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The First Sultanate of Mogadishu in the
The Account of Ibn-Battouta (1331)
The account of the famous Morrocan scholar Abou-Abd-Allah Muhammad-Ibn-Battouta (1304-1369)
gives us a complete picture of the first Sultanate of Mogadishu, formed by Sheikh Abubakr
Fakr-el-Din. Ibn-Battouta was distinguished from other scholars and travelers of his days by his
profound personal knowledge and accurate methodic observations of all that he encountered during
his long voyage. He did not write about imaginary countries and peoples, where dragons, huge birds,
or cannibals so as to impress his listeners, a characteristic feature of the distortions that continue to
affect African history. Like Marco Polo, he observed, enquired, took notes and provided accurate
accounts of what he saw. Like Marco Polo, he contributed to the exchange of knowledge among
distant peoples. And Like Marco Polo, his works were not understood immediately, but came to be
appreciated a century later.
About Zeila, he wrote,
"I traveled from the city of Aden by sea for four days and arrived at the city of Zeila, the city of the
Berbers, who are a people of the Negroes, Shaff'ites in rite. Their country is a desert extending for
two months journey, beginning at Zeila and ending at Maqadashow. Their cattle are cattle, and they
also have sheep which are famed for their fat. The inhabitants of Zeila are black in color, and the
majority of them are Rafides. It is a larger city with a great bazar, but it is in the dirtiest, most
disagreeable and most stinking town in the world. The reason for it's stench is the quality of the fish
and blood of the camels that they slaughter in the streets."
About Mogadishu, Ibn-Battouta wrote:
"We sailed on from there (Zeila) for fifteen nights, and came to Magadashaw, which is a town of
enormous size. It's inhabitants are merchants, possessors of vast resources; they own large numbers
of camels, of which slaughter hundreds everyday (for food), and also have quantities of sheep. In this
place are manufactured the woven fabrics called after it which are unequalled and exported from it to
Egypt and elsewhere. It is the system of the people of this town that, when a vessel reaches the
anchorage, the sambucas, which are small boats, come out to it. In each sambuca, thereare a small
number of young men of the town, each one brings a covered platter containing food and presents it
to one of the merchants on the ship saying, "This is my guest," and each one of the others does the
same. The merchant, on disembarking, goes only to the house of the host among the yound men,
except those of them who have made frequent journeys and have gained some acquaintance with it's
inhabitants; these lodge where they please. When he takes up residence with his host, the latter sells
his goods for him, and buys for him; and if anyone buys anything from him in the absence of his host,
that sale is held invalid by them. This practice is a profitable one for them.
"When the young men came on board the vessel in which I was, one of them came up to me. My
companion said to him, "This man is not a merchant, but a doctor of the Law," whereupon he called
upon to his friends and said to them, "This is the guest of the Qadi." There was among them one of
the Qadi's men, who informed him of this, and he came down to the beach with a number of students
and sent one of them to me. I then disembarked with my companions and saluted him and his parts.
He said to me, "In the name of the God, let us go to salute the Sheikh." "And who is the Sheikh?" I
asked, and he answered, "The Sultan." for it is their custom to the Sultan, "The Shiekh." Then I said
to him, "When I am lodged, I shall go to him," but he said to me, "It is the custom that whenever comes
a priest, or a Sheriff, or a man of religion, he must first see the Sultan before taking a lodging. So I
went with him to the Sultan, as they asked.
Account on the Sultan of Maqdashaw
"The Sultan is as we have mentioned, called only by the title of the Sheikh. His name is Abu-Bakr, son
of the Sheikh Omar; he is by the origin of the Berbers, and he speaks in Maqdishi, but now the Arabic
language. One of his customs is that, when a vessel arrives, the Sultan's sambuca goes to it, and
inquires are made as to the ship, where it has come from, who is it's owner, and it's "rubban" (that is
it's captain), what is it's cargo, and who has come on it of merchants and others. When all this
information has been collected, it is presented to the Sultan, and if there are any persons (of such
quality) that the Sultan should assign a lodging to him as his guest, he does. "When I arrived with the
Qadi I have mentioned who was called Ibn-el-Burhan, an Egyptian by origin, at the Sultan's
residence, one of the serving boys came out and saluted the Qadi, who said to him, "Take word to
the intendent's office and inform the Sheikh that this man has come from the land of Al-Hijaz." So he
took the message, then returned bringing a plate on which were some leaves of betel and arica nuts.
