Marco Polo

Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who traveled the Silk Road to Asia with his father and uncle from 1271 to 1295, spending 17 years in China serving Kublai Khan as an advisor and emissary. Captured during a war between Venice and Genoa, he dictated his adventures to fellow prisoner Rustichello da Pisa, resulting in the influential travelogue *The Travels of Marco Polo* (*Il Milione*), which inspired future explorers like Christopher Columbus. After his release in 1299, he returned to Venice, amassed wealth as a merchant, married, and raised three daughters until his death.