# Ismail acquires Suakin and Massawa (1865)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sudan/timeline/1865-ismail-acquires-suakin-and-massawa
Location: Suakin, Sudan
Themes: main-event

In 1865 the Ottoman sultan transferred administration of the Red Sea ports of Suakin and Massawa to Ismail of Egypt, adding the coastline of eastern Sudan and Eritrea to his domain. Egyptian governors replaced Ottoman officials, and the khedive's ministers began planning roads, telegraph lines and later a railway to connect the ports with the Nile. The change was confirmed by Ottoman decree. The Red Sea ports allowed Ismail to reach the Ethiopian highlands and the Horn of Africa, and they helped his trade policy and military reach. They also gave Egypt direct control of the Sudanese pilgrim route to Jeddah. The grant became one of the foundations of later Egyptian claims in the Red Sea and Sudan. The ports were of high strategic value. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of historic Sudan, by the convention of this dataset, lay with Musa Pasha Hamdi, Governor-General of Sudan (1862–1865). Egypt's control of Suakin made the Red Sea coast part of Sudanese administration. This shaped the modern frontiers and the importance of Port Sudan's predecessor. The transfer meant that the first modern Red Sea ports of Sudan were governed from Cairo, an early step towards the coast's role as the country's main outlet to the world.

## Why it matters
Egyptian control of Suakin tied the Sudanese coast to the Nile administration for the first time.

Ruler at the Time: [Musa Pasha Hamdi](https://allhistories.com/sudan/rulers/musa-pasha-hamdi)

## Sources
- [Suakin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suakin)
- [Isma'il Pasha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isma%27il_Pasha)
- [Turco-Egyptian Sudan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turco-Egyptian_Sudan)