Marco Polo: Facts about his life
When the father and the uncle undertook the first to travel through unknown lands, (as you can read in the biography of Marco Polo), who have not accompanied them, was a child of six years. When they returned, he had turned fifteen, during those nine years, the mother died.
It was because of war (conflict over the succession of the great Khan Mongke) as the father and uncle of Marco Polo were forced to vary the way back, where they had sold their jewelry in exchange for gold, until Venice home. To avoid the danger of battle, they decided to surround the Caspian Sea to reach Persia.
When in 1298 Marco Polo was detained as a frigate captain Venetian struggle with the Genoese, the number of men who accompanied him in captivity reached the figure of 7,000.
The most famous book of Marco Polo, The Book of Wonderful Things of the East “was written for a man of letters, called Rustichelo of Pisa, with whom he shared a cell in captivity. From memory, the traveler, he was telling all those experiences that ended up becoming a bestseller. In fact, thanks to huge sales of the book, Marco Polo and his book became known at the time as “The Million”. The Polo´s family wealth came from, in any case, its commercial activity in the East, recognizes this in his popular book.
Some of the places he visited and “discovered” Marco Polo in his travels still remain standing. It is not entirely the case in the Iranian city of Bam, where in December 2003 an earthquake that left 26,000 dead and 4,000 orphans and other cities of Kashgar and Khotan, China.
There were two circumstances that are targeted for Marco Polo, more than twenty years later, returned to their homeland. On the one hand, the desire to return home. In another, the fear that once his protector died Kublai Khan, who had 71 years of age, not allow them to leave the country with all its riches. Imagined that his succession would create a state of war in the area.
But Kublai allowed his to leave the country.
Placed at its disposal 14 ships and gave them letters and gifts for the Pope and the kings of Spain, France and England.
Related story: Marco Polo Biography
