Marco Polo and the Pax Mongolica

What happened

The Mongol peace, or Pax Mongolica, made the Silk Road safe to travel from one end to the other. Around 1275 the young Venetian merchant Marco Polo reached the court of Kublai Khan, entered his service, and spent some seventeen years in the empire. The book of his travels later amazed Europe with its tales of the riches of the East.

Why it matters

Under the Pax Mongolica, goods, people, and ideas crossed Eurasia as never before — and accounts like Marco Polo's would help inspire Europe's later age of exploration.

Sources

• World History Encyclopedia. Marco Polo · Reputable source