Important periods for the Silk Road were the Chinese Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-C.E. 220), the Chinese Tang dynasty (C.E. 618-907), and the Mongol Khanate (13th and 14th centuries). The Mongols, who ...

and the Roman Empire. However, the reverse may be true: steamed dumplings may have been brought by Turkic and Mongol peoples ...

But who was the Italian traveler who chronicled his Silk Road journey to China's Mongol Empire — and why has his legacy been steeped in controversy? Imagine this: You're 17 and have never left home.