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Even as a young boy, the splendors of the great Byzantine
Empire were known to Marco Polo. Following the Fourth Crusade,
some of the most prized Byzantine artistic treasures were
brought to his native Venice by the western knights who had
plundered Constantinople. Many westerners remained in Byzantine
lands, adopting elements of Byzantine culture and patronizing
Byzantine arts; others took Byzantine works and learning home
with them, where they influenced Western culture. Marco's
father and uncle were among the tens of thousands of foreign
merchants in Constantinople trading silks, jewelry, enamels,
gold, silver, ivory, perfumes, spices, and leather goods.
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