As illustration only: In 1483, two Samarkand merchants, envoys of the Timurid Sultan Ahmed Mirza, presented two lions to Emperor Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty.
Ibn al Fuwati: Majma al Abab
(Biographical Dictionary) (d1323)
------------------------------------------------------
Taken from: Official Receptions in Baghdad during the Late Abbasid Era; by Mohammed Abdullah Alqadahat
When Ghayathuddin Bin Jamshid Al-Kishi, ruler of Kash city (in Iran) (1208 AD) came, he took some gifts to Caliph Al-Nasir, including: a giraffe, Atabi donkey, an entire agarwood, in addition to ivory and Saj (teak).