Marco polo information and biography pdf

Charney Marco Polo. Mamluks and animals: veterinary medicine in medieval Islam Sonja Brentjes. Animalia extranea et stupenda ad videndum. In: Shamanhood and Mythology. Budapest, ; Zsuzsanna Zsidai. The YuleCordier edition of is widely available in reprint. In the day-time, by reason of the great heat, they lurk in caverns, from whence, at night, they issue to seek their food, and whatever beast they meet with and can lay hold of, whether tiger, wolf, or any other, they devour; after which they drag themselves towards some lake, spring of water, or river, in order to drink.

When any SBBR 2. Accordingly the individual was accounted fortunate who possessed in this manner the soul of any noble personage; and many lost their lives in consequence. But from the time of His Majesty's beginning to rule the country, he has taken measures for suppressing the horrid practice, and from the effect of severe punishments that have been inflicted, it has ceased to exist.

It happened that in the year the Grand Khan sent an army into the countries of Vochang and Karazan, for their protection and defence against any attack that foreigners might attempt to make; for at this period he had not as yet appointed his own sons to the governments, which it was afterwards his policy to do; as in the instance of Cen-temur, for whom those places were erected into a principality.

When the king of Mien and Bangala, in India, who was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory, and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars had arrived at Vochang, he took the resolution of advancing immediately to attack it, in order that by its destruction the Grand Khan should be deterred from again attempting to station a force upon the borders of his dominions.

With these, and a numerous army of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang, where the Grand Khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance from it, intended to give his troops a few days of rest. He did not, however, betray any signs of apprehension, but descending into the plain of Vochang,2 took a position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large trees, whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants, which his troops might not be able to sustain, they could retire, and from thence, in security, annoy them with their arrows.

Calling together the principal officers of his army, he exhorted them not to display less valour on the present occasion than they had done in all their preceding engagements, reminding them that victory did not depend upon the number of men, but upon courage and discipline. He represented to them that the troops of the king of Mien and Bangala were raw and unpractised in the art of war, not having had the opportunities of acquiring experience that had fallen to their lot; that instead of being discouraged by the superior number of their foes, they ought to feel confidence in their own valour so often put to the test; that their very name was a subject of terror, not merely to the enemy before them, but to the whole world; and he concluded by promising to lead them to certain victory.

Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended into the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his ground at the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a disposition of his force, placing the elephants in the front, and the cavalry and infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear, but leaving between them a considerable interval.

Here he took his own station, and proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly, assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority of their numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had never before been engaged with such combatants, could by no means resist.

Then giving orders for sounding a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm, making no movement, but suffering them to approach their entrenchments. Harveyn. SBBR 2. As soon as the prudent commander perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they were fastened to the trees.

When dismounted, the men, without loss of time, advanced on foot towards the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge of arrows; whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed in the castles, and the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in return with great activity; but their arrows did not make the same impression as those of the Tartars, whose bows were drawn with a stronger arm.

So incessant were the discharges of the latter, and all their weapons according to the instructions of their commander being directed against the elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who were thereby thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible for their drivers to manage them, either by force or address.

Smarting under the pain of their wounds, and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they were no longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The consequence of this was, that from the closeness of the branches of large trees, they broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or castles that were upon their backs, and involved in the destruction those who sat upon them.

Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired fresh courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. On the part of the king's troops there was no want of valour, and he himself went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and not to be alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants.

But the Tartars, by their consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being provided with such armour as was worn by the former. The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped their swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other. Then in an instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion of blood as was dreadful to behold.

So great also was the clangour of arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise seemed to ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became a valiant chief, was present wherever the greatest danger appeared, animating his soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain their ground with resolution. He ordered fresh squadrons from the reserve SBBR 2.

The losses in this battle, which lasted from the morning till noon, were severely felt on both sides; but the Tartars marco polo information and biography pdf finally victorious; a result that was materially to be attributed to the troops of the king of Mien and Bangala not wearing armour as the Tartars did, and to their elephants, especially those of the foremost line, being equally without that kind of defence, which, by enabling them to sustain the first discharges of the enemy's arrows, would have allowed them to break his ranks and throw him into disorder.

A point perhaps of still greater importance is, that the king ought not to have made his attack on the Tartars in a position where their flank was supported by a wood, but should have endeavoured to draw them into the open country, where they could not have resisted the first impetuous onset of the armed elephants, and where, by extending the cavalry of his two wings, he might have surrounded them.

The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled for shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found that the men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in cutting down trees and barricading the passages, with the intent of defending themselves.

But their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed to the management of the elephants, they possessed themselves of these to the number of two hundred or more. From the period of this battle the Grand Khan has always chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which before that time he had not done.

