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Marco Polo: Quick Facts

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Facts

Born c.1254 • Venice? • Italy
Died January 8, 1324 • Venice • Italy

Photos

Marco Polo
Map tracing the routes of Marco Polo's travels between 1271 and 1295, marked with red arrows and lines extending from Venice through the Middle East and Central Asia to China, and returning by sea via Southeast Asia, India, and the Arabian Peninsula. Key cities and regions visited along the journey, such as Constantinople, Hormuz, Kashgar, Dadu (Beijing), and Quinsay (Hangzhou), are labeled.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Illuminated manuscript detail showing Marco Polo, his uncle, and father kneeling as they present a letter to Kublai Khan, who is seated among courtiers in richly colored robes and crowns.
Map showing the extent of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty around the year 1300, with the dynasty's territory shaded in light purple and the larger Mongol Empire outlined. Modern China's boundaries are marked in red, and major cities such as Dadu (Beijing) and Karakorum, as well as the Great Wall, are labeled. The map also indicates surrounding regions like Tibet, Mien, and Dai Viet.
Marco Polo
Illuminated manuscript showing Marco Polo departing Venice by ship in 1271, with ornate medieval buildings, bridges, and figures along the city's canals and waterfront.
Polo, Marco
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Martin E. Johnson
American adventurer and photographer
Engraving of Ibn Battuta in Egypt, standing on a decorated stone block with another man, overlooking ancient Egyptian columns and palm trees in the background.
Ibn Battuta
Muslim explorer and writer
Sir Richard Burton
Sir Richard Burton
British scholar and explorer
John Smith
John Smith
British explorer
Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Buddhist monk
Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper
British mountaineer and artist
Roy Chapman Andrews
Roy Chapman Andrews
American naturalist
Jonathan Carver, engraving
Jonathan Carver
American explorer
Charles Montagu Doughty
Charles Montagu Doughty
British traveler
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William Martin Conway, Baron Conway
British explorer and art historian
Hennepin, Louis
Louis Hennepin
Franciscan missionary
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Louis-Armand de Lom d’Arce, baron de Lahontan
French soldier
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Yevgeny Petrov
Soviet humorist
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Lady Hester Stanhope
British noble
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John McDouall Stuart
Australian explorer
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Ilya Ilf
Soviet humorist
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Jean Tharaud
French writer
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Charles Dudley Warner
American essayist
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Nathaniel P. Langford
American explorer and conservationist
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Luis Vaez de Torres
Spanish navigator

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