Introduction

1Port cities act as intermediaries between regional and global trade and commerce and serve as channels to international markets. They are inherently interconnected with their hinterland’s trade and networks and both have an entwined relationship with each other. Until the beginning of the 20th century, studies on the East African coast, influenced by the colonial perception of local populations as being inferior,1 considered the region to be on the margins of an international maritime commercial network and subject to external manipulation.2 Suakin, on the coast of Sudan, did not fare any differently in this respect. For example, the city’s rise to prominence was considered to be essentially because of foreign traders. J.F.E. Bloss argues, for instance, that “the early history of Suakin is naturally more closely connected with the history of the Red Sea than with the history of the Sudan”.3 Furthermore, he maintains that Suakin became a place of importance only to the foreign traders that called there. The Sudanese Red Sea coast was indeed successively invested by the ancient Egyptians, then by the Greeks, later the Romans, the Arabs and the Ottomans and the British.4 There is no denial that Suakin, along with others ports of the Red Sea, was influenced by a melting pot of cultures, traditions and people, but these have been moulded to make their own unique Suakinese culture. However, colonial interpretations seem to exclude all local influences.

2During the last few decades, researchers have emphasised the importance of hinterlands to port cities. For example, K.A. Kitchen argues that “the interplay between the physical geography of the seacoasts and hinterlands and varying human use and exploitation of such regions offers us a changing and often colourful panorama throughout the centuries”.5 Likewise, E.H. Seland correctly points out that “while the Indian Ocean and Red Sea trade was, of course maritime, the products traded were generally inland or transit products”.6 Regardless of Sudanese port cities’ reliance on their immediate hinterlands7 as well as the country’s interior,8 this point of view is new to Sudanese studies. Nomads who inhabit the immediate hinterland played a foremost role in the conveyance of goods from interior territories to port cities and vice versa for centuries, but their contribution was generally not acknowledged or recognised.9

3Sudanese caravan trade and routes continued up to the beginning of the 20th century and their networks became the focus of political and commercial interests, for protection and control of routes and taxation of the traded commodities. The interior and the hinterland supplied the goods, and the port provided access to an international market. While this has long been studied in isolation, focused only on routes and merchandise from the country’s interior, the vital role of the latter to the continuity and success of port cities has not been investigated. Additionally, the continuous or discontinuous activity of Red Sea ports was influenced by political stability both at a micropolitical10 and a macropolitical11 level.

4As it is inadequate to study port cities without their wider hinterland, that enrich and maintain them, I aim to investigate the hinterland, port and overseas maritime trade as a single intersected component and I will focus on Suakin port from the 16th to the 20th centuries. This study is based on ethnographic interviews and on archaeological, historical and archival data. The first part of this article gives a brief background about Suakin port and its hinterland; the second explores goods, routes and networks; the third section investigates the effect of political stability on the Red Sea and its hinterland, and its impact on the port. The study asserts that Sudanese port cities, hinterlands and the country’s interior were linked in a complex and overlapping network of associations and common purposes.

Suakin, its hinterland and its people

A brief history of Suakin

5Although there is no precise date for the start of Suakin’s role in international trade, most scholars agree on saying it is one of the earliest long-standing ports on the Sudanese Red Sea coast, occupied at least since the Early Islamic period.12 From the beginning of the 16th century, Suakin became one of the main and most eminent ports on the coast (fig. 1‑2). The activity of its harbour overlapped with other Sudanese ports such as Akik, Ayzab and Badi.13 S. Al Shamiy14 suggests that it could have been contemporary with Badi port for at least five centuries, and Ayzab after that, which shows that it was active for a long period, at least from the 8th to the beginning of the 12th century. It can be argued that Suakin has always served as a small port rather than a main port for foreign trade. Interviewees assert that, to the present day, mariners frequently use small harbours, islands and coral islands to shelter from storms and high winds and they believe ancient mariners did the same.15 Suakin must have been known in some way in order to attract travellers and settlers:16 for instance, its harbour is located close to other natural inlets,17 which my interviewees report they continue to use.18

Fig. 1 – Sudan map before 2011, with indication of the Red Sea district including Suakin (Nations Online Project; in red, added by S. Taha).

