{"slug": "marco-polo", "label": "Marco Polo", "wikipedia": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo", "wikidata": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6101", "qid": "Q6101", "description": "Venetian explorer and merchant who travelled through Asia (1254–1324)", "entries": 7, "years": 7, "span": [1254, 1324], "span_label": ["1254 CE", "1324 CE"], "topics": [{"title": "Exploration & Expansion", "count": 2}, {"title": "Conflict & Security", "count": 2}, {"title": "Births", "count": 1}, {"title": "Religion & Belief", "count": 1}, {"title": "Deaths", "count": 1}], "related": [{"slug": "kublai-khan", "label": "Kublai Khan", "shared": 3}, {"slug": "china", "label": "China", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "venice", "label": "Venice", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "beijing", "label": "Beijing", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "iran", "label": "Iran", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "armenia", "label": "Armenia", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "mediterranean-sea", "label": "Mediterranean Sea", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "genghis-khan", "label": "Genghis Khan", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "asia", "label": "Asia", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "genoa", "label": "Genoa", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "republic-of-venice", "label": "Republic of Venice", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "jerusalem", "label": "Jerusalem", "shared": 1}], "items": [{"year": 1254, "year_label": "1254 CE", "section": "Births", "date": "September 15", "text": "September 15 – Marco Polo, Venetian explorer (d. 1324)", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1296887805#Births", "title": "1254", "revid": 1296887805, "section": "Births"}}, {"year": 1266, "year_label": "1266 CE", "section": "Exploration & Expansion", "date": null, "text": "Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, father and uncle of Marco Polo, reach the Mongol capital Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing), setting the stage for Marco's famous expedition 5 years later. Kublai Khan sends the Polos back with a message, requesting that Pope Clement IV dispatch western scholars to teach in the Mongol Empire; however, this request is largely ignored.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1351320651#Asia", "title": "1266", "revid": 1351320651, "section": "Events › By place › Asia"}}, {"year": 1271, "year_label": "1271 CE", "section": "Exploration & Expansion", "date": null, "text": "The 17-year-old Marco Polo departs from Venice with his father and uncle Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, to set off for Asia to meet the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan) at his court in Beijing, China. They sail across the Mediterranean Sea and travel overland, crossing Armenia, Persia and the Pamir Mountains.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1351320596#Europe", "title": "1271", "revid": 1351320596, "section": "Events › By place › Europe"}}, {"year": 1275, "year_label": "1275 CE", "section": "Religion & Belief", "date": null, "text": "The 21-year-old Marco Polo together with his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, arrives at Kublai Khan's opulent summer palace at Shangdu (or 'Xanadu'), after a 4-year journey. They present the \"Great Khan\" sacred oil from Jerusalem and letters from Pope Gregory X. Kublai takes Marco into his royal court and appoints him as a 'special envoy' (possibly as a tax collector).", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1365270169#Asia", "title": "1275", "revid": 1365270169, "section": "Events › By place › Asia"}}, {"year": 1295, "year_label": "1295 CE", "section": "Conflict & Security", "date": null, "text": "Marco Polo returns to Venice after 24 years of travel in China. When the Polos arrive, Venice is engaged in a naval war with the rival city of Genoa. Marco joins the war and arms a galley equipped with a trebuchet.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1368220335#Europe", "title": "1295", "revid": 1368220335, "section": "Events › By place › Europe"}}, {"year": 1298, "year_label": "1298 CE", "section": "Conflict & Security", "date": "September 9", "text": "September 9 – Battle of Curzola: The Genoese fleet (some 80 galleys) led by Admiral Lamba Doria defeats the Venetian fleet at Curzola. The disaster is almost complete for Venice: 83 of the 95 galleys are destroyed and some 7,000 men are killed. During the battle, Marco Polo, commanding one of the Venetian ships, is captured.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363071319#Europe", "title": "1298", "revid": 1363071319, "section": "Events › By place › Europe"}}, {"year": 1324, "year_label": "1324 CE", "section": "Deaths", "date": "January 8", "text": "January 8 – Marco Polo, Italian merchant and explorer (b. 1254)", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1303312513#Deaths", "title": "1324", "revid": 1303312513, "section": "Deaths"}}]}