Marco Polo

Marco Polo
Marco Polo

Portrait of Marco Polo Born

[1]

c. 1254 presumably in Venice, Venetian Republic 89 January 1324 Venice, Venetian Republic

Died

Resting place Church of San Lorenzo [2] 45.2613N 12.2043E Occupation Knownfor Spouse(s) Children Parents Merchant, explorer The Travels of Marco Polo Donata Badoer Fantina, Bellela and Moretta Mother: Nicole Anna Defuseh Father: Niccol Polo

Marco Polo ( i/mrkoHelp:IPA for English#Keypolo/; Italian pronunciation:[marko plo]; c.1254 January 89, 1324)[] was an Italian merchant traveler from the Republic of Venice[][] whose travels are recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccol and Maffeo, who traveled through Asia, and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo. His pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus[] and many other travellers. There is a substantial literature based on his writings. Polo influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

Marco Polo

Life
Early life and Asian travel
The exact time and place of Marco Polo's birth are unknown, and current theories are mostly conjectural. One possible place of birth is Venice's former contrada of San Giovanni Crisostomo, which is often presented by historians as the birthplace, and it is generally accepted that Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic with most biographers pointing towards Venice itself as Marco Polo's home town.[] Some biographers suggest that Polo was born in Curzola, today known as Korula in present-day Croatia,[3][4] however there is no proof to this claim. The most quoted specific date of Polo's birth is somewhere "around 1254".[5] His father Niccol was a merchant who traded with the Middle East, becoming wealthy and achieving great prestige.[][] Niccol and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage, before Marco was born.[] In 1260, Niccol and Maffeo were residing in Constantinople when they foresaw a political change; they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away.[] According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with the Kublai Khan.[6] Meanwhile, Marco Polo's mother died, and he was raised by an aunt and uncle.[] Polo was well educated, and learned merchant subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and the handling of cargo ships,[] although he learned little or no Latin.[] In 1269, Niccol and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time. In 1271, during the dogado of Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo, Marco Polo (at seventeen years of age), his father, and his uncle set off for Asia on the series of adventures that were later documented in Marco's book. They returned to Venice in 1295, 24 years later, with many riches and treasures. They had traveled almost 15,000 miles (24,000km).[]

Genoese captivity and later life

Upon the Polos' return to Italy, Venice was at war with Genoa.[7] Map of the journey Genoese admiral Lamba D'Oria overwhelmed a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Curzola near the island of Korula, and Polo was taken prisoner.[7] He spent several months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa,[] who incorporated tales of his own as well as other collected anecdotes and current affairs from China. The book soon spread throughout Europe in manuscript form, and became known as The Travels of Marco Polo. It depicts the Polos' journeys throughout Asia, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into the inner workings of the Far East, including China, India, and Japan.[8] Polo was finally released from captivity in August 1299,[] and returned home to Venice, where his father and uncle had purchased a large house in the central quarter named contrada San Giovanni Crisostomo. The company continued its activities and Marco soon became a wealthy merchant. Polo financed other expeditions, but never left Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, the daughter of Vitale Badoer, a merchant.[9] They had three daughters, Fantina, Bellela and Moreta.[10]

Marco Polo

Death
In 1323, Polo was confined to bed, due to illness. On January 8, 1324, despite physicians' efforts to treat him, Polo was on his deathbed. To write and certify the will, his family requested Giovanni Giustiniani, a priest of San Procolo. His wife, Donata, and his three daughters were appointed by him as co-executrices. The church was entitled by law to a portion of his estate; he approved of this and ordered that a further sum be paid to the convent of San Lorenzo, the place where he wished to be buried.[] He also set free a "Tartar slave" who may have accompanied him from Asia.[11] He divided up the rest of his assets, including several properties, between individuals, religious institutions, and every guild and fraternity to which he belonged. He also wrote-off multiple debts including 300lire that his sister-in-law owed him, and others for the convent of San Giovanni, San Paolo of the Order of Preachers, and a San Lorenzo di Venezia church in the sestiere of cleric named Friar Benvenuto. He ordered 220soldi be paid to Castello of Venice, where Polo was buried. The Giovanni Giustiniani for his work as a notary and his prayers.[] The photo was taken after the church was rebuilt. will, which was not signed by Polo, but was validated by then relevant "signum manus" rule, by which the testator only had to touch the document to make it abide to the rule of law,[12] was dated January 9, 1324. Due to the Venetian law stating that the day ends at sunset, the exact date of Marco Polo's death cannot be determined, but it was between the sunsets of January 8 and 9, 1324.[]