Fig. 2 – Suakin’s districts, plan of Suakin showing the three islands and the historic centre, British Museum (Greenlaw 1995; text in red added by S. Taha).

6From the 8th century, medieval writers mentioned Suakin in their writings, showing that it was involved in trade with its hinterland and with the Christian kingdoms in the Nile valley.19 Later on, Suakin’s commercial relationships with remote countries was praised by Stefano de Gama “for it trades with both Peninsulas of the Indies, particularly Kambaya, Tanasarin, Pegu, and Malaka, within the Arabian Gulph, to Juddah, Kairo, and Alexandria; besides what it carries on with Ethiopia and the land of the Abeshins, from whence it hath vast quantities of gold and ivory”.20

7Documented history of Suakin begins in ca 750, whereas oral history takes Suakin back to the time of King Solomon and stories about the Queen of Sheba who, as the story goes, travelled from Suakin to Jerusalem. This history is held by Suakinese and was narrated by all my interviewees.21 During the medieval period, Suakin served as the trade port for the Christian kingdoms along the Nile.22 Furthermore, it served as the route for Christians from the river Nile, as well as for Axumite pilgrims, to Jerusalem. In 1225, Ibn Yaqut reported that the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt sent an expedition against Beja inhabitants for confiscating the property of Egyptian merchants who died in Suakin.23 From the 15th century onwards, there are European travellers’ accounts.24 Red Sea ports had undergone great changes during the 16th century. After the occupation of Egypt, the Ottoman pressed south to Suakin, Massawa, Jedda and Hudeida. Suakin became part of the Ottoman Empire under the Sultan’s control and was administered by the Vali in Hejaz.25 J. Alexander emphasises that Suakin Island and the coast near it were the first places to be occupied and the longest held within the Ottoman Empire.26 In 1523, the port of Suakin was a base for the Ottoman fleet of galleys operating to force the Portuguese – who were threatening the holy places in Arabia as well as Egyptian trade with India and beyond – out of the Red Sea and a base for the invasion of Yemen in 1929.27 The city remained under almost uninterrupted Ottoman control until the 19th century. It then became a typical Islamic urban, commercial and hajj‑pilgrimage port and maintained its links with both the Hejaz and the Funj throughout.28

The Beja nomads’ landscape

8The Beja are among the longest established peoples who inhabit the land parallel to the Red Sea, that extends from southern Egypt in the north, Eritrea in the south and from the Red Sea to the Nile.29 Their country is primarily desert and semi-desert across the vast plateau to the west of the Red Sea hills. They migrate with their herds between the seasonal water resources (khors) in the rainy season and the permanent wells in the dry season. During the dry months, they split up into smaller groups in order to better utilise the very scarce pasture on the mountain tops. The Beja travel in the mountainous area between the Red Sea, Nile and Atbara rivers, and the plain that slopes down westwards to the Nile river valley. They come down from the hills to the west and south, and large groups camp around Suakin during the winter months and continue to do so now (fig. 3‑4). The land is thinly covered with vegetation, a factor that makes it suitable for camel breeding and allows some cultivation during the rainy season. It is believed that the Beja were the first sub-Saharan African people to breed camels, which helped them to control the desert trade routes from the Red Sea ports to the upper Nile valley and beyond.

Fig. 3 – Beja nomads’ landscape (Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bedscha.jpg, Nikswieweg).

Fig. 4 – The nomads’ connection with present-day Suakin (S. Taha).

