Marco Polo- An Exploratory Essay - 1049 Words

Many children, including myself, have once played the game Marco Polo. Although, I have always been curious, who exactly is Marco Polo? My fascination of Marco Polo warped into a fixation of his travels. Marco Polo was born in Venice in the year 1254. His father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo, were merchants who had seats in the great nobleman council of Venice (Polo IV). According to his records, he had traveled thousands of miles with his father and uncle. Marco, Nicolo and Maffeo (known as the Polos) left Venice, and did not return for twenty-six years. Upon their return, they were not welcomed in Venice. The Polos were long thought to have been dead. When they arrived in Venice, their clothes were old and worn-out; the things that†¦show more content†¦He called this city the â€Å"City of Heaven† (Freedman 41); Marcos wrote, â€Å"It is without a doubt the finest and most splendid city in the world† (Freedman 41). However, Marco Polo’s last stop was in China, a place so different and interesting compared to his own; he spent the majority of his time there. After about a three and a half year journey, Marco noted that the Polos arrived in the court of Kublai Khan, the conqueror of China. The Great Khan ruled a vast empire of prosperous cities that had richer goods, services, and technology than any place in Europe that Marco had ever seen (Freedman 6). Kublai Khan was the grandson of the infamous Genghis Khan, the fearless Mongol who swept across Asia and the Middle East generations earlier. When the Polos arrived in Shangdu (the capitol of Kublai Khan’s empire), the Mongol empire stretched from China, to Russia and Iraq; the empire was at the pinnacle of its existence (Polo 26). Marco stated that he soon rose to a position of power in Kublai Khan’s court, because Mublai Khan was pleased by Marco’s knowledge and logic. Marco endeavored on confidential missions to â€Å"learn about all kinds of different mat ters in the countries he visited, in order to satisfy the curiosity of the Great Khan† (Hart 35). The Polos accumulated great wealth in jewels and gold, thanks to the generosity of Kublai Khan; however, they eventually grew homesick and began theirShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesCollege at Brockport Mark Kendrick, Methodist University Mary Kern, Baruch College Robert Key, University of Phoenix Sigrid Khorram, University of Texas at El Paso Hal Kingsley, Erie Community College Jeffrey Kobles, California State University San Marcos Jack Kondrasuk, University of Portland Leslie A. Korb, University of Nebraska at Kearney Glen Kreiner, University of Cincinnati James Kroeger, Cleveland State University Frederick Lane, Baruch College Rebecca Lau, Virginia Polytechnic Institute