Marco Polo was born on 15 September 1254 in Venice. A Venetian merchant and traveller, Marco Polo went with his father and uncle on a journey across Asia to the court of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, and spent about seventeen years in China and the Mongol Empire. He returned by sea around 1295 and was captured in a conflict between Venice and Genoa, and during his imprisonment he dictated an account of his travels to Rustichello of Pisa. This book, known as the Travels or Il Milione, gave Europeans a vivid picture of Asia and inspired later explorers. Some scholars have doubted that he saw everything he described, but most accept that he went to China.
Before and after
- from c. 1250s to 1500sThe moai statues of Easter Island are carved
- from 8 February 1250 to 11 February 1250Battle of Mansurah
- 1252Construction of Kōtoku-in Temple
- from 1253 to 1276Mongol campaign against the Nizaris
- 15 September 1254Birth of Marco Polo
- from 1256 to 1335Ilkhanate
- 1257Construction of Sorbonne
- 23 August 1258Birth of Osman I
- c. 1260sPublication of Poetic Edda
More in Society, economy & sport
- 7th centuryOrigins of chess
- 1 August 1291Founding of Switzerland
- 1303Founding of Sapienza University of Rome
- 1310Rise of ars nova
- 12 May 1364Founding of Jagiellonian University
- 7 January 1451Founding of University of Glasgow
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 13th century.