9As a nomadic people, the Beja have managed to survive in the same areas, crossed by important trade routes, and were never completely controlled by any central government, despite regular confrontations with external powers interested in the control of gold resources and/or trade routes. For centuries, camels have been the backbone of Beja economy and culture. They are indeed very skilled camel riders and excellent camel breeders; they sell them to Egypt and Arabia. They speak their own language and Arabic as a second one. Their language is not written, yet traditional knowledge is passed on through the practice of the oral traditions of stories and poetry. They are also related by a common segmentary structure where each lineage is linked to a common ownership and use of land. They have retained a distinctive culture and their own language, despite having mixed for centuries with Arab immigrants that have come into the region.30 The main groups are the Hedendawa, the Bishariyyn, the Amarar, the Beni Amir and the Ababbda.31 These tribes are still famous high-quality camel breeders and have an intimate knowledge of the land, natural resources and environment, developed through centuries of experience.

10During the colonial era, new economic ventures were introduced, which had an impact on the Beja lifestyle. The region was subjected to agricultural development activities. These included the development of cotton cultivation in the deltas of the Barka and Gash rivers, and the opening of a new port at Port Sudan in 1905. Policies such as the land tenure system contributed to depriving the local populations of communal land and limited their pastoral livelihood.32 Indeed, when Sudan was conquered by Britain, there were two types of ownership: communal or tribal ownership, and individual ownership. As in other colonial countries, native land was either termed “wilderness” or “Terra Nullius”; in Sudan, the colonial power in 1898 introduced a new principle, that unregistered land was assumed to be owned by the government unless the contrary was proven. The economic ventures attracted large groups from western Sudan and West Africa. These demographic changes had a great impact on the social fabric and the environment of the Beja.

11Since independence, successive national governments repeatedly took control of unregistered tribal land. Large areas came under private ownership through the buying and registration of land, a concept alien to the Beja, who are not familiar with land registration and private ownership. As a result, vast rain-fed lands and coastal areas were registered under private ownership.33 Since 1977, the government has licensed and given concessions to foreign companies for the exploitation of oil, gas and minerals, and allocated land without giving consideration to tribal livelihoods or consent. Nevertheless, until now, the Beja has successfully resisted all temptations to change their nomadic way of life, maintaining also their language, culture and traditions, although their land has witnessed different occupiers and empires trying to control their resources. They were excellent guides and caravan leaders and made an enormous contribution to the transport of goods to and from Red Sea ports, to the Nile valley, the interior and across borders. Nevertheless, their role in the success of Suakin and other ancient ports on the Sudanese Red Sea coast has been disregarded by most historians and scholars.

Camels, nomads and caravan trade routes

Camels

12Animals were used in the past to transport goods or merchandise in territories when modern transport was not available, or in areas which were difficult for vehicles to manoeuvre in. Camels were used in desert and semi-desert areas in Sudan. They provided an opportunity to expand trade and commodities from new and more distant areas. Productive regions were widely separated and spread out over a large area in the country’s interior and across borders and were only loosely linked by slow camel transport. G. Dahl and A. Hjort assert that the camel “made trade less confined to the Nile, bringing it right into the Beja desert areas, creating a demand for service in the form of camel care and supply, water provision and guidance”.34 The movement of goods and people was made possible by the nomads who inhabited the land through which products and people travelled (fig. 5). Moreover, they had an intimate knowledge of the land, the routes, the water resources and owned the animals for the transport.35 Suakin formed an operative liaison with pastoral nomads involved in the caravan trade, as the main trade routes passed through the heart of the Beja land and linked Suakin to the main collection and distribution centres.

Fig. 5 – Camel caravan entering Suakin port, 1830s (Durham Sudan Archives).

