Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824)

The Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan was a major military and technical feat. Fewer than 10,000 men set off from Egypt, but, with some local assistance, they were able to penetrate 1,500 km up the Nile River to the frontiers of Ethiopia, giving Egypt an empire as large as Western Europe.

The conquest was the first time that an invasion of Sudan from the north had penetrated so far; it involved two risky and unprecedented desert crossings; it necessitated the use of explosives to clear a way up the Nile; and it was an early instance of a small force with modern training, firearms and artillery defeating much larger forces in Africa. Together with the campaigns and expeditions which followed it, the conquest roughly established the post-independence borders of Sudan. The invading forces also made their headquarters at Khartoum in May 1821, from which time it soon developed into Sudan's capital city.