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1、Unit2SailingtheoceansPartTwo:TeachingResources1.AboutMarcoPoloMarcoPolo(September15,1254,Venice,Italy;orCurzola,VenetianDalmatia-nowKorčula,Croatia—January8,1324,Venice)wasaVenetiantraderandexplorerwho,togetherwithhisfatherNiccolòandhisuncleMaffeo,wasoneofthefirstWesternerstotraveltheSilkRoad
2、toChina(whichhecalledCathay)andvisitedtheGreatKhanoftheMongolEmpire,KublaiKhan(grandsonofGenghisKhan).HistravelsarewrittendowninIlMilione("TheMilione"orTheTravelsofMarcoPolo).ThevoyageofNiccolòandMaffeoPoloThePolonameoriginallydidn'tbelongtoafamilyofexplorersbuttoafamilyoftraders.MarcoPolo'sf
3、ather,Niccolò(alsoNicolòinVenetian)andhisuncle,Maffeo(alsoMaffio),wereprosperousmerchantswhotradedwiththeEast.Theywerepartnerswithathirdbrother,namedMarcoilvecchio(theElder).In1259,thetwobrotherslivedintheVenetianquarterofConstantinople,wheretheyenjoyedpoliticalprivilegesandtaxreliefbecauseof
4、theircountry’sroleinestablishingtheLatinEmpireintheFourthCrusadeof1204.Butthefamilyjudgedthepoliticalsituationofthecityprecarious,sotheydecidedtotransfertheirbusinessnortheasttoSoldaia,acityinCrimea.Theirdecisionprovedwise.Constantinoplewasrecapturedin1261byMichaelPalaeologus,theruleroftheEmp
5、ireofNicaea,whoquicklyburnedtheVenetianquarter.CapturedVenetiancitizenswereblinded,whilemanyofthosewhomanagedtoescapeperishedaboardoverloadedrefugeeshipsfleeingtootherVenetiancoloniesintheAegeanSea.AstheirnewhomeonthenorthrimoftheBlackSea,SoldaiahadbeenfrequentedbyVenetiantraderssincethe12thc
6、entury.TheMongolarmysackeditin1223,butthecityhadneverbeendefinitivelyconquereduntil1239,whenitbecameapartofthenewlyformedMongolstateknownastheGoldenHorde.Searchingforbetterprofits,thePoloscontinuedtheirjourneytoSarai,wherethecourtofBerkeKhan,theruleroftheGoldenHorde,waslocated.Atthattime,thec
7、ityofSarai—alreadyvisitedbyWilliamofRubruckafewyearsearly—wasnomorethanahugeencampment,andthePolosstayedforaboutayear.Finally,theydecidedtoavoidCrimea,becauseofacivilwarbetweenBerkeandhiscousinHulaguorperhapsbecauseofthebadrelationshipbetween
