I,
Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) was born in Venice. My father, Niccolo Polo is a merchant. Father and his brother, my uncle, Maffeo Polo began their first eastern journey in 1260 in pursuit of the expansion of their merchantile trade into new regions. They had met the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan in China who invited them to visit China again. They were to return to China with 100 men who could instruct the Mongols in the Christian religion and western Science. (The new Pope who instead of furnishing 100 men of learning, dispatched two friars to accompany the Polos on their return trip. The 2 friars turned back at the first sign of adversity, another local war in the Levant.) Large profits from trade with these distant parts also prompted the brothers to return. They decided to keep their promise of return and so they prepared for another expedition - one that would include me. My mother died when I was a young boy. An aunt and uncle raised me. They trained me to be a merchant. I am probably the most famous Westerner to have travelled on the Silk Road. My journey through Asia lasted 24 years. I reached further than any of my predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. I became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214 - 1294).
Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) was born in Venice. My father, Niccolo Polo is a merchant. Father and his brother, my uncle, Maffeo Polo began their first eastern journey in 1260 in pursuit of the expansion of their merchantile trade into new regions. They had met the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan in China who invited them to visit China again. They were to return to China with 100 men who could instruct the Mongols in the Christian religion and western Science. (The new Pope who instead of furnishing 100 men of learning, dispatched two friars to accompany the Polos on their return trip. The 2 friars turned back at the first sign of adversity, another local war in the Levant.) Large profits from trade with these distant parts also prompted the brothers to return. They decided to keep their promise of return and so they prepared for another expedition - one that would include me. My mother died when I was a young boy. An aunt and uncle raised me. They trained me to be a merchant. I am probably the most famous Westerner to have travelled on the Silk Road. My journey through Asia lasted 24 years. I reached further than any of my predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. I became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214 - 1294).
Kublai Khan
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