The High Probability Is, That The Obvious Mistake,
Of Assuming The Year 1250 As The Era Of The First Journey, Arose From A
Careless Substitution Of The Figure 5 For 6 In Transcription.
Assuming the corrected date of 1260 as the commencement of the first
journey of Nicolo and Maffei Polo, this
Will appear to be consonant with
the chronology of the princes with whose reigns their travels were
connected; while the date of 1250, adopted by Ramusio and Muller, is
totally irreconcilable with the truth of history. They remained one year at
the leskar or camp of Bereke-khan, whence they travelled into Bochara,
where they tarried three years. From thence they spent one year on their
journey to the court of Kublai-khan, and were three years on their journey
back to Venice. But as they remained some time at the residence of
Kublai-khan, one year may be allowed for that circumstance; and this first
journey may therefore be allowed to have occupied nine years in all.
Kublai-khan reigned supreme emperor of the Mongals from 1259 to 1294, in
which last year he died at eighty years of age. If, therefore, Nicolo and
Maffei had set out upon their first journey in 1250, they must have arrived
at the imperial residence of Cambalu, or Pekin, in 1255, at the latest, or
four years before Kublai-khan ascended the throne. Their first journey
commenced while Baldwin II. was emperor of Constantinople, who reigned from
1234 to 1261.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 422 of 810
Words from 115378 to 115627
of 222093