Travels of Marco Polo

An authoritative version of Marco Polo's book does not and cannot exist, for the early manuscripts differ significantly. The published editions of his book either rely on single manuscripts, blend multiple versions together, or add notes to clarify, for example in the English translation by Henry Yule. The 1938 English translation by A.C. Moule and Paul Pelliot is based on a Latin manuscript found in the library of the Cathedral of Toledo in 1932, and is 50% longer than other versions.[] Approximately 150 manuscript copies in various A miniature from Il Milione. languages are known to exist, and before availability of the printing press discrepancies were inevitably introduced during copying and translation.[] The popular translation published by Penguin Books in 1958 by R.E. Latham works several texts together to make a readable whole.[13] Polo related his memoirs orally to Rustichello da Pisa while both were prisoners of the Genova Republic. Rustichello wrote The Devisament du Monde in Langues d'Oil, a lingua franca of crusaders and western merchants in the orient.[14] The idea probably was to create a handbook for merchants, essentially a text on weights, measures and distances.[15]

Marco Polo

Narrative
The book opens with a preface describing his father and uncle traveling to Bolghar where Prince Berke Khan lived. A year later, they went to Ukek[] and continued to Bukhara. There, an envoy from Levant invited them to meet Kublai Khan, who had never met Europeans.[16] In 1266, they reached the seat of the Kublai Khan at Dadu, present day Beijing, China. Khan received the brothers with hospitality and asked them many questions regarding the European legal and political system.[17] He also inquired about the Pope and Church in Rome.[18] After the brothers answered the questions he tasked them with delivering a letter to the Pope, requesting 100 Christians acquainted with the Seven Arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy). Kublai Khan requested that an envoy bring him back oil of the lamp in Jerusalem.[19] The long sede vacante between the death of Pope Clement IV in 1268 and the election of his successor delayed the Polos in fulfilling Khan's request. They followed the suggestion of Theobald Visconti, then papal legate for the realm of Egypt, and returned to Venice in 1269 or 1270 to await the nomination of the new Pope, which allowed Marco to see his father for the first time, at the age of fifteen or sixteen.[]

A page from Il Milione, from a manuscript believed to date between 12981299.

In 1271, Niccol, Maffeo and Marco Polo embarked on their voyage to fulfill Khan's request. They sailed to Acre, and then rode on camels to the Persian port of Hormuz. They wanted to sail to China, but the ships there were not seaworthy, so they continued overland until reaching Khan's summer palace in Shangdu, near present-day Zhangjiakou. Three and a half years after leaving Venice, when Marco was about 21 years old, Khan welcomed the Polos into his palace.[] The exact date of their arrival is unknown, but scholars estimate it to be between 1271 and 1275.[20] On reaching the Yuan court, the Polos presented the sacred oil from Jerusalem and the papal letters to their patron.[] Marco knew four languages, and the family had accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience that was useful to Khan. It is possible that he became a government official;[] he wrote about many imperial visits to China's southern and eastern provinces, the far south and Burma.[21] Kublai Khan declined the Polos' requests to leave China. They became worried about returning home safely, believing that if Khan died, his enemies might turn against them because of their close involvement with the ruler. In 1292, Khan's great-nephew, then ruler of Persia, sent representatives to China in search of a potential wife, and they asked the Polos to accompany them, so they were permitted to return to Persia with the wedding party which left that same year from Zaitun in southern China on a fleet of 14 junks. The party sailed to the port of Singapore, travelled north to Sumatra, sailed west to the Trincomalee port of Jaffna under Savakanmaindan and to Pandyan of Tamilakkam. Describing the Pandyan kingdom under Lord Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I as the richest empire in existence, Polo arrived during the reign of Maravarman Kulasekara
Polo wearing a Tartar outfit, age of print unknown.

