MARCO POLO 1

 

A few years before Rabban Sawma and Rabban Marcos made their journey from Beijing to Baghdad (circa 1278-1280), Marco Polo, his father Niccolo, and his uncle Maffeo, travelled the Silk Road in the opposite direction (circa 1271-1275). 

The Rabbans were Nestorian monks making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Polos were Italian merchants, hoping to capitalise on their connections with China's emperor Kublai Khan. Different backgrounds and expectations, one religious, one economic, produced unique accounts of the famous land route between East and West, each with their own emphasis.

For Niccolo and Maffeo, it was their second trip to the Court of the Great Khan. Their first crossing was made some time after 1262, returning to Venice in 1269. The Travels of Marco Polo (written 1298) is therefore the story of the later experience of the Polo family.

MERCHANTS POLO

Marco Polo Snr's will (drafted 1280) mentions a fraterna copagnia, essentially a family partnership between three brothers, himself, Niccolo and Maffeo. As the elder brother, Marco Snr seems to have acted as leading, sedentary partner, managing the family trading business from a fixed base. The two younger brothers operated as travelling partners.

In the period before the first journey, "Christian merchants from Constantinople and the rising mercantile republics of Italy ― Pisa, Genoa, Venice ― cheerfully imperilled their souls by trading with the infidel [Islamic states]. But they seldom penetrated beyond the sea-ports of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea". (Latham, 1958)

About the year 1260, the Polos moved from their base of ten years in Constantinople to the port of Soldaia on the Crimean peninsular. A  colony of Venetian traders was already established there. "From the early thirteenth century onwards, Soldaia served as transit station for goods such as furs and slaves arriving from Ukraine, exchanged for cotton fabrics, silks and spices imported from Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor". (Jacoby, 2006)

Mongol rule along the north shore of the Black Sea had existed since its conquest by the Golden Horde around 1240. Niccolo and Maffeo Polo set off for the Camp of Berke Khan with jewels and gemstones. They reached him at Sarai on the Volga river and presented their precious minerals, receiving goods fully twice their value in return.

In reality, Berke Khan's generosity was a commercial investment. He was actually funding future trade by the brothers in his domain. Under his patronage and protection, the brothers were acting as his agents, although with the potential of them deriving much profit. But before this relationship could mature, war broke out between the Khans.

War in the Caucasus began in the winter of 1261/62 with Berke Khan (Russia) against Il-Khan Hulegul (Persia). Retreat for the brothers to Constantinople was no longer possible. The Genoese-Byzantine Treaty in 1261 barred Venetian merchants from sailing in the Black Sea. They chose instead to take refuge in a neutral city in Central Asia called Bukhara. And, "when the chance came, they accepted an invitation to join a diplomatic mission from [Il-Khan Hulegul] to his overlord, Kubilai, khan of all the Tartars [ie Mongols], in far distant Cathay [ie China]. (Latham, 1958)

According to Marco Polo's Prologue, the major inducement was money. The "Embassadoure from HANUL...sayde to them, Friends, if you wyll followe or take my council, I will showe you wayes or meanes whereby you shall gette greate riches and renowne. Our Lorde the King of the Tartares, didde never see any Christians, and has great desire to see of them, if you will goe with me, I will bring you to his presence, where you shall have greate profite and friendship of hym". (Polo, 1298)

After "travelling the space of one year...they came to the Citie of the great CANE". On being presented to him, Niccolo and Maffeo discovered his key interest was strategic: "demaundyng of them" information about "the Emperoure of the Christians...and hys Countreys...And when hee made anye warres, howe and after what manner hee broughte hys people into the fielde, and he demaunded of them the state and order of othe Kyngdomes and Dukedomes in Chrystendome..."

These questions, Marco assures the reader, "the two breethren aunswered in order very discreteley and wisely". To the Polos advantage, they "hadde understandyng and could speake the Tartarie language". So whatever his real motives were, Kubilai Khan appreciated "understandyng theyr answeres, and had grat pleasure therein". 

When it came time for the brothers to depart, the Khan had made for them a special pass, "a Table of gold", to use on the way home. Polo family members eventually accumulated four of these passports, or "golden tablets of authority". (Called paiza in Persian and pai-tzu in Chinese, Marco Polo's own specimen was valued at 200 Ducats in 1324). Niccolo and Maffeo soon recognised the powerful message contained in this object ― "in every Towne where they came shewing the forsayd Table of gold [they] were very honourably receyved and enterteyned, as the person of the King". 

When the brothers arrived back in Venice in 1269, it did not take much thinking for the family to realise that "the Greate Canes" friendship was 'bankable'. Arrangements were made to mount another expedition to the East, this time including Niccolo's son Marco. Their 'excuse' was to deliver the Pope in Rome's reply to an imperial letter they had brought him from the Mongol ruler. Delays to the election of a new pope held them up, but by 1271 or 1272, with papal letter duly signed, they set off.

