Welcome to Sogtoberfest!

Camels bearing Sogdian Traders, Tang Dynasty. Source: Ancient Art: Art of Central Asia

Greetings to all on this, the first day of Sogtoberfest! If you have been following my Facebook page, you may have seen the build-up to this event. However, if you are a newcomer, I will briefly lay out my introduction to the Sogtoberfest celebration.

1.) What is Sogtoberfest about?
Sogtoberfest was an idea I had awhile back to raise awareness of the Sogdian people and, more specifically, Sogdian commerce and influence on the Silk Routes. Outside of scholarly circles, many people have little to no idea what a Sogdian is, let alone what they did or the way they left their mark on world history. It is with this in mind that I have sought to bring light to Sogdian accomplishments through my blog to my dear readers.

2.) Who were the Sogdians?
To be brief, the Sogdians were a group of Iranian-speaking peoples that settled in the area between the Oxus and Jaxartes Rivers (Amu Darya and Syr Darya). The Sogdians are attested in Achaemenid sources around the 6th century BCE (1). However, the area that the Sogdians inhabited showed signs of pre-Sogdian settlement as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BCE, at the site of Sarazam. The second site of early settlement was in the 15th century at Kok Tepe (2). The latter settlement at Kok Tepe endured "throughout the Iron Age, until the arrival from the north of the Iranian-speaking populations that were to become the Sogdian group" (3). Kok Tepe declined with the establishment of nearby Samarkand by the Sogdians (4). While no exact date can be ascribed to the arrival of the Sogdians, the Sogdians are named in the Younger Avesta as inhabiting an area called Gava, which correlates to Sogdiana (5). Etienne de la Vassiere notes that the Sogdian people have been attested in primary sources from the 6th c. BCE all the way down to the 10th c. CE, which is a whopping fifteen centuries of continuous existence as a distinct group (6).

Map of the location of Sogdiana. Note the presence of the Amu Darya on the left and the Syr Darya (not labeled) on the right. Source: Coins of Central Asia

3) What did the Sogdians do that was so important?
That is what we'll be discussing in-depth all month long! But in short, the Sogdian merchants were the primary caravan runners of the Silk Routes from the 5th - 8th centuries BCE (7). But beyond this, they served as intermediaries between cultures, which lead to the Sogdians providing the means by which Buddhism, Manichaeism, Christianity moved along the Silk Routes. Their influence on writing is still felt today as the Sogdian script, by way of Uighur transmission, endures as the written form of the modern Mongolian script. Though their surviving written records are few, their art and their influence on art of the time was profound. However, the subject of Sogdian art is vast and will require its own entry for further investigation.

An example of Mongol script. Source: Wikimedia Commons

I hope this has been an adequate introduction to Sogtoberfest and I hope everyone enjoys what I have in store for the blog. I wish you all a happy Sogtoberfest, and I am looking forward to this celebration.



Sources

1) De la Vassiere, Etienne. Sogdian Traders: A History. Trans. by James Ward. Vol. 10. Brill, 2005. pg. 2.

2) De la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdiana iii. History and Archaeology," Encyclopedia Iranica, online edition 2011. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdiana-iii-history-and-archeology

3) Ibid.

4) Ibid.

5) Ibid.

6) De la Vassiere, Etienne. Sogdian Traders: A History. Trans. by James Ward. Vol. 10. Brill, 2005. pg. 2

7) De la Vassiere, Etienne. "Sogdian Trade," Encyclopedia Iranica, online edition 2004. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sogdian-trade

Picture sources from Wikimedia Commons and from Taiyo Ltd: Ancient Art Gallery.

It's coming...
image created by Drew Seitzinger

Marco Polo Episode 3 and 4 Review, Part 2

Episode 4 [Spoilers Ahead]

This episode seems to deal more with bringing the historical background of the world of the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongol Empire to the foreground through the actions of the characters.

