Between 1271 and 1275, Marco Polo, gentleman and merchant of Venice, accompanied his father Niccol and uncle Maffeo on a journey east from Acre (Israel) into central Asia along the Silk Route, eventually reaching China and the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan. Entering the service of the Khan, he travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire. The three Venetians returned home by sea in 1292-5, calling at Sumatra and southern India before reaching Persia and making the last part of their journey to Venice overland.
Three years later when the Venetians were defeated in a fierce sea battle with rival Italian republic Genoa, Marco Polo was among the thousands captured and thrown in jail. He told his story to a fellow prisoner, a writer of romances named Rustichello of Pisa. When Rustichello heard Marco's story, he realised he was hearing one of the most remarkable tales ever told. Marco Polo's account as dictated to Rustichello in captivity, Il Milione, would be exceptionally widely read and would stimulate European interest in the East and its riches.
