Name: Divya Yaganti

Early Exploration: The Convergence of Cultures

The travels of both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta were made possible by the Mongol conquests
of the thirteenth century. The Mongol empire divided Eurasia into an empire that included
Russia, Iran, all Central Asia, China, and Korea. They encouraged trade and permitted
merchants and other travelers, regardless of religion or ethnicity, to pass through their
domains. Under the Pax Mongolica—the “Mongol Peace”—it was possible to go almost
anywhere within their domains. A fourteenth century Italian merchant’s handbook says that
it was “perfectly safe, whether by day or night” to travel from the Black Sea to China.

In 1403, Zhu Di (emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty), ordered the construction of the
Treasure Fleet – a fleet of trading ships, warships and support vessels. This fleet was to travel
across the South China Sea and Indian Ocean areas. The Emperor chose Zheng He to
command this fleet. Zheng He would be the official ambassador of the Chinese imperial
court to foreign countries. This would begin Zheng He’s maritime career, and some of the
most impressive exploration journeys in history.

Marco Polo Ibn Batutta Zheng He

Venetian merchant, explorer, Medieval Muslim traveler In the early 1400s, Zheng He
and writer who travelled and the author of one of the led the largest ships in the
through Asia along the Silk most famous travel books, world on seven voyages of
Road between 1271 and 1295. the Riḥlah (Travels). Moving exploration to the lands
by sea, by camel caravan and around the Indian Ocean,
on foot, he ventured into demonstrating Chinese
over 40 modern day nations. excellence at shipbuilding
and navigation.
Task

By examining primary sources, we will be able to gain a deeper understanding of how

travel in the pre-modern world enabled Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Zheng He to make
contact with and evaluate the sophistication of other cultures they encountered in their
journeys.

Marco Polo

Please read the following source which details Marco Polo’s experiences in China.

“You must know that the city of Khan-balik (Beijing) is a center from which many roads go
out to the provinces. Every road is given the name of the province to which it runs. The
whole system is excellent. When one of the Great Khan’s messengers rides out along these
roads, he has only to go twenty-five miles before he finds what they call “yamb,” a station
where men and horses can rest. At every one, messengers find comfortable places to eat
and sleep.

When the Great Khan needs to receive news quickly by a mounted messenger, the
messengers ride two hundred miles in a day, sometimes two hundred and fifty . . . As they
draw near the station, they blow a horn which can be heard at a great distance. On arriving,
they find two fresh horses, ready to ride. They mount them and, without a moment’s
breathing-space, are off again. And so it goes on until evening. That is how these
messengers manage to cover two hundred and fifty miles a day. Indeed, sometimes they
can achieve three hundred miles by riding all night long.”

1. How does Marco Polo describe his experiences in China?

A long journey, he told us about the roads and the great distance in which he traveled. He
thought the system was excellent.

Please watch the following video in order to learn more about Marco Polo:
Marco Polo: PBS World Explorers

1. How did Marco Polo’s father and uncle influence him?

Marco Polo’s father and uncle had went on a 10 year long expedition in which they traded
European goods for silk and jewels from Asia. They returned in 1269 they had told Marco
stories from their expedition and influenced his take on things.

2. What was the silk road?

A trading route that was spread around Asia

3. Who was Kublai Khan and how does he play into this story?
 4. What did Marco Polo learn about the Mongols?

5. When it was time to return home, what did Kublai Khan present to the Polos?

6. How were Polo’s claims that he made in his book later validated (confirmed)?

Ibn Batutta

Please read the following two sources which detail Ibn Battuta’s experiences in China.

Source 1: “China is the safest and most agreeable country in the world for the traveler. You
can travel all alone across the land . . . without fear, even if you are carrying much wealth.
China was beautiful, but it did not please me. On the contrary, I was greatly troubled
thinking about the way paganism dominated this country. Whenever I went out of my
room, I saw many things that bothered me very much. I became so unhappy that I stayed
indoors most of the time and only went out when necessary. During my stay in China,
whenever I saw any Muslims I always felt like I was meeting members of my own family.”

Less than a century after Ibn Battuta visited China, a fleet of Chinese ships sailed as far as
the east coast of Africa. The ships Ibn Battuta describes below were probably much like
those—the largest of which was four hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide.

Source 2: “[The large Chinese ships] carry a thousand men, six hundred are sailors and four
hundred are soldiers . . . It has four decks and each cabin has a number of rooms and a
bathroom. The cabins can be locked by the passengers, who take along with them their
wives and slave girls . . . The sailors have their children living aboard ship. They grow
vegetables in wooden tanks . . . Some of the Chinese own large numbers of ships that they
send to foreign countries. There are no people in the world wealthier than the Chinese.”

1. How does Ibn Battuta describe his experiences in China?

Please watch the following video in order to learn more about Ibn Battuta:
Ibn Battuta: PBS World Explorers

1. How did Ibn Battuta’s family influence him?

2. What did followers of Islam emphasize?

3. Why did Ibn Battuta leave Tangier?

4. Who did Batttuta meet in Alexandria?

5. How many times did Battuta make the pilgrimage to Mecca?

6. What did Battuta do everywhere he went?

7. How many miles did Battuta cover during his travels?

Zheng He

Primary Source: Pictured left: A painting of the giraffe

which Zheng He's sailors brought back from East Africa. It
was painted by Shen Du (1357-1434), an accomplished
artist of the period. The giraffe was called a qilin (ch'i-lin),
a popular mythical animal.

Primary Source: “Zheng He and others were sent with

Imperial orders to proceed as envoys to the countries of
Calicut, Melaka, Samudera, Aru, Jia-yi-le, Java, Siam,
Champa, Cochin, A-bo-ba-dan, Xiao Ke-lan, Nan-wu-li,
and Gan-ba-li. They were also to grant [rich fabrics], fine
silks and silk gauzes [a thin translucent fabric of silk, linen,
or cotton] upon the kings of these countries.”

1. What goods were exchanged across the world as a result of Zheng He’s voyages?

Please watch the following video in order to learn more about Zheng He:
Zheng He: PBS World Explorers

1. What did the new Ming Emperor, Zhu Di hope to establish?

2. How long did Zheng He’s first voyage last? Where did he visit first?

3. In 1413, how far did Zheng He travel? What did he return to China with?
 4. Who felt that China should isolate itself from outside influence?

5. What happened to the details of Zheng He’s voyages?

The details of Zheng He’s voyages consist of the following few details

6. What was the significance of Zheng He’s voyages?

Exit Slip

Based on the various primary and secondary sources we explored today in class, how did
Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Zheng He view the cultures they encountered throughout
their travels?

Based on the sources that we have looked at for this assignment the various historical
figures have viewed the different cultures through their travels differently. They had
encountered so many different cultures which caused them to look at the world differently
although some had past experience with the stories that they themselves felt the need to
create their own spin on the stories in which they ended up bringing back many different
cultures which had changed the world they knew.