somali Gov: history of Somalia, Ibn Battouta

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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

Vision and Objective: "To build a nation that stands for its people and its national heritage with the help of Allah and the will of its people" President Darman