Marco Polo, the fate of an explorer

His trip to China will last… almost 25 years. Several generations later, it will continue to thrill and dream globetrotters. In this new episode of "At the heart of history" , produced by Europe 1 Studio, Jean des Cars tells you the story of Marco Polo.

In the 1280s, after several missions to the south and southwest of China, Marco Polo was appointed by the Emperor Kubilaï Khan governor of the city of Hangzhou, located southeast of Shanghai, which does not exist in the time. It is an immense honor because it is one of the most beautiful and richest cities of the Empire.

Kubilaï is a Mongolian emperor. He is the grandson of Genghis Khan. He has reigned since 1260 and is over 60 years old. Master of northern China on his advent, he led, from 1267 to 1276, the conquest of southern China and destroyed the Song dynasty. He is a generous and skillful man. He behaves with remarkable humanity towards the defeated. The last Song Emperor, a child, is sent to a Buddhist monastery where he will spend his life.

As early as 1271, Kubilaï gave his dynasty the Chinese name of Yuan. He adopted Chinese civilization, promoted Buddhism, protected letters and led a sumptuous court life. Hangzhou is the pearl of southern China.

The writer Italo Calvino, in his book Invisible Cities, imagines the meeting between the Emperor and Marco Polo, in this city built on a river, with many canals ... like Venice. Let us listen to Italo Calvino: "And he advanced his banded hand out of the silk canopy of the imperial Bucentaure, and he showed the arched bridges over the canals, the princely palaces whose marble thresholds were bathed in water, the back and forth comes from the light boats which zigzagged under the pressure of long oars, the barges which unloaded the baskets of vegetables on the market places, the balconies, the terraces, the cupolas, the bell towers, the gardens in the green islands on the gray of the lagoon. The Emperor, accompanied by his foreign dignitary, visited Hangzhou, ancient capital of the dethroned dynasties, the last pearl enshrined in the crown of the Great Khan ".

The Emperor asks Marco Polo if he has ever seen a more beautiful city. He says no. The sovereign likes Marco Polo to tell him about his travels, to describe the cities he has visited for him. Marco Polo is happy to do so. "There is one you never told me about," said the Emperor, "it's Venice." Marco Polo replies that every time he describes a city, he says something about Venice. But who is Marco Polo, who has become a confidant and a friend of the Emperor of China?

An already written destiny

When Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254, his destiny was practically already written. First, because he was born into a large family of wealthy merchants. So he too will be a merchant. Then, because when he was born, his father had left with his uncle for several months on a large commercial trip. We will not hear from them for sixteen years ... His father, Nicolo, and his uncle Matteo were wealthy enough to have a beautiful home in Venice, a house in Constantinople and a branch in Soldaiä, north of the Black Sea, near the current Yalta ... 

They therefore left Venice in 1253, their ships loaded with goods. They stop in Constantinople and then at their counter in Soldaia. From there, they set off on horseback to the Court of Berké, Mongolian sovereign of the Golden Horde, near the Volga. They spend a year there. They are very well received. When they plan to return to Venice, a war in the Crimea prevents them. So, they reach Bukhara, in present-day Uzbekistan. They are very good there. As proof: they stay there for three years! 

It was then that a man, sent from the Levant to meet the Emperor of China Kubilai Khan, persuaded them to make the trip with them. They have already left Venice for more than four years. What reason could have pushed these two men to embark on such an insane journey? The taste for commerce, no doubt, the desire to discover an unknown world and the attraction of adventure, of course. 

They will take another year to arrive at Karakorum where Kubilaï Khan holds his court. The Emperor is delighted to meet Latins. He questions them enormously and particularly on the Pope, on faith and on the Roman Church. He has reasons for this: his mother came from a family of Turks who were Nestorian Christians. Nestorianism is a doctrine that spread in Eastern Christianity in the 5th century. Nestorians distinguish in Christ two people, one divine, the other human. This doctrine is rejected by the Orthodox but it has spread a lot in Persia, then in Arabia, in India and as far as China.

