Analyze one or both stories from the Travels of Marco Polo (the Mongol conquest and the death of the Caliph; the shoemaker’s miracle) in the light of Tolan’s discussion of Christian interactions with Muslims in the Near East, and how Christian views of Islam evolved in the thirteenth century. Address ONE of these questions about the passage in Marco Polo, making use of specific comparative material from our readings (this week or in the past) from Tolan or other sources on Christian-Muslim relations. What are some of the Christian stereotypes about Islam and Muslims that you see? How might you interpret and understand the story of the shoemaker’s miracle in the light of the actual events in the Near East in the thirteenth century (the defeats of the Crusaders, the Mongol conquests, the failures of Christian missionaries)?

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