0222p-MARCO POLO born 9/15/1254 in Venice or Curzola, Republic of Venice, Italy, passed 1324 or 1325, was a trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in his book, Il Milione, or The Million, or The Travels of Marco Polo,
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1 of the first Westerners but, not the 1st to travel the Silk Road to China or Cathay as he called it, to visit the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. He travelled with his father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo. Kublai Khan entrusted him with diplomatic missions and made him governor for 3 years of the large commercial city of Yangzhou. Il Milione was the inspiration for Christopher Columbus' decision to try to reach those lands by a western route. Some have questioned whether he actually was in China. |