The second volume of The Travels of Marco Polo continues the Venetian merchant’s celebrated account of his journeys across thirteenth-century Asia. Polo describes the wonders of Kublai Khan’s empire, the cities and provinces of China, the customs of distant peoples, and the riches of the East that astonished medieval Europe. Dictated in a Genoese prison, the book became one of the most influential travel narratives ever written, shaping European ideas of Asia for centuries.
This volume carries the reader through further regions of the Mongol world and beyond, mingling careful observation with marvels and hearsay. Polo’s descriptions of paper money, coal, and great cities fascinated and sometimes baffled his contemporaries. The work is a cornerstone of medieval geography and cross-cultural encounter. Readers interested in the Silk Road, the Mongol Empire, or the age of exploration will find it indispensable.