Yesün Temür was a great-grandson of Kublai Khan and an emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China from 1323 to 1328. Apart from Emperor of China, he is regarded as the 10th Khagan of the Mongol Empire, although it was only nominal due to the division of the empire. In Chinese historiography, Yesün Temür, who was very fond of the traditional ways of the Mongols, is commonly known as the Taiding Emperor of Yuan based on his first era name. His name means "nine iron" in the Mongolian language.

Odoric of Pordenone, was a Franciscan friar and missionary explorer from Friuli in northeast Italy. He journeyed through India, Sumatra, Java, and China, where he spent three years in the imperial capital of Khanbaliq. After more than ten years of travel, he returned home and dictated a narrative of his experiences and observations called the Relatio, highlighting various cultural, religious, and social peculiarities he encountered in Asia.