Caravan trade routes

13Suakin’s role was different when it overlapped with Badi and Ayzab. It changed from a small port of call to become the only and most famous port on the Sudanese coast after the destruction of Ayzab. It was active in commerce and the trade of merchandise from the country’s interior. There were trade routes which linked Suakin with trade centres along the river Nile. Al‑Maqrīzī states that there was a trade route linking the Nile with Suakin, Badi and Dahlak.36 In addition, there was a route along the Nile from Abu Hamad to Al Debba, which was shortened by the Bayada desert route. Medieval writers cite the eastern route of Abu Hamad – Korsko, which had been in use since the Meroitic period.37 Some others mentioned the Abu Hamad Ayzab – Suakin route across the Eastern Desert.38 Caravans linked different parts of the region and extended from Cobbe in the west to Suakin on the Red Sea coast, and from Shendiy and Berber in the north to Sennar in the south.39 This is testament to the strong relationship between the Nile and the Red Sea coast through the country’s interior. The northern riverine areas traded with Egypt through the Nile valley to Halfa and also connected with Suakin via Berber.

14Similarly, al‑Maqrīzī (deceased in 1442) cites Ibn Sulaym al Aswānī (10th century) as referring to trade routes connecting Suakin with commercial centres along the Nile and the Abu Hamed – ‘Aidhab – Suakin route across the Eastern Desert. Other writers refer to the eastern route of Abu Hamad – Korosko, which had been in use at least since the Meroitic period, if not earlier.40 Caravan trade routes criss-crossed the country and connected the Mediterranean with the Nile valley, Darfur, Kurdufan, sub-Saharan Africa, West Central Africa and the Horn of Africa. Camels linked Suakin with its distant hinterland west to Berber and the Nile valley, south to Kassala and the Eritrean highlands, Gadarif and Karkoj and continued to the equatorial provinces and beyond to West Africa (fig. 6). Major caravan routes also penetrated deep beyond these boundaries, northwards as far as Egypt and Cairo, southwards to highland and lowland Ethiopia and as far west as the Kingdom of Kulla (south-western Nigeria), Bornu and Hausaland (both in modern northern Nigeria).41 Thus, Suakin linked an extensive area of sub-Saharan Africa to overseas trade.

Fig. 6 – Caravan routes from West Africa (Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niger_saharan_medieval_trade_routes.PNG, T.L. Miles).

15Some of the most important routes (fig. 7) used were:

• Berber – Suakin;
• Kassala – Suakin – Eritrean highlands;
• Shendi – Berber – Suakin;
• El Fasher – Dongola – Berber – Suakin;
• Sennar – Kassla – Suakin;
• Suakin – Berber – Halfa – Egypt.

Fig. 7 – Trade routes (S. Taha).

16Trade routes have changed very little from ancient times to the present.42 Sudanese caravan trade and routes persisted up to the beginning of the 20th century. For example, Darb al Arbeen (“the forty days road”) from Darfur to Egypt, was used for 5,000 years and continues to be used up to the present day.

Products, trade centres and networks

Goods and slaves

17From Antiquity until the early 20th century, the Sudanese traded products which have not varied much, showing a parallel structure throughout history.43 Commodities from the hinterland included a vast range of products from all directions, such as sesame seeds and oil, sorghum, honey, wax and butter, which came from Kassala, Butana and the Nile valley. The Beja tribes provided animal products, racing camels, cattle, sheep and waterskins. Fishermen supplied fish, trochus shells44 and pearls to fisheries that were found along the Red Sea coast, from Suakin to Halayib in the north; the main centre being at Mohamed Goul. All these products were mainly exported to Europe, first via Egypt, and later, especially from the late 1870s, directly from Suakin. As it was based on a coastal product, this trade was not affected by the military operations inland. Short-distance imports were also traded through Suakin. For instance, cotton came from Toker to be ginned and exported from Suakin. From Sennar and Darfur came gold, ostrich feathers, horses, Arabic gum, frankincense, musk, senna and tobacco; skins and hide from Kordofan; ivory, ebony and slaves from the south; and coffee beans from Abyssinia. These were then transported to the Suez Canal, Yemen, Hejaz, Europe and Asia.45 In exchange, Suakin imported Europeans goods, such as textiles from Manchester, sugar, flour, candles, soap, cutlery and metal goods from Birmingham. Silk, sandalwood, perfumes, fabric, rice and spices were brought from India; porcelain and silk from China; aromatic gums and teak from Indonesia. As reported by my interviewees, the luxuries in their homes included rugs imported from Persia and chandeliers from Italy.46

