Polo, Marco

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Polo, Marco (c.1254–1324) Venetian traveller. In 1271, he accompanied his father and uncle on a trading mission along the Silk Road, arrving at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol Emperor of China, in c.1275. According to his account, Marco became the confidant of the Emperor, travelling around s China and perhaps even visiting Burma. Captured by the Genoese navy in 1298, Marco recounted his tales to a fellow prisoner, a writer of romances named Rustichello. It was first published in English as The Description of the World. Although highly embellished, many of his descriptions and directions furnished European explorers with vital information.

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