First, we begin with the major focus of the episode: The parley between the Yuan and Song Dynasty representatives. This scene, which features Prince Jingim and Finance Minister Ahmed demanding tribute from the Song Dynasty as terms of peace, has a historical precedent in the histories of previous relations between Chinese Dynasties and Nomadic tribal powers to the north. The Han Dynasty histories are filled with complaints about the amount of tribute demanded by and paid to the Xiongnu Confederation, which usually took the form of bolts of silk and other Chinese goods, but also included requests for marriage to Chinese Imperial Princesses. For all their complaining, the Han usually complied with these requests, for trading with the nomadic peoples usually resulted in the horses that the Chinese military hungrily desired for campaigns. It was a love/hate relationship that was a necessary evil, where raiding and battle were all a part of negotiation and business between the two powers. This process repeated itself through various successive regimes, notably in interactions of the Uighur Khaganate and the Tang Dynasty, but it played a role in most all interactions between nomadic and sedentary peoples. These sorts of symbiotic relationships were essential to the economies of both nomads and agriculture-based societies, and indeed, the payment of tribute from the Chinese Dynasties to the nomadic empires resulted in the Silk Road's very formation.

Another aspect of this episode is return of Marco Polo's father and uncle, who are [Spoilers] caught trying to smuggle silkworms out of the empire. This is where it gets complex, folks, so bear with me here. "Knowledge about silk production was very valuable and, despite the efforts of the Chinese emperor to keep it a closely guarded secret, it did eventually spread beyond China, first to India and Japan, then to the Persian Empire and finally to the west in the 6th century AD. This was described by the historian Procopius, writing in the 6th century"(1):

    About the same time [ca. 550] there came from India certain monks; and when they had satisfied Justinian Augustus that the Romans no longer should buy silk from the Persians, they promised the emperor in an interview that they would provide the materials for making silk so that never should the Romans seek business of this kind from their enemy the Persians, or from any other people whatsoever. They said that they were formerly in Serinda, which they call the region frequented by the people of the Indies, and there they learned perfectly the art of making silk. Moreover, to the emperor who plied them with many questions as to whether he might have the secret, the monks replied that certain worms were manufacturers of silk, nature itself forcing them to keep always at work; the worms could certainly not be brought here alive, but they could be grown easily and without difficulty; the eggs of single hatchings are innumerable; as soon as they are laid men cover them with dung and keep them warm for as long as it is necessary so that they produce insects. When they had announced these tidings, led on by liberal promises of the emperor to prove the fact, they returned to India. When they had brought the eggs to Byzantium, the method having been learned, as I have said, they changed them by metamorphosis into worms which feed on the leaves of mulberry. Thus began the art of making silk from that time on in the Roman Empire. (2)

There is also the famous legend of the Princess who smuggled silkworms and mulberry seeds in her headdress out of China to the kingdom of Khotan. Xuanzang, the Buddhist Monk, wrote his report of this legend:

To the south-east of the royal city...is a convent called Lu-shi, which was founded by a queen of a former ruler of the country. In old time this country knew nothing about mulberry trees or silkworms. Hearing that the eastern country had them, they sent an embassy to seek for them. At this time the prince of the eastern kingdom kept the secret and would not give the possession of it to any. He kept guard over his territory and would not permit either the seeds of the mulberry or the silkworms' eggs to be carried off. The King of Kustana sent off to seek a marriage union with a princess of the eastern kingdom (China), in token of his allegiance and submission. The king being well-affected to the neighboring states acceded to his wish. Then the king of Kustana dispatched a messenger to escort the royal princess and gave the following direction..."Our counry has neither silk or silken stuffs. You had better bring with you some mulberry seeds and silkworms, then you can make robes for yourself". The Princess...secretly procured the seed of the mulberry and silkworms' eggs and concealed them in her head-dress. Having arrived at the barrier, the guard searched everywhere, buthe did not dare to remove the Princess' head-dress. Arriving then in the kingdom of Kustana, they stopped on the site afterwards occupied by the Lu-shi [monastery]; thence they conducted her in great pomp to the royal palace. Here then they left the silkworms and the mulberry seeds.(3) 

This tale ends with silk production flourishing in Khotan, though Khotan also made it illegal to smuggle silkworms, so precious were they to the local economy.

A depicition of the Silkworm Smuggling Princess in the British Museum.

