After staying many years in the court of the great khan, and having become very rich in jewels of great value, and considering that if the khan, who was now grown very old, should happen to die, they should never be able to return home; the Venetians became exceedingly anxious to be permitted to return to their own country. Wherefore, one day that he found the khan in extraordinary good humour, Nicolo begged permission to return home with his family. At this the Khan was much displeased, and asked what could induce them to undertake so long and dangerous a journey; adding, that if they were in want of riches, he would gratify their utmost wishes, by bestowing upon them twice as much as they possessed; but out of pure affection, he refused to give them leave to depart.

It happened, however, not long after this, that a king of the Indies named Argon, sent three of his counsellors, named Ulatai, Apusca, and Coza, as ambassadors to Kublai-khan on the following occasion. Bolgana, the wife of Argon, was lately dead, and on her death-bed had requested of her husband that he should choose a wife from among her relations in Kathay. Kubla yielded to this request, and chose a fair young maiden of seventeen years of age, named Cogalin351, who was of the family of the late queen Bolgana, and determined to send her to Argon. The ambassadors departed with their charge, and journeyed eight months the same way they had come to the court of Kublai; but found bloody wars raging among the Tartars, insomuch, that they were constrained to return and to acquaint the great khan with the impossibility of their proceeding home in that road. In the mean time, Marco had returned from the Indies, where he had been employed with certain ships in the service of the khan, to whom he had reported the singularities of the places which he had visited, and the facility of intercourse by sea between Kathay and the Indies. This came to the knowledge of the ambassadors, who conferred with the Venetians on the subject; and it was agreed, that the ambassadors and the young queen should go to the great khan, and beg permission to return by sea, and should request to have the three Europeans, who were skilful in sea affairs, to accompany and conduct them to the dominions of king Argon. The great khan was much dissatisfied with this proposal, yet, at the earnest entreaty of the ambassadors, he at length gave his consent; and calling Nicolo, Maffei, and Marco into his presence, after much demonstration of his favour and affection, he made them promise to return to him after they had spent some time in Christendom among their relations; and he caused a tablet of gold to be given them, on which his commands were engraven for their liberty, security, and free passage throughout all his dominions, and that all the expences of them and their attendants should be defrayed, providing them everywhere with guides and escorts, where necessary. He authorized them also to act as his ambassadors to the pope, and the kings of France and Spain, and all other Christian princes.

The khan ordered fourteen ships to be prepared for the voyage, each having four masts, and carrying nine sails. Four or five of these were so large as to have from 250 to 260 mariners in each, but the rest were smaller. In this fleet the queen and the ambassadors embarked, accompanied by Nicolo, Maffei, and Marco; having first taken leave of the great khan, who presented them, at parting, with many rubies and other precious stones, and a sum or money sufficient to defray all their expences for two years. Setting sail from Kathay or China, they arrived in three months at an island called Java, and sailing from thence they arrived in eighteen months in the dominions of king Argon. Six hundred of the mariners and others died during the voyage, and but one woman; and only Coza of the three ambassadors survived. On arriving at the dominions of Argon, he was found to be dead, and a person named Ghiacato or Akata, governed the kingdom for his son Casan; who was under age. On making the regent acquainted with their business, he desired them to carry the young queen to Casan, who was then on the confines of Persia, towards Arbor Secco352 with an army of 60,000 men, guarding certain passes of the frontiers against the enterprises of their enemies; Having executed this order, Nicolo, Maffei, and Marco, returned to the residence of Chiacato, and staid there for nine months.

At the end of this period they took leave of Chiacato, who gave them four tablets of gold, each a cubit long and five fingers broad, and weighing three or four marks353. On these were engraven to the following purport: "In the power of the eternal God, the name of the great khan shall be honoured and praised for many years; and whosoever disobeyeth, shall he put to death, and all his goods confiscated." Besides this preamble, they farther commanded, that all due honour should be shown to the three ambassadors of the khan, and service performed to them in all the countries and districts subject to his authority, as to himself in person; that all necessary relays of horses and escorts, and their expences, and every thing needful should be supplied to them freely and gratuitously. All this was duly executed, so that sometimes they had 200 horse for their safeguard. During their journey, they were informed that the great emperor of the Tartars, Kublai-khan was dead, by which they considered themselves absolved from all obligations of the promise they had made to return to his court. They continued their journey to Trebisond, on the south side of the Euxine; whence they proceeded by the way of Constantinople and Negropont to Venice, where they arrived in safety, and with great riches, in the year 1295.

On their arrival at their own house, in the street of St Chrysostom in Venice, they found themselves entirely forgotten by all their old acquaintances and countrymen, and even their relations were unable to recognize them, owing to their long absence, now thirty-five years from setting, out on their first journey into the east; besides being much altered by age they had become altogether resembling Tartars in their speech, dress and manners, and were obliged to use some extraordinary expedients to satisfy their family and countrymen of their identity, and to recover the respect which was their due, by a public acknowledgment of their name, family, and rank. For this purpose, they invited all their relations arid connections to a magnificent entertainment, at which all the three travellers made their appearance in rich eastern habits of crimson satin. After the guests were seated, and before the Polos sat down, they put off their upper garments which they gave to the attendants, appearing still magnificently dressed in habits of crimson damask. These they threw off at the appearance of the last course or service of the entertainment, and bestowed likewise on the attendants; while they themselves still appeared clad in magnificent dresses of crimson velvet. When dinner was over, and all the servants had withdrawn, Marco Polo produced to the company the coats of Tartarian cloth or felt, which he, and his father and uncle had ordinarily worn during their travels, from the folds of which he took out an incredible quantity of rich jewels; among which were some that were well known to those who were present at the entertainment, and by which the three travellers incontestibly proved themselves members of the Polo family, and the identical persons they represented themselves.