Marco Polo


 * For the television story see Marco Polo (TV story). For the San Martino courtier see, Marco..

Marco Polo was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which he called Cathay) and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan). His travels are written down in Il Milione ("The Million" or The Travels of Marco Polo).

He was encountered by the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan. He intended to give the Doctor's TARDIS as a gift to the Emperor. (DW: Marco Polo)

Alternative timelines

 * In an alternate timeline created when the Doctor was imprisoned in the Pandorica and wiped from history, Marco Polo purchased the Pandorica, which had been donated to the Vatican in 1231. What he did with it is unclear. Unknown to Polo, the box contained the Doctor's stasis-preserved companion Amy Pond; a mysterious individual (actually an Auton reconstruction of Pond's fiancee Rory Williams) accompanied the box. ((DW: The Big Bang)
 * This information comes from a museum plaque viewed by Amy Pond; the exact year Polo came into possession of the box is obscured, and it is also not known what became of the Pandorica after it passed from Polo's possession. Although this version of Polo likely never encountered the Doctor, his fascination with "magical, flying boxes" seems to have been retained.