Rustichello may have been captured by the Genoese at the Battle of Meloria in 1284, amid a conflict between the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Pisa. When Polo was imprisoned around 1298, possibly after a clash between Genoa and Venice (according to tradition the Battle of Curzola), he told his tales of travel to Rustichello. Together they created the book known as "The Travels of Marco Polo".