Marco Polo Pandyan I, son of Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and one of five brother kings on the continent.[22] Eventually Polo crossed the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. The two-year voyage was a perilous one of the six hundred people (not including the crew) in the convoy only eighteen had survived (including all three Polos).[23] The Polos left the wedding party after reaching Hormuz and travelled overland to the port of Trebizond on the Black Sea, the present day Trabzon.[]

Debate
Skeptics have wondered if Marco Polo actually went to China or if he perhaps wrote his book based on hearsay. While Polo describes paper money and the burning of coal, he fails to mention the Great Wall of China, Chinese characters, chopsticks, or footbinding.[24] Yet, if the purpose of Polo's tales was to impress others with tales of his high esteem for an advanced civilization, then it is possible that Polo shrewdly would omit those details that would cause his listeners to scoff at the Chinese with a sense of European superiority. Besides, Marco lived among the Mongol elite. Foot binding was rare even among Chinese during Polo's time and almost unknown among the Mongols. The Great Walls were built to keep out northern invaders, whereas the ruling dynasty during Marco Polo's visit were those very northern invaders. Researchers note that the Great Wall familiar to us today is a Ming structure built some two centuries after Marco Polo's travels. The Mongol rulers whom Polo served controlled territories both north and south of today's wall, and would have no reasons to maintain any fortifications that may have remained there from the earlier dynasties.[] Other Europeans who traveled to Khanbaliq during the Yuan Dynasty, such as Giovanni de' Marignolli and Odoric of Pordenone, said nothing about the wall either.[] Supporters of the book's basic accuracy have replied in even greater force. University of Tbingen sinologist and historian Hans Ulrich Vogel argued that Polo's description of paper money and salt production supported his presence in China because he included details which he could not have gotten otherwise.[] Economic historian Mark Elvin, in his preface to Vogel's 2013 monograph, concludes that Vogel "demonstrates by specific example after specific example the ultimately overwhelming probability of the broad authenticity" of Polo's account. Many problems were caused by the oral transmission of the original text and the proliferation of significantly different hand-copied manuscripts. For instance, did Polo exert "political authority" (seignora) in Yangzhou or merely "sojourn" (sejourna) there. Elvin concludes that "those who doubted, although mistaken, were not always being casual or foolish," but "the case as a whole had now been closed": the book is, "in essence, authentic, and, when used with care, in broad terms to be trusted as a serious though obviously not always final, witness." [25]

Legacy
Further exploration
Other lesser-known European explorers had already travelled to China, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, but Polo's book meant that his journey was the first to be widely known. Christopher Columbus was inspired enough by Polo's description of the Far East to want to visit those lands for himself; a copy of the book was among his belongings, with handwritten annotations.[] Bento de Gis, inspired by Polo's writings of a Christian kingdom in the east, travelled 4,000 miles (6,400km) in three years across Central Asia. He never found the kingdom, but ended his travels at the Great Wall of China in 1605, proving that Cathay was what Matteo Ricci (15521610) called "China".[26]

Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on a Latin edition of Polo's book.

