The Travels of Marco Polo to Mutfili (Motupalli) - Kakatiya

Marco Polo, writing in the late 13th century, describes the kingdom of Mutfili as a prosperous realm located about 1,000 miles north of Maabar (the Coromandel coast). He notes that the kingdom belonged to a Queen who was a woman of great wisdom. He records that for forty years since the death of the king, she had ruled with great justice and integrity.

Marco Polo identifies the people as Idolaters (Hindus) who were tributary to nobody – indicating the Kakatiya kingdom's independence from the Delhi Sultanate at that time. He notes that they lived on rice, meat, milk, fish and fruit – indicating a rich and diverse diet.

The distance from Maabar is given as 1,000 miles in most manuscripts, but Ramusio's edition gives 500 miles – the more accurate figure for the distance from the Coromandel coast to Motupalli.

Marco Polo provides one of the earliest European accounts of diamond mining in India, describing the famous mines of the Telingana region. It is important to note that during the Kakatiya period, the diamond-mining area was not yet known as Golconda – that name was applied later by the Deccan sultanates. The original site was a small mud hill fort called Mankal, and the surrounding diamond workings were referred to by regional and classical Sanskrit names as the Telingana mines or ancient gem-stone tracts. The most famous of these was the Kollur mine, located in the alluvium of the Krishna River.

Marco Polo describes four methods of extracting diamonds:

• Method 1 – The Torrents: "For you should know that when it rains the water rushes down through these mountains, cascading wildly along vast ravines and caverns. And when the rain has stopped and the water has drained away the men head out into the ravines through which the water flowed in search of diamonds, which they find in plenty. In summer, when there is not a drop of water to be found here, they uncover plenty of them in the mountains themselves. The heat, though, is so intense as to be all but intolerable."
• Method 2 – The Serpents: "And let me tell you that these mountains are so heavily infested with great fat serpents that men cannot go there without fearing for their lives. But all the same they make their way as best they can and find some very fine, large diamonds. I can also tell you that these serpents are highly venomous and vicious, so the men do not dare enter the caves where these vicious serpents live."
• Method 3 – The Eagles and the Meat: "The men take some lumps of bloody meat and fling them down into the depths of the valleys; and the places where the meat is flung are littered with diamonds, which become embedded in the flesh. Now the fact is that many white eagles live among these mountains and prey on the serpents. And when these eagles see the meat lying at the bottom of the valleys, they swoop down, seize the lumps and carry them off. The men, meanwhile, have been carefully watching where the eagles go, and as soon as they see that one has alighted and is swallowing the meat they rush over as fast as they can. The eagles are so fearful of the men who have surprised them that they fly off and fail to take away the meat. And when the men reach the place where the meat is, they pick it up and find it studded with diamonds."
• Method 4 – The Eagles' Excrement: "When the eagles eat the meat I have told you about, they also eat – or rather swallow – some of the diamonds. And at night, when they return to their nests, they pass the diamonds they have swallowed along with their faecal matter. Then the men arrive and collect the eagles' excrement, which also turns out to be rich in diamonds."

Marco Polo notes that diamonds are not found anywhere else in the world but in this kingdom alone, and that the finest and largest stones were carried to the Great Khan and other Kings and Princes of the region.

Marco Polo was equally impressed by the textile industry of the Kakatiya kingdom. He describes the production of the finest and most delicate buckrams (cotton muslins) that were woven in the region.

The fine muslins of the region were famous across the medieval world. The districts around Masulipatam were long famous for muslins and coloured chintzes. Even in the time of Sakya Muni, Kalinga was already famous for diaphanous muslins, as recorded in Buddhist annals. Marco Polo's comparison of these fabrics to the "linen fabrics of Rheims" – a famous French textile centre – indicates their exceptional quality and international reputation.

The Queen described by Marco Polo – "a woman of great wisdom" – has been identified as Rudrama Devi, who ruled the Kakatiya kingdom from 1262 to 1289 CE. She was the daughter of King Ganapatideva and ascended to the throne after his death.

• Reign: 1262–1289 CE (27–28 years)
• Title: Ruled under the masculine title Rudradeva Maharaja
• Marital Status: Never remarried after the death of her husband
• Achievements: Maintained the kingdom's independence, administered with justice, and was beloved by her subjects
• Legacy: One of the few female rulers in Indian history

According to historical records, Rudrama Devi assumed the government and continued to hold it for twenty-eight years (or thirty-eight years by some accounts) until her grandson, Pratapa Vira Rudra Deva, attained majority and assumed the throne in 1295 CE. The "Luddur Deo" mentioned in the chronicle of Firishta is identified as this grandson.

