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eventVerified

Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court

This catalog does not treat that death as Marco Polo's act or office. The book still names the court he claimed to have seen. In the causal graph this event weakens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.

Read the full account

Kublai Khan died in 1294. This catalog does not treat that death as Marco Polo's act or office. The book still names the court he claimed to have seen. Marco Polo's documented role is: He did not cause or inherit the khan's death. The Fact refuses a false causal link.

Context

Yuan succession is a Mongol file. Sharing it with the Yuan elite, not with Polo, is required. The setting of Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court is the public file around 1294-01-01. Driver democratic-resilience is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Mixed effects of Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court are separate paths.

Why it matters

Worsening (misassignment-blocked) path of low weight. High confidence he was not the successor. The welfare reading on this path is worsening.

That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Marco Polo

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.16 · verified

    He did not cause or inherit the khan's death. The Fact refuses a false causal link.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactKublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court
    2. weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.15 · Effect from 1 January 1294 · verified

    A correctly bounded court death is a democratic/succession file of the Yuan, not of Polo.

    • Having a say in government

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.1 (weight 0.15 × strength 0.7)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Clean elections index

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.07 (weight 0.15 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.

      Above normal = better

    • WJP Rule of Law Index (global)

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.07 (weight 0.15 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      Above normal = better

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Britannica — Marco Polo return c. 1295Encyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.University of Washington Silk Road — Inner Asian chancery neighbourhoodUniversity of Washington · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Britannica independently dates Kublai's death. Official carrier: Britannica — Kublai Khan, death 1294 (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marco-Polo (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent carrier: Silk Road Seattle — Yuan succession context (https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/ (opens in a new tab); University of Washington Silk Road Seattle).

Established: Kublai died 1294; Polo is not the khan. Not established: Polo's exact location that year. Established: a sourced public record of Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court under 1294-01-01.

Shared responsibility is part of Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court. Naming Marco Polo does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1294-01-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorMarco Polo
  2. contributed toFactKublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court
  3. weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Kublai Khan's death is a Yuan event, not Polo's act; the book still names the court. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/mp-kublai-death-not-his

https://factrail.ai/facts/mp-kublai-death-not-his

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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