( 1254 - 1324)

The famous Italian adventurer Marco Polo was born supposedly in the year of 1254 in Venice into a family of merchants. Venice, beside Genoa, being the major trading metropolis of Europe at that time, enabled the family business of Marco Polo's father and uncle to expand, on which occasion the Polo's went on their first trip to China in 1260. In China, The Polo's lived for some years in the capital of the Mongol emperor Kublai

Khan, the grandson of the great conqueror, Genghis Khan. Nine years after having had embarked Marco's father Nicolo and his uncle Maffeo returned to Venice in 1271 but set off for Asia again two years later, taking 15 year old Marco with them.

The route led from Israel ( Palestine) overland to Mosul where Marco found gold and silk cloth that we know as mosulin. From here the Polo's continued on to Baghdad and further on to Persia. The final journey to China stretched from there through Afghanistan and the Himalayas. Four years after having set off, the Polo's finally arrived on the court of Kublai Khan, in 1275.

The Great Khan liked the young Marco Polo who, by the time of arriving was 19 years old and soon was fluent in the Mongol language. The Khan conscripted Marco into service for the Empire. In the next years he served in several high level government positions, such as ambassador and governor of the city Yanghzou. Marco Polo's diplomatic service to the Khan enabled him to travel all across the empire and gain a great knowledge of the country, its people and its goods.

In 1292, after 17 years, the Polo's again left China for Europe escorting a Mongol princess to Iran. On this journey they travelled through Sumatra, south India, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf . Further they crossed Northwest Iran, along the east coast of the Black Sea and past Constantinopel. The journey ended with the arrival in Venice in 1295.

In 1298 Marco Polo participated in the battle between the city state Genoa and Venice in which he was taken prisoner. While in prison for two years, he dictated stories of his travels to a fellow prisoner which were later published as The Travels of Marco Polo. In this book, Polo tells of the people and cultures he has met while travelling all across Asia. The Travels was a regional geography of Asia for the Europeans for centuries. It even motivated Christopher Columbus on his explorations.

The explorer Polo is of such great meaning for history because he established new and prosperous trading routes between Europe and Asia which are still in effect. Also, he introduced paper money, coal, china, silk, ivory, jade, spices such as salt and pepper and so forth.

In 1324, Marco Polo died in Venice, leaving behind a mystery; shortly before he died he said that he had not told half of what he had seen in all those years because nobody would have believed him.