Discuss the ways in which Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta connected the West and the East.

Candidates are required to offer a considered and balanced review of the ways in which Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta connected the West and the East. Candidates may discuss the ways in which they transmitted increased knowledge of the trading opportunities, such as in jade, silk and porcelain, social customs, such as marriage practices, and religion. Polo and Battuta commented on advanced aspects of the eastern economies, such as postal services, the use of paper money and sophisticated ship-building techniques. Polo’s accounts of the splendours of the Khanate court heightened Western interest in the East. It would be valid to discuss the extent to which Polo’s and Battuta’s travels were known in the Middle Ages, and the reliability of their evidence. Polo and Battuta may be discussed separately, or a comparative approach may be adopted. Equal coverage of the two is not required.