabriz to buy all of their riches because of goods including cloth of gold and valuable silk. (The Travels of Marco Polo)

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Hormuz was another major trading city that Marco Polo visited through the Silk Road. Many Indian merchants land at Hormuz to trade every type of spice, all sorts of precious stones, pearls, cloth of gold, elephants’ tusks, and a variety of other merchandise. There were many natives who lived in Hormuz who were Muslim and worshiped Mohammed. (The Travels of Marco Polo)

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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The “Salt Mountains” lie within a small town called Talikhan, a large market for highly desired grains. This mountainous location was known for its immense production of salt, a highly desired grain along the Silk Road, and many other trade routes due to its use as a preservative for food along these trade routes. Polo describes the people inhabiting Talkihan as “bloodthirsty and evil” and describes them in a hostile manner. Polo states that the population is majorly made up of “Muhammad worshipers” or Islamics. The reference to the Islamic population as “Muhammad worshipers” derives from Polo’s limited knowledge of the Islamic religion and little understanding of the differences between the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Islamic god Allah.

Overall information from "The Salt Mountains" within the Marco Polo expert text.

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Badakhshan is a city and a province in Afghanistan. It is ruled by a hereditary dynasty descended from Alexander the Great, who married the Persian king Darius’s daughter. Badakhshan has many mountains, and many valuable rubies and silver are mined from these deep mountains. Only the King had the right to mine the rubies and anyone who was caught stealing was put to death. The King uses the rubies as gifts for other kings, princes, or great lords. He also exchanged the rubies for gold and silver. (The Travel of Marco Polo)

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The Mongol Empire was a massive empire that spanned from Eastern Europe to Eastern Asia and lasted from 1206 to 1368 CE Overtime becoming the largest land empire in history. Because of the empire’s impressive size range, many countries were under the rule of Genghis Khan, the overall head of the Mongol Empire. Khan was particularly passionate about military strength and trained many, many men to fight and conquer lands. Over time, the Mongols had conquered over eight provinces in a more peaceful and tolerant manner than others causing the subdominant provinces to almost gladly follow the ruling of Khan thus, expanding the Mongol Empire as a whole and revitalizing the Silk Road trade route. With the intent to conquer the world, Khan linked almost all of Eurasia under his rule with the empire and army he had built himself. Mongols, being the vast empire they were, notorious for their military power, actually used a majority of bows and arrows when conquering these foreign lands. In order to create profit from their distinguished military and defense skills, the Mongols offered an almost “tolerance” and protection fee in order to keep travelers safe along the Silk Road since it was majorly obtained by the Mongol Empire.

Information from, mini-lesson (9/22), "How Ghengis Became the First Khan of the Mongols" and, "Mongol Customs of War" from the Marco Polo expert text.

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Madagascar is an Island which lies around 1000 miles from Socotura. Once again, Polo refers to the island's inhabitants as ”Muhammad worshipers” referring to people who practice the Islamic religion, under the prophet Muhammad. The governmental system within Madagascar includes four shrieks who rule the entire Island. With a perimeter of 4,000 miles, elephants in large abundance inhibit this island alongside the general Islamic population. Due to the large elephant population on the island ivory, a substance containing the main part of an elephant's tusk, is produced in abundance. Ivory is a large product of trade within the Silk Road and is highly desired by many members of the upper class. It is an iconic staple product of trade along the route. Societal standards involve the ordinary consumption of camel meat for nutrition. Lastly, Polo claims griffins can be found on the island according to locals but this theory is very commonly challenged.

Information provided from "The Island of Madagascar" from the Marco Polo expert text.

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The Crusades were battles between Christians and Muslims. But as a result of these battles, it opened up the Indian Ocean for trade, resulting in more people wanting to explore.

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The Islands of Java, located in Indonesia had many trade goods. These trade goods include nutmeg, spikenard, pepper, cloves, and more. There is no official religion. Java is also known for being wealthy. This was also Marco Polo’s first island visited along the Indian Ocean.

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Diseases along the Silk Road (Contextualization)

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Diseases along the Silk Road (Contextualization)

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Whilst the Silk Road had many items traded, it also brought diseases. Due to the mass imports from traders, diseases were picked up from one country and spread into another. One famous example is the Black Death, which had originated from China. The Black Death had killed over 75-200 million people in Africa, Europe, and Asia.