Marco Polo
Author · 13 books
Marco Polo was born in Venice around 1254 and died there in 1324. The son of a Venetian merchant, he undertook an extensive journey to China in the late 13th century and gained the trust of the ruler Kublai Khan. After returning to Venice, he took part in a naval battle against Genoa in 1298 as commander of a Venetian galley and was captured. In captivity, he dictated an account of his travels to his fellow prisoner Rustichello da Pisa; the work became known as Il Milione.