Trying to smuggle anything without paying the various fees and taxes levied by each ruler along the Silk Routes was a serious offense. Revenues from trade were very important sources of income. Wars were fought, empires built and destroyed, and people slain for the power to control and exact tolls from these lucrative passes, and anyone caught trying to evade these payments were punished severely. This is evinced by the fate of Marco Polo's father and uncle landing themselves in the Khan's prison. It is a nice nod by the show to Procopius' history that the Polo brothers attempt to smuggle silkworms via walking stick. This is another one of those little details that pleases me so much about this show.

This staff totally isn't filled to the brim with silkworms happily munching on Mulberry leaves.

The third and final matter in this episode is the horrific and insane foot-binding scene at the end of the show. Chancellor Jia Sidao spares no details in explaining to his niece the process of breaking and wrapping the toes and foot in such a way as to force it into a misshapen, but (for some reason) aesthetically desirable form. As I was watching the show, I was confused, because I thought foot-binding was a practice that found popularity later on in China. However, I was wrong. According to this BBC News article "Foot-binding is believed to have begun during, or just before, the Song Dynasty in China around the 10th Century, and became widespread within a couple of hundred years"(4). Thus, the show is correct in planting this practice right in the middle of our story, for not only was the practice desired among the wealthy denizens of the Song Empire, its popularity rose and spread on the Song's watch.

Episodes 3 and 4 did a lot to develop character and expand the depth and definition of the world of Marco Polo and the Yuan Dynasty. These episodes have set the stage for some serious plot movement, which I have no doubt will be riveting and exciting stuff. Even though there were some nitpicky issues, these episodes have such strength in performances and content that I cannot help but be pleased with what I have seen overall, and I expect great things in the next few episodes.


1. UNESCO. "About the Silk Road". unesco.org. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk road.

2. Procopius. Quoted in UNESCO. "About the Silk Road". unesco.org. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk road. 

3. Xuanzang. Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, Volume II. trans. Samuel Beal. (Keagan Paul: London) 1906, pg. 318-319.

4. Coomes, Phil. "Chinese Foot Binding". BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-28208695

Marco Polo - Episode 3 and 4 Review, Part 1

Episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix's Marco Polo take the series forward at a good pace, but lose no chances for character development and nuance. The accuracy in details when compared to the text suffers here, but only slightly, and in ways that would only annoy someone actively comparing the show and the book like I am.

Episode 3

I want to make two comments here that have nothing to do with Marco Polo studies and everything to do with what makes a good show: A great theme song and a compelling opening scene. The theme song of Marco Polo features Mongolian Throat Singers, along with blended European and Mongolian/Chinese instruments. Combined with the beautiful artwork of the intro, these title scenes really help set the tone for an adventurous show taking place in a land and time long past. Here below are links to the Marco Polo theme music and the video showing the making of the Introduction sequence.

The opening scene finds our hero, Marco, being trained in martial arts by Hundred Eyes, a Taoist monk and resident badass. Hundred Eyes is explaining to Marco the meaning of "Kung Fu", and while doing so, the scenes cut to various people and characters going about their tasks. Hundred Eyes explains that the dedicated servant, the cook, the painter, the poet, all can be said to have Kung Fu, since he defines Kung Fu as "Supreme skill from Hard Work". This opening sets such a fantastic tone and is so well shot and edited, it is probably my favorite scene so far in all the episodes I have watched.

Now, on to the scholarship! We find in this episode a wagonload of potential concubines being brought to Kubilai Khan's court. They are scrutinized, trained, and voted out at the will of the Empress and the eunuchs in charge of the concubines. However, upon their arrival, they are told that if they are not chosen for the Khan's service, they will be sold to brothels and slavers to generate revenue for the empire. This struck me as unnecessarily cruel and odd. The Mongols did a lot of horrible stuff, which included human trafficking, but these girls, as attested in The Travels, at least, did not meet the fate to which the show resigned them. 

