Marco Polo is known for his exploration of the far east.
Marco Polo went on an adventure with his father and uncle. Their families were renowned merchants in Venice.
He was born on January 8, 1254, and he followed in his father's footsteps by traveling the world, especially far east Asia and China. He released a book called 'The Travels of Marco Polo.'
This book was an eye-opener for the Europeans who did not know much about the world of the far east. Their knowledge was limited to the Indian peninsula and Africans and Arabs.
This was their trade route. Anything beyond the sea was unimaginable to them. Polo's findings and adventures with China inspired many other explorers' journeys to discover new lands.
Christopher Columbus was one such person who got inspired by him. Though the majority of people during his time did not believe his absurd tales, the pope himself told him to confess on his deathbed that what he spread was a lie so that he might be forgiven in the afterworld.
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Fun Facts About Marco Polo's Wife
Marco Polo wife name was Donata. Polo's father and brother were explorers. They traveled far and wide in the world.
Most of their travels were in the east, and they maintained a friendly relationship with the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. They returned to Venice after the birth of young Polo. Polo's mother was very ill. She died before the birth of her child.
He was raised by his relatives until his father came back from the expedition. His father and uncle took care of Marco Polo after returning to Venice. At the age of 15, young Polo joined the travels with his father and began expediting.
He began his journey as an explorer and reached the very far end of China. Do you wonder who did Marco Polo love? Well, it was always his wife, Donata Badoer, without any doubt.
Donata Badoer was the name of Marco Polo's wife.
She was from Venice.
She was not a Mongolian princess.
Polo went on only one expedition in his whole life.
Polo came back to Venice after 17 years of traveling the world.
Did Marco Polo have a Mongolian wife?
Polo lived with the emperor Kublai Khan of the Mongol empire. His father first got to know about the Mongol empire in Constantinople, which is today's age Istanbul.
They saw the Mongol uprisings and the Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople. Then they went to east Bukhara, which is modern-day's Uzbekistan. They were encouraged to go and explore the far east land of Mongols by the people of Uzbekistan.
Kublai Khan was the great-grandson of the notoriously famous Genghis khan. Genghis Khan was the renowned ruler of the Mongols who occupied the whole of China and the nearby territories and united them under one nation.
He expanded his bloodline by having several kids. They went to meet him in his court, which is now the present Beijing. They soon became Kublai Khan's favorites, and he learned a lot of deals from them about European architecture, culture, and technology.
He wanted the Polos to send some missionaries to china so that they could learn more about their culture. The brothers returned to Venice, but no missionaries were sent to China.
Marco Polo, his father Niccolo, and his uncle Maffeo were given the responsibility of escorting the Mongolian princess.
The Mongolian princess was set to marry the prince of Persia.
By the time they reached Persia, the Persian prince had died.
This led to a delay in their arrival to their hometown.
Due to this fact, some believe that Marco Polo had a Mongolian wife.
Interests And Hobbies Of Marco Polo's Wife
After taking care of Marco Polo for 15 years, the Polos again went out on an expedition. They again set out on sail on the Mediterranean sea.
Then they continued their journey on land. They traveled through the lands of Armenia, Persia, Afghanistan and, the Pamir mountains. After reaching the Pamir mountains, they crossed the Gobi desert and reached China.
They again met Kublai Khan. Traveling from Venice in Italy to Beijing in China took them about four years. Marco Polo felt ill during their journey, and they had to stay a considerable amount of time in Afghanistan.
The Polos were welcomed in the grand palace of Kublai Khan, which was made of gold and marble flooring. It was Xanadu, his summer palace.
Marco Polo lived in the summer palace Xanadu of king Kublai Khan.
He and his father learned the Chinese culture and traditions.
Marco Polo was later promoted to the position of special envoy.
His job was to carry messages across neighboring countries.
Due to his position, Marco Polo was able to explore other Asian countries such as India, Tibet, and Burma.
Marco Polo: Wife's Education
Marco Polo served diligently to the Chinese emperor. Due to his sincere efforts, he was given a seat in the emperor's council. He also earned the title of governor of a Chinese city.
The Polos became extraordinarily wealthy after staying in China for such an amount of time. They had one last task of escorting the young Princess of China to Persia.
Cognition was the name of the Mongol princess. She was about to marry the prince of Persia. They left china with a thousand fleet of ships.
They had every necessity for the treatment of crews to unlimited food for days. Still, many of the passenger crew members died on the journey. When they reached Persia, there was a different problem awaiting them.
The prince of Persia had died. This led to a long wait before they could find the right match for the Mongol princess.
This led to a delay of several years and put the journey back home for a few more years. During this time, the emperor of China had died, and the Marco Polo family became very vulnerable without the support of the emperor. The Persians extracted taxes from the travelers from Europe.
Polos were the first among travelers in Europe to reach China.
The Polos were given a place in the Chinese emperor's court.
When they reached home, Venice was at war.
They had to fund their warship for Venice.
Did Marco Polo marry in China?
When Marco Polo was in prison, he met with his fellow cellmate Rusticello. He was also an author. He told him the stories of his travels to the far east and adventures with the Mongol king.
They were in prison for two years. In the year 1299, the war ended, and he returned to Venice. There he married his wife in the year 1300.
After four years in the year 1304, he had his first child. He had three daughters with his wife and no sons. They were happily married for 24 years.
The Polos, his father, and uncle had already revived their business. He also joined them. His book 'The Travels of Marco Polo' was published in Old French.
The book was released before the invention of the printing press, so the book was copied by hand by monks and scholars. That led to different versions of the book. There are about 130 versions of his book.
Some of the books stated that he married the princess of the Mongol Empire. Though there is no Mongol record about it and many scholars regard this information as incorrect.
The book was eventually translated and distributed worldwide in many languages. Marco Polo's book was the first of its kind in Europe and depicted the European and Asian culture of that time.
Marco Polo's story was recorded in the book Il Milione.
He married Donata Badoer in San Lorenzo church.
Polos became wealthy merchants after the war.
Marco Polo funded many expeditions in his life but never went on an expedition again.
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