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October 30th, 2008
Timeline: Marco Polo’s Journey

The Life of Marco Polo
1254 Marco Polo, the son of Niccolo Polo, is born in Venice.
1259

Niccolò and Maffeo Polo leaving Constantinople for the east, in 1259.

Niccolò and Maffeo Polo leave Constantinople and transfer their trading business to Soldaia, a city in Crimea controlled by the Mongol empire. Searching for better profits, the Polos move east to Bukhara (in modern-day Uzbekistan) where they trade for three years.
1264

The Polos in Bukhara, meeting with the representative of Hulagu Khan.

The Polo brothers join an embassy sent by Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate empire in present-day Iran, Iraq and most of the former Soviet republics, to his brother Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire in present-day Mongolia, North China and much of Western China.
1266

Kublai Khan.

The Polo brothers arrive at the court of Kublai Khan in Dadu (present-day Beijing) China. Kublai Khan sends the Polos back to Venice with a letter to the Pope, requesting 100 educated missionaries to teach Christianity and Western customs to his people, and oil from the lamp in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the reputed resting place of Jesus Christ). The letter also includes a golden tablet that authorizes the Polos to receive food and lodging throughout Kublai Khan’s domain.
1269-1270 The Polo brothers return to Venice and await the nomination of a new Pope.
1271

Niccolo and Maffeo Polo present a letter from Kubilai to Pope Gregory X in 1271.

The Polo brothers present Kublai Khan’s letter to newly-elected Pope Gregory X, and set out to Mongolia with seventeen-year-old Marco Polo, two Dominican monks and the oil from the lamp. The monks do not finish the voyage out of fear. The Polos are also carrying letters for the Mongol emperor from the Pope.
1274

The Polo family arrives in a Chinese city.

The Polos give the Pope’s gifts to Kublai Khan. The Polos spend the next seventeen years in China. Kublai Khan takes a liking to young Marco Polo, and dispatches him on diplomatic missions throughout the empire. Marco later claims that Kublai Khan made him the governor of the city of Yangzhou for three years.
1291-1294

Marco Polo dressed in Tartar costume.

Kublai Khan sends the Polos to escort a Mongol princess to her betrothed in the Ilkhanate in Persia. The Polos travel by sea from the Chinese port city of Quanzhou to Sumatra, Sri Lanka, India and finally to Persia.
1295 The Polos return to Venice and tell their stories of the East to doubting Venetians.
1298

A page from a manuscript of Il Milione.

Marco Polo is captured during a civil war between Venice and Genoa. During his imprisonment, he dictates a detailed account of his travels to a fellow prisoner. The resulting book (known alternately as “Il Milione,” “The Description of the World” or “The Travels of Marco Polo”) becomes a huge success in Europe, 200 years before the invention of the printing press.
1299-1300

Portrait of Marco Polo

Marco Polo is released from prison, marries, and has three children. He never leaves Venice again.
1310-1320 Marco Polo writes a new version of Il Milione in Italian.
1324 Marco Polo dies at home at age 70.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

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30 comments

#1

01/15/2009 :: 09:35:05 PM
amanda Says:

uh well i am on dis site to learn about him for a project and yeah. go marco polo

#2

01/27/2009 :: 07:42:41 PM
george Says:

hah i think marco polo story is really cool

#3

02/04/2009 :: 10:17:17 PM
natalie Says:

hi i think Marco Polo was a brilliant man wait he is a briant man. It was interesting when he journeyed to southeast China. And i think he could have thought soooooooo much of what he did he is soooooooooooooo AWSOME sorry i get exicted when i talk about people who amaze me.

#4

02/04/2009 :: 10:18:50 PM
natalie Says:

ROCK ON MAN (Marco Polo) SO I THINK MARCO POLO RULEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#5

02/07/2009 :: 11:44:07 PM
sam Says:

he rocks

#6

02/07/2009 :: 11:58:08 PM
sam Says:

its shundu (beijing) not dadu

#7

02/09/2009 :: 11:24:30 AM
Denis Belliveau Says:

Shang-tu was the Great Khan’s summer palace in the north, where years later Marco would meet him. His father and uncle first met Kublai in Dadu or Khan balik which today is known as Beijing.

