Tamerlane (1336?-1405) was a very strong Mongol leader. He and his soldiers fought until Tamerlane became the ruler of all Central Asia. Other countries wanted to make friends with Tamerlane. It was safer to be friends than enemies.
Ambassadors from many countries took gifts to Tamerlane. They took beautiful cloth, jewelry, gold (Au), and silver (Ag). They often tried to take something unusual as a gift too.
In 1404, near the end of Tamerlane's life, an Egyptian ambassador arrived in Samarkand. This was where Tamerland lived. The ambassador and his men traveled on horses and camels. They brought a giraffe from Aftica as a gift.
Egyptian camels and horses were used to walking in the desert. They did it all the time. A giraffe is not used to the desert. But this giraffe walked 5,000 kilometers from Cairo to Samarkand.
We know about the Egyptian ambassador's gift because several people wrote about it. No one wrote that Tamerlane like it. However, we suppose that he was very pleased to have this strange African animal in Central Asia.
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