He gave me ten leaves along with a few of the nuts, the same to the Qadi. And what was left on the
plate to my companions and the Qadi's students. He brought also a jug of rose-water of Damscus,
which he poured over me and over the Qadi i.e. over our hands and said, "Our Master commands
that he be lodged in the student's house," this being a building equipped for the entertainment of
students of religion. The Qadi took my by the hand and we went to this house which is in the vicinity
of the Shiekh's residence and furnished with carpets, and all necessary appointments. Later on, (the
serving) brought food from the Sheikh's residence. With him came one of his viziers, who was
responsible (for the care) of the guests, and who said, "Our Master greets you and says to you that
you are heartily welcome." He then set down the food and we ate. Their food is rice cooked with
ghee, which they put into a large wooden platter, and on top of this they put platters of kushan. This
is the seasoning, made of chicken flesh meat, fish and vegetables. They cook unripe bananas in
fresh milk and put this in one dish and in another dish they put curdled milk on which they place
(pieces) of pickled lemon bunches of pickled pepper, steeped in vinegar and salted, green ginger,
and mangoes. These resemble apples but have a stone. When ripe they are exceedingly sweet and
are eaten (other) fruit, but before ripening they are acid like lemon, and they pickle them in vinegar.
When they take a mouthful of rice, they eat some of these salted and vinegar conserves after it. A
single person of the people of Maqdashaw eats as much as a whole company of us would eat, as a
matter of habit, and they are corpulent and fat in the extreme.
"After we had eaten, the Qadi took leave of us. We stayed there three days, food being brought to us
three times a day, following their custom. On the fourth day, which was a Friday, the Qadi and
students, and one of the Sheikh's viziers came to me, bringing a set of robes. These (official) robes
of theirs consist of a silk wrapper which one ties round his waist in place of drawers (for they have no
acquaintance with these), a tunic of Egyptian linen with an embroidered border, a furred mantle of
Jerusalem stuffand, an Egyptian turban with an Egyptian edge. They also brought robes for my
companions suitable for their position. We went to the Congregational Mosque and made prayers
behind the maqsura. Then the Sheikh came out of the door of the maqsura. I saluted him along with
the Qadi; he said a word of greetings, "You are heartily welcome and you have honored our land and
given us pleasure." He went out to the court of the Mosque, and stood by the grave of his father, who
is buried there, then recited some verses from the Qoran and said a prayer. After this, the viziers,
emirs and officers of the troops came up and saluted him. Their manner of salutation is the same as
the custom of the people of Al-Yemen; one puts his forefinger to the ground, then raises it to his
head and says, "May God protect the Majesty." The Sheikh then went out of the gate of the Mosque,
put on his sandals, ordered the Qadi to put on his sandals and me to do likewise, and set on foot for
his residence, which is close to the Mosque. All the rest of the people walked barefoot. Over his head
were carried four canopes of colored silk, with the figure of a bird in gold on top of each cnaopy. His
garments on that day were a large green mantle of Jerusalam stuff, with fine ropes of Egyptian stuff
with their appendages underneath it, and he was girted with a waisted wrapper of silk and turbaned
with a large turban. In front of him were the commanders of the troops, while the Qadi, the doctors of
the Law and the Sheriffs walked alongside him. He entered his sufficience hall in this disposition, and
the viziers, emirs and officers of the troops sat down in a gallery there. For the Qadi there was spread
a rug on which no one may sit but he, and beside were him were the jurists and shariffs. They
remained there until the hour of the afternoon prayer and after they had prayed it, the whole body of
troops came and stood in rows in order f their ranks. Thereafter the drums, fifes, trumpets and flutes
are sounded; while they play no one moves or stirs from his place and anyone who is walking stands
still, moving neither backwards nor forwards. When the playing of the drum band comes to an end,
they salute with their fingers as we have described and withdraw. This is a custom of theirs on every
Friday.