Marco Polo

Commemoration
The Marco Polo sheep, a subspecies of Ovis aries, is named after the explorer,[27] who described it during his crossing of Pamir (ancient Mount Imeon) in 1271.[28] In 1851, a three-masted Clipper built in Saint John, New Brunswick also took his name; the Marco Polo was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months.[29] The airport in Venice is named Venice Marco Polo Airport,[30] and the frequent flyer program of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is known as the "Marco Polo Club".[31] The travels of Marco Polo are fictionalised in Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne's Messer Marco Polo and Gary Jennings' 1984 novel The Journeyer. Polo also appears as the The Fra Mauro map, published c.1450 by the pivotal character in Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. The 1982 Venetian monk Fra Mauro. television miniseries, Marco Polo, directed by Giuliano Montaldo and depicting Polo's travels, won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for six more.[32] He appears as a Great Explorer in the 2008 strategy video game Civilization Revolution.[33]

Cartography
Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the European voyages of exploration a century later.[] The 1453 Fra Mauro map was said by Giovanni Battista Ramusio to have been partially based on the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo: That fine illuminated world map on parchment, which can still be seen in a large cabinet alongside the choir of their monastery (the Camaldolese monastery of San Michele di Murano) was by one of the brothers of the monastery, who took great delight in the study of cosmography, diligently drawn and copied from a most beautiful and very old nautical map and a world map that had been brought from Cathay by the most honourable Messer Marco Polo and his father. Giovanni Battista Ramusio[]

Notes
[1] The exact source is unknown, but the portrait originated from a 16th century painting in the Gallery of Monsignor Badia in Rome. Inscription: Marcus Polus venetus totius orbis et Indie peregrator primus. It appears in the Nordisk familjebok [2] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Marco_Polo& params=45. 2613_N_12. 2043_E_ [3] Burgan 2002, p. 7 [4] Brook 2010, p. 24 [5] Many sources state this date; states, "born in or around 1254. (This date, like nearly all the others concerning major events in his life, is conjectural.)" [7] Nicol 1992, p. 219 [12] Biblioteca Marciana, the institute that holds Polo's original copy of his testament. Venezia.sbn.it (http:/ / marciana. venezia. sbn. it/ admin/ filemanager/ file/ UserFiles/ File/ testamento-polo. txt) [13] The Travels of Marco Polo. (Harmondsworth, Middlesex; New York: Penguin Books, Penguin Classics, 1958; rpr. 1982 etc.)ISBN 0140440577. [14] ^ Marco Polo, Il Milione, Adelphi 2001, ISBN 88-459-1032-6, Prefazione di Bertolucci Pizzorusso Valeria, pp. X-XXI. [15] ^ Larner John, Marco Polo and the discovery of the world, Yale University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-300-07971-0 pp. 6887. [20] Drogn Chgyal Phagpa, a Tibetan monk and confidant of Kublai Khan, mentions in his diaries that in 1271 a foreign friend of Kublai Khan visits quite possibly one of the elder Polos or even Marco Polo himself, although, no name was given. If this is not the case, a more likely date for their arrival is 1275 (or 1274, according to the research of Japanese scholar Matsuo Otagi).() [23] Boyle, J. A. (1971). Marco Polo and his Description of the World. History Today. Vol. 21, No. 11. Historyoftoday.com (http:/ / www. historytoday. com/ MainArticle. aspx?m=33372& amid=30283909) [24] Frances Wood, Did Marco Polo Go to China? (London: Secker & Warburg; Boulder, Colorado: Westview, 1995).

Marco Polo
[25] Hans Ulrich Vogel, Marco Polo Was in China: New Evidence from Currencies, Salts and Revenues (http:/ / books. google. de/ books?id=Ydo_9TEmuVQC& printsec=frontcover& hl=de& source=gbs_ge_summary_r& cad=0#v=onepage& q& f=false) (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2013), p. xix [28] states, "Then there are sheep here as big as asses; and their tails are so large and fat, that one tail shall weigh some 30lb. They are fine fat beasts, and afford capital mutton." [32] (Searching for "Marco Polo", and year 1982) [33] Civilization Revolution: Great People (http:/ / www. civfanatics. com/ civrev/ great_people) "CivFanatics" Retrieved on 2009-09-04