There is a province inhabited by Tartars who are called Kungurat, whilch is also the name of their city. They are a very good-looking race with fair complexions. Every two years or so, according to his pleasure, the Great Khan sends emissaries to this province to select for him out of the most beautiful maidens, according to the standard of beauty which he lays down for them, some four or five hundred, more or less as he may decide...When the emissaries arrive, they summon to their presence all the maidens of the province...After inspecting and surveying every girl  feature by feature, her hair, her face, her eyebrows, her mouth her lips, and every other feature, to see whether they are well-formed and in harmony with her person, the valuers award to some a score of sixteen marks, to others seventeen, eighteen, or twenty, more or less according to the degree of their beauty. And, if the Great Khan has ordered them to bring him all who score twenty marks, or prehaps twenty-one, according to the number ordered, these are duly brought. When they have come to his presence, he has them assessed a second time by other valuers, and then the thirty or forty with the highest score are selected for his chamber...As for the other damsels, who are rated at a lower score, they remain with the Khan's other women in the palace, where they are instructed in needle-work, glove-making, and other elegant accomplishments. When some nobleman is looking for a wife, the Great Khan gives hime one of these damsels with a great dowry. And in this way he marries them all off honourably.(1)

Not as dramatic as being sold off into prostitution, but for show purposes, I suppose there had to be serious consequences for the sake of the story. This episode seems to have something to say with regard to contrasting roles and fates of women in the empire. That some women can be sold and traded off as revenue while others, such as Khutulun, Chabi, and, to a lesser extent, the Blue Princess, can enjoy status and autonomy by virtue of their nobility is a valid point to highlight. However, I would like to stress that in Mongol society, women often faired much better and enjoyed more respect and status than those of contemporary, sedentary societies. Mongol women had to be trained to fight in order to defend the homes and flocks while men were away at war. They had to tend to trade and maintain the economy and the camps. Noble mongol women were involved in politics and were consulted on crucial matters, as we see with the extremely important role of Chabi in this series.

Another feature of this episode is the introduction of Khutulun, the famous Mongol Warrior Princess and undefeated champion wrestler. To avoid any spoilers, I will simply say her scene with Marco is interesting, a little awkward, fun, but not based on any reports in The Travels. Her father laments to Marco that he may never find a man to marry his daughter, while she laughs and wrestles her male counterparts and defeats them with ease. One distracting aspect of Khutulun, however, is her costume. She looks, to me, like a Mongolian Xena.

Khutulun is rocking that Warrior Princess look from the Xena Collection.

This isn't a big deal, but I guess this just disappoints me more than anything. Again, I don't know anything specific about Yuan Dynasty or Mongol Confederation women's dress and costume, but I do know that her outfit looks like a variation of every other "warrior woman" outfit from historical drama and fantasy productions. When the costuming of this series has been, to me, fairly on point, for this to happen and take me immediately out of what is happening on screen seems like someone dropped the ball somewhere. And I don't know if, like me, the costumers couldn't find good evidence of practical Mongolian female garb or what, but this just felt off for some reason. The costumers are certainly talented enough that I think they could have come up with something a little more unique and accurate to the time for Khutulun to wear.

Or maybe this is pretty accurate and I just don't know it.

Anyway, my last point about episode 3 is that it really takes a look at the character of Kubilai Khan. From his personal struggle of dealing with having to kill his own brother, to dealing with his gout, to having to manage his empire, it really makes him a human, rounded character that is approachable, rather than some distant, legendary, flawless warrior-king. This development made him into a man, a father, a husband, and an emperor, rather than just a historical figure. And while he may be a flawed man who does things that we may not like or agree with, we do know he has his reasons and we know that he struggles internally with those choices. Kubilai the Man and Kubilai the Khan may not always agree, but he does what he must to preserve his realm.

Continued in Part 2

1. Polo, Marco. The Travels. trans. Ronald Latham (Penguin Books: 1958) pg. 122-123

Bactrian Brief: Scammers, Hackers, and Terror! Oh My!

I watch Dr. Phil from time to time. Many of my readers have probably done so, but few will likely admit it. My favorite episodes are the ones where Dr. Phil exposes people being scammed to the scammers they are in love with/married to/associated with in some way. It is entertaining, sad, depressing, and perhaps a moment of schadenfreude for myself and other viewers as the crestfallen mark realizes that he/she has been duped out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by an email scam, usually of the infamous Nigerian variety. On a somewhat related note, the BBC posted this article describing the theft of $1 billion USD from "up to 100 banks and financial institutions" going on around the world since 2013 by hackers based in Russia, Ukraine, and China. After all the neverending headlines of money disappearing into the dark underbelly of cyberspace, I wondered if any of this money could find its way to terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram, IS, or al-Qaeda. I took my inquiries to my friend, Dr. Joshua I. James of UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics to ask him for more information on this topic.


