Who was Marco Polo?

Who was Marco Polo?

Marco Polo (1254 – 1324), together with his father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China.
The Polos, who were traders, were looking for new areas for trade, reached the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan). It was on their second journey to China, in 1271, that they took along Marco. He became a confidant of Kublai Khan, who took Marco into his service and bestowed many favours on him. The Polos stayed at the court of Kublai Khan for 20 years until 1292. During this period, Marco Polo traveled the whole of China, and his experiences have become part of his writings which is one of the greatest travelogues ever written. This, translated, is what has come to be known as ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’.
The Polos were by no means the first Europeans to reach China by land route. But due to Marco’s book, their journey which was very well documented, became the first to have gained wide publicity, and had far-reaching influences. Marco Polo’s description of the Far East and its riches inspired Christopher Columbus to try to reach lands by a western route. Among Columbus’s belongings was a copy of Marco Polo’s book.
Marco Polo’s return journey
According to Marco’s travel writings, the Polos requested permission from the Khan, many times, to return Europe. But Khan valued them so much that he would not let them go. Finally, in1291, Kublai Khan entrusted Marco with his last duty-to escort the Mongol princes Koekecin (also spelt as Cocacin) to her betrothed, Arghun of the Ilkhanate in Persia. The party sailed out from the southern port city of Quanzhou. They went on to Sumatra, and then to Persia, via Sri Lanka and India. Marco Polo visits included Mylapore, Madurai and Alleppey, which he nicknamed Venice of the East. In 1293 or 1294, the Polos reached the Ilkhanate, ruled by Gaykhatu after the death of Arghun. They left Koekecin with new Ilkhan, and moved on the Trabzon from where the sailed to Venice.

Who signed the Magna Carta?

Who signed the Magna Carta?

King John of England, who ascended the throne on the death of his brother, Richard I, proved to be a wicked ruler. He lost a lot of the Kingdom’s lands in France, got involved in a controversy with the Pope. Finally England had enough and King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta (or the Great Charter). This took place in June 1215, at Runnymede. The charter stated that the King was beneath the law and not above it. Its spirit has influenced the law of England ever since. The most enduring legacy of the Magna Carta was the right of Habeas Corpus.

Who was Genghis Khan?

Who was Genghis Khan?

Genghis Khan (1167-1227 AD) was a warlord of Mongol, who evolved as one of the most successful military leaders in the history of the world. The Mongols were a nomadic people who lived on the plains of Central Asia. In the late twelfth century, Genghis became the ambitious leader of the Mongol band, that set no limits as to what the size of the Mongol Empire could be.
Having captured the whole of China, by 1214, Genghis Khan turned his attention westwards, towards lands that had never heard of his conquests. The ‘Mongol Hordes’ as this huge Army of heavily-armed horsemen came to be known, swept across vast territories, reaping victory wherever they went. Russia, the Persian empire, Poland and Hungary fell under them. Over the next eight years, Genghis accumulated the largest contiguous empire that the world had seen so far.
However, unlike Alexander the Great, Persian Emperors or the Romans, Genghis Khan had no idea of ruling over other peoples, and conquered territories. In fact, his aim was only to loot and destroy everything in his path. His cruelty and lack of concern for human life made him the most dreaded figures in Asia and Europe.
The Hordes were dependent on military abilities of Genghis Khan for their success. On his death, Ogadai Khan took up the reins and continued the conquests. Bu the Mongols soon exhausted themselves and went back to Central Asia.
Before the invasions by Genghis Khan, the people of Europe and China were unaware of each other. Thus, the significance of these invasions is that it made people at opposites ends of the globe aware of one another. In fact, before the Mongols, Europeans were ignorant of the existence of the Far East

What is the catalyst that led to the Renaissance?

What is the catalyst that led to the Renaissance?

The Crusades (1095-1291) were the catalyst that led to the Renaissance. The Crusades or the Holy Wars were a series of several military campaigns led by the Catholic Church to take the Holy Land and Jerusalem from the Muslims.
The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II. It was a major turning point in the expansion of Western power, and was the only crusade to capture Jerusalem.
The Crusades initially started as an appeal to the French knightly class. But it soon turned into a conquest of territory outside of Europe, such as the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople. Although it did not capture Jerusalem, it managed to establish a Roman Christian kingdom there that lasted till 1262. None of the crusades that followed were successful.
But the historic significance of the Crusades was not that it was a series of defeats, but that it brought Europe in contact with the East. Although the original aim of liberating Jerusalem failed to materialize, it opened up a new world and widened the outlook of the Europeans. This provided the base for a cultural rebirth or renaissance

Why is the battle of Hastings important?

Why is the battle of Hastings important?