References Bibliography
Basil, Lubbock (2008), The Colonial Clippers, Read Books, ISBN978-1-4437-7119-1 Bergreen, Laurence (2007), Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu, London: Quercus, ISBN978-1-84724-345-4 Bram, Leon L.; Robert S., Phillips; Dickey, Norma H. (1983), Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, ISBN978-0-8343-0051-4 (Article republished in 2006 World Almanac Books, available online from History.com (http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=219550)) Brook, Timothy (2010), The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (http://books.google. com/?id=b80ePdTYWXoC&pg=PA24&dq=Marco+Polo+Korcula#v=onepage&q=Marco Polo Korcula& f=false), Harvard University Press, ISBN0-674-04602-1 Burgan, Michael (2002), Marco Polo: Marco Polo and the silk road to China (http://books.google.com/ ?id=3aPF0rgdslUC&dq=Marco+Polo:+Marco+Polo+and+the+silk+road+to+China&printsec=frontcover& q=Korcula), Mankato: Compass Point Books, ISBN978-0-7565-0180-8 Edwards, Mike (2005), Marco Polo, Part 1 (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0105/feature1/index. html), Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society Falchetta, Piero (2006), Fra Mauro's World Map, Turnhout: Brepols, ISBN2-503-51726-9 Landstrm, Bjrn (1967), Columbus: the story of Don Cristbal Coln, Admiral of the Ocean, New York City: Macmillan Marco Polo. (2010). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved 2010-08-28, from Encyclopdia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/468139/Marco-Polo "Marco Polo". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. "Marco Polo", The New Encyclopdia Britannica Macropedia 9 (15 ed.), Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc, 2002, ISBN978-0-85229-787-2 "Marco Polo" (http://runeberg.org/nfca/0687.html), Nordisk familjebok (in Swedish) (Uggleupplagan ed.), 1915 McKay, John; Hill, Bennet; Buckler, John (2006), A History of Western Society (Eighth ed.), Houghton Mifflin Company, p.506, ISBN0-618-52266-2 Nicol, Donald M. (1992), Byzantium and Venice: a study in diplomatic and cultural relations, Cambridge University Press, ISBN0-521-42894-7 Parker, John (2004), "Marco Polo", The World Book Encyclopedia 15 (illustrated ed.), United States: World Book, Inc., ISBN978-0-7166-0104-3 Power, Eileen Edna (2007), Medieval People, BiblioBazaar, ISBN978-1-4264-6777-6 Winchester, Simon (2008-05-06), The Man Who Loved China: Joseph Needham and the Making of a Masterpiece, New York: HarperCollins, ISBN978-0-06-088459-8 Wood, Frances (1998), Did Marco Polo Go To China? (http://books.google.com/?id=yMRVjwNIqW0C& printsec=frontcover&dq=Did+Marco+Polo+Go+to+China?&q=), Westview Press, ISBN0-8133-8999-2 Yule, Henry; Cordier, Henri (1923), The Travels Of Marco Polo (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/ The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo), Mineola: Dover Publications, ISBN978-0-486-27586-4

Marco Polo Marco Polo, Marci Poli Veneti de Regionibus Orientalibus, Simon Grynaeus Johannes Huttichius, Novus Orbis Regionum ac Insularum Veteribus Incognitarum, Basel, 1532, pp.350-418. (http://books.google.com.au/ books?id=x9tEAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage& q=Betlehem&f=false)

Further reading
Marco Polo (1918), William Marsden, ed., The Travels of Marco Polo (http://books.google.com/ ?id=VovVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), LONDON: J.M. Dent & Sons, p.461, retrieved 2011-05-29(Original from the University of Wisconsin Madison) Daftary, Farhad (1994), The Assassin legends: myths of the Ismailis (2 ed.), I.B. Tauris, p.213, ISBN978-1-85043-705-5 Dalrymple, William (1989), In Xanadu Hart, H. Henry (1948), Marco Polo, Venetian Adventurer, Kessinger Publishing Otfinoski, Steven (2003), Marco Polo: to China and back, New York: Benchmark Books, ISBN0-7614-1480-0 The Travels of Marco Polo Volume 1[1] and Volume 2,[2] written by Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, were published by Project Gutenberg Yang, Dori Jones (2011-01-11), Daughter of Xanadu, Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, ISBN978-0-385-73923-8 (Young Adult novel)

