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Marco Polo - Exam
Contributed by: Collins
  • 1. What was Marco Polo's nationality?
A) Spanish
B) German
C) French
D) Italian
  • 2. In which century did Marco Polo live?
A) 10th
B) 17th
C) 15th
D) 13th
  • 3. How many years did Marco Polo's journey to the East last?
A) 24
B) 30
C) 18
D) 12
  • 4. Which famous ruler of the Mongol Empire did Marco Polo serve under?
A) Kublai Khan
B) Genghis Khan
C) Attila the Hun
D) Emperor Taizong
  • 5. Which book did Marco Polo dictate about his travels?
A) Journey to the East
B) The Silk Road Chronicles
C) The Travels of Marco Polo
D) Around the World in 80 Days
  • 6. How many years did Marco Polo spend in Chinese service before returning to Venice?
A) 10
B) 15
C) 20
D) 17
  • 7. On which renowned trading route did Marco Polo travel to reach China?
A) Silk Road
B) Amber Road
C) Incense Trail
D) Spice Route
  • 8. Which country was Kublai Khan ruling over when Marco Polo arrived in Asia?
A) India
B) Japan
C) Mongolia
D) China
  • 9. Marco Polo's journey to the East began when he accompanied which relatives on a trip to Asia?
A) His cousins
B) His father and uncle
C) His grandparents
D) His brothers
  • 10. Which city-state was the birthplace of Marco Polo?
A) Naples
B) Venice
C) Florence
D) Milan
  • 11. In Polo's Travels, what did he claim to have seen people using as paper?
A) Leaves
B) Silk
C) Bark
D) Papyrus
  • 12. In Polo's Travels, what name did he give to Japan?
A) Nihon
B) Yamato
C) Cipangu
D) Izanagi
  • 13. Which famous explorer cited Marco Polo's accounts as inspiring his own travels to the East?
A) Christopher Columbus
B) Ferdinand Magellan
C) Vasco da Gama
D) James Cook
  • 14. What was the primary occupation of Marco Polo's father and uncle?
A) Merchants
B) Scholars
C) Artists
D) Soldiers
  • 15. What role was Marco Polo appointed to by Kublai Khan?
A) Advisor
B) Trade ambassador
C) General
D) Foreign emissary
  • 16. Which war did Venice engage in when the Polos returned home?
A) Hundred Years' War
B) Crusades
C) War with Genoa
D) Peloponnesian War
  • 17. Who did Marco Polo dictate his travel stories to while imprisoned?
A) Giovanni Boccaccio
B) Leonardo da Vinci
C) Dante Alighieri
D) Rustichello da Pisa
  • 18. Which of the following did Marco Polo's account include as a Western record?
A) Electricity, airplanes, radios
B) Plastics, antibiotics, television
C) Steam engines, telegraphs, computers
D) Porcelain, gunpowder, paper money
  • 19. Which empire did Marco Polo describe as wealthy and large?
A) Roman Empire
B) British Empire
C) Ottoman Empire
D) Mongol Empire
  • 20. What was the name of the Mongol princess Marco Polo accompanied to Persia?
A) Aisha
B) Roxelana
C) Eleanor
D) Kököchin
  • 21. What is the approximate birth year of Marco Polo?
A) 1269
B) 1254
C) 1240
D) 1275
  • 22. What nickname was Marco Polo known by during his lifetime?
A) Emilione
B) Milione
C) Niccolò
D) Kublai
  • 23. What does the Italian word 'Milione' literally mean?
A) 'Traveler'
B) 'Explorer'
C) 'Merchant'
D) 'Million'
  • 24. Who was the 19th-century philologist that suggested 'Milione' might be a shortened version of 'Emilione'?
A) Marco Polo
B) Niccolò Polo
C) Luigi Foscolo Benedetto
D) Giovanni Battista Ramusio
  • 25. What was the profession of Marco Polo's father, Niccolò Polo?
A) Writer
B) Explorer
C) Travelling merchant
D) Scholar
  • 26. In which year did Niccolò Polo return to Venice and find out about his wife's death?
A) 1275
B) 1254
C) 1269
D) 1280
  • 27. What was the age of Marco Polo when his father returned to Venice in 1269?
A) 20 years old
B) 18 years old
C) 10 years old
D) 15 years old
  • 28. Where did Niccolò and Maffeo foresee a political change in 1260?
