25 moments

1. Born in Venice

   1254-01-01 · Venice, Republic of Venice

   

   Marco Polo was born into a Venetian merchant family. Venice remained his home before and after his Asian journeys. The year is approximate, and the exact birthplace is archivally unknown; minority theories propose Korčula or Constantinople.

2. Meets his returning father in Venice

   1269-01-01 · Venice, Republic of Venice

   

   The return of Niccolò and Maffeo Polo brought the adolescent Marco into direct contact with the relatives who would take him across Asia.

3. Disembarks at Acre

   1271-01-01 · Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem

   

   Marco, his father, and his uncle reached the principal Crusader port of Acre during the opening stage of their eastward journey.

4. Reaches the Cilician port of Ayas

   1271-01-01 · Ayas, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

   

   The Polos reached Ayas, an important Mediterranean terminus for Asian caravan traffic, before learning that Teobaldo Visconti had been elected pope. The source narrative places this movement in 1271 but supplies no day or month.

5. Returns to Acre for the papal commission

   1271-01-01 · Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem

   

   The Polos doubled back to Acre, where the newly elected Gregory X supplied a reply and gifts for Kublai Khan. The return occurred after Gregory X's election in September 1271; no more precise date is established.

6. Visits Yarkand oasis

   1274-01-01 · Yarkand, Yuan Empire

   

   Yarkand was one of the Tarim Basin oases on the Polos’ approach to China along the southern Silk Road. The identification of medieval Yārkand with modern Yarkant County is secure at settlement level.

7. Accompanies Kublai to Khanbaliq

   1275-01-01 · Khanbaliq, Yuan Empire

   

   Marco traveled south with Kublai from the summer court to Khanbaliq, the Yuan capital on the site of modern Beijing. The source places this movement immediately after the reconstructed 1275 arrival at Shangdu.

8. Meets Kublai Khan at Shangdu

   1275-01-01 · Shangdu, Inner Mongolia, Yuan Empire

   

   After the trans-Asian journey, Marco and his relatives reached Kublai Khan’s summer capital and delivered the papal letter. Some older reconstructions give 1274, but 1275 is the commonly accepted arrival year.

9. Travels on a mission into Yunnan

   1277-01-01 · Yunnan, Yuan Empire

   

   A mission associated with Marco’s early imperial service carried him through southwestern China toward Yunnan. The 1277 identification of the recorded official with Marco is disputed, and Yunnan is represented by Kunming because the source names only the province.

10. Visits Champa

    1280-01-01 · Vijaya, Champa

    

    Marco reported an earlier visit to the kingdom of Champa, probably undertaken during service to Kublai Khan. Manuscripts variously date the visit to 1280, 1285, or 1288. Vijaya is a representative point for the geographically broader kingdom.

11. Serves at Yangzhou

    1282-01-01 · Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Yuan Empire

    

    Marco claimed to have held an official position at Yangzhou, a major administrative and salt-trade center on the Grand Canal. His presence and precise office are debated because no surviving Chinese record names him; 1282 marks the supported beginning of the proposed tenure.

12. Stays in Hangzhou

    1284-01-01 · Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Yuan Empire

    

    A modern reconstruction places Marco in Hangzhou after his proposed Yangzhou service. His account shows close familiarity with the former Southern Song capital. The quoted Chinese text states that he was in Hangzhou from February 1284 to 1285; this remains a scholarly reconstruction rather than an independently documented appointment.

13. Undertakes a mission to Sri Lanka

    1284-01-01 · Sri Lanka

    

    Marco apparently traveled to Sri Lanka as Kublai Khan’s representative, years before returning there on his homeward voyage. The source calls the visit apparent and says its location is unconfirmed. Coordinates represent Sri Lanka rather than the conjectured capital at Yapahuwa.

14. Departs China from Quanzhou

    1292-01-01 · Quanzhou, Fujian, Yuan Empire

    

    Marco, Niccolò, and Maffeo embarked with the party escorting the Mongol princess Kököchin to the Persian Ilkhanate. Scholarly reconstructions differ between early 1291 and early 1292; this card follows the explicitly dated Quanzhou source.

15. Waits five months in Sumatra

    1292-01-01 · Northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia

    

    Unfavorable seasonal winds forced the wedding embassy and the Polos to make a prolonged stop on Sumatra before crossing the Indian Ocean. The year is reconstructed from the 1292 departure and subsequent 1293 passage. Coordinates represent the Samudra-Pasai area on northeastern Sumatra.

16. Arrives at Hormuz from the Indian Ocean

    1293-01-01 · Old Hormuz region, Persia

    

    The surviving embassy reached Hormuz after its long voyage from China through Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and India. The medieval port of Hormuz was near modern Minab before its relocation to Hormuz Island; coordinates approximate the old mainland site.

17. Returns to Sri Lanka by sea

    1293-01-01 · Sri Lanka

    

    Marco’s homeward fleet called at Sri Lanka while carrying Kököchin from China toward Persia. The specific Sri Lankan harbor is not identified; coordinates represent the island.

18. Visits the Maabar coast

    1293-01-01 · Maabar coast, Tamil Nadu, India

    

    The return voyage took Marco to Maabar, the Pandya-ruled southeastern coast of India, whose ports linked the Indian Ocean trade network. The source supports only 1292–1293; 1293 is used as the likely year after the Sumatra and Sri Lanka passages. Coordinates represent the historic Kayal port area.

19. Reaches the Ilkhanate with Kököchin

    1294-01-01 · Ilkhanate, Persia

    

    The Polos delivered Kököchin to the Ilkhanid realm after learning that her intended husband, Arghun, had died. The year may have been 1293. Tabriz is used as a representative Ilkhanid center because the quoted evidence specifies only the realm.

20. Returns to Venice after twenty-four years

    1295-01-01 · Venice, Republic of Venice

    

    Marco, his father, and his uncle completed their journey and returned to their home city with portable wealth acquired during their absence.

21. Captured off the Anatolian coast

    1296-01-01 · Gulf of Alexandretta, eastern Mediterranean Sea

    

    While participating in Venice’s war with Genoa, Marco was probably captured in a naval skirmish near the Gulf of Alexandretta. This reconstruction competes with the later tradition that he was captured at the 1298 Battle of Curzola. Coordinates represent the gulf rather than a known capture point.

22. Imprisoned in Genoa

    1298-01-01 · Genoa, Republic of Genoa

    

    During Genoese captivity, Marco recounted his Asian experiences to Rustichello da Pisa, initiating the work later known as The Travels of Marco Polo. The exact Genoese prison building is not securely identified; coordinates represent central Genoa.

23. Returns home after release

    1299-08-01 · Corte del Milion, Venice, Republic of Venice

    

    Released from Genoese captivity, Marco returned to the Polo family residence near San Giovanni Crisostomo and resumed life as a Venetian merchant. The coordinates approximate Corte del Milion, the district of the Polo family residence.

24. Buried at San Lorenzo

    1324-01-01 · Church of San Lorenzo, Venice, Republic of Venice

    

    In accordance with his will, Marco’s body was interred in the Polo family burial place at the Church of San Lorenzo. The medieval church was rebuilt in 1592, and the Polo sarcophagus subsequently disappeared.

25. Dies in Venice

    1324-01-08 · Venice, Republic of Venice

    

    Marco died at home in Venice after illness, leaving his wife and daughters as executrices of his estate. Venetian sunset dating creates a possible 8–9 January ambiguity. Coordinates approximate the Polo family residence rather than a documented death room.