Who they were
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant and traveler famous for his journey to Yuan-dynasty China.
What they did
He traveled overland to Asia and, by his own account, spent years in the service of Kublai Khan before returning to Venice around 1295. His account, The Travels of Marco Polo, dictated while a prisoner of war, described the wealth and wonders of Asia to European readers.
Legacy
The book shaped European ideas of Asia for centuries and is said to have inspired later explorers, including Columbus, though some scholars question how much Polo saw firsthand. Whatever the truth of its details, the book’s popularity is not in doubt.