The Travels of Marco Polo, originally known as 'Devisement du Monde' (Description of the World) or 'Il Milione,' is a 13th-century travelogue dictated by the Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo to Rustichello da Pisa while they were imprisoned together in Genoa. The book is a detailed account of Polo's epic journey through Asia between 1271 and 1295, where he spent 17 years in the service of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan. It offers Europeans their first comprehensive and fascinating glimpse into the then-mysterious Eastern world, including China (which Polo called Cathay and Manji), Persia, India, Japan, and other Asian societies. The narrative describes the vastness and wealth of the Mongol Empire, the court of the Great Khan, unfamiliar religions and customs, and the geography, commerce, and exotic elements like spices and silks of faraway lands.
