108 the sudan handbookconstruction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s which submerged
many of the ancient monuments of Nubia), official culture in Sudan
today makes little of them: there are no roads named for them, nor public
celebration of the long history of state formation in the Nile Valley that
they represent. Even the Muslim states that succeeded them, Darfur and
Sennar, are scantily acknowledged. There is still less acknowledgement of
the small states on the fringes of present-day Sudan, such as the Zande
chiefdoms or states of Western Equatoria, or of the long history of state-
less societies in Bahr al-Ghazal and Upper Nile.
The invisibility of this political heritage at the centre of political power
is significant. The history of the modern state began in the northern Sudan
in 1821, with the invasion by the Turco-Egyptian forces of Muhammad
Ali, the Albanian soldier who clawed his way to power in Egypt in the
confused aftermath of Napoleon’s invasion. Nominally the servant of
the Ottoman Sultan, Muhammad Ali constantly sought to develop his
independence by acquiring wealth and resources of his own. He extended
his authority southwards up the Nile in the quest for slaves to man his
army and gold to fill his treasury.
In both of these aims he was disappointed; slaves were obtained,
but the creation of a slave army for Egypt was not a success, and the
gold deposits in the Sudan proved to be less rich than Muhammad Ali
had hoped. But Sudan was thus created as a colony of Egypt. It was far
enough from Cairo – and different enough from Egypt – to require a
distinct and distinctive administration, based in the newly-created town
of Khartoum. In the new administration military men played a major
role as local governors and inspectors. Little supervision was exercised
over these local officials: they were expected to defray the costs of their
own presence, and of the soldiers who supported them, from locally-
raised tax; and contribute revenue back to Egypt. Thus was created what
Sudanese call the Turkiyya; the Turco-Egyptian state. Service in the Sudan
was not viewed as desirable: officials were far from home and never had
enough soldiers to enforce their orders, nor enough money to pay their
soldiers. They could be brutal, possessing a considerable advantage overThe Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors the^ populace^ in^ terms^ of^ military^ technology,^ but^ because^ they^ were^
(www.riftvalley.net).