The Ming treasure voyages were commanded and overseen by the eunuch establishment whose political influence was heavily dependent on imperial favor. Moreover, the Chinese restructured and established control over an expansive maritime network in which the region became integrated and its countries became interconnected on an economic and political level. The Chinese maritime exploits brought many foreign countries into the nation's tributary system and sphere of influence through both military and political supremacy, thus incorporating the states into the greater Chinese world order under Ming suzerainty. During the course of the voyages, they destroyed Chen Zuyi's pirate fleet at Palembang, captured the Sinhalese Kotte kingdom of King Alekeshvara, and defeated the forces of the Semudera pretender Sekandar in northern Sumatra. They brought back many foreign ambassadors whose kings and rulers were willing to declare themselves tributaries of China. The Chinese expeditionary fleet was heavily militarized and carried great amounts of treasures, which served to project Chinese power and wealth to the known world. In the last three voyages, the fleet traveled up to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. 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. 1402–24), while the seventh voyage occurred during the Xuande reign (r. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle reign (r. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the treasure fleet for the expeditions. The grand project resulted in far-reaching ocean voyages to the coastal territories and islands in and around the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and beyond. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the treasure fleet in 1403. The Ming treasure voyages were the seven maritime expeditions undertaken by Ming China's treasure fleet between 14. Several of Zheng He's ships as depicted on a woodblock print, dated to the early 17th century
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