Thursday, June 26, 2008

timeline

1254 Marco Polo is born
1258 The Mongols sack Baghdad: end of the Caliphate
1260 First defeat of the Mongols by the Mamluks: brothers Nicolo and Maffeo Polo set sail from Constantinople for the Crimean port of Sudak in search of new markets for their wares
1261 Greek Empire restored in Constantinople
1262 Nicolo and Maffeo Polo are caught in a war between two rival Mongol lords, Hulagu and Barka: they seek refuge at Bukhara where they receive an invitation to Cathay (China) to meet Kublai, khan of all the Mongols
1267 Kublai Khan sets up a new Chinese capital at Daidu (Khan-Balik), now part of modern-day Beijing (Peking) 1268 The Death of Pope Clement IV
1269 Nicolo and Maffeo Polo return to Venice after 15 years: Nicolo's wife has died leaving a son, Marco
1271 New Pope, Gregory X: Marco Polo's travels begin
1273 The siege of Xiangyang (Siang-yang-fu), China
1274 First Mongol invasion of Japan ends in defeat
1275 Marco Polo arrives in Peking 1279 Kublai Khan establishes the Yuan Dynasty in China
1281 Second Mongol invasion of Japan ends in defeat 1292 The Polo's settle in Kaikhatu in the Levant for seven months 1293 First Christian missionaries arrive in Peking 1294 The Death of Kublai Khan: effectively the end of the Mongol empire despite several later attempted invasions by independent khanates 1295 Marco Polo returns to Venice 1298 Marco Polo is imprisoned at Genoa following the battle of Kurzola: there, he meets a writer, Rustichello of Pisa, and together they begin a book of Marco's travels
1299 Marco Polo is released as a prisoner of war in Genoa: at about this time, Marco marries a Venetian, Donata: they have three daughters, Belela, Fantina and Moreta: the death of Nicolo Polo
1307 Giovanni di Monte Corvino becomes the first Archbishop of Peking
1324 Death of Marco Polo
1368 The Ming Dynasty is established in China: the barriers between East and West remain in place for many generations

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