The world: 1400s

1400–1409

Events in this period 3

1. 1405 – 1433 · China · Exploration

   Ming treasure voyages

   Ming China's treasure fleet undertook maritime expeditions between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching ocean voyages to the coastal territories and islands of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the fleet for the expeditions. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle Emperor's reign and the seventh voyage occurred during the Xuande Emperor's reign. The first three voyages reached up to Calicut on India's Malabar Coast, while the fourth voyage went as far as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. In the last three voyages, the fleet traveled up to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

2. 1400 · Southeast Asia · Economy

   Malacca Sultanate

   The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks c. 1400 as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as Iskandar Shah, although earlier dates for its founding have been proposed. At the height of the sultanate's power in the 15th century, its capital grew into one of the most important transshipment ports of its time, with territory covering much of the Malay Peninsula, the Riau Islands and part of the central eastern coast of Sumatra in present-day Indonesia.

3. 1402 · Middle East · War

   Battle of Ankara

   The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 28 July 1402, at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of Timur and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I. The battle was a major victory for Timur, leading to the Ottoman Interregnum.

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Still under way

• Hundred Years' War1337 – 1453

Around the same time

• Mongol conquests1206 – 1368
• Black Death1346 – 1353
• Founding of Joseon1392
• Creation of Hangul (Hunminjeongeum)1443
• Printing pressc. 1450
• Fall of Constantinople1453
• Founding of the Ming dynasty1368
• Founding of the Timurid Empire1370
• Jikji1377
• Inca Empire1438
• Wars of the Roses1455 – 1487
• Ayutthaya Kingdom1351

Other maps for this period

• War mapsHundred Years' War