They may have been the first Europeans honoured as guests at the court of Kublai Khan.Īlthough the Mongols were regarded as barbaric and uncivilised in Europe, the empire was relatively peaceful at this time and Kublai Khan showed a high degree of tolerance towards other races and religions. They continued east to the court of Berke Khan – the ruler of the Golden Horde, the Mongol’s western territories – and then to China. They began in Constantinople (now Istanbul), but showed astute political awareness by removing their business from the city just a year before the Crusader leaders there were overthrown in 1261. The two brothers were successful merchants, making their fortune in jewels, silks and spices before Marco had been born. If not for his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo, Marco Polo would not have made his epic voyage to China at all, and so would not have written the book that forevermore changed the European view of the world.
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