The Emperor decides to charge the Polo brothers with a mission to the Pope. He entrusts them with a letter for the Holy Father. In this letter, Kubilaï asks the pope to send him a hundred learned men who can teach religion and Christian doctrine. To the two brothers, he asked to bring him also a little oil from the lamp that burns before the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Indeed, the Mongolian emperor has the greatest devotion to Christ which he held among the number of holy gods.

For their return, the two Polo brothers will receive from the Emperor a gold tablet, engraved with the imperial seal which will allow them to obtain food, accommodation and escort along the roads of the Empire. The Polo brothers reached Saint John of Acre in April 1269, sixteen years after their departure from Venice! They then learn that Pope Clement IV has died and that the cardinals fail to elect his successor. The pope's legate, who is in Saint John of Acre, suggests that they return to Venice while awaiting the election. 

Nicolo, on returning, learns that his wife is dead and that she had a son born to him after his departure. He is 15 years old. His name is Marco. Widowed, Nicolo marries a lovely young girl named Fioredelise. She knows that her husband is going to leave for China, but she cannot assume that this next trip will be much longer than the previous one. As for Marco, he meets his father. They must get along well since Marco will leave with him and his uncle for China.

On the way to China!

The new pope still having not been elected, the three Polo, the father, the son and the uncle, decide to start their journey by leaving for Saint-Jean d'Acre. They take the opportunity to make a detour through Jerusalem in order to take some oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher. For lack of pope, they will leave for China by renouncing the hundred literate men requested by Kubilaï. 

Along the coast, they arrive in Ayas, Asia Minor when they learn that a new pope has finally been elected. They are called Gregory X. Informed of the letter from the Emperor of China, the Pope asks the three Venetians to come and see him. He armed a galley for them and they all find themselves in Saint-Jean d'Acre. Grégoire X warmly receives the Polo shirts. Instead of a hundred men, he planned for the emperor only two preaching brothers. This is little ! But finally, they are learned, provided with gifts and letters from the Pope.

After this false start, the three Venetians, accompanied by the two preaching brothers, reach present-day Lebanon. They want to continue on to Armenia but the preaching brothers, learning that there are troubles in this country, abandon their gifts to the Venetians and return to Saint-Jean d'Acre. The Polo shirts are not afraid. They cross the small Armenia then the Large one where they rave about what they think are the remains of Noah's Ark hung on the slopes of Mount Ararat. Certainly, they see it from afar but it is always exhilarating to be confronted with the Bible ...

Near the Caspian Sea, they find a fountain "from which comes out an oil-like liquor, which flows in abundance. It is not good to drink but it burns and it heals man and mangy animals, as well than camel hives. " This is nothing new: Alexander the Great had spoken of this strange oil. It was, of course, petroleum!

In his story, Marco Polo says he goes through Baghdad. This is probably false because it would make them make a huge detour. But Baghdad is such a treasure that its absence would harm the story of such a prestigious trip. On the other hand, in Persia, they visit Sava from where the Three Kings left to bring gifts to the Child Jesus.

Marco sees the bodies of the Three Kings in their graves. He finds that they are "still whole and have hair and beards as when they were alive"! Through Persia, Marco, a good trader, admires the horses that the Persians export to India by sea. He notes local productions: gold and silk sheets, cotton, wheat, barley, millet, wines and fruits. Polo shirts travel with caravans, often attacked by armed gangs. They come close to death several times. On the other hand, there can be idyllic moments, for example the Kerman plain, with groves which produce dates. We hunt animals there, we find beautiful poultry, quail and all kinds of birds. Marco Polo reports that "the maids and young ladies of the region embroider birds, trees and flowers on sheets of silk and gold. They exquisitely open up bedspreads, cushions and all other things that are exported to all countries. "

Breathtaking landscapes

They reach Ormuz, on the Persian Gulf, hoping to take a boat but there is none. They turn back and head north-east, towards the northern part of present-day Afghanistan. There, Marco falls ill. This disease lasts a year, the time for him to learn some local languages. He already practices several ... He will recover in the high mountains of the Pamir. Here are our three Venetians riding at an altitude of 4,000 m in landscapes that are already breathtaking ... They trace their way thanks to buttes made with horns and bones of wild sheep. These are terminals, very useful, placed by previous travelers. They sometimes meet huge sheep which we will henceforth call, in Latin, "ovis Polo", the "Polo sheep"! Marco Polo gives its name to an animal!

