Zheng He's Fourth Voyage Reaches Hormuz

1421

The treasure fleet crossed the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf and returned with ambassadors from nineteen states, including a giraffe from Malindi mistaken for a qilin, a mythological omen of imperial virtue. The Yongle Emperor rode out to meet it personally. Chinese maritime power peaked that afternoon. Diplomatic exchanges brought envoys from the Swahili coast to the Ming court, expanding the tributary network to its widest extent.