MARCO THE YOUNGER

In his Prologue, the author announces his purpose in fairly florid language: "In thys Booke I do mind to giue knowledge of strange and maruellous things of the world...as they were seene by me MARCUS Paulus, of the noble Citie of Venice."  However, in an Introduction to The Travels of Marco Polo (1958, Penguin), translator Ronald Latham makes some sensible comments about the younger Marco and his observation of "strange and marvellous things".

      "His travels are proof in themselves of enterprise, resource, and dogged endurance...he travelled with his wits about him and his eyes open...they were the eyes of a practical traveller and a merchant, quick to notice the available sources of food and water along the route, the means of transport, and the obstacles interposed by nature or by man, and no less quick to observe the marketable products of every district, whether natural or manufactured, and the channels through which flowed the interlacing streams of export and import.

       From this practical standpoint, Marco judged town and countryside alike in terms of productivity; a 'fine' town is a thriving one, a 'fine' province a fertile one...The judgments passed on men and states shows something of the same mercantile approach...his 'good' men are hard-working, law-abiding folk who live by trade and industry...his 'bad' men are the insolent or unruly, the stuff that brigands and corsairs are made of."

These assessments hold true in reading Marco's account. Marco thinks like the businessman he is to become.

ROAD TO CATHAY

The Polos joined a section of the Silk Road at the city of BALKH, on the east-north-eastern (ENE) frontier of the Il-khanate of Persia. Marco was immediately aware of 'history's tumult' in the region. "Balkh is a splendid city of great size. It used to be much greater and more splendid, but the Tartars and other invaders have sacked and ravaged it...many fine palaces and mansions of marble are still to be seen, but shattered now and in ruins."

Impressions of a wasted landscape continue. "When the traveller leaves Balkh, he rides fully 12 days' journey towards ENE without finding any habitation, because the people have all fled to mountain fastnesses for fear of the bandits and invaders who used to molest them." As a consequence, "those who pass this way must carry food with them for their horses and themselves."

Things improve in the next stage with "a town called TALIKHAN, where there is a great corn-market." Hard rock salt is mined in mountains to the south and the region is "abounding in almonds and pistachios, which are marketed on a big scale."

Another three days' riding finds "fine country all the way, thickly peopled and rich in fruits, grain and vines." It has "a city called ISHKASHAN" and through its midst "flows a river of considerable size."

Three more days are barren, "without finding habitation or food or drink", although "there is enough grass for horses." Then "the province of BADAKSHAN" is reached, "a large kingdom" over which its ruler exercises tight control, restricting "tunnelling" for "balass rubies" and "lapis lazuli" to "retain their present rarity and value."

For 12 days Marco notes sheep flocks of 4-600, good wheat and barley, and, though there is no olive oil, it is substituted by oil "made from sesame and nuts." Positive remarks continue for an additional 12 days as the route "follows up a river valley...where there are towns and homesteads in plenty."

But Badakshan "is very cold". A tell-tale sign that the road is going to get a lot more arduous is that "very good horses are bred here. They are great runners and are not shod with iron, though they are in constant use on mountain trails."

Already the travellers have sensed this. "The kingdom has many narrow passes and natural fortresses, so that the inhabitants are not afraid of any invader breaking in to molest them. Their cities are built on mountain tops or sites of great natural strength. It is a characteristic of these mountains that they are of immense height, so that for a man to climb from bottom to top is a full day's journey, from dawn till dusk. On the top are wide plateaux, with a lush growth of grass and trees and copious springs of the purest water, which pour down over the crags like rivers to the valley below."

A further three days journey ENE brings the Polos to WAKHAN, which is "a country of no great size", but here the terrain gets rapidly worse: "through mountains all the time, climbing so high that this is said to be the highest place in the world. And when [the traveller] is in this high place, he finds a plain between two mountains, with a lake from which flows a very fine river".

The alpine plateau had its compensations. "Here is the best pasturage in the world, for a lean beast grows fat in ten days." However, it is still a tough place to be. "The plain, whose name is PAMIR, extends fully 12 days' journey. In all these days there is no habitation or shelter but travellers must take their provisions with them. No birds fly here because of the height and the cold...Because of this great cold, fire is not so bright here nor of the same colour as elsewhere, and food does not cook well."

Allowances must be made for Marco not knowing that higher attitude means lower oxygen levels in the atmosphere, although he describes its actual affect quite well. Unfortunately, the Wakhan corridor and Pamir plain are just the beginning of his discomfort.

"At the end of this journey the traveller must ride fully 40 days' more ENE, always over mountains and along hillsides and gorges, traversing many rivers and deserts. In all this journey he finds no habitation or shelter, but must carry his stock of provisions. This country is called BELOR. The inhabitants live very high up in the mountains. They are idolaters and utter savages, living entirely by the chase and dressed in the skins of beasts. They are out and out bad".

After 55 days straight of remote and unsupported travel, it must have been an enormous relief to finally come into KASHGAR.

