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The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between one and one and a half million. <br/><br/> Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. <br/><br/> It is widely acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, as scholars point to the systematic, organized manner in which the killings were carried out to eliminate the Armenians, and it is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.