The consequences of the victory were, that the Grand Khan acquired possession of the whole of the territories of the king of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions. Chapter XLIII An Uninhabited Region, and of the Kingdom of Mien Leaving the province of Kardandan, you enter a vast descent, which you travel without variation for two days and a half, in the course of which no habitations are to be found.

You then reach a spacious plain, whereon, three days in every week, a number of trading people assemble, many of whom come down from the neighbouring mountains, bringing their gold to be exchanged for silver, which the merchants who repair thither from distant countries carry with them for this purpose; and one saggio of gold is given for five of silver.

The inhabitants are not SBBR 2. Beyond this, in a southerly direction, towards the confines of India, lies the city of Mien. The journey occupies fifteen days, through a country much depopulated, and forests abounding with elephants, rhinoceroses, and other wild beasts, where there is not the appearance of any habitation. Chapter XLIV Of the city of Mien, and of a Great Sepulchre of its King the journey of fifteen days that has been mentioned, you reach the city of Mien, which is large, magnificent, and the capital of the kingdom.

The inhabitants are idolaters, and have a language peculiar to themselves. It is related that there formerly reigned in this country a rich and powerful monarch, who, when his death was drawing near, gave orders for erecting on the place of his interment, at the head and foot of the sepulchre, two pyramidal towers, entirely of marble, ten paces in height, of a proportionate bulk, and each terminating marco polo information and biography pdf a ball.

One of these pyramids was covered with a plate of gold an inch in thickness, so that nothing besides the gold was visible; and the other with a plate of silver, of the same thickness. Around the balls were suspended small bells of gold and of silver, which sounded when put in motion by the wind. The whole formed a splendid object.

The tomb was in like manner covered with a plate, partly of gold and partly of silver. This the king commanded to be prepared for the honour of his soul, and in order that his memory might not perish. The Grand Khan, having resolved upon taking possession of this city, sent thither a valiant officer to effect it, and the army, at its own desire, was accompanied by some of the jugglers or sorcerers, of whom there were always a great number about the court.

When these entered the city, they observed the two pyramids so richly ornamented, but would not meddle with them until his majesty's pleasure respecting them should be known. The Grand Khan, upon being informed that they had been erected in pious memory of a former king, would not suffer them to be violated nor injured in the smallest degree; the Tartars being accustomed to consider as a heinous sin the removal of any article appertaining to the dead.

In this country were found many elephants, large and handsome wild oxen, with stags, fallow deer, and other animals in great abundance. It has its peculiar language. The people are worshippers of idols, and amongst them there are teachers [eunuchs] at the head of schools for instruction in the principles of their idolatrous religion and of necromancy, whose doctrine prevails amongst all ranks, including the nobles and chiefs of the country.

Oxen are found here almost as tall as elephants, but not equal to them in bulk. The inhabitants live upon flesh, milk, and rice, of which they have abundance. Much cotton is grown in the country, and trade flourishes. Spikenard, galangal, ginger, sugar, and many sorts of drugs are amongst the productions of the soil; to purchase which the merchants from various parts of India resort thither.

They likewise make purchases of eunuchs, of whom there are numbers in the country, as slaves; for all the prisoners taken in war are presently emasculated; and as every prince and person of rank is desirous of having them for the custody of their women, the merchants obtain a large profit by carrying them to other kingdoms, and there disposing of them.

This province is thirty days' journey in extent, and at the eastern extremity of it lies a country named Kangigu. The people are idolaters, have a peculiar language, and made a voluntary submission to the Grand Khan, to whom they pay an annual tribute. The king is devoted to sensual pleasures.

Marco polo information and biography pdf

He has about three hundred wives; and when he hears of any handsome woman, he sends for her, and adds her to the number, Gold is found here in large quantities, and also many kinds of drugs; but, being an inland country, distant from the sea, there is little opportunity of vending them. There are elephants in abundance, and other beasts. The inhabitants live upon flesh, rice, and milk.

They have no wine made from grapes, but prepare it from rice and a mixture of drugs. Both men and women have their bodies punctured all over, in figures of beasts and birds; and there are among them practitioners whose sole employment it is to trace out these ornaments with the point of a needle, upon the hands, the legs, and the breast.

The man or woman who exhibits the greatest profusion of these figures, is esteemed the most handsome. They are idolaters, and live upon the flesh of their cattle and the fruits of the earth. They have a peculiar language. The country produces many horses and oxen, which are sold to the itinerant merchants, and conveyed to India. Polo had therefore completed the story by providing information not found in either source.

He also noted that the only Persian source that mentions the princess was not completed until —11, therefore Marco Polo could not have learned the information from any Persian book. According to de Rachewiltz, the concordance of Polo's detailed account of the princess with other independent sources that gave only incomplete information is proof of the veracity of Polo's story and his presence in China.