#8

03/05/2009 :: 09:21:12 PM
im doing a project on this guy Says:

thanks for the timeline and wow i cant believe he did all these things!

#9

03/19/2009 :: 07:34:00 PM
wilfredo Says:

excelente pelicula, la de enio marricone

#10

03/23/2009 :: 10:06:30 PM
Geeb Says:

Doing a project too. It helps that this site has most of the pictures all large in size. Makes citations a bit easier woo

#11

04/22/2009 :: 12:37:56 AM
Dante Says:

I just went to this site to find out if Niccolo or Maffeo was Marco’s father because I have A BIG report to do and I would not want to have the two men confused…Good job with this page too :)

#12

04/22/2009 :: 12:42:58 PM
sdlkjljlasjdjltehala Says:

:D great!

#13

06/09/2009 :: 08:16:31 PM
Michael Says:

Marco Rulezz im doing a project on him in class he is awsome!
Peace out home dogs

#14

06/10/2009 :: 07:15:16 PM
KYLELOVER Says:

i am doing a report on him. and this is very very Helpful.
-Adriana

#15

07/14/2009 :: 06:22:33 AM
govind Says:

marco polo ur great u rock.wish i were i ur genetation:)….am doing my project on marco polo…hope my project too rocks:)

#16

09/01/2009 :: 11:03:24 PM
Jordan Polo Says:

this is my family history and I am very proud to be apart of this family!

#17

09/02/2009 :: 11:46:08 AM
erika brandy Says:

Soooo useful.
Love it :)

#18

09/17/2009 :: 01:49:42 PM
felipebronner Says:

i like this version of the marco polo store.

#19

09/24/2009 :: 11:36:04 AM
angela and madison Says:

i hate facebook[we got a myspace]whoa whoo ,but i think Marco polo is pretttttttty cccccccccoooooooooooollllllllllllllll we are doing a report on him

#20

09/26/2009 :: 10:14:18 PM
cloe Says:

man i had to do a report about this dude….i did it the last min. and got an A+…..hahha…easy A

#21

09/27/2009 :: 06:15:44 AM
Wade Says:

I woke up at 2:30am 27 Sept 09 and could not go back to sleep so I started watching TV. KET was showing Denis and Francis’s footage of their journey. I could not stop watching it. What an experience that was not only for them but for me to be able to see what they went through. Thanks so much for sharing their story and I plan to buy the book. Thanks to all who helped make this journey possible. Wade in Louisville KY

#22

10/01/2009 :: 09:35:47 PM
Rachel Says:

I think the was really good to!

#23

10/10/2009 :: 02:06:34 PM
brittany Says:

i problyn younger then all of u and im on this site 4 school

#24

10/18/2009 :: 05:34:02 PM
Keith Says:

this is the most stupdist timeline ever!!!!!!!!!!! it is no help in anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#25

10/18/2009 :: 05:54:54 PM
taylor Says:

ya im doing a project w/ my bff about marco polo too its going good!

#26

10/20/2009 :: 06:34:40 PM
Hodaa Samad Says:

I was looking for another site when I found this one and its so helpfull! It gave me all the information I needed for my school project and it has really good pictures,too. I highly recomend others to read it,especially for projects and reports.

#27

10/23/2009 :: 12:30:45 PM
victoria Says:

i’m doin a speech for school and i’m really excited on how everyones’ gonna like it!!!

#28

10/24/2009 :: 05:33:54 PM
Betsy Says:

They (Dennis and Francis) came to talk and show us the video at our school, they’re awesome! They’re both really nice and just seem to be great friends

#29

10/29/2009 :: 05:57:18 AM
dfsdf Says:

I am doing a project on marco pol and this realy helped!!! <3 :P

#30

11/07/2009 :: 09:58:12 AM
nice guy Says:

thanks alot (literally) i’m doing a project myself

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"It was the best-documented journey of its time, inspiring the imaginations and ambitions of countless adventurers, including Christopher Columbus. Now we, too, can follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo, with guides as vividly exciting and engaging as Marco himself. With both their film and this book Denis and Francis have recreated what Joseph Campbell would have applauded as 'The Hero's Journey.' Come take it yourself and you'll never turn back."
- Bill Moyers
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