Marco Polo's Mutfili has been identified as Motupalli (also known as Mutapali or Mutapalle), a port in the Guntur district of present-day Andhra Pradesh. Though it has "dropt out of most of our modern maps," it was once a thriving centre of coastal trade.

• Location: Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, about 170 miles north of Fort St. George (Chennai)
• Trade: Considerable coasting trade in craft navigated by natives
• Modern status: Now an obscure fishing village
• In Carta Catalana: Appears as Butiflis, though it is there mistakenly made the site of St. Thomas's Shrine

The proper territory of the Kakatiya Kingdom (Warangal) lay inland, but the last reigning prince before Polo's visit – Kakateya Pratapa Ganapati Rudra Deva – had made extensive conquests on the coast, including Nellore and the frontier of Orissa.

The strange legend of diamonds being retrieved from eagle nests is very ancient and widely diffused. Its earliest known occurrence is in the Treatise of St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, written before the end of the 4th century, wherein the tale is told of the Jacinth.

• Edrisi (12th c.): Assigns the legend to the land of the Kirkhir (probably Khirghiz) in Upper Asia.
• Kazwini: Assigns it to the Valley of the Moon among the mountains of Serendib (Sri Lanka).
• Sindbad the Sailor: Relates a similar story, closest to Marco Polo's version.
• Chinese narrative: The Si Shi Ki of Ch'ang Te (1259), translated by Dr. Bretschneider, records: "The kin-kang tsuan (diamonds) come from Yin-du (Hindustan). The people take flesh and throw it into the great valleys (of the mountains). Then birds come and eat this flesh, after which diamonds are found in their excrements."
• Nicolo Conti: Relates the story of a mountain called Albenigaras, fifteen days' journey north of Vijayanagar.

The story has a considerable resemblance to the tale told by Herodotus (III. 111) of the way cinnamon was obtained by the Arabs – no doubt both are ramifications of the same ancient legend.

Marco Polo's account of the Kakatiya kingdom provides a snapshot of the region at the height of its power, just a few decades before its fall to the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 CE.

• Capital: Warangal (then known as Orugallu or Ekasilanagari)
• Dynasty: Kakatiya dynasty, ruling from the 12th to the 14th century
• Territory: Present-day Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh
• Economy: Agriculture, trade, textiles, and diamonds (Telingana mines)
• Religion: Saiva Siddhanta with remarkable religious pluralism
• Architecture: Thousand Pillar Temple, Ramappa Temple (UNESCO)

Marco Polo's visit occurred during the reign of Rudrama Devi, just before the kingdom fell to the Delhi Sultanate. His account provides a rare European perspective on the wealth, governance, and culture of the Kakatiya dynasty.

• 1254: Marco Polo born in Venice, Republic of Venice.
• 1262: Rudrama Devi ascends to the throne of the Kakatiya kingdom.
• 1271: Marco Polo begins his journey to the East with his father and uncle.
• 1289: Rudrama Devi dies; her grandson Pratapa Vira Rudra Deva assumes the throne.
• c. 1290: Marco Polo visits the Kakatiya kingdom and describes the kingdom of Mutfili.
• 1295: Marco Polo returns to Europe after 24 years of travel.
• 1298: Marco Polo dictates his travels to Rustichello da Pisa while imprisoned in Genoa.
• 1323: Kakatiya kingdom falls to the Delhi Sultanate.
• 1324: Marco Polo dies in Venice.

Marco Polo's account of the Kakatiya kingdom is a remarkable document that provides one of the earliest European perspectives on medieval South India. His description of Queen Rudrama Devi as a just, capable, and beloved ruler is a rare tribute to a female sovereign from a foreign chronicler. His detailed accounts of the diamond mines of the Telingana region – including the Kollur mine and the ancient gem-stone tracts – and the fine muslins of the region attest to the wealth and sophistication of the Kakatiya economy. His identification of the kingdom as independent and "tributary to nobody" confirms the Kakatiya kingdom's strength and autonomy on the eve of its fall to the Delhi Sultanate.

Though Marco Polo's account contains some legendary elements – such as the story of diamonds being retrieved from eagle nests – it remains a valuable historical source. The identification of Mutfili as Motupalli, the recognition of Rudrama Devi as the just Queen, and the description of the Telingana diamond mines all confirm the accuracy of his observations. The vivid details about the people's diet – "rice, meat, milk, fish and fruit" – and the mention of "the biggest sheep in the world" add to the richness of his account.

Today, the sites mentioned by Marco Polo – Motupalli, Warangal, and the Ramappa Temple – stand as witnesses to the glorious Kakatiya kingdom. The diamond mines of the region, later known as Golconda, continued to produce some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Hope Diamond, and the Regent Diamond. Marco Polo's words, written over 700 years ago, continue to inspire historians, travellers, and anyone interested in the rich heritage of Telangana.