BGB: Have you ever found a credible link between phone scamming and theft via hacking or computer fraud and Islamic Terrorist groups?

JIJ: You mean as a source of funding? Indirectly. Their main funding comes from slave trade and drugs. Hacking, etc is more mafia money. Not to say they dont do it, but it is not the main source for most groups. But groups do hack for info and intelligence. Nigerian scams may just be a way to infect someone's machine and get access to data, not only for money but also intel.

BGB: I read on the BBC recently that 1 billion USD has been stolen in what Kaspersky Labs called an "unprecedented" cyber bank robbery. What does this money go toward in these types of situations? And who is taking it?

JIJ: I've not seen the evidence so i cant say exactly, but I would guess it is either big organized crime or government sponsored. The fact that it had been going on so long means that its probably not a small operation. If so then the money will be invested into education for new hackers, and also used for drugs and other businesses.

BGB: So are there mafia type organizations that have private armies of hackers?

JIJ: Think of them like consultants: Independent hackers that specialize in something [criminal organizations] need. There are many small groups that specialize in one piece of the puzzle. For example, you need about 20 different services to start building botnets. So that's 20 small specialty hacker groups, and these groups compete for business. But, some organized crime groups have their own [in-house hackers]. Just like a normal business, really.

BGB: I was going to say, this all sounds very slick and professional.

JIJ: It is more professional than most legitimate business, and more innovative, too. That's why governments can't keep up. But does it go to fund terrorism? I've not seen a direct link, just indirect. Downloading a movie online indirectly funds terrorism. Buying a taco at Taco Bell does, too. All money is connected. But I've not seen terrorist groups like IS doing scams for cash. They can make a lot of money much easier, so they don't need to scam. Scamming is for groups that want to make money, but avoid police. IS could care less about police, obviously.


Update: Indeed, it seems, as Dr. James stated, that IS does have several diverse and heinous means of raising funds beyond that of email scams.

Dr. Joshua I. James is a research fellow at UCD Ireland. He currently resides in Seoul, South Korea, where he works with South Korean law enforcement on cybercrime and investigative methods in digital forensic research.

Marco Polo - Episodes 1 and 2

After many delays and procrastinations, I have finally settled down and watched the first two episodes of Netflix's Marco Polo.  I must say, so far I enjoy the series thoroughly. Netflix has managed to create a show that gives faithful deference to the source material while sprinkling in the action and drama that audiences need to stay engaged and entertained with the show.

There were several details that delighted me with the first episode, in particular a tiny moment that no one else likely gave much thought. When the Polos are crossing the Taklamakan Desert, they encounter a sandstorm that sends the caravan scrambling for cover. However, this is no ordinary sandstorm! A man, presumably a bandit, rides out of the whipping clouds of dust, looking for some travelers to pillage. He retreats into the storm, finding no quary, and the scene ends. I was losing my mind as this scene was taking place, because this is from my favorite part of the entire book of The Travels. This bandit was of the Karaunas, a band of riders quoted in The Travels as having Mongol fathers and Indian mothers. The sandstorm was a representation of a "black art" Polo described them as wielding, stating that when they mean to attack a village, they whip up a cloud of dust that goes before them to blacken the sky, keeping their movements invisible to their victims until they strike. It is a fascinating portion of Polo's narrative, and that the show would even include a visual reference to the Karaunas sold me on it instantly. I was very pleased by this.

I was also very surprised that the show was so close to The Travels in its' treatment of Polo's position as observer and information gatherer for Kublai Khan. In his time at court, Polo was able to travel over much of Kublai Khan's realm. He would then report to the Khan all that he had seen on these trips, with that information comprising mostly mercantile assets, observations of local custom and stories he heard on those travels. This intel gave Kublai valuable information that informed strategy, as witnessed in the second episode, when Kublai moved against his treacherous brother, Aric. It was very surprising to see how faithfully the show kept Polo's reports and observational skills at the forefront of his character, since such things in and of themselves are not deeply entertaining (The Travels is an informative, but not really entertaining, read). However, the show was able to incorporate this aspect of the narrative and of Polo's character from the books in such a way as to make him not only useful,  but very important and interesting to the show and its plot. Kudos to the writing staff for pulling off that feat.

