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Dan Snow's History Hit · August 13, 2026 · 36m 48s

Marco Polo and The Court of the Great Kublai Khan

Show Notes

Dan Snow explores the court of Kublai Khan through the diary of Marco Polo. The episode follows Polo's four-year journey across deserts, mountains and oceans to reach the heart of a Mongol empire that dwarfed the other powers of its age. It focuses on the scale, wealth and spectacle of the Khan's court, and the contrast between that medieval superpower and the world of medieval Europe.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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A court that dwarfed every other power
The court of Kublai Khan is presented as the centre of an empire that threw every other power of its age into shadow.
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The four-year journey to the Khan
Marco Polo spent four years travelling across deserts, mountains and oceans to reach Kublai Khan's court.
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A diary as the entry point
Dan Snow uses Marco Polo's diary to reconstruct the splendour and spectacle of Kublai Khan's court.
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