Marko Polo

Marko Polo wrote a book called "IL MILLIONE" (The Million) which was later translated to English as "Travels of Marko Polo"

Here is an excerpt from "Marko Polo and Korcula" by Dr. Zivan Filippi:

Marko Polo arrived in as the official envoy of Kublai Khan in 1278, one year after the big battle between the kings of and Bengal and the Mongol army. He describes that great event which took place in the plain of Vochan. The Mongols were approaching that valley with 12,000 well-equipped horsemen to face a much bigger Burmese army of 60,000 horsemen and infantry-men and 2,000 elephants. When the Mongol soldiers saw the elephants they were so scared that they turned back and started to gallop to the rear. Then the Mongol captain had the salutary idea of making the horsemen dismount from the horses and tie them to trees in the nearby wood. His soldiers then started to shoot at the elephants hitting their vulnerable parts with numerous arrows, which was the Mongol's favourite weapon. The elephants started to run away towards the wood with enormous noise, while the wooden "castles" on their backs, holding twelve to sixteen well-armed warriors, were falling down while striking the branches of the trees. When the Mongols saw that the elephants ran away, they mounted their horses again and began to chase the enemy. Then a fierce battle occurred. "Then might you see swashing blows dealt and taken from sword and mace; then might you see knights and horses and men-at-arms go down; then might you see arms and hands and legs and heads hewn off: and beside the dead that fell, many a wounded man, that never rose again, for the sore press there was. The din and uproar were so great from this side and that, that God might have thundered and no man would have heard it!" After the battle the Mongol commander took some elephants to Kublai Khan and from that time he always included them in his armies...

Nicolo de Conti

Santo Stefano

Varthema di Bologna

Filipe de Brito
De Brito was known as "Nga Zin Kar" to Myanmar people.

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