18In addition to these goods, the slave trade also existed in Suakin. From the Early Islamic period, slaves were sold on the Red Sea coast, but, starting from the 18th and 19th centuries, this trade became a major contributor to exports. M.S. Ḍirār asserts that considerable revenue was generated from this trade, and about three thousand slaves passed through Suakin port each year.47 Likewise, in 1812, J.L. Burckhardt travelled from Berber to Suakin and reported a thriving slave trade, estimating that between two and three thousand slaves left the port that year.48 Both S. Al Shamiy and D. Roden confirm that the closure of the Egyptian slave market in 1870 resulted in an increase in slave trading on the Sudanese coast. Junker affirms in 1875: “As the only available seaport for the Eastern Sudan Sawakin enjoys prosperity. Export dues over £ 60,000 up to exchanges of over £ 1,000,000. The best traffic is in slaves”.49 The slave trade continued well into the late 19th century, as in 1865 Ismail Pasha convinced the Ottoman Sultan that he could not control the slave trade unless he controlled Suakin. The British then used it as one of their justifications for occupying Sudan, where they brought this trade to an end.

Trade centres

19The prosperity of trade centres depended chiefly on the political circumstances of the time as well as on other factors, such as accessibility, proximity to production centres and sufficient water supplies. Equally, strong political organisation offered protection and enhanced trade. Tribal chiefs, for example at Shendiy and Berber, provided protection for caravans passing through their lands. From Antiquity up to the beginning of the 20th century, the Kushite, Christian and Funj kingdoms made good use of their strategic location at the junction of trade routes. They were in control of extensive trade networks which were part of their main source of wealth. The Funj protected the camel caravan routes to the hinterland.50 Al Shamiy states that Sennar, the Funj capital, was a centre for gathering and distribution of all merchandise as it was linked by caravan routes to Egypt, Ethiopia, Darfur, Fazan, and Suakin.51 They distributed goods to trade centres such as Barber, Kassala, Shendiy, Sennar, Al Obeyed, Al Fashir and Kobbe.52 During the Funj period, Shendiy became the largest trade centre, especially for the slave trade, in the whole of Africa. Caravans arrived from Egypt, Darfur, Kurdufan, Sennar, Abyssinia, Morocco and Arabia using the routes mentioned above. Trade, traders and trade routes were well protected by the sheikh of the Jaleen tribe in Meroe.53

Merchants’ networks

20Areas of production were dispersed all over the lands; for this reason, merchants established a considerable number of agents, intermediaries, representatives and commercial networks. Caravans and agents’ networks linked the port with the immediate hinterland and interior trade. Indeed, my interviewees recounted to me that they had a large trade network in Arabia and India, as well as in collection centres in the hinterland.54 For example, Mohammad Al Sayed Siam, a Suakinese merchant, had a number of agents in the country’s interior.55 Agents were sometimes members of the same family: for instance, Siam’s agent in Hejaz was his father.56 He also traded with Calcutta, Suez and Massawa.57 The families had strong links and networks in all the established trade centres of Berber, Kassala, Shendiy, Sennar, El Fashir and Al Obyed.58 Suakin had trade relationships and networks in most of the major cities in the hinterland and merchants organised extensive, dynamic and functional networks, accomplishing business in all key centres.

Political stability: impact on connections and disconnections

21By and large, trade generally increases at times of peace and political stability. Trade in Suakin went through periods of peaks and declines and was very much influenced by national stability as well as international political activities on the Red Sea.59

Micropolitical issues

22Suakin served as a port for consecutive political powers and kingdoms that ruled Sudan from Antiquity to the beginning of the 20th century. These included the ancient kingdom of Meroe, the Christian kingdoms and, for the period we are focusing on, the sultanate of Funj and the Mahdist state. These political entities controlled and organised trade, trade centres and routes and facilitated and managed the continuity and flow of goods.60 However, when the central power weakened politically, this had a huge impact on the regular transfer of products from the hinterlands and beyond to the Red Sea and, inevitably, had a significant effect on the ports along the Sudanese coast.