A) Beijing
B) Constantinople
C) Venice
D) Baghdad
  • 29. What did Niccolò and Maffeo convert their assets into before leaving Constantinople?
A) Spices
B) Gold coins
C) Jewels
D) Silk
  • 30. In which year did Marco Polo, his father, and his uncle set off for Asia?
A) 1265
B) 1290
C) 1280
D) 1271
  • 31. Who was ruling Venice when the Polos departed for Asia in 1271?
A) Doge Pietro Gradenigo
B) Doge Enrico Dandolo
C) Doge Marco Cornaro
D) Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo
  • 32. What was the first major stop for the Polos on their journey to Asia?
A) Constantinople
B) Beijing
C) Acre
D) Venice
  • 33. How old was Marco Polo when he arrived at Kublai Khan's palace?
A) Thirty
B) Twenty-one
C) Seventeen
D) Fifteen
  • 34. In which year did the Polos return to Venice?
A) 1285
B) 1305
C) 1275
D) 1295
  • 35. What type of weapon was equipped on the galley that Marco Polo armed during his time in Genoese captivity?
A) Catapult
B) Crossbow
C) Trebuchet
D) Cannon
  • 36. What was the original title of Marco Polo's book in Franco-Italian?
A) Il Milione
B) Livres des Merveilles du Monde
C) The Travels of Marco Polo
D) The Book of Marvels
  • 37. What was the name of Marco Polo's wife?
A) Agnese
B) Moreta
C) Donata Badoèr
D) Fantina
  • 38. Who did Marco Polo discuss astronomical observations with in Padua?
A) Rustichello da Pisa
B) Giovanni Battista Ramusio
C) Bartolomeo
D) Pietro d'Abano
  • 39. In which year was Marco Polo mentioned in a Venetian document as among local sea captains regarding tax payment?
A) 1299
B) 1305
C) 1310
D) 1321
  • 40. What did Marco Polo describe to Pietro d'Abano besides a comet?
A) A tiger
B) A dragon
C) The Sumatran rhinoceros
D) An elephant
  • 41. What was the name of Marco Polo's first daughter, born before 1300?
A) Bellela
B) Moreta
C) Fantina
D) Agnese
  • 42. In which year did Marco Polo become the owner of some estates of his deceased father?
A) 1305
B) 1319
C) 1299
D) 1321
  • 43. In what year did Marco Polo become bedridden due to illness?
A) 1330
B) 1322
C) 1323
D) 1325
  • 44. On which date was Marco Polo on his deathbed despite medical efforts?
A) 10 January 1324
B) 8 January 1324
C) 7 January 1325
D) 9 January 1323
  • 45. Who was requested to write and certify Marco Polo's will?
A) Giovanni Giustiniani
B) Friar Benvenuto
C) Peter, the Tartar servant
D) Donata, his wife
  • 46. To which church was a portion of Marco Polo's estate legally entitled?
A) San Paolo of the Order of Preachers
B) San Lorenzo
C) The Church
D) San Giovanni
  • 47. How much was ordered to be paid to Giovanni Giustiniani for his work as a notary?
A) 50 soldi
B) 100 lire
C) 300 lire
D) 220 soldi
  • 48. According to Venetian law, when does the day end?
A) At dawn
B) At noon
C) At sunset
D) At midnight
  • 49. Where is the original copy of Marco Polo's testament held?
A) San Lorenzo
B) The Vatican Archives
C) Biblioteca Marciana
D) Venice City Hall
  • 50. According to Biblioteca Marciana, when was the will dated?
A) June 1324
B) 10 January 1325
C) 9 January 1324
D) 8 January 1323
  • 51. What rule validated Marco Polo's will despite it not being signed?
A) The 'testamentum scriptum' rule
B) The 'signum manus' rule
C) The 'notary validation' rule
D) The 'holographic signature' rule
  • 52. In which language was the first English translation of Marco Polo's book published?
A) Italian by Giovanni Battista Ramusio in 1559
B) Elizabethan version by John Frampton in 1579
C) Castilian translation of 1503
D) Latin manuscript by Francesco Pipino in 1302
  • 53. Which city did Marco Polo's family first travel to with Prince Berke Khan?
