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Their wish to return to Venice was also influenced by the
fear of powerful courtiers who resented the favor that Khubilai
Khan has shown to the westerners. The Polos reasoned that
once their patron, now an old man, died, China would no longer
be safe for them. In fact, Khubilai Khan died while the Polos
were still traveling home. As they predicted, political unity
within China deteriorated so that by the 1340s and 1350s,
growing factionalism at court, rampant corruption, and a succession
of natural disasters led to uprisings among the people, open
rebellion, and finally dynastic collapse.
Boarding a Chinese ship, the Polos traveled from the large
port city of Quanzhou to Southeast Asia, periodically landing
on the mainland or on islands along the way. The most prominent
kingdom in continental Southeast Asia at the time was the
Khmer Kingdom. Ruling from their capital at Angkor since the
12th century, the Khmer kings were considered devarajas
or god-kings, who ruled from their temple-mountains that mirrored
the abode of the gods. The Khmer Empire began a slow decline
in the 13th century and was eventually eclipsed by other powers
in the region.
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