...personal appearance will be read with interest as a conclusion to this record of his idiosyncrasies. " He is of a good stature, neither tall nor short, but...black and fine, the nose well formed and well set on." The most fortunate and successful monarch rarely escapes without some misfortune, and Kublai was not...

...who was then only forty-four, in the very prime of his career, was described by Marco Polo as " of good stature, neither tall nor short, but of a middle...black and fine, the nose well formed and well set on." During the reign of Kublai the conquest of Japan was undertaken, which proved a miserable failure to...

...advanced in years when Marco Polo entered his service. And thus it is that the Venetian describes him: " He is of a good stature, neither tall nor short, but...black and fine, the nose well formed and well set on." Such was the great emperor, whose palace, the greatest that ever was, stood in Cambaluc, the capital...

...appearance of the Great Kaan, Lord of Lords, whose name is Cublay, is such as I shall now tell you. He is of a good stature, neither tall nor short, but...His complexion is white and red, the eyes black and fine,1 the nose well formed and well set on. He has four wives, whom he retains permanently as his...