"On the Saturday, the population comes to the Sheikh's gate and they sit in portions outside his
residence. The Qadi, furists, Sheriffs, men of religion, sheikhs and those who have made the
pilgrimage go into the second residence hal, where they sit on platforms prepared for that purpose.
The Qadi will be on a platform by himself and each class of persons on the platform proper to them,
which is not shared by no others. The Sheikh then takes his seat in his hall and sends for the Qadi
who sits down on his left, thereafter the jurists enter, and the principle men amongst them sit down in
fron of the Sheikh, while the remainder salute and withdraw. Next the Sheriffs come in, their principle
men sit down in front of him, and the remainder salute and withdraw. If they are guests they sit on the
Sheriff's right. Next the Sheikh Piligrims come in, and their principle men sit, and the rest salute and
withdraw, Then come the viziers, the emirs, the officers of the troops, group after group, and they
salute and withdraw. Food is brought in, the Qadi and the Sheriffs and all those who are sitting in the
hall eat in the presence of the Sheikh, and eats with them. If he wants to honour one of his principle
emirs, he sends for him, and the latter eats with them. The rest of the people in the dinning hall and
order of eating is the same as the order of entry into the Sheikh's presence. The Sheikh then goes
into his residence, and the Qadi with the viziers, the private secretary, and four of the principle emirs,
sits for deciding cases among the population and petitioners. Every case that is concerned with the
rulings of the Divine Law is described by the Qadi, and all cases other than those are decided by the
members of the council, that is to say, the viziers and emirs. If any case calls for consultation of the
Sultan, they write to him about it, and he sends out the reply to them immediately on the reverse of
the document as determined by his judgment. And this is their fixed custom." This is the first time we
come to know about the existence of a Sultanate in Mogadishu. In the beginning of the XIII Century,
Yacut reported that the affairs of the city were managed by a Council of Four Elders, called of
Mukhaddimin. Most likely, the state of opulence and maximum splendor reached by the city in the
beginning of the XIV Century necessitated a change of government. The popular belief relates of how
Abubakr Sheikh Omar Fakr-el-Din, a very modest man, established his Sultanate, first by gaining
reputation and prestige from the local religious elders and then obtaining the collaboration of the
majority of the inhabitants of the city. It is also said that many families protested against the formation
of a Sultanate and consequently immigrated to distant city-states along the coasts of East Africa.
Ibn-Battouta specifically identifies the Sultan Abu-Bakr Sheikh Omar as being of the Berbers and that
he spoke a local language called Maqdashi. Interestingly, this proves that Mogadishu at it's highest
stage of development was ruled and inhabited by Berbers, contrary to the thesis, held by many
scholars, that the city was founded by Arab settlers. The fact that the Qadi was Egyptian shows that
Arabic was widely spoken, confirming the presence of Arab influence. The carpets, the turban with an
Egyptian edge, the fine robes of Egyptian stuff, tunic of Egyptian linen, furred Jerusalem mantle, the
ranks of the senior officers named in Arabic, all indicate the close ties between Mogadishu and Egypt
in the beginning of the XIV Century; there is no mention of the influence of other Arab countries in
Mogadishu.
By the beginning of the XIV Century, Mogadishu grew in size. The inhabitants of the city owned large
numbers of camels which they used as a means of transportation and as a source of meat. They
were also engaged in the Indian Ocean sea trade by exporting the famous woven fabrics known
locally as the "alindi" and which were exported locally to Afgoi and abroad to Egypt and East Africa.
The picture that comes out of this account is that Mogadishu was a city-state with commercial ties
both with the nearby rich agricultural town of Afgoi and with the sea ports of East Africa and Arabia.
