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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
CHAP. ',XXV.
THE CITY OF SUJU 181
Tartars, when they cast Greek fire into a town, shot with it human fat, for this caused the fire to rage inextinguishably.
Cruelties, like ßayan's on this occasion, if exceptional with him, were common enough among the Mongols generally. Chinghiz, at an early period in his career, after a victory, ordered seventy great caldrons to be heated, and his prisoners to be boiled therein. And the " evil deed " of the citizens of Cliang-chau fell far short of Mongol atrocities. Thus Hulaku, suspecting the Turkoman chief Nasiruddin, who had just quitted his camp with 30o men, sent a body of horse after him to cut him off. The Mongol officers told the Turkoman they had been ordered to give him and his men a parting feast ; they made them all drunk and then cut their throats. (Gazabil, 166, 167, 170 ; Carpini, 696 ; Erdnzazzn, 262 ; Quat. Rashid. 357.)
CHAPTER LXXV.
OF THE NOBLE CITY OF SUJU.
Suju is a very great and noble city. The people are
Idolaters, subjects of the Great Kaan, and have paper-
money. They possess silk in great quantities, from
which they make gold brocade and other stuffs, and they
live by their manufactures and trade.
The city is passing great, and has a circuit of some
6o miles ; it hath merchants of great wealth and an
incalculable number of people. Indeed, if the men of
this city and of the rest of Manzi had but the spirit of
soldiers they would conquer the world ; but they are no
soldiers at all, only accomplished traders and most skilful
craftsmen. There are also in this city many philosophers
and leeches, diligent students of nature.
And you must know that in this city there are 6,000
bridges, all of stone, and so lofty that a galley, or even
two galleys at once, could pass underneath one of
them.
In the mountains belonging to this city, rhubarb and
ginger grow in great abundance ; insomuch that you
may get some 40 pounds of excellent fresh ginger for a
Venice groat.3 And the city has sixteen other great
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