Chapters › Turkiyya & Mahdiyya · Sudan – Middle Nile
Turkiyya (Ottoman-Egyptian rule)
1821 CE – 1885 CE
Approximate area of control ≈ approximate
- OpenHistoricalMap contributors (last edit: CharliePlett, changeset 272117, 2026-09-21) (2026) Relation 2690845 'Turco-Egyptian Sudan' (start_date 1820, end_date 1867) link [low]
Sources: OpenHistoricalMap contributors (last edit: CharliePlett, changeset 272117, 2026-09-21) (2026) Relation 2690845 'Turco-Egyptian Sudan' (start_date 1820, end_date 1867); H.A. Ibrahim (with B.A. Ogot) The Sudan in the nineteenth century (General History of Africa VI, ch.14); IMWG / OCHA (2020) Sudan – Subnational Administrative Boundaries (COD-AB v03, valid 2020-08-31) - OpenHistoricalMap contributors (last edit: CharliePlett, changeset 272117, 2026-09-21) (2026) Relation 2690845 'Turco-Egyptian Sudan' (start_date 1820, end_date 1867) link [low]
Sources: OpenHistoricalMap contributors (last edit: CharliePlett, changeset 272117, 2026-09-21) (2026) Relation 2690845 'Turco-Egyptian Sudan' (start_date 1820, end_date 1867); H.A. Ibrahim (with B.A. Ogot) The Sudan in the nineteenth century (General History of Africa VI, ch.14); IMWG / OCHA (2020) Sudan – Subnational Administrative Boundaries (COD-AB v03, valid 2020-08-31)
Reference points
- Selima Oasis (route point, not a border) [low] — P.M. Holt & M.W. Daly (2011) A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day pp. intro 8–9
Key events
- Invasion by Muhammad Ali's forces 1820–21
- Khartoum founded as capital c.1824
- Slave and ivory trade expansion
Capitals / sites
Khartoum
Geopolitics
Muhammad 'Ali conquered the disintegrating Funj lands in 1820–1. Ibrahim (GHA VI) calls this the 'first colonial era', ruled by a Turkish-speaking elite in the name of the Ottoman sultan. Egyptian claims of sovereignty by conquest (Shukri's 'theory of the vacuum') are disputed. Resistance included the 1822 revolt (Makk Nimr burned Isma'il at Shendi), the Kassala mutiny of 1865 and Fur risings (Amir Harun 1877–80).
Culture
Rulers known to Sudanese as 'Turks'; government favour to the Shayqiyya and the Khatmiyya order bred rivalries (GHA VI ch.14; GHA VII ch.4).
Economy
Primary aim, per archival studies cited by Ibrahim: Sudanese manpower (slave raids, ghazwas, for the army) and gold, sought around Fazughli without success. Agriculture improved by Egyptian experts. A state monopoly exported indigo, gum, ivory and cattle to Egypt. Heavy cash taxes caused flight and revolt. White Nile slave traffic grew from 1840, with zeribas (forts) in the South (GHA VI ch.14).
Regional power
- Northern Muslim states vs Southern Sudan peoples (on the eve of 1821): Research in progress GHA VI: their powers were 'comparable, if not evenly balanced' – a relative statement, not a numeric score
Open data flags
- GHA VI: their powers were 'comparable, if not evenly balanced' – a relative statement, not a numeric score
Sources
- H.A. Ibrahim (with B.A. Ogot) The Sudan in the nineteenth century (General History of Africa VI, ch.14) UNESCO link [en]
- H.A. Ibrahim (based on a contribution by Abbas I. Ali) African initiatives and resistance in North-East Africa (General History of Africa VII, ch.4) UNESCO link [en]
- P.M. Holt & M.W. Daly (2011) A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day Routledge (Pearson/Longman) link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Turco-Egyptian Sudan Wikipedia link [en]
- Wikipedia contributors Ottoman Egyptian invasion of Sudan Wikipedia link [en]