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
Polo, Marco, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Scholarly biography, textual history, Iranian itinerary, Kököchin mission, departure from Quanzhou, and return through the Persian Gulf and Tabriz.
The Silk Route of the Mongols, UNESCO Silk Roads Programme. Reconstruction of the outward corridor through Hormuz, Balkh, the Pamirs, Kashgar, and the southern Tarim Basin route to Shangdu.
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.