The place where the students studied religion, the first university of Somalia, is the Giamma
Mosques, regarded as one of the most ancient mosques in Mogadishu. The Giamma is located in the
Sheikh Mumino sector of Hamar Weyne and was built one century before the arrival of Ibn-Battouta in
Mogadishu. A scripture at the entrance of the minaret points out that the mosque was built on 1st
Muharram 636 Hijra (corresponding to August 14, 1238). In the mihrab, there is another scripture
which attributes to Kululah, son of Muhammad, son of Abd-el-Aziz as the builder of the mihrab.
The minaret is a cylindrical tower, rather squat and divided into nine sections by eight circles. Every
section is smooth and uniform while the diameter of the upper section is a little less than that of the
lower section. Even with the continuous rennovations that it has undergone, the structure of the
mosques is deteriorating. For this reason, the Mu'addin does not use the minaret when he is calling
the Muslims for the daily prayers; he stands on a big stone at the entrance of the mosque.
The Sheikh Mumino is considered to be the most ancient rione of Hamar Weyne and of Mogadishu.
The Morshe Rer Hamar who are the inhabitants of Sheikh Mumino are considered to be the first
inhabitants who built Mogadishu, then followed in order by the Iskaashato, Dhabar Weyne and Ban
Dhabo. In fact, as a symbol of courtesy, the Shir Festivals (called also the Neirus Festivals) are
always headed by the Morshe. The Shir starts and ends in front of an old house inhabited centuries
back by a Morshe elder.
The second mosque mentioned by Ibn-Battouta is the Congregational Mosque of Fakr-el-Din. Since
ancient times, this mosque was known for it's marvellous marmes and beautiful decorations. Inside
the niche and on top of it, a scriputure in Arabic attributes the construction of the Fakr-el-Din Mosque
to Haggi, son of Muhammad, son of Abdallah in the end of Shabaan 667 Hijra, corresponding to April
27 - May 6, 1269 A. D. The mosque, which is also built in the Sheikh Mumino sector of Hamar Weyne,
was named after Sheikh Fakr-el-Din, grandfather of the first Sultan of Mogadishu, Abubakr Omar.
The beautiful marmes of this mosque were first looted by the Portuguese in the beginning of the XVI
Century and later by the soldiers of the Sultan of Zanzibar in the XIX Century. In the beginning of the
XX Century, De Vecchi, the fascist Italian Governor of Somalia, in a deliberate plan to weaken the
religious vigor of the inhabitants of Hamar Weyne built an asphalt road right across the mosque. After
this demolition, which cut the mosque into two parts, the Fakr-el-Din mosque lost it's importance,
remaining a visible testimony of the mutilation and barbarism of Italian Fascism in Somalia.
Another important beautifully decorated mosque, which Ibn-Battouta did not mention, but which was
also built about a century before his arrival is the Arba-Rukun Mosque. This mosque was built in the
northern extremity of Hamar Weyne in 667 Hijra, corresponding to 1269 A. D. by
Kassura-bin-Muhammad-el-Shirazi. Arba-Rukun means the four pillars and refers to the Council of
Four who were the Mukaddimin of Mogadishu. Even this mosque was looted quite a number of times
by the soldiers of the Sultan of Zanzibar in Mogadishu.
The popular belief narrates that the inhabitants of Mogadishu during this period were extremely
laborious. They reached a high level of development as demonstrated by their many products: woven
fabrics, glass beads, metallic objects and ornaments in gold and silver. Thirty kilometers inland, along
the banks of the Shebelle River, the harvest were twice yearly and the agricultural products were
transported on camels and donkeys to the city which was extended and had a number of mosques.
The cotton industry represented one of the basic factors that contributed to the wealth of Mogadishu
and remained flourishing for many centuries. Woven cotton fabrics were exported to Egypt, Southern
Arabia, and India, and sufficed at the same time to the expanding local consumption. Cotton was
cultivated along the banks of the Shebelle Valley, south of Afgoi, and was also imported from India.
With a strong simple wheel, women weaved the cotton fabric while the men shaped it into threads
which made both plain or stripped cloth in different colors. In the beginning of the XVIII Century, the
introduction of the American khaki in the markets of East Africa gained remarkable preference.
Slowly, the Mogadishu cotton industry declined.
