Marco Polo travelled with his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo from Venice through the eastern Mediterranean, Iran, Central Asia, and the Mongol-ruled Silk Road networks to Kublai Khan’s court. Years later, the Polos accompanied Kököchin’s maritime escort from China toward Persia and continued home to Venice.
Sources and further reading
A Venetian Vignette One Hundred Years after Marco Polo, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museum scholarship on the Polo family, the 1271 departure, Acre and Ayas, their papal mission, Kublai Khan’s court, and the surviving manuscript tradition.
Wikidata Geographic Coordinates, Wikimedia Foundation and Wikidata contributors. CC0 geographic coordinates used to verify unambiguous named places during the July 2026 coordinate audit. This source supports contemporary point placement only, not historical route or chronology claims.