Marco Polo

Born 1254

Paradoxically, the Mongol conquests—devastating as they are—create the largest contiguous land empire in history and enforce the "Pax Mongolica": safe passag…

• 1258 CE

  Mongol Pax: the connected world

  Paradoxically, the Mongol conquests—devastating as they are—create the largest contiguous land empire in history and enforce the "Pax Mongolica": safe passage across Eurasia for merchants, diplomats, and ideas. Marco Polo, the Black Death, and gunpowder all travel these routes.

• 1271 CE

  Marco Polo travels

  Venetian merchant reaches China; writes famous account.