MARCO POLO

Aug 19 2007
In 1260, the brothers and Venetian merchants Niccolo and Matteo Polo traveled east from Europe. In 1265, they arrived at Kaifeng, the capital of Kublai Khan's (also known as the Great Khan) Mongol Empire. In 1269, the brothers returned to Europe with a request from Khan for the Pope to send one hundred missionaries to the Mongol Empire, supposedly to help convert the Mongols to Christianity. The Khan's message was ultimately relayed to the Pope but he did not send the requested missionaries.
Upon arriving in Venice, Nicolo discovered that his wife had died, leaving the care of a son, Marco (born in 1254 and thus fifteen years old), in his hands. In 1271, the two brothers and Marco began to trek eastward and in 1275 met the Great Khan.

Khan liked the youthful Marco and conscripted him into service for the Empire. Marco served in several high-level government positions, including as ambassador and as the governor of the city of Yangzhou. While the Great Khan enjoyed having the Polos as his subjects and diplomats, Khan eventually consented to allow them to leave the Empire, as long as they would escort a princess who was scheduled to wed a Persian king.

The three Polos left the Empire in 1292 with the princess, a fleet of fourteen large boats, and 600 other passengers from a port in southern China. The armada sailed through Indonesia to Sri Lanka and India and onto its final destination at the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Supposedly, only eighteen people survived from the original 600, including the Princess who could not wed her intended fiancee because he had died, so she married his son instead.




The three Polos returned to Venice and Marco joined the army to fight against the city-state of Genoa. He was captured in 1298 and imprisoned in Genoa. While in prison for two years, he dictated an account of his travels to a fellow prisoner named Rustichello. Shortly thereafter, The Travels of Marco Polo was published in French.

Though Polo's book exaggerates places and cultures (and some scholars believe he never went as far east as China but only described places other travelers had been to), his book was widely published, translated into many languages, and thousands of copies were printed.

Polo's book includes fanciful accounts of men with tails and cannibals seem to be around every corner. The book is somewhat a geography of Asian provinces. It is divided into chapters covering specific regions and Polo delves into the politics, agriculture, military power, economy, sexual practices, burial system, and religions of each area. Polo brought the ideas of paper currency and coal to Europe. He also included second-hand reports of areas that he had not visited, such as Japan and Madagascar.

GENGHIS KHAN

HISTORICAL LEGENDS

Always strike first and always take revenge. Genghis Khan learnt these lessons the hard way during a violent childhood. Son of a murdered father, Genghis grew up in the unforgiving environment of the Mongolian Steppe.

Although Genghis Khan (more properly known as Chinggis Khan), is mainly thought of in negative terms in the West, he is one of history's more charismatic and dynamic leaders. During his lifetime, he conquered more territory than any other conqueror, and his successors established the largest contiguous empire in history. Even today his legacy continues in Asia, for without Genghis Khan there would not be a Mongolia.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc (1412-1431)

In modern times she is known as Joan of Arc or Jeanne d’Arc, but during her life she was called Jeannette or Jeanne, and the name she herself used was Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maid). She lived in the fifteenth century, during the later years of the Hundred Years War, when England, in alliance with Burgundy occupied most of what is now modern France.

After hearing the voices of Saints Catherine, Margaret, and Michael, Joan took an oath of chastity and faithfully followed her vocation. At age seventeen, she led the French army of the crown prince Charles VII to several victories against the English, which brought him to the throne.

She was then captured, tried and convicted of heresy by an English-controlled church. Joan was only nineteen years old when she was burned at the stake. Twenty-four years later, she was proclaimed innocent in a rehabilitation trial. Finally, in the twentieth century, the Vatican declared her a saint.

Lao Tzu

In ancient China, the keeper of the Imperial Library, Lao Tzu, was famous for his wisdom. Perceiving the growing corruption of the government, he left for the countryside. On his way, the guard at the city gates asked Lao Tzu to write out the essence of his understanding to benefit future generations. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, left, and was never heard of again.

The Tao Te Ching (also called "The Tao", "The Dao" or the "Dao De Jing"), by Lao Tzu, is one of the most influential books in history. It is the source of famous Chinese sayings such as "Those who know do not speak, those who speak, do not know" and "Even a 1,000 mile journey starts with a single step".

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Marcus Tullius Cicero

(106-43 B.C.) Roman Statesman, Philosopher and Orator

Speech in the Roman Senate"

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious, but it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear."

SUN TZU

In China, Sun Tzu's strategy created the most enduring empire in human history. When his work first came West, it was initially translated into French and gave Napoleon the edge he needed to conquer Europe. Gradually, this knowledge spread through the military world and then to the business world, not because it is a new fad, but simply because it works. At this very moment, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are studying Sun Tzu's strategy from The Art of War.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

WINSTON CHURCHILL guided Britain through the Second World War. His stalwart defense of liberty during the Battle of Britain inspired the determination of the British people. Through radio Churchill thrashed that inner resolve in the face of Hitler and the Nazis and in the end triumphed over his adversary's tyranny.

ALFRED THE GREAT

ALFRED THE GREAT (849-899 AD), King of Wessex [Britain] from 871. Recognized as sovereign of all England not under Danish rule. Repelled Danish invasion, 892-896, using improved, organized navy. Compiled best laws of previous kings; promoted learning. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)