Conquest of Darfur (1873–1874)
| Conquest of Darfur | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Khedivate of Egypt | Sultanate of Darfur | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Ibrahim Qarad † | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 7,000 (al-Zubayr) | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 700+ | |||||||||
The conquest of Darfur by Turco-Egyptian armies in 1874 brought to an end the Sultanate of Darfur that had existed since the 16th century. It is a major event in the history of Sudan.
The war began in 1873 as a proxy war fought between factions of the Rizayqat tribe living in the southern borderlands between Darfur and the Turco-Egyptian province of the Bahr al-Ghazal. During this fighting, a caravan belonging to the trader al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur was attacked. After a troubled succession in Darfur in April 1873 and unsuccessful pursuit of a diplomatic solution, al-Zubayr moved against his Rizayqat rivals in southern Darfur in August. In November, al-Zubayr was appointed governor of the Bahr al-Ghazal, but he was not authorized to invade Darfur.
In December 1873, troops from Darfur began moving to restore control in the south. After some successes, they were defeated and al-Zubayr occupied the city of Dara in February 1874. At this juncture the Egyptian government declared war on Darfur, accusing it of aggression and of trading in slaves. The governor general of the Sudan, Ismail Ayyub Pasha, was ordered to advance from the east through Kordofan while al-Zubayr continued his advance north. Beween February and July, however, there was little movement on account of the dry weather. Final efforts at diplomacy on both sides yielded no results.
In July or August 1874, Darfur launched a counterattack. They besieged al-Zubayr in Dara but were beaten back. In October, the sultan of Darfur personally led an army south but was forced to retreat almost immediately in the face of al-Zubayr's superior weaponry, which included modern repeating rifles. At Manawashi on 25 October, he was defeated and killed. The capital of Darfur, al-Fashir, was occupied by al-Zubayr a week later. Within days, Ismail Ayyub Pasha arrived and began establishing a Turco-Egyptian administration. Although the Darfur state collapsed, the reigning Keira dynasty did not completely submit, but continued to resist in the Marrah Mountains.