I like that the cosmpolitan make-up of Kublai Khan's court and empire is addressed in this show. There are Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Mongols, and all sorts of other races and religions on display. Uighurs and Xiong-nu even came up in conversation in the first two episodes. The character of Ahmad, who is in the book as well as on the show, is described as an Arab, and lo and behold, he was cast accurately! That the show even cared to take time and effort with casting like that is delightful. It brings the show that much closer to portraying something that I feel is lost in the historical narrative: The Ancient World did not really care about race and racial divisions. More emphasis was placed on religion and religious interractions and divisions. And the show does address some of these things, and it may address them further in later episodes.

I can tell where they have added things in for dramatic and entertainment purposes, but none of those changes really bother me. I know why they are there and I appreciate the additions. The show is visually interesting and the set and costume design is very rich and compelling. I have detected no inaccuracies, but I am also not an authority on clothing and costume of Yuan Dynasty China. So far, so good, Marco.

Again, not a costuming expert, but this looks pretty good.

Addendum:

I just wanted to add that one aspect of the show I was pleased with was Marco's description of the Taklamakan Desert. When he spoke of the whispers of the desert, it reminded me of a description of the Taklamakan Desert in the biography of Xuanzang by his student, Hwui Li:

"On the morrow at sundown he (Xuanzang) proceeded towards the bush, where shortly afterwards the foreigner with an old greybeard, likewise a foreign person, riding on a lean horse of a red colour, came to meet (Xuanzang). The Master of the Law was not easy in his mind; on which the young foreigner said: 'This venerable greybeard is intimately acquainted with the Western roads...I have brought him to go with you, hoping it may give you assurance.' Then the senior man said: 'The Western roads are difficult and bad; sand-streams stretch far and wide; evil sprites and hot winds, when they come, cannot be avoided: numbers of men travelling together, although so many, are miseld and lost; how much rather you, sir, going alone!'" (1)



1. Li, Hwui. The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang: With an Introduction Containing an Account of The Works of I-Tsing. trans. Samuel Beal. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. 1911), 15.

Marco Polo - An Introduction and A Preview

Since learning that Netflix has produced a ten episode series entitled "Marco Polo", I have been working diligently on an approach toward reviewing it for this blog. I began by re-reading my own copy of Marco Polo's The Travels, which I am still in the midst of reading, and by taking lengthy notes on the introduction by translator and editor Ronald Latham. Latham has been, for me, the Virgil to my Dante when navigating the text of The Travels. Marco Polo studies are nebulous at best, and require an ever-present shaker of salt for the many grains required when delving deeply into this subject.

Marco Polo's World Tour

Before I begin my reviews on the new series (the format of which I have not even started to work on), I wanted to briefly address some issues with the text that I feel are necessary to keep in mind when engaging Polo's The Travels.  

The first issue is the influence of Rustichello de Pisa, who was the principle individual responsible for compiling and authoring The Travels as they were dictated to him by Polo himself. As Latham points out, The Travels likely exists as a text due to de Pisa's influence, for "it is likely that without the aid of Rustichella Marco would never have written a best-seller...More probably he would never have written a book at all"(1). However, there are issues with de Pisa and his influence. He was a writer with a background in Arthurian Romance rather than History, and the notes of a practical merchant gathering mercantile, business, and asset observations of various foreign provinces, while fascinating, likely proved to be dry reading. Thus, de Pisa set to work dressing up the sights, events, and the Polos themselves in The Travels. 

