In part 1 of our series, we first take a look at the journey of Marco's father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, who traveled to China and met the great Kublai Khan. We then follow the Polo family as they prepare for a return mission into the heart of the Mongol Empire.

Website: https://explorerspodcast.com/marco-polo/

Map: https://explorerspodcast.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/polo-map1a.png

People and Places

Marco Polo - Venetian merchant and explorer

Niccolò Polo - Father of Marco Polo

Maffeo Polo - Brother of Niccolò, uncle of Marco

Kublai Khan - Emperor of the Mongol Empire

Teobaldo Visconti - Papal Legate in Acre - later Pope Gregory X

Venice - City State in Italy. Home of the Polos

Constantinople - Former capital of the Byzantine Empire

Acre - City on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in modern-day Israel

Ayes - City on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in modern-day Turkey

Khanbaliq - Capital of Mongol Empire (modern-day Beijing)

Bukhara - City on Silk Road located in modern-day Uzbekistan

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