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considerable debt to the following individuals and institutions who generously assisted me during my research visits: the late David Patterson, Emeritus President of the Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies; Christopher Cullen; and Susan J. Bennett and John P. C. Moffett of The Needham Research Institute at Cambridge University. During my time at the library of the Ancient India and Iran Trust in Cambridge, I received guidance from Wieslaw Mikal and James Cormick. And in London, I consulted the British Library’s comprehensive collection concerning Marco Polo, perhaps the largest of its kind.

In France, the Bibliothèque Nationale provided additional useful material about Marco Polo and China.

Finally, in Washington, D.C., my research at the Library of Congress afforded me a window on the holdings of libraries around the globe.

I was fortunate to have admirable support in researching Marco Polo from an Eastern and Middle Eastern perspective. Anna Basoli, my resourceful Italian translator, while spending months in Afghanistan to pursue her journalistic goals and without even being asked, tracked down documents relating to Marco Polo’s yearlong sojourn in that part of the world. In addition, her husband, Shoaib Harris, brought to my attention documents and histories about the Silk Road, some unknown in the West, and ably translated them for this book, especially commentary by the Persian historian Vassaf, a contemporary of Marco Polo. My thanks also to Professor Mir Ahmad Joyenda, the head of Afghanistan’s Research and Evaluation Unit, for his assistance.

In Venice, I conducted research at the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, where the archivists proved most helpful in guiding me through a maze of records to the relevant documents; the Archivio di Stato, the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti; and the Archivio Veneto.

Thanks also to the Società Ligure di Storia Patria in Genoa for information relating to Marco Polo’s incarceration in that city.

During my visit to China in 2005, the dedicated Marco Polo scholar Bohai Dang of Peking University brought me up to date on the state of Chinese scholarly inquiry into Marco Polo, and made many Chinese sources, both his own and others’, available to me.

During my travels in Mongolia in 2006, I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of Nomin Lkhagvasuren, my seemingly omniscient guide and interpreter during my travels around the country. At times her sister Kuka capably stood in, aided by our interpreter Batchuluun Baldandorj, and our driver and mechanic, Dugeree, who performed vital repairs late one night to the malfunctioning stove in my smoke-filled ger. My thanks to them all, and especially to Dan Dolgin and Loraine Gardner, who came along on the adventure, and added so much, including some spirited throat-singing.

My thanks also to the Mongolian Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar, where I was able to handle Yüan dynasty armor and weapons dating from the failed invasions of Japan in the thirteenth century. The lamas of Gandan, Erdene Zuu, and Chojin Lama monasteries of Mongolia graciously welcomed me during my visits. In addition, I wish to express my appreciation to the Mongolian Fine Arts Museum, with its exceptional collection of period artifacts.

I also wish to record my gratitude to the Mongolian scholars who generously gave of their time and scholarship during my face-to-face interviews with them in Ulaanbaatar: Dr. Kh. Lkhagvasuren, President of the Mongolian Archeological Federation; Professor Shagdaryn Bira, Secretary General of the International Association for Mongol Studies; Professor O. Sukhbaatar, Vice Director of Chinggis Khan University; and Professor S. Tsolmon of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.

Finally, during my stay in Taiwan, I benefited from the encouragement of Harvey Chang, from the collection of the National Palace Museum, and from the scholarly companionship of Professor Hsiao Ch’ i-ch’ing of National Tsing Hua University.

NOTES ON SOURCES

FOR ALL ITS RICHES, Marco Polo’s Travels presents several challenges for modern