They reach Kashgar. It is an island of civilization. Cotton, flax, hemp, vines and fruit trees are grown there. From now on, our travelers will go along the north of Tibet along the terrible Takla Makan desert. We must beware of the presence of spirits: we are in the shamanic territory where we believe in wizards and spirits but that does not disturb the Polo. Then they arrive in the capital of Uyghurs, not yet converted to Islam. 

Curiously, very close to the goal, they stop in the city of Ganzhou. They will stay there for a year for their business. It is unclear what their business is. We suppose that it is a question of trade but this long stay will allow Marco Polo to be interested in Buddhism. He admires the "honest life" of the monks and the Buddhist statuary. He is ecstatic, in particular, before the big reclining Buddhas. The travelers resume their journey.

In the fall of 1275, the Venetians were forty days from the city of Shangdu. Kubilaï built his summer residence there north of Beijing. It should be noted that if at the beginning of his reign, in 1260, the emperor Kubilaï had transferred his capital to Beijing, he immediately had a new city built next to it, Khanbalik, which means the city of the Khan. Unfortunately, the hot season was as difficult in Beijing as in Khanbalik. This is the reason for his vacation in Shangdu.

It is therefore forty days from their scheduled arrival that travelers see the Emperor's messengers arriving. He is waiting for them. He is about to celebrate them as soon as they arrive.

A very long stay in China

As soon as Shangdu, travelers are received at the palace of the Grand Khan with pomp. As a sign of respect, they lie down completely in front of the emperor Kubilaï who immediately raises them. He questions them about their lives and especially about their journey. The Polo shirts presented the Pope's letter and gifts to the sovereign, as well as the precious oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher. The Emperor was delighted and ordered that the oil be kept with great honor. As for the hundred literate people requested, the monarch does not even seem to notice their absence. It was well worth it! 

As for Marco Polo, his father presents him thus to the Emperor Kubilaï: "Sire, he is my son and your man; with great pain and peril, I brought him to you from so distant countries as the most precious good that I have in this world, to present him to you and that he may be your servant. " The emperor replied: "Let him be welcome because I like him very much."

The Emperor is sincere. It is true that Marco Polo, now 21, has everything to please. It is beautiful, simple, charming, courageous because this trip was not easy. He speaks several languages. Kubilaï will now test it. Life is rather pleasant with the Khan, both in Shangdu and later in his magnificent palace in Khanbalik. It is gigantic. Each side of the surrounding wall measures twelve kilometers. Marco Polo tells Kubilai that it is the largest and most wonderful palace he has ever seen.

There is no shortage of occupations. Kubilaï loves hunting. He practices it to the south, by the sea. He has ten thousand falconers and five hundred gyrfalcons. The courtyard is then housed in magnificent tents. The Emperor loves the holidays. The two main ones take place at the beginning of the year, on the calendars of February, the other, for its birthday, in September. New Years is also called the White Festival and everyone is dressed in white. For his birthday, the Emperor wears a gold coat embroidered with pearls and precious stones. He offers the same habit to twelve thousand of his most faithful companions.

Between yellow and blue rivers

Marco Polo will enjoy it for a while. From 1277, he traveled a lot for the Emperor. He sends him on an inspection tour to the north of Yunnan, in the southwest of China. These are prosperous regions, well supplied with vines and gardens. Marco Polo arrives at the Yellow River. It is so wide that no bridge crosses it. The region produces ginger and silk. The Venetian ventures between the Yellow River and the Blue River, arriving in Sichuan, a large region of spice production and Mecca of commerce.

Change of scenery: the Emperor now sends him to Tibet. It is much rougher! Marco must travel for twenty days without finding any inn or food before arriving in a country where the villages are clinging to the steep slopes of the mountains. After Tibet, he will go for the Emperor to Burma before being appointed governor of Hangzhou, as I told you at the beginning of this story. He spent three years there.

