Marco Polo in the east

By Amal Hewavissenti

When the Moghul King Kublai Khan was reigning in the city of Peking, he had the practice of playing host to foreign dignitaries and sending extravagant gifts to their rulers. Furthermore, Kublai Khan's ruling passion was to learn something new especially foreign cultures and practices from foreign visitors to his kingdom.

Kublai Khan in China facilitated education and scholaring pursuits in the country and borrowed what is foreign to give a colour to his people's lifestyles.

He had an open mind for everything. During Kublai Khan's regime in Peking, two explorers from Venice, namely Mapio Polo and Nicholo Polo arrived in China. On their way to China, they encountered a team of diplomats who had been despatched by Kublai Khan to Hulagu, the ruler of Persia and were returning to China.

Kublai Khan's mission got friendly with the Polo brothers and took them to the king who welcomed them with open arms.

Here, King Kublai Khan developed a liking to learn Christianity because the Polo brothers had given the king a detailed account of the Pope and the Christianity in Europe. The king immediately sent missives to the Pope requesting him to send scholars who had mastered in arts and could prove the authenticity of the Christian faith.

Unfortunately the Pope could not find any scholar who was capable of convincing the king about the contemporary religion and culture in Europe.

Deal

However, the Polo brothers too were disappointed on their return to Venice because they were bound to fulfil the wishes of a ruler who had hosted and entertained them in China. In the course of two years, the two brothers succeeded in getting two priests who were with the necessary qualifications and knowledge.

Then they set off on the arduous journey back to China with the two priests.

Here, the Polo brothers were accompanied by Marco Polo, the son of Niccolo Polo in their journey back to China. Their journey proved to be a bitter or deal.

Marco Polo with his father and uncle exploited a difficult route through Palestine, Armenia to Mesopotamia. In Persia, they were joined by a team of merchants from India and they ultimately used a route via Persia, Balkan ridge, Lake Lopnore and the desert to arrive in Peking.

Polo's journey to China itself which took up a year, turned out to be an experience filled with interesting episodes and hardship.

China's King Kublai Khan had earlier presented them with golden cup as a license for them to cross the borders of countries and regions.

Kublai Khan was so much impressed with young Marco Polo that he did not allow the father and son to go back to their native city - Venice however much they longed to be at home. The King appointed Marco Polo as a Provincial Governor and he travelled to many regions of China on his diplomatic missions for around seventeen years. Marco Polo studied Chinese language well. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of the queen of Argon, the Ilkan emperor of Persia trapped the ruler in a dilemma.

Argon, the Ilkan emperor (who was also the cousin of Kublai Khan of China) had made a pledge to his queen never to marry a lady outside the lineage of his dynasty. Persia's emperor however, longed for a remarriage sometime after the death of his queen even though royal traditions thwarted his intentions.

In an exclusive missive to Kublai Khan, Persia's emperor Argon stated that he wished to marry a princess from the court of China - princess who directly descended from Kublai Khan's royal family in Peking.

In response to this request, emperor Kublai Khan dispatched an attractive princess to Persia under escort by Marco Polo, his father and the uncle, who were highly experienced explorers.

Experience

This journey from China to Persia proved to be a pretty arduous experience as it took up almost two years for them to arrive in Persia.

The Princess accompanied by Marco Polo and others had embarked at Southern China and had extravagantly travelled in Sumatra and India before reaching their destination.

Tragic enough - Argon who had been earnestly waiting for the ‘beautiful bride from China’ had died by the time they arrived in Persia in the course of two years! Marco Polo, his father and uncle arranged a marriage between the princess and the son of emperor Argon who was by then a young prince and heir to the Persian throne.

Having completed their mission, the Polos arrived safely in Venice around 1295 twenty five years after their departure from Venice on a voyage of exploration to the East.

Though nobody in Venice recognised them in clothes worn out by the elements of weather through years of travelling, their old friends celebrated their arrival in Venice.

In the midst of the festivities, Marco Polo and his father Niccolo Polo threw their ragged clothes in the air and sapphires, diamonds and rubies kept in the clothes for safety were strewn everywhere.

Everybody who assembled there were highly flabbergasted of this scene because they had refused to believe Polo's accounts of priceless gems in the countries of the East. During a fierce sea battle between Venice and Geneva somewhere in 1295, thousands of Venetians were taken captive by Geneva forces who had defeated the forces of Venice.

Marco Polo was among those captives who were kept in a detention camp.

It was in this prison that Marco Polo recorded his travels and explorations. In these records, Marco Polo has made special references to Sri Lanka, China, India, Sumatra and Java as countries with a rare culture and treasures.

Marco Polo's revelations of the grandeur in the countries of the East, prompted Europeans to explore and conquer them using the routes of the sea.