A) Bukhara
B) Dadu
C) Ukek
D) Bolghar
  • 54. Which languages did Marco Polo know?
A) Two languages
B) Four languages
C) Three languages
D) Five languages
  • 55. What was the reason the Polos could not sail directly into China?
A) They lacked a proper map
B) They encountered pirates
C) They did not have enough supplies
D) The ships there were not seaworthy
  • 56. What was the name of Kublai Khan's summer palace?
A) Beijing
B) Zaitun
C) Shangdu
D) Dadu
  • 57. How did Marco Polo and his family escape a bandit attack during their journey?
A) They were rescued by local villagers
B) They negotiated with the bandits
C) They fought through to a nearby town
D) They hid in the desert until morning
  • 58. Where did the Polos travel to after leaving Hormuz?
A) Beijing
B) Trebizond on the Black Sea
C) Shangdu
D) Singapore
  • 59. In what language was 'Devisement du Monde' written?
A) Italian
B) Arabic
C) Franco-Venetian
D) Latin
  • 60. Who translated 'The Book of Marvels' into Latin shortly after Marco Polo's return to Venice?
A) Antonio Montefusco
B) Jacopo d'Acqui
C) Francesco Pipino
D) Rustichello of Pisa
  • 61. Why were some contemporaries sceptical about the content of 'The Book of Marvels'?
A) Because it was written in a foreign language.
B) Because Marco Polo refused to share his experiences.
C) Because it contained unbelievable stories.
D) Because it lacked detailed maps.
  • 62. Who suggested that local Dominican fathers collaborated on a Latin version of the book?
A) Francesco Pipino
B) Ronald Latham
C) Luigi Foscolo Benedetto
D) Antonio Montefusco
  • 63. What was discussed at the Second Council of Lyon regarding the Mongols?
A) The translation of 'The Book of Marvels' into Latin.
B) Trade agreements between Europe and China.
C) The conversion of Marco Polo to Christianity.
D) A possible Christian-Mongol alliance against Islam.
  • 64. How did some people in the Middle Ages view Marco Polo's book?
A) As a scientific journal
B) As a romance or fable
C) As an accurate historical document
D) As a religious text
  • 65. Who founded six Nestorian Christian churches in Zhenjiang?
A) A Sogdian named Mar-Sargis from Samarkand
B) Marco Polo himself
C) The Mongol ruler Kublai Khan
D) Chinese emperors
  • 66. What dynasty built the Great Wall that is familiar today?
A) The Han dynasty
B) The Qing dynasty
C) The Yuan dynasty
D) The Ming dynasty
  • 67. Which scholar argued that Marco Polo's account is more extensive and accurate compared to other travelers?
A) Stephen G. Haw
B) Frances Wood
C) Herbert Franke
D) John W. Haeger
  • 68. Who criticized Frances Wood's book for its lack of scholarly rigor?
A) John W. Haeger
B) Stephen G. Haw
C) David Morgan
D) Igor de Rachewiltz
  • 69. Which scholar refuted Frances Wood's arguments by pointing out her confusion between the Liao and Jin dynasties?
A) Herbert Franke
B) David Morgan
C) John W. Haeger
D) Stephen G. Haw
  • 70. Who concluded that Haw settled the controversy about Polo's visit to China?
A) Peter Jackson
B) David Morgan
C) Frances Wood
D) Igor de Rachewiltz
  • 71. Which city is mentioned as being governed by Marco Polo for three years?
A) Beijing
B) Nanjing
C) Yangzhou
D) Shanghai
  • 72. According to David Morgan, do Chinese sources mention Marco Polo as a governor of Yangzhou?
A) Yes
B) No
C) As an advisor only
D) Only in some sources
  • 73. Which historian noted that all occurrences of Po-lo or Bolod in Yuan texts were names of Mongol or Turkic origin?
A) David Morgan
B) Peng Hai
C) Herbert Franke
D) Ronald Latham
  • 74. Who claimed to have identified Marco Polo with a courtier named 'Boluo' in the History of Yuan?
A) David Morgan
B) Herbert Franke
C) Peng Hai
D) Stephen G. Haw
  • 75. Which historian thought Marco Polo might have served in the government salt monopoly in Yangzhou?
A) Peng Hai
B) Herbert Franke
C) Paul Pelliot
D) David Morgan
  • 76. What is a 'keshig' as mentioned by Stephen G. Haw?