The King of England, known as Edward the Confessor (1002-1066 AD) was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Harold II, to whom Edward had publicly promised the throne. But this was challenged by William of Normandy, who was Edward’s half brother. William invaded England by crossing the English Channel from Normandy, in the North of France.
Harold failed to disrupt this landing, and both met in battle at Hastings on October 14, 1066 Harold’s infantry proved a poor match for William’s cavalry, which was heavily armed and armoured. Harold had to admit defeat. On Christmas day, William was crowned King of England, and came to be known as William the Conqueror thereafter.
William has gone down in history as the last man to lead a successful invasion of England by force of arms. With this Norman Conquest, England became open to the art and literature of Europe, adapting and adopting the best of European culture

What was the Holy Roman Empire? How was it born?

What was the Holy Roman Empire? How was it born?

Europe had fallen into disunity in the years after Charlemagne’s rule. But Otto I (912 – 973 AD) of Germany emerging as a strong power base, tried to bring unity in the lands that was once part of the vast empire of Charlemagne. Otto’s authority was backed by the Pope’s desire for a strong Northern Europe that would assure peace and order in Italy.


When Pope John XII was at war with the Italian king Berengar, he offered Otto the crown and the title of Holy Roman Emperor, if he could defeat Berengar and unite Italy.


Otto accomplished this, and was crowned on 2 February 962 AD. Thus the idea of a Holy Roman Empire that was born with Charlemagne was reborn with Otto I.


The Holy Roman Empire survived nearly 8 centuries after Otto I. it comprised the present Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic and other nearby territories.


The Empire wielded strength and power until the 15th century and survived at least in name till 1806. As was its intention, the Holy Roman Empire succeeded in bringing political as well as spiritual unity to Europe.

Who was Charlemagne?

Who was Charlemagne?

Charles the Great or Charlemagne, was the son of Pepin the Short, who seized the Frankish kingdom from Childeric, the last of the Merovingian kings. On his death, his kingdom got divided between his two sons, Charles and Carloman. With the death of the latter, Charles became king of all of France. On Christmas day 800 AD, he was crowned as King of Franks and the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III. This date is often looked upon as the beginning of the Middle Ages.


Charlemagne began his work as an emperor in right earnest with a cross in one hand and a sword in the other. He set right the situation in Europe that was torn by conflict, greed and superstition. He conquered Saxons, Lombards, Magyars and Avars and fought the Moslems in Spain.


At the end of his reign Charlemagne was presiding over an empire that stretched from the Baltic to Spain, and from Britanny to the Lower Danube. This great king was not just a conqueror, but the patron of the arts and letters who encouraged arts and architecture. With his death, the empire passed on to his son, Louis the ‘Pious’, who later divided it between his two sons. In their hands, the empire broke up into pieces, following quarrels

Who invented the concept of zero?

Who invented the concept of zero?

It is interesting that the concept of zero or nothing has had such a great impact on the progress of mankind! Although there is no proof of the identity of genius who discovered this concept, it is accepted that zero was invented in India around the 5th century AD, by Aryabhata, the first great astronomer of India.


From the earliest times, man has tried many different methods to write numbers and count. The Greeks used letters of their alphabet and Egyptians drew appropriate pictures to denote quantities. The Romans devised a complicated system. They used X to represent 10, ‘C’ to mark 100 and M for 1000. The Indian had invented a far better number system but without zero, long before the birth of Christ.


Later, after zero was invented, Arab traders carried to Europe about the year 900 AD. The invention of zero became the turning point in the development of culture and civilization. It made higher Mathematics and elaborate calculations possible.

When did the fall of the Roman Empire begin?

The Roman Empire was one of the greatest that existed. But by the end of the 4th century A D, the Romans began to experience practical difficulties in managing the large empire. Gradually the empire began to disintegrate, falling prey to attacks from tribes such as the Goths, Visigoths, the Vandals and the Franks from Northern Europe.


Early in the 4th century Emperor Constantine concluded that Rome was not safe, and shifted his capital to the city of Byzantium (modern Istanbul), renaming it Constantinople. After his death, his sons squabbled over the empire, resulting in a division into the Eastern Roman Empire based on Constantinople and w Western Roman Empire based in Rome. The Western Roman Empire crumbled under its own weight and was victim to a series of conquests from Alaric, king of the Visigoths in 410 AD and Attila the Hun in 433 AD. When the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus ascended the throne in 475 AD, he had only a mere shadow of what was once the glorious Roman Empire. When he was taken prisoner by German King Odovacar in 476 AD, the curtains came down on the empire begun by Caesar Augustus, nearly 500 years ago.

When was the burning of Rome started?

When was the burning of Rome started?

The burning of Rome took place in the year 64 AD. This happened during the reign of Nero (37-67 AD) who was a tyrant, weak and completely mad. It is possible that the great fire that burned and destroyed Rome was started under his orders. Even if he had not, Nero is supposed to have stood watching the destruction, while playing the fiddle. The fire raged for six days continuously and at the end of it only less than one third of the city remained. Seizing this opportunity, Nero ordered the building of a new city which turned out to be more beautiful and magnificent than the earlier one. However, he did not live long to enjoy it, as he committed suicide during a revolt that followed.