Contemporaries of Marco Polo: Consisting of the Travel Records to the Eastern Parts of The World of William Rubruck [1253-1255]; The Journey of John ... Oriental Travels of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudel

The chief source of knowledge concerning the early days of the vast empire known today as China and Mongolia is often considered to be the Travels of Marco Polo; yet Marco Polo was not the first traveler to those distant lands. He was preceded by Friar Carpini and Friar Rubruck, and was followed by Friar Odoric. Manuel Komroff, after consulting original manuscripts and documents, here presents to us, revised and edited in the light of modern research, the vivid records of bold men, the detailed pictures of a spectacular age, that remain rich and stirring in their appeal even today. Included is the first-hand account of Rabbi Benjamin Tudela’s visit to Damascus, Jerusalem, Bagdad, and the ruins of the Tower of Babel, at a time when the Near East was as fabulous a realm as that of the great Khans of Tartary.

The accounts left by these travelers are important, not only for their corroboration of Marco Polo’s tales of wonder, but because they throw light upon the early history, customs and religion of one of the great peoples of the modern world—the Chinese. In these account we see the roots of Chinese pride, patience, endurance and heroism. Through them we learn to understand that the greatness of the Chinese people today is not an accident, but the result, the fruit of an anciently founded and mature culture, a culture that could live side-by-side with the ravishing, destructive, brutal culture of the Mongolian Tartars and even survive the holocaust visited upon them by these barbarians.