Marco Polo reported the first invasions ( 1277 – 87 ) in his travelogue , Il Milione . The Burmese referred to the invaders as the Taruk ( after the central Asian Turkic troops that largely made up the Mongol invasion army ) ; today , the term Taruk ( တရုတ ် ) refers to the Han Chinese instead . King Narathihapate is unkindly remembered in Burmese history as Taruk @-@ Pye Min , ( " the King who Fled from the Taruk " ) .