# Zheng He's Fleet at Mogadishu (1417)

URL: https://allhistories.com/somalia/timeline/1417-zheng-he-s-fleet-at-mogadishu
Location: Mogadishu and Barawa, Somalia
Themes: main-event

Between 1405 and 1433 the Ming court sent seven great expeditions into the Indian Ocean under the eunuch admiral Zheng He. The fleets, among the largest ever assembled before modern times, visited South-East Asia, India, Arabia and East Africa, exchanging gifts and collecting tribute. The fifth voyage (1417–1419) was tasked with returning foreign envoys home, including those from Mogadishu and Barawa, and its ships called at Mogadishu, Barawa and Malindi. The sixth voyage (1421–1422) again sent squadrons to the East African coast. Chinese accounts describe Mogadishu as a city built on rocky, barren land with multi-storey stone houses, whose people relied on fishing and livestock and traded ambergris, frankincense and myrrh. The fleets brought silk, porcelain and other gifts, and returned with animals including zebras and giraffes. The Ming voyages ended in 1433 when the court turned inward, and Chinese ships never returned to East Africa in such numbers. Chinese porcelain fragments found along the Somali coast, and later debates about Chinese shipwrecks and descendants, keep the memory of the voyages alive. At this point in the timeline (1417–1422), the Sultan of Adal was Sabr ad-Din II (1415 – 1422).

## Why it matters
Zheng He's visits connected the Somali coast directly with China at the height of Ming maritime power.

Ruler at the Time: [Sabr ad-Din II](https://allhistories.com/somalia/rulers/sabr-ad-din-ii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Ming treasure voyages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Zheng He](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Zheng+He)
- [Wikipedia — Zheng He](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He)
- [Wikipedia — Adal, Ajuran And The Portuguese (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adal_Sultanate)