Middle+Ages+Letter

Dear Mother, The year is 1278 and I am in a Genoese prison. I was on a voyage where I was captured by the Genoese and put here. But it is not too bad here. I have met a writer by the name of Rustichello. I have told many stories to him about my adventures with father and uncle and he has been recording them down. The book includes details on politics, agriculture, military power, economy, sexual practices, religions, and other customs of the Far East. I am very excited to share my findings to the world. It is titled //II Milione. //I feel that I should tell you the stories of my explorations since I have been away for such a long time. After sixteen years of being without a father, I have met him. We traveled the world with uncle. When home at Venice, I learned that my father had a very good relationship with the emperor Kublai Khan and the Mongol court. Father, Uncle and I set out for a voyage in 1271 from Acre to deliver papal letters to Kublai Khan in China. In 1274 we reached China and delivered the messages to Kublai Khan along with sacred oil from Jerusalem. For seventeen years we stayed in the Mongolian empire where I was revered and sent on missions to find facts in remote areas of the empire. I was considered a government official. We wanted to come home to see you and the rest of our families, so we offered to accompany the Mongolian princess to Persia. Kublai Khan reluctantly let us and we set out on fourteen ships, coming home in 1295. From your son, Marco Polo