Images of marco polo and kublai khan

Venetian merchant (–)

This article is about the trader and explorer. For other uses, see Marco Polo (disambiguation).

Marco Polo (; Venetian:[ˈmaɾkoˈpolo]; Italian:[ˈmarkoˈpɔːlo]^ⓘ; c.&#;&#;&#; 8 January ) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between and ^[2][3] His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo (also known as Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c.&#;), a book that described the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China under the Yuan dynasty, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan, and other Asian societies.^[4]

Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan.

In , they returned to Venice to