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1MarcoPoloIn1260,thebrothersandVenetianmerchantsNiccoloandMatteoPolotraveledeastfromEurope.In1265,theyarrivedatKaifeng,thecapital

ofKublaiKhan's(alsoknownastheGreatKhan)MongolEmpire.In1269,thebrothersreturnedtoEuropewitharequestfromKhanforthePopetose

ndonehundredmissionariestotheMongolEmpire,supposedlytohelpconverttheMongolstoChristianity.TheKhan'smessagewasultimatelyrelayedtothePopebuthedidnot

sendtherequestedmissionaries.UponarrivinginVenice,Nicolodiscoveredthathiswifehaddied,leavingthecareofason,Marco(bornin1254andthu

sfifteenyearsold),inhishands.In1271,thetwobrothersandMarcobegantotrekeastwardandin1275mettheGreatKhan.Khanlikedtheyouthful

MarcoandconscriptedhimintoservicefortheEmpire.Marcoservedinseveralhigh-levelgovernmentpositions,includingasambassadorandasthegovernorofthecit

yofYangzhou.WhiletheGreatKhanenjoyedhavingthePolosashissubjectsanddiplomats,Khaneventuallyconsentedtoallowthemtoleavethe

Empire,aslongastheywouldescortaprincesswhowasscheduledtowedaPersianking.ThethreePoloslefttheEmpirein1292withthepri

ncess,afleetoffourteenlargeboats,and600otherpassengersfromaportinsouthernChina.ThearmadasailedthroughIndonesiatoSriLankaandIn

diaandontoitsfinaldestinationattheStraitofHormuzinthePersianGulf.Supposedly,onlyeighteenpeoplesurvivedfromtheoriginal600,includingthe

Princesswhocouldnotwedherintendedfianceebecausehehaddied,soshemarriedhissoninstead.ThethreePolosreturnedtoVeniceandMarcoj

oinedthearmytofightagainstthecity-stateofGenoa.Hewascapturedin1298andimprisonedinGenoa.Whileinprisonfortwoyears,hedictatedanaccoun

tofhistravelstoafellowprisonernamedRustichello.Shortlythereafter,TheTravelsofMarcoPolowaspublishedinFrench.ThoughPolo'sbookexaggeratesplacesand

cultures(andsomescholarsbelieveheneverwentasfareastasChinabutonlydescribedplacesothertravelershadbee

n2to),hisbookwaswidelypublished,translatedintomanylanguages,andthousandsofcopieswereprinted.Polo'sbookincludesfancifula

ccountsofmenwithtailsandcannibalsseemtobearoundeverycorner.ThebookissomewhatageographyofAsianprovinces.Itisdiv

idedintochapterscoveringspecificregionsandPolodelvesintothepolitics,agriculture,militarypower,economy,sexualpractices,burial

system,andreligionsofeacharea.PolobroughttheideasofpapercurrencyandcoaltoEurope.Healsoincludedsecond-handrep

ortsofareasthathehadnotvisited,suchasJapanandMadagascar.AtypicalpassagefromTravelsreads:ConcerningtheIsland

ofNicobarWhenyouleavetheislandofJavaandthekingdomofLambri,yousailnorthaboutonehundredandfiftymiles,andthenyoucometotwoislands,oneofwhichiscalled

Nicobar.Onthisislandtheyhavenokingorchief,butlivelikebeasts.Theygoallnaked,bothmenandwomen,anddonotusetheslightestcover

ingofanykind.Theyareidolaters.Theydecoratetheirhouseswithlongpiecesofsilk,whichtheyhangfromrodsasanornament,regard

ingitaswewouldpearls,gems,silver,orgold.Thewoodsarefilledwithvaluableplantsandtrees,includingcloves,bra

zil,andcoconuts.ThereisnothingelseworthrelatingsowewillgoontotheislandofAndaman...TheinfluenceofMarcoPolo

ongeographicexplorationwasenormousandhewasalsoamajorinfluenceonChristopherColumbus.ColumbusownedacopyofTravelsandmadeannotationsinthemargins.AsPolon

eareddeathin1324,hewasaskedtorecantwhathehadwrittenandsimplysaidthathehadnoteventoldhalfofwhathehadwit

nessed.Despitethefactthatmanyclaimhisbooktobeunreliable,itwasasortofregionalgeographyofAsiaforcenturies.Eventoday

,"hisbookmuststandamongthegreatrecordsofgeographicexploration."