Marco was impressed by Kashgar, reporting that the "inhabitants live by trade and industry. They have very fine orchards and vineyards and flourishing estates. Cotton grows here in plenty, besides flax and hemp. The soil is fruitful and productive of all the means of life".

There may also have been a feeling of special significance. The city of Kashgar was "the starting point from which many merchants set out to market the wares all over the world". It was a cross-roads destination along the main Silk Road. KASHMIR to the south ("From this country there is a route leading to the Indian Sea"), SAMARKAND to the west (the way to the Black Sea and Europe), and TANGUT and CATHAY to the east.

Leaving Kashgar, the merchants passed through YARKAND (5 days), KHOTAN (8 days), PEM (5 days), CARCHAN (?), and LOP (5 days). At Yarkand, Khotan, Pem and Carchan, "cotton grows...in plenty". But these were essentially 'oasis towns', river-waters from the southern uplands ran out to disappear in the Taklimakan desert. Critically for the Polos, from Khotan to Pem, Pem to Carchan, and Carchan to Lop, "all is a tract of sand".

Describing the desert looking back from Lop, Marco states it "takes a month to cross it". For those who know the way, there is drinking water at 28 points compared to 3 or 4 places "where water is bad and bitter". The implication is that this is closely guarded knowledge and hiring local guides is a necessary expense. The writer relates a story from Carchan which shows why the locations of "good and sweet" water may have been kept secret from outsiders.

"It used to be a splendid and fruitful country, but it has been much devastated by the Tatars...When it happens that an army passes through the country, if it is a hostile one, the people take flight with their wives and children and their beasts two or three days' journey into the sandy wastes to places where they know is water and they can live with their beasts...if it happens that a friendly army passes that way, they merely drive off their beasts, because they do not want to have them seized and eaten; for the armies never pay for what they take...When they harvest their corn, they store it far away from any habitation, in certain caves among these wastes, for fear of the armies; and from these stores they bring home what they need month by month".

With the perils of the Pamir and Taklimakan behind them, travelling became easier for the Polos. After Lop they entered a number of regions that together made up the very large province of TANGUT. Listed in order of appearance are "a city called Sa-chau", an area called Uighuristan whose chief city was Kara Koja, a region called Ghinghintalas, another named Su-chau, Kan-chau "a large and splendid city in Tangut proper and the capital of the whole province", followed by a region and city sharing the name Ergiul, an area and city sharing the name of Sinju, and a final part of Tangut called Egrigaia with its chief city of Kalachan.

Long distances separated these cities. At least 75 days' travel crossing Tangut are listed. It is not clear if the merchants visited all of them, but as their itinerary is sequential they possibly did. Two of these regions, Ghinghintalas and Sinju, drew Marco's particular attention because of the products they traded.

In Ghinghintalas there was a mountain with "a vein from which is produced salamander". This was "not a beast as is commonly asserted" but rock. "When the stuff found in this vein...has been dug out of the mountain and crumbled into bits, the particles cohere and form fibres like wool...this wool-fibre is carefully spun and made into cloths...they are thrown into the fire [oven?] and left there for a while; and there they turn as white as snow".

This is a reference to asbestos, a commodity so unusual to mediaeval Europeans that Marco is obliged to 'guarantee' his claims. He says "I had a Turkish companion called Zurficar, a man of great intelligence, who spent three years in this province, in the service of the Great Khan, engaged in the extraction of this salamander...My companion told me the true facts and I have also seen them for myself".

Of Sinju, Marco writes "This country produces the finest musk in the world; and this is how it is obtained...it comes from a small animal about the size of a gazelle, with thick hair like that of a deer...When the [musk-deer] has been caught, there is found next to the navel right under the belly, between the skin and the flesh, a little sac of blood. This is cut away, skin and all, and taken out; and this blood is the musk, which gives off such a powerful perfume...in this country it is available in great abundance and of excellent quality."

Polo records the presence of yaks in Sinju, "as big as elephants...covered with long hair...wild cattle [and cattle in domestication...used as beasts of burden and in the plough". Also noted are "Camlets", cloth "made of camel hair" and "white wool". This fabric was "exported by merchants far and wide to many countries, including Cathay".

___________________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES:

Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa, 1298, Livres des Merveilles du Monde (Book of the Marvels of the World), translated by Ronald Latham, 1958, The Travels of Marco Polo, Penguin Books.

<archive.org/in.ernet.dli.2015.50789/The-Travels.pdf>

David Jacoby, 2006, 'Marco Polo, His Close Relatives, and His Travel Account: Some new insights', Mediterranean Historical Review, 21.2, 193-218

Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, 2017, 'From Shebergan to Kashgar in the Travels of Marco Polo', PHILICA, Article 1100 (Google Scholar Search)

Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, 2020, 'From Kashgar to Xanadu in the Travels of Marco Polo', HAL, hal-02563026 (Google Scholar Search)