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 marked the first time an invasion from the north penetrated so deeply into Sudan. The campaign required two difficult and unprecedented desert crossings and the use of explosives to clear a passage along the Nile River. The invading army, sent by Muhammad Ali Pasha, consisted of approximately 4,000 troops in 1820, many of them Albanian soldiers who formed the core of his early military forces supported by Ottoman officers, artillery, and Bedouin auxiliaries. Despite its relatively small size, the force possessed modern training, firearms, and artillery, allowing it to defeat much larger local armies. 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.