During his visit to the Locadive and Maldive Islands, Ibn-Battouta mentioned that he was given five
sheep as a present by the Wazir of Mahel. Because they were imported from Coromandel, Malabar
and Mogadishu, in Mahel, the sheep were very expensive.
By Abdulaziz Hagi Mohamed Hussein April 2003
Timeline: A Chronology Of the Ming Voyages First Voyage 1405-1406
Zheng He commanded a fleet of 317 ships, almost 28,000 men, their arms and supplies. The fleet
included several massive "treasure ships," approximately 400 feet long and 160 feet wide. The places
the fleet stopped included Champa (central Vietnam); Majapahit on Java; and Semudra and Deli on
the northern coast of Sumatra. It continued to Ceylon and then to Calicut, known as "the great
country of the Western Ocean." Traveling through the Straits of Malacca on its return, the Chinese
defeated a pirate chief who had been threatening trading ships in the Straits. Zheng He was not able
to find any trace of the deposed Emperor whom some Chinese had thought might have found asylum
in Southeast Asia.
Second Voyage 1407-1409:
Zheng-He did not go on the second voyage which probably returned the Siamese ambassador who
had gone to China earlier on his own, and installed a new leader in Calicut. Again the fleet stopped at
Champa (central Vietnam); Majapahit on Java; and Semudra and Deli on the northern coast of
Sumatra; Ceylon; and Calicut.
Third Voyage 1409-1411:
This expedition's special charge concerned Malacca, a port on the Malay peninsula that was gaining
importance. Stopping in Malacca, the Chinese recognized Paramesawara as the legitimate ruler of
Malacca and gave him a tablet officially declaring that the city was a vassal state of China. Increasing
Malacca's power, the Chinese court believed, would establish a balance of power among Siam, Java
and Malacca and insure Chinese trading rights through the Straits. After stopping at Semudra, the
fleet went to Ceylon where they got involved in a local power struggle among its Sinhalese, Tamils
and Muslim populations. Luring the Sinhalese troops out of the city, Zheng He and his troops took the
capital, captured the ruler and installed a ruler of their own choice in his place. After this voyage
many ambassadors from the countries the treasure fleet had visited brought tribute to the Ming court.
Fourth Voyage 1414-15:
This voyage headed for Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The fleet stopped at Champa and Java. At
Sumatra, the Chinese captured a pretender to one of the local thrones and sent him back to Nanjing
where he was executed. One part of the fleet went to Bengal and brought a giraffe back to the
Emperor. (The Chinese believed the giraffe was a magical animal comparable to the unicorn, an
auspicious sign and symbol of the righteousness of the Ming reign.) Cheng He and the rest of the
fleet continued up the coast of Malay; to Ceylon; the Maldives; ports on the Indian coast; and Hormuz.
This voyaged marked the height of Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.
1415: The Emperor decides to move the Chinese court from Nanjing to Beijing.
1416: Repairs on the Grand Canal are completed.
Fifth Voyage 1417-19:
This impressive fleet was to take back home 19 ambassadors who had brought tribute to the Chinese
court. While at Quanzhou, Zheng He tried to stop the persecution of Muslims there. The fleet then
went to several ports on Champa and Java; to Palembang and other ports on Sumatra; to Malacca on
the Malay peninsula; the Maldives, Ceylon; and Cochin and Calicut. This time the Chinese attempted
to strengthen Cochin to counter the power of Calicut. The fleet explored the Arabian coast from
Hormuz to Aden and the east coast of Africa, returning ambassadors from Mogadishu, Brawa, and
Malinda and also stopped at Mombasa. The sailors brought the Emperor another giraffe from Africa.
Sixth Voyage 1421-22:
Besides taking ambassadors home, this voyage explored more of the coast of Africa. At Semudra the
fleet divided and the majority of the ships went to Aden and the coast of Africa while Zheng He
returned to China, perhaps so he could participate in the events surrounding the dedication of the
Forbidden City in Beijing as the new capital.
1419-23: A costly rebellion erupts in Annam.