Television
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo is a 2009 PBS documentary about two friends (Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell), who conceived of the ultimate road trip to retrace Marco Polo's journey from Venice to China via land and sea.[3] Marco Polo - A 1982 miniseries featured Ken Marshall and Ruocheng Ying.[4] The 2007 television miniseries, Marco Polo, starring Brian Dennehy as Kublai Khan, and Ian Somerhalder as Marco, portrays Marco Polo being left alone in China while his uncle and father return to Venice, to be reunited with him many years later.[5]
[3] WLIW.org (http:/ / www. wliw. org/ marcopolo), "In the footsteps of Marco Polo", PBS 2009 [4] IMDb.com (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0083446/ ), Marco Polo TV Mini-series 1982 [5] IMDb.com (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0813789/ ), Marco Polo TV Mini-series 2007

External links
Marco Polo's house in Venice, near the church of San Giovanni Grisostomo (http://www.innvenice.com/ Marco-Polo.htm) National Geographic Marco Polo: Journey from Venice to China (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/ data/2001/07/01/sights_n_sounds/media.2.2.html) In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: A Journey through the Met to the Land of the Great Khan (http://www. metmuseum.org/explore/marco/index.html) Marco Polo (http://www.dmoz.org/Society/History/By_Topic/Exploration/Explorers/Polo,_Marco//) at the Open Directory Project Works by Marco Polo (http://www.gutenberg.org/author/Marco+Polo) at Project Gutenberg Marco Polo (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0026847/) at the Internet Movie Database

