From Venice to the heart of the Mongol Empire
In September 1271, a young Venetian named Marco Polo set out with his father, Niccolò, and his uncle Maffeo on a journey that would end up taking them to one of the most powerful and unknown places for Europeans of their time: the court of Kublai Khan, great ruler of the Mongol Empire.
Marco was about 17 years old when that adventure began. His father and uncle had already traveled through Asia before and had reached the court of Kublai Khan, but when they returned to Venice, the powerful Mongol ruler asked them to return and bring with them educated men and representatives of the Church. So, the two brothers set out on the road again, and this time, Marco joined them.
The expedition left Venice and traveled overland toward the East, crossing regions that today belong to Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and China, following a complex network of trade routes that would centuries later be named the Silk Road.
The journey was far from a simple trip between cities: there were enormous distances, deserts, mountains, and territories subject to different powers.
The encounter with Kublai Khan
The final destination was the court of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Yuan dynasty in China. His rule extended over a gigantic territory and his capital, Dadu—commonly identified with present-day Beijing—was thousands of kilometers from Venice.
The Polos finally arrived at the court around 1275. Marco found himself before a society extraordinarily different from the European one. China possessed great cities, a developed administration, intense commercial activity, and communication systems that deeply surprised the Western travelers.
Marco Polo remained for years in the domains of Kublai Khan and, according to his own account, carried out various missions for the ruler, traveled through different regions, and visited places that were practically unknown in Europe.
His experience is especially striking because Venice was a commercial power in the Mediterranean, while Kublai Khan’s world was at the opposite end of the great routes that connected Europe and Asia.
A journey Europe would take long to forget
The Polos finally returned to Venice in 1295, after more than two decades of absence.
Marco had spent a good part of his adult life away from his hometown and had seen territories that few Europeans of his time could describe firsthand.
Years later, during his captivity in Genoa, he recounted his experiences to Rustichello of Pisa. The result was a work known as *Il Milione*, which spread across Europe descriptions of the lands and societies that Marco claimed to have encountered during his travels.
The account sparked fascination and also disbelief, because for many Europeans, the riches, cities, customs, and dimensions of the Asian territories described by Marco seemed extraordinary.
His work contributed to broadening the image that Europeans had of Asia and made its protagonist one of the most famous medieval travelers.
The journey started in 1271 had begun as a family expedition of Venetian merchants, but it ended up becoming one of the most famous travel accounts of the Middle Ages and one of the stories that brought Europeans closer to the immense Asian world situated beyond their known borders.