1421: Fire destroys much of the Forbidden City. Emperor Zhu Di first invites criticism, but soon he
kills those who criticized him.
1422: Emperor Zhu Di plans a military expedition against the Mongols.
1424: Emperor Zhu dies while on military maneuvers in the north.
1424: Zhi Di's eldest son becomes Emperor. He favors his Confucian advisors and hopes to lessen
tax burdens on the people caused by expensive military maneuvers, the voyages of the fleet and
moving the capital.
1424: The Emperor issues an edict ending all voyages of the treasure ships.
1425: The Emperor dies.
1425-1435: Zhu Zhanji becomes Emperor.
1430: Emperor Zhu Zhanji issues an edict calling for a 7th voyage to inform distant lands of his rule
and to urge them to "follow the way of heaven and to watch over the people so that all might enjoy
the good fortune of lasting peace." (Levathes, pg. 160 -- see Resources, end of lesson).
Seventh Voyage 1431-1433:
300 ships with approximately 27,500 men embark. Besides ports on Champa and Java, the fleet
stops at Palembang, Malacca, Semudra, Ceylon and Calicut. The Chinese urge the Siamese king to
stop harassing the kingdom of Malacca. At Calicut, one part of the fleet goes along the east African
coast to Malinidi and trade on the Red Sea and several of the Chinese sailors may have visited
Mecca. Zheng He, who had probably stayed in Calicut, died on the return voyage and was buried at
sea.
1435: The Emperor dies.
1436 - 1449: Zhu Qizhen, the emperor's seven year old son, becomes Emperor. Initially he is
controlled by eunuch Wang Zhen.
1449: Wang leads an expedition against the Mongols on the northwest frontier. During this campaign,
the Mongols capture the Emperor Zhu Qizhen and hold him prisoner.
1450: Emperor Zhu Qizhen gets free from Mongols and is reinstated as Emperor. Tension and rivalry
exist between Confucian scholars and other advisors, particulars the court eunuchs. Emperor Zhu
Qizhen faces the urgent question: Should the court resume the voyages or end them?
References:
News about Gavin Menzies's presentation at the Royal Geographical Society (March 15, 2002):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml
?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F03%2F04%2Fnexp04.xml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml
?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F03%2F16%2Fncirc16.xml
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s506044.htm
Background on Zheng He:
http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/
journey2001/intro.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/
millennium/m3/kristof.html
http://www.huaren.org/diaspora/background/
doc/kristof.html
http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/china.htm
Official Ming History - 6 volumes 4128pp plus 317pp index. (in Chinese) This is the authoritative 25
Histories of China compiled by the imperial courtiers.
By: SL Lee
Email: sllee@asiawind.com
- Sunday, March 17, 2002 at 08:07:19
The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (60 A. D.)
The most important ancient document, available so far, on the east of coast of Africa is in the
Peripulus of the Erythrean Sea, attributed by some scholars to Ariano di Nicomedia (60 A. D.), a
shop-keeper of Alexandria. Ariano departed from Thebes (Benerice) on the eastern coast of the Red
Sea in Egypt and navigated through the straits of Bab-el-Mandab. He sailed and stopped at a
number of towns along the coast of Azania as far as Rapta. About Mogadishu, Ariano wrote:
"Beyond Opone, the shore trending more towards the south, first there are the small and great bluffs
of Azania; this coast is destitute of harbors, but there are places where ships can lie at anchor, the
shore being abrupt; and this course is of six days, the direction being south-west. Then come the
small and great beach for another six days course and after that in order, the course of Azania, the
first being called Serapion (Mogadishu) and the second being Nikon (Brawa); - and after that several
rivers and other anchorages, one after the other, etc."
According to Wilfred H. Schoff A. M. in his book "The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, edited in 1912,
Serapion maybe Mogadishu and Nikon Brawa.
