Marco Polo

Topic: Medieval India through Travellers' Eyes · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 5 "Print Culture and the Modern World"; Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Paths to Modernisation"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"

Meaning

Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324) was a merchant-traveller from Venice who lived at the court of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan in China and wrote about China and India in the late 13th century. His book, Il Milione (The Million), is one of the best-known medieval travel accounts [3]. Historians often compare it with the Rihla of Ibn Battuta. Both men give an outsider's picture of Asia, and both books have the same weakness as sources.

Explanation

Background: a merchant family on the move

• The Polos were a merchant family of Venice, a great trading city of medieval Europe.
• Medieval merchants travelled for profit. They wanted to reach the rich markets of Asia.
• In the 13th century the Mongols ruled a huge belt of land from China to West Asia. Long-distance travel across this belt became possible.
• Kublai Khan was then the Mongol ruler of China.

The journey, in order

• 1271: the Polos set out from Venice [3].
• c. 1274: they reached Kublai Khan's court [3].
• 16 or 17 years in the Khan's lands. They moved with the court between two capitals [3]:
• Shangdu, the summer capital.

• Dadu, which is modern Beijing.

• 1295: they returned to Venice after 24 years away [3].

• On the way, Marco Polo saw India and wrote about it. So his book is a source for Indian history as well as Chinese history.

How the book was made

• Marco Polo did not write the book himself.
• He was held in a Genoese prison (a prison of Genoa, a city that competed with Venice).
• There he dictated his story to a fellow prisoner, Rustichello, a writer of romances (popular adventure stories) [3].
• The book became known as Il Milione (The Million) [3].
• Why this matters:
• A romance writer shaped the words, so parts of the book read like an adventure story.
• The facts are Polo's, but the voice is partly Rustichello's.
• Historians therefore read it carefully. They check it against other records.

The comparison with Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Battuta (1304–77), from Tangier, Morocco, travelled about half a century after Polo.
• He also reached Beijing and also wrote about India.
• His book, the Rihla ("journey" in Arabic), was dictated to a scribe, Ibn Juzayy. Ibn Juzayy rewrote the plain prose in an ornate (decorated) style and added bits of poetry [2].
• Point to note: both famous travel books were dictated to a professional writer. The style we read is partly the scribe's, not the traveller's.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: late 13th century. The Polos travelled from 1271 to 1295 [3].
• Ruler: Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China.
• Places: Venice (home), Shangdu and Dadu/Beijing (Kublai Khan's capitals), the Genoese prison where the book was dictated, and India, which he described [3].
• Key people: Marco Polo; his merchant family; Kublai Khan; Rustichello, the romance writer who wrote down the book [3].
• How we know: from Il Milione itself. In NCERT, Polo appears in Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers" as the usual comparison with Ibn Battuta's Rihla.
• Indian context: the main Indian evidence from travellers in this period is the Rihla. Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333 and served Muhammad bin Tughlaq as qazi (a Muslim judge for religious and civil cases) of Delhi.

Don't confuse with

• Ibn Battuta: a Moroccan who travelled in the 14th century (reached India in 1333) and served the Delhi Sultanate. Marco Polo was a Venetian of the late 13th century who served at Kublai Khan's court in China.
• Rustichello vs Ibn Juzayy: Rustichello wrote down Marco Polo's book in a Genoese prison [3]. Ibn Juzayy wrote down Ibn Battuta's Rihla on a ruler's orders [2].
• Il Milione vs Rihla: Il Milione (The Million) is Polo's book [3]. Rihla ("journey"), full title Tuhfat al-anzar fi gharaib al-amsar wa ajaib al-asfar, is Ibn Battuta's book [2].
• Shangdu vs Dadu: both were Kublai Khan's capitals. Dadu is modern Beijing. Shangdu is the other court city [3].

Prelims Hooks

• Marco Polo came from Venice. His family were merchants.
• He set out in 1271 and reached Kublai Khan's court c. 1274 [3].
• He returned to Venice in 1295, after 24 years [3].
• He dictated his book in a Genoese prison to Rustichello. The book is called Il Milione (The Million) [3].
• Chronological trap: Marco Polo (late 13th century) came before Ibn Battuta (reached Sind 1333). Both reached Beijing (Dadu).
• Pairing trap: Polo goes with Rustichello. Ibn Battuta goes with Ibn Juzayy. Exam options often swap them.

Mains Points

• Both famous travel books have the same limits as sources.
• Polo dictated Il Milione to a romance writer in prison [3]. Ibn Battuta's Rihla was rewritten in a fancy style with added poetry [2].
• The facts are the traveller's, but the words are partly the scribe's.

• So historians must cross-check travel accounts with inscriptions, court records and other sources before using them.

• Polo's journey shows how connected the medieval world was. Under Mongol rule, a Venetian merchant family could cross Asia, live 16–17 years at the Khan's court, and come home [3]. Ibn Battuta's career from Morocco to Delhi, the Maldives and China shows the same thing about the Islamic world and the Indian Ocean. Together they help answer questions on trade and cultural links between Europe, India and China.

• The "gaze from outside" is useful and also risky. Foreign travellers wrote down things local chroniclers thought too ordinary to record. But they also chose the strange and the wonderful to entertain their readers. GS-I answers on travellers' accounts should name both the value and the bias.

Related concepts

• Ibn Battuta
• Ibn Juzayy
• Rihla

Read more

• Ibn Battuta and the Rihla: the itinerary of a globe-trotter