Marco Polo

Medieval explorer who bridged East-West cultural understanding through unprecedented travel accounts

The Venetian merchant Marco Polo (1254–1324) redefined European perceptions of Asia through his 24-year journey along the Silk Road. His detailed descriptions of Kublai Khan's empire in The Travels of Marco Polo became the most influential pre-modern cross-cultural document.

Polo's accounts introduced Europeans to paper money, coal, and Asian technological innovations. He described Beijing's urban planning and Yunnan's ethnic diversity with ethnographic precision. Christopher Columbus carried annotated copies of Polo's book during his 1492 voyage, seeking routes to the East described in the text.

Modern scholars debate the veracity of certain claims, but Polo's narrative fundamentally expanded medieval Europe's geographical imagination. The British Museum preserves early manuscript copies that shaped Renaissance cartography.