From The Star Craft: "The Chinese Columbus"
p.20-22
? Zengjiani?s mission a late-eleventh century voyage by Africans to the court of the Sung Dynasty
was a major development. Africans, for a change, were reading out to China. As their coastal
city-states grew more organized and more affluent, they were beginning to seek business across the
ocean to the east. By the late thirteenth century Mogadishu was trading actively enough to attract the
attention of Kubilai Khan, the Mongol (Yuan) ruler who conquered south China and put an end to the
Song dynasty. Kubilai sent envoys to learn about Mogadishu and treat fot the release of an earlier
enboy who had been held captive there. In 1342 the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta met in an Indian port a
man from Mogadishu who had been in China. His name was Sa?id. There is no indication he had
been there on business, but we do know he was a devout Moslem and an Islamic doctor of law.
Religion was a powerful a reason as trade for these Islamicized African towns to extend their contacts
eastwards. ?
By the beginning of the fifteenth century the slow trickle of knowledge and contact had done its work.
The convergence was complete. The time was ripe for a grand conjunction. In East Africa the coastal
towns were reaching the height of their prosperity. Their harbours were busy with foreign ships: their
own ships were busy in the western Indian Ocean. In China the great days of the merchant venturer
were over. After the Mongols completed their conquest of China in 1279, they began to impose
restrictions on private overseas trade, partly to discourage the chronic piracy which had battened on
it. The Ming dynasty which drove out the Mongols and restored Native Chinese rule in 1368 tightened
the restrictions further. But China was still on the seas, since the Ming government still had a naval
force and the will to deploy it. ?
In 1414 a Chinese fleet pushed into the western Indian Ocean. It was commanded by Zheng He,
Grand Eunich of the Three Treasures?. Zheng He was the Chinese Columbus. He has become for
China as Columbus has for the West, the personification of maritime endeavour. Yet he differed from
his Western counterpart in a number of major ways. Three- quarters of a century before Columbus
crossed the Atlantic, this Ming dynasty admiral had at his disposal resources which make the
Genoese explorer look like an amateur. Columbus had three ships. They had one deck apiece, and
together weighed a total of 415 tons. Zheng He had sixty-two galleons, and more than a hundred
auxiliary vessels. The largest galleons had three decks on the poop alone, and each of them
weighted about 1,500 tons. They had nine masts and twelve sails, and are said to have measured
440 feet long by 180 feet wide. With a force of perhaps a hundred men, Columbus might have been
grateful for the company of the 868 civil officers, 26,800 soldiers, 93 commanders, two senior
commanders, 140 millerions captains of a thousand men, 403 centurions, a Senior Secretary of the
Board of Revenue, a geomancer, a military instructor, two military judges, 180 medical officers and
assistants, two orderlies, seven senior eurnuch ambassadors, ten junior eunuchs and 53 eunuch
chamberlains who travelled in Zheng He?s retinue. ?
Zheng He?s voyages differed from Columbus?s not only in scale but in kind. Each voyage was a
huge collective operation, a state undertaking in the fullest sense. Zheng He was not just financially
sponsored, as Columbus was, by a sympathetic government: he and his captains, eunuchs of the
palace were the agents and chosen personal servants of their emperor. He was not in the smallest
degree an entrepreneur.
Nor in fairness to Columbus, was he strictly an explorer. The real Chinese explorers were the
anonymous merchants who slipped across the Indian Ocean centuries before Zheng He?s time. The
Grand Eunuch?s crews advanced, as they later described it, through sky-high waves to the
westernmost lands of the west and the northernmost lands of the north, ? . But they cannot have
shared with Columbus?s men a dread of the unknown. They knew in principle, what lay ahead.
Calmly, bureaucratically, the Chinese had prepared themselves for the Moslem world. Beyond India.
Zheng He himself was a Moslem. His father and grandfather had been to Mecca, and he was
probably chosen admiral largely on the strength of his familiarity with the customs of Islamic countries.
He in turn recruited Moslem translator-interpreters, a mullah called Hassan and another Chinese
Moslem called Ma Huan who later wrote a memoir of the expeditions.
