Kublai Khan gave Polo a golden tablet that was a foot long. On his many travels Marco Polo was often a guest of the great and very wealthy ruler of China called Kublai Khan. He returned via India, showing how India could be reached from China by sea. This route became known as the Silk Road. He travelled from Italy through Baghdad and the Gobi Desert to China.
Marco Polo wanted to make important contacts with people in the East so that he could trade for spices. He spent 24 years of his life travelling. Polo was born in Venice in Italy in 1254 and he died in 1324. In other parts of the world at the same time there were explorers and adventurers who were going to set up important trade routes and centres.Įuropean explorer Marco Polo and his travelsĪt the same time that Mapungubwe was at its height, Marco Polo was a European explorer. When Mapungubwe was at its height it was the largest and most important centre of trade in the southern Africa. About 900 000 stone blocks were used to build the outer wall of the enclosure.Ī European explorer in Asia at the same time that Mapungubwe was at its height It is the largest structure in sub-Saharan Africa. One of the enclosures is a royal enclosure called the Great Enclosure.
The main wall is 20meters high and within these walls are several passageways and enclosures. The buildings of great Zimbabwe show that the people who built them were highly skilled in stonework and construction.
The king lived in a magnificent palace on the top of the hill. Much like Mapungubwe, the commoners lived outside the main walls, while the royal family lived on the hill. The town was surrounded by an outer wall. Great Zimbabwe’s settlement grew to approximately 18 000 people. All traders that went through Great Zimbabwe had to pay the rulers and the people of that region. The cultural, political and economic power in the area shifted to Great Zimbabwe and this area took control of the Indian Ocean trade routes in Southern Africa. When Mapungubwe was abandoned, it was to the benefit of Great Zimbabwe.
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