Rustichello's share in [The Travels] has probably been underrated. Professor L.F. Benedetto, who produced the first critical edition of the Polo manuscripts in 1928, has clearly demonstrated...that Rustichello was responsible for the leisurely, conversational style of the oldest French manuscript...He has also shown not only that the opening invocation to 'emperors and kings, dukes and marquises', etc. occurs verbatim in an Arthurian romance by Rustichello but that whole passages of narrative have been lifted with the minimum of adaptation from the same source. (2)

Latham goes on to give examples of de Pisa's grafting of scenes from his Arthurian tales into The Travels. I won't delve too deeply into these, suffice it to say it exists and it should be noted. However, Latham also notes that while literary flourish is evident in more familiar settings, the unfamiliar territories further east that Polo describes are not readily subjected to such embellishment. (3) 

Lusty, Arthurian, 2014 Polo on the right. Accurate and boring Polo on the left.

The second problem the reader (and the viewer, with regard to the series) needs to be aware of is tampering with the manuscript. There is no authoritative copy of The Travels known, signed by de Pisa and Polo themselves, or even attributed to them. The manuscripts available are of disparate age and provenance, with varying degrees of deviance according to the author's translation prowess and purposes. The manuscripts listed in Latham's introduction are as follows: 

(F) - Latham describes this as the text that probably best preserves Rustichello's words. Dated to the early 14th century, this manuscript is written "in the same curious, Italianate French [used] in [de Pisa's] other writings..." However, Latham laments that this manuscript bears the signs of abridgement (4). 

(V) - A compendium in the Venetian dialect. Latham describes it as a "very corrupt" version (5). 

(L) - A Latin compendium containing passages missing from the (F) manuscript. (6)

(R) - Translation edited by Giambattista Ramusio dated to 1553. Ramusio claims as a source for his translation "a Latin manuscription of marvellous antiquity" (7). These claims were disputed and debated by some Polo scholars until Benedetto demonstrated that passages present in Ramusio can be corroborated with passages from the (Z) manuscript. (8)

(Z) - Another Latin compendium that Benedetto suspects to be an abridgement of an older Latin manuscript. Theorized to contain later additions, possibly from Polo himself. (9)

(VB) - "A second Venetian manuscript whose departures from the standard text do not inspire confidence." (10) Latham states excerpts from this manuscript can be found in Ramusio's compilation.

(I) - A translation by Friar Jacopo d'Acqui, written in the 14th century. Has a missionary slant to its additions, as Latham notes in his entry on Lesser Armenia: "(I) adds here, and again in the account of Greater Armenia that the inhabitants are imperfect Christians, but could easily be brought back to the true faith if they had proper teachers." (11)

Two examples of Marco Polo manuscripts. One is an illuminated text. The other is from a 14th century compilation of travel sources.

These are by no means the only extant manuscripts of Polo's The Travels. They are, however, among the oldest and, therefore, most studied and dissected manuscripts. These texts have undergone many changes due to the inaccuracies of translation, additions and subtractions by translators and editors, and have been subject to the intent of their handlers. While the text we have today may not be the original as it left the care of de Pisa and Polo, the heart of the text remains ever the same: Marco Polo travelled extensively in lands unknown to Europeans before his time. His position as an emissary for Kubilai Khan allowed him to travel and observe the peoples, places, and goods of the Mongol Empire, and this knowledge would prove enticing and invaluable to later explorers and merchants. As it is today, The Travels gives modern readers a look into the world of the Pax Mongolica, and an especially detailed view of the workings of Kubilai Khan's court. It is a fascinating account of a world gone by, despite the flaws it has accrued over the centuries.

When viewing Netflix's new series Marco Polo, know that it counts as its source material a text that is problematic at best. Continuously dramatized, romanticized, and politicized, The Travels are now, in their translation from the printed word to a visual medium, morphing into an "action-packed" and "sexified" modern television program. Any expectation for historical accuracy probably ends at the inclusion of names such as "Marco Polo" and "Kubilai Khan", though it is unlikely that accuracy was high on the list of expectations for this series. Still, by all accounts, I have heard it is an entertaining show. I look forward to watching it and reviewing it in later entries here.

1) Latham, Ronald. "Introduction". Marco Polo: The Travels. (Penguin Books: 1958) pg. 18.

2) Ibid, pg. 17.

3) Ibid, pg. 18.

4) Ibid, pg. 25.

5) Ibid.

6) Ibid.

7) Ibid.

8) Ibid.

9) Ibid.

10) Ibid.

11) Ibid, pg. 46.