?The emperor Yong?le, a hardened soldier was not entirely secure on his throne and had to contend
with rumours that his predecessor was still alive. The hunt for this predecessor, said to be at large in
the southern ocean, was the formal reason for mobilizing the fleet. It is hardly conceivable that the
hunt was still in progress when the fleet passed beyond India ten years later. Prestige was probably
the main consideration by now. The Ming as a newish dynasty may have needed prestige: Yong?le
as a usurper certainly did. Prestige? was conferred through the arrival in China of foreign visitors with
goods which the Chinese received as symbolic ?tribute?. The farther afield the fleet sailed, the
greater the influx of ?tribute? bearers it could attract to Yong?le?s court. Supreme under heaven in
their own opinion, the Chinese were none the less in quest of a sort of diplomatic recognition. ?
P.27
?the fleet was a Star Raft. Triumphant Tour of the Star Raft was the title of Fei Xin?s book. Fei Xin
was a soldier drafted into service because of a crime his father or grandfather committed, who
traveled with the Fleets. A Star Raft was an expedition which carried to exotic lands the star-like
radiance of an imperial ambassador, and the object of its voyage was to win for the emperor the
allegiance of distant peoples. The exchange of goods was laden in Chinese eyes with a symbolic
significance far outweighing the value of the goods themselves. By trading with the fleet the African
coastal states were paying the Ming emperor the homage they owed him as sovereign of the world.
"A Giraffe in Peking".
The animal was presented to the emporer in 1414. The inscription congratulates the emporer on the
arrival of such an auspicious beast.
"An Auspicious Zebra"
A ming painting, suggesting knowledge of other African animals.
Zheng He
By: Siu-Leung Lee, PhD March 16, 2002 The following information on Zheng He was a research I did
using the official history of Ming dynasty, written in Qing dynasty. Some of the figures were corrected
for the measurement standard used in Ming dynasty. The dating was also corrected. The flagship
was actually bigger than reported in other sources. In each trip, there were actually not one flagship
but at least 62! The whole fleet was more than 300 ships and more than 28,000 people.
The British submarine engineer and historian Gavin Menzies gave an astounding seminar on March
15, 2002 to the Royal Geographical Society in London, with evidence to support his theory that
Zheng He, the Chinese navigator in Ming dynasty, beat Columbus by more than 70 years in
discovering America.
Using evidence from maps drawn dated before Columbus' trip that clearly showed America, and
astronomical maps traced back to Zheng He's time, Menzies is confident that the Zheng He should be
honored as the first discoverer of America.
I have translated directly from the official Ming History some of the background information to share
with the readers. Some of the dates and dimensions of the ships reported by other sources are
slightly different.
Zheng He (1371-1435 AD), an eunuch in Ming dynasty, built a total of 1622 ships and made at least
7 major excursions between 1405 AD and 1430 AD, reaching Somalia and probably Europe (France,
Holland and Portugal). In each trip, he led a troop of 27,800 people on more than 300 ships. In each
trip, 62 major ships of this fleet were employed, each about 475 ft long and 193 ft wide, holding 1000
people per ship, dwarfing Columbus' Santa Maria (75 ft x 25 ft) more than 6-fold.
The countries and territories covered and recorded in the official Ming history includes Java,
Sumatra, Vietnam, Siam, Cambodia, Philippines, Ceylon, Bangladesh, India, Yemen, Arabia, Somalia,
Mogadishu. As a clear demonstration of his travel to Africa, among the souvenirs he brought back to
China were the giraffes and lions, indigenous animals of Africa.
The official history also mentioned "Franca" (which was the territory to describe today's France and
Portugal) and Holland. The Hollanders were described as tall people with red hair and beard, long
nose, and deep eye sockets. If he did meet with the Europeans in their native countries, then the only
way would be to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope before the Suez Canal was a throughway.
Menzies indicates that he has found sunken ships of Zheng He's fleet in the Carribeans, but he
refuses to disclose the location until he publishes his book.
Unfortunately, Zheng He's magnificent accomplishment was later targeted by other courtiers as
wasteful. Most of his records were destroyed and building of ships with more than 3 masts were
considered crimes punishable by death. So, a large part of his excursion (which might include the
America part) has no reports.
In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are clearly Asian-looking. They also consider
themselves as the descendants of Zheng He's