The next trip that the Emperor gave him would take him much further. Kubilaï, having subjugated all of China and Burma, dreamed of Champa, that is to say the center and the south of present-day Vietnam but also of India and Ceylon. He also dreamed of the fabulous Cipango, current Japan, protected by the spirit of the wind. The Emperor will attempt two expeditions against Japan. They will both fail. Marco Polo's description of Japan's fabulous riches will make future readers dream.

In 1284, Marco Polo served the Emperor of China for nine years. The Venetian is then in Ceylon "the best island in the world for its size". It is full of rubies, sapphires, topaz, amethysts and garnets. The king of Ceylon has the most beautiful and the largest rubies in the world! The Emperor would buy it well but Marco Polo could not get it because the king refused to part with it ...

From Ceylon, he returned to Champa (Vietnam today), then returned to China. The Polo trio have been serving the Emperor Kubilaï for years. The Polo shirts are covered with gold and precious stones. They have visited almost the entire Empire and they are starting to dream of finding Venice. But the great Khan, too attached to them, refuses to let them go.

Return to Venice

It is a marriage story that will allow the Polo family to return to Venice. Indeed, it is a small nephew of Kubilaï, Argoum, who reigns on the side of Persia, like a vassal of the Mongol empire. He just lost his wife. Before she died, she asked him to marry a woman of the same tribe as her, the Baya'Outs. 

These live in northern China. The women of this region are renowned for their beauty. We quickly find the most beautiful of all which bears the bizarre name of Cokasin. He must be provided with an escort to accompany him to the depths of Persia. This is the luck of the Polo: the Khan will choose them to accompany the princess. It is time for them to leave the Emperor. The latter offered them two gold tablets bearing an imperial seal allowing them to circulate safely on the lands of the Empire. Marco Polo will bring his back to Venice.

The sovereign also charged them with a mission for the Pope, the King of France, the King of Spain and the other monarchs of Christianity. He had fourteen ships with four masts each, which required several thousand sailors. Before their embarkation, the Venetians are filled with jewels by the Emperor. Kubilaï is present at their departure from the port of Zaitoun, near Hangzhou, of which Marco was the governor. We are in 1291. The Polo family has been in China for sixteen years!

The Polo shirts will therefore travel in the company of the beautiful princess. They first run along the coasts of China; an unfortunate monsoon forced them to spend five months in Sumatra; they then reach Singapore, make a stopover in Ceylon before going along the Indian coast, from Cochin to Mumbai. Throughout the trip, Marco Polo makes observations on the landscapes, the customs of the inhabitants when they go ashore, the riches of each stopover.

The trip went without a hitch. They finally arrive at Ormuz, at the end of the Persian Gulf. It is there that they learn of the death of the princess's fiancé. Never mind: the princess will marry the son of the deceased, the new King! It is therefore at Ormuz that their paths separate. The Venetians cross Persia on horseback to Trebizond, on the Black Sea, then, by boat, they reach Byzantium, the Greek islands and finally Venice.

The Book of Wonders 

On their return to Venice in late 1295, little is known. But we imagine that they were celebrated by the Venetians who were dazzled by the riches that the travelers brought back and the duration of their interminable journey. Three years later, a new war broke out between the rival cities, Venice and Genoa, two maritime and merchant republics. 

In 1298, Marco Polo armed, at his expense, a galley and the command when he participated in the Battle of Curzola. The Doge Dandolo of Venice is defeated. Marco Polo is taken prisoner. It is during his three years of detention that the Venetian traveler will dictate his memories to his companion in misfortune, Rustichello, writer from Pisa. The book will be published under the title Devisements du monde but will be better known as The Book of Wonders. It will be a huge success: all of Europe will enjoy its adventures.

At 45, Marco Polo returns to Venice; he is even richer because his book brings him a lot of money. In 1300 he married a beautiful Venetian, Donata, from the prestigious Baoder family. They will have three daughters. Marco Polo died in 1324, happy and fulfilled, at the age of 70. He rests in the Venetian church of San Lorenzo.

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"At the heart of history" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

Author and presentation: Jean des Cars 

Project manager: Adèle Ponticelli

Realization: Laurent Sirguy and Guillaume Vasseau

Diffusion and edition: Clémence Olivier

Graphics: Europe 1 Studio