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Marco Polo Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=557152012 Contributors: (jarbarf), -m, 1984, 204brigada, ALargeElk, AOL account, Absoluteevil2013, Abulsme, Acefox, Addshore, Adityan bhadra, AdjustShift, Adoniscik, Adrian, AdultSwim, Aesopos, Afasmit, Ahda, Ahoerstemeier, Aitias, Aksi great, Al E., Alan Rockefeller, Alansohn, Alchemist Jack, Aldux, Ale jrb, AleR, Alexander336, Algebraist, Ali1986, AliveFreeHappy, AllyUnion, Alphachimp, Alphasinus, Ambulance crusader, Amire80, An Siarach, AnOddName, Anders.Warga, Andre Engels, Andres rojas22, Andrew Dalby, Andriolo, Anger22, Animeman456, AnonMoos, Anonymous Dissident, Anonymous editor, Anonymous from the 21st century, Antandrus, Anthony Appleyard, Apcbg, Apotek31, Aquachica, Aradic-en, Aramink, Archaeodontosaurus, Arthena, Asterion, Aubadaurada, Aubrey Jaffer, Auximines, Avant Guard, Avenged Eightfold, Avicennasis, AxelBoldt, Az1568, Az88, Azariahmoreno, Azrael84, BabelStone, Badamsambu, Balthazarduju, Banazir, Bantman, Baroque1700, BarretB, Barticus88, BasicallyGood, Becritical, Beland, Belligero, Berek, Bhadani, Biggiieboy, Bill Thayer, Bill37212, BillyPreset, Bkell, Blah3, BlahDEBlah07, Blaxthos, Blehfu, Blurpeace, Bobblewik, Bobo192, Boccobrock, Bodnotbod, Bogey97, Bolivendarsen, Bono24, Brandt Luke Zorn, Brian0918, Brianga, Briangotts, BrokenSphere, Brossow, Brutaldeluxe, BubbleGumGrrl86, Buddyg04, Burningview, Bysmuth, C'est moi, C.lettingaAV, C.tammaro, CJLL Wright, CWH, Cabe6403, Cabeyx3, Cacophony, Cactus.man, CaliforniaAliBaba, Caltas, Calvin 1998, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Canismajoris, Canterbury Tail, Carjoyg, Carnby, Cassivs, CattleGirl, Cemsentin1, Cenarium, Chaos2, Charles Matthews, CharlotteWebb, Cherkash, Chill doubt, Chiswick Chap, Choulin, Chris 73, Chrisch, Chrislk02, Christopher1968, Chzz, Ciaccona, Clarityfiend, Classical geographer, Closedmouth, Colonies Chris, CommonsDelinker, Comp25, Connormah, Conversion script, Cordless Larry, Corporal Punishment, Corpx, Corti, Cro ed, Cspyrdumiii, Cubs197, Curps, Cybercobra, Cyberevil, Cynicism addict, Cyrus Andiron, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DBaba, DIEGO RICARDO PEREIRA, DIREKTOR, DJ Clayworth, DJProFusion, Dalmatine, Dan100, Darklilac, Darwinek, Daufer, Dave.Dunford, Dave6, David Straub, David Warner, DavidHallett, Davide41, Davidme, DavisGL, Dbiel, Dedikul, Deflective, Deli nk, Delldot, Demophon, Denisutku, DennyColt, Deon, Deor, DerHexer, Dgies, Diaa abdelmoneim, Digitalme, Dirtybutclean, Discospinster, DivineAlpha, Dj Capricorn, Dlohcierekim, Dna2000, Doc glasgow, Dom Lochet, Dominik92, DoubleAW, Dougweller, Dpr, Dr mindbender, Dvptl, Edwardge123, Ekem, El lapiz, Elf, Elmer Clark, Elonka, Emakowski, Ember of Light, Emc2, Emijrp, Emilyfromnz, Enerelt, Enkyo2, Eperotao, Erik9, Error, Esoteric Rogue, Esowteric, Ethan Mitchell, Eugene van der Pijll, Euryalus, Eve Hall, Evercat, Evergreen Montenegro1, Everlast126, Everyking, Everything Else Is Taken, Evil saltine, F. 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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Marco_Polo_portrait.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marco_Polo_portrait.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Blurpeace, Chris 73, DIREKTOR, Diaa abdelmoneim, Herbythyme, Mu, Nikola Smolenski, 3 anonymous edits file:speakerlink-new.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Speakerlink-new.svg License: Creative Commons Zero Contributors: User:Kelvinsong File:Travels of Marco Polo.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Travels_of_Marco_Polo.png License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Travels_of_Marco_Polo.svg: *Asie.svg: historicair 20:31, 20 November 2006 (UTC) derivative work: Classical geographer (talk) derivative work: Classical geographer (talk) File:Chiesa di San Lorenzo.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chiesa_di_San_Lorenzo.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Didier Descouens File:Marco Polo traveling.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marco_Polo_traveling.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: ALE!, Andrzej Matras, Cherubino, Chris 73, Chzz, Diaa abdelmoneim, Kintetsubuffalo, Masur, Mattes, Quibik, Ras67, Shakko, Thib Phil, 3 anonymous edits File:Marco Polo, Il Milione, Chapter CXXIII and CXXIV Cropped.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marco_Polo,_Il_Milione,_Chapter_CXXIII_and_CXXIV_Cropped.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Hekerui, LouriePieterse, 1 anonymous edits File:Marco Polo - costume tartare.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marco_Polo_-_costume_tartare.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Grevembrock File:ColombusNotesToMarcoPolo.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ColombusNotesToMarcoPolo.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Marco Polo with handwritten notes and sketches by Christopher Columbus File:FraMauroDetailedMapInverted.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FraMauroDetailedMapInverted.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Warburg, Wikiborg, World Imaging, 2 anonymous edits File:wikisource-logo.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikisource-logo.svg License: logo Contributors: Guillom, INeverCry, Jarekt, MichaelMaggs, NielsF, Rei-artur, Rocket000

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