Morgan writes that since much of what The Book of Marvels has to say about China is "demonstrably correct", any claim that Polo did not go to China "creates far more problems than it solves", therefore the "balance of probabilities" strongly suggests that Polo really did go to China, even if he exaggerated somewhat his importance in China.

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.

Other lesser-known European explorers had already travelled to China, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpinebut 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.

He never found the kingdom but ended his travels at the Great Wall of China inmarco polo information and biography pdf that Cathay was what Matteo Ricci — called "China". Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European cartographyultimately leading to the European voyages of exploration a century later.

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.

Though Marco Polo never produced a map that illustrated his journey, his family drew several maps of the Far East based on the traveller's accounts. These collections of maps were signed by Polo's three daughters, Fantina, Bellela and Moreta. Benjamin B. Olshin a historian who wrote for the University of Chicago Press has been unable to "establish the authenticity" of these maps once owned by Marcian Rossi, an Italian immigrant living in California during the s known for peddaling hoaxes.

These maps have been compared to the Zeno Map hoax. However Olshin made no mention on the improbability they are real. There is a legend about Marco Polo importing pasta from China; however, it is actually a popular misconception[ ] originating with the Macaroni Journalpublished by a food industry association with the goal of promoting the use of pasta in the United States.

Pasta had already been invented in Italy a long time before Marco Polo's travels to Asia. The Marco Polo sheepa subspecies of Ovis ammonis named after the explorer, [ ] who described it during his crossing of Pamir ancient Mount Imeon in Ina 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.

Croatian state-owned shipping company 's Jadrolinija ship connecting Split with Ancona in Italy is named after Marco Polo. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Venetian merchant — This article is about the trader and explorer.

For other uses, see Marco Polo disambiguation. VeniceRepublic of Venice. Donata Badoer. Agnese Polo ill. Nickname Milione. Early life and Asian travel. Genoese captivity and later life. The Travels of Marco Polo. Main article: The Travels of Marco Polo. Further information: Franco-Mongol alliance and Byzantine-Mongol alliance. A miniature from Il Milione.

Role of the Dominican Order. Authenticity and veracity. Allegations of exaggeration. Mario Eusebi, p. Arts, entertainment, and media. If this is not the case, a more likely date for their arrival is oraccording to the research of Japanese scholar Matsuo Otagi. Britannicap. They are fine fat beasts, and afford capital mutton. Stubbs, Robert G. Istituto Geografico DeAgostini in Italian.

Archived from the original on 9 June Retrieved 24 August Glick; Steven Livesey; Faith Wallis ISBN Treccani in Italian. Istituto Treccani. Retrieved 17 October Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani in Italian. Nacque a Venezia nel Encyclopedia Britannica. Enciclopedia dell' Arte Medievale in Italian. Dizionario di Storia in Italian. Journal of Marine and Island Cultures.

Bibcode : JMICu IIGiunti, Venezia, Zorzi, Alvise La Repubblica del Leone. Storia di Venezia [ The Lion's Republic. History of Venice ] in Italian. Milan: Bompiani. Marco Polo. New Word City. A Critical Appraisal by I. The Australian National University. Retrieved 20 August Office of Shaanxi Local Chronicles. Retrieved 13 October The Travels of Marco Polop.

New York: Penguin Books. Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italian. Retrieved 1 June National Geographic. Archived from the original on 5 February For details, see, A. Retrieved 25 November Translated by John Frampton Second ed. Marco Polo, The Description of the World. Indianapolis: Hackett Press. The Medieval Review. ISSN X. MarsdenThomas Wright ed.

Marco Polo and his Description of the World. History Today. Le Tellier Divisata con cinque cronologie. Tomo primo Michele Cavalieri da Bergamo, maestro nella sagra teologia dello stesso Ordine, Con un catalogo de'cardinali Domenicani, e con cinque indici copiosissimi Internet Archive. Roberg, "Die Tartaren auf dem 2. Konzil von Lyon ," Annuarium historiae conciliarum 5— Reviews in History.

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Archived from the original on 4 February Retrieved 25 October Science Daily. A Review of Benjamin B. Retrieved 20 October The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 March Serventi, F. Sabban La pasta. Storia e cultura di un cibo universaleVII. Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food. Translated by Shugaar, Antony. New York: Columbia University Press.

The Man Who Ate Everything. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Retrieved 2 June Retrieved 29 January In Rodney P. Carlisle ed. Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society. Archived from the original on 17 March Retrieved 4 September Archived from the original on 6 September Archived from the original on 17 November Retrieved 17 November Messer Marco Polo.

IMDb TV miniseries. Archived from the original on 2 September Retrieved 26 February Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 August The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 December Herbermann, Charles, ed. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Marco Polo: The Description of the World.