MARCO POLO’S ACCOUNT OF CENTRAL ASIA: GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS AND TRADE CONNECTIONS

Abstrak

This paper examines the representation of Central Asia in Marco Polo’s Devisement du monde, one of the most influential geographical accounts of the European Middle Ages. It explores the text’s descriptions of geographical regions, place names, trade connections, peoples, customs, and political structures, with particular attention to the ways in which geographical knowledge was organized and transmitted to European audiences. The study also considers the methodological challenges associated with using Polo’s account as a historical source, including questions of authorship, the reliability of geographical information, and the distinction between personal observation and second-hand reports