A) A religious order
B) The imperial guard
C) A type of ship
D) A trade guild
  • 77. Which official mentioned by Marco Polo is believed to be a Nestorian Christian bishop?
A) Boluo
B) Saman
C) Xiangwei
D) Mar Sarchis
  • 78. How many arches did Marco Polo incorrectly describe the bridge later known as Marco Polo Bridge to have?
A) Twelve
B) Eleven or thirteen
C) Five
D) Twenty-four
  • 79. What was the incorrect number of gates that Marco Polo claimed the city wall of Khanbaliq had?
A) Eleven
B) Ten
C) Twelve
D) Thirteen
  • 80. How many masts did Marco Polo incorrectly describe on ships in his accounts?
A) Six
B) Four
C) Five
D) Three
  • 81. Who accused Marco Polo of taking other people's accounts in his book?
A) David O. Morgan
B) Historian Igor de Rachewiltz
C) Sinologist Francis Woodman Cleaves
D) Historian Frances Wood
  • 82. Which work confirmed the voyage of princess Kököchin from China to Persia?
A) The Yongle Encyclopedia
B) The Secret History of the Mongols
C) The Travels of Marco Polo
D) Jami' al-tawarikh
  • 83. According to de Rachewiltz, why could Marco Polo not have learned information from any Persian book?
A) There were no Persian books available during his time.
B) All Persian sources had been lost by then.
C) Polo did not speak Persian.
D) The only Persian source mentioning the princess was completed after 1310–1311.
  • 84. Who is credited with calling Cathay as China?
A) Bento de Góis
B) Christopher Columbus
C) Marco Polo
D) Matteo Ricci
  • 85. What map was said to be partially based on Marco Polo's maps?
A) Ptolemaic map
B) Zeno Map
C) The 1453 Fra Mauro map
D) Mercator projection
  • 86. Who disputed the claim that the Fra Mauro map was based on Marco Polo's maps?
A) Marco Polo
B) Piero Falchetta
C) Giovanni Battista Ramusio
D) Matteo Ricci
  • 87. In which video game does Marco Polo appear as a Great Explorer?
A) Civilization Revolution (2008).
B) Assassin's Creed: Origins.
C) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
D) Age of Empires III.
  • 88. Which game uses Marco Polo's voyage as a backdrop for its plot?
A) Red Dead Redemption II.
B) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
C) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009).
D) Final Fantasy XV.
  • 89. Which novel by Italo Calvino features Marco Polo as a pivotal character?
A) Marco Millions (1928)
B) The Journeyer (1984)
C) Messer Marco Polo (1921)
D) Invisible Cities (1972)
  • 90. Who directed the television miniseries 'Marco Polo' that won two Emmy Awards?
A) John Fusco
B) Miro Branković
C) Giuliano Montaldo
D) Denis Belliveau
  • 91. Which actor played Marco Polo in the 2007 television film?
A) Mark Eden
B) John Cassavetes
C) Ian Somerhalder
D) Ken Marshall
  • 92. Which novel by Gary Jennings is about Marco Polo's travels?
A) The Journeyer (1984)
B) Marco Millions (1928)
C) Messer Marco Polo (1921)
D) Invisible Cities (1972)
  • 93. Who co-authored the novel 'Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty'?
A) Italo Calvino
B) Eugene O'Neill
C) John Fusco
D) Grania Davis
  • 94. Which SIGMA Force book interweaves facts about Marco Polo's travels with modern-day action?
A) Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty (1988)
B) The Judas Strain (2007)
C) The Journeyer (1984)
D) Invisible Cities (1972)
  • 95. Who voiced Marco Polo in the 1979 anime 'The Adventures of Marco Polo'?
A) John Cassavetes
B) Ken Marshall
C) Mark Eden
D) Kei Tomiyama
  • 96. Who portrayed Kublai Khan in the 2007 television film 'Marco Polo'?
A) Ken Marshall
B) Ruocheng Ying
C) Brian Dennehy
D) Ian Somerhalder
  • 97. Which actor played Marco Polo in the television miniseries 'Marco Polo' (1982)?
A) Ken Marshall
B) Burt Lancaster
C) Brian Dennehy
D) Ian Somerhalder
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