The Funj sultanate (1504‑1821)

23The Funj sultanate set out to protect trade routes as its wealth was based on commercial enterprise, trade and exchange. It is worth pointing out that the Funj made trade and commercial agreements, rather than pursuing total control or annexation.61 During its supremacy, trade increased and maintained a steady flow of goods to and from Suakin. As a result of its power waning, the trade and continuity of goods reaching the port declined and the number of caravans passing from the country’s interior to Suakin decreased. Further, trouble on the Red Sea and in interior territories resulted in another period of economic depression. The fight against slavery and lower demand from the West, as well as the fall of Ottoman power and control over the Red Sea during the 18th century, also contributed to this decline.

The Mahdiyya (1885‑1899)

24The Mahdiyya wars had important consequences, still within living memories, on Suakin commercial, political and religious activities. The Mahdist independence revolution started in 1881 and spread quickly over the whole country. Osman Digna, a merchant from Suakin, supported the Mahdiyya and was appointed by the Mahdiy as the Amir (commander) of the eastern region. For fourteen years, the Beja, under the leadership of Osman Digna, kept the Anglo-Egyptian forces besieged in Suakin and prevented all food and water supplies coming from the hinterland. Owing to the difficulty of communications with the country’s interior due to the Mahdists’ activities along the routes and in the main trade centres, trade suffered and caravan trails were closed, which had serious implications for the people of Suakin, its hinterland and the Nile valley in general.62 Large caravans were only allowed through sporadically and Suakin’s circumstances got worse.

Macropolitical issues

25Red Sea ports were equally affected by external political affairs and competition in the region. Previous external policies before the 16th century which had a direct effect on Sudanese ports include, for instance, the Fatimid dynasty revitalisation of long-distance maritime trade (owing to high transport charges on the route to the Persian Gulf and the threat of piracy in the Gulf itself). They took control of Ayzab port from the Beja, and the port prospered as a result of the revival of the Red Sea route.63 Later, the presence of the Crusaders in the Red Sea area also influenced trade and travel. The Sinai hajj route was not accessible to Muslim pilgrims en route to Mecca, thus Ayzab and Suakin became the port through which most pilgrims sailed. Indian trade was first diverted to Suakin a few years before the sacking of Ayzab by the Mamluks in 1429.64 When the war in Persia and inner Asia in the 15th century disrupted trade along the spice and silk routes, trade was boosted along the Red Sea and benefited Suakin.65

The Ottoman Empire

26The 16th century brought great changes to the Red Sea ports, when the Ottomans occupied Egypt and pushed south, occupying Suakin in 1517.66 There seems to have been no dispute over the port’s revenues between the new occupying power and those concerned by an earlier fiscal arrangement. The income was split into three between the Ottomans, the Funj and the Artiga family.67 This co-operation, lasting throughout the 16th century, contributed to the development of the port and its prosperity.68 There was never any conflict between the Ottomans and the Funj throughout this period, but rather an agreement concerning the regulation and transport of goods from and to Suakin and then to international markets.

The First Turkiyya (1821‑1885)

27The First Turkiyya marked a new phase in Suakin’s history.69 The city and its port declined during this period, as the goods which were in demand in Europe were taken to Egypt to be sent through Egyptian ports on the Mediterranean Sea rather than through Suakin. However, Suakin prospered during the time of Ismail Pasha (1830‑1895). He appointed Momtaz Pasha (1865) as the new Muhafez (governor), who undertook significant developments in Suakin.70 For instance, he reclaimed some land from the Red Sea, and built a platform around the island for the anchorage of small ships and boats.71 During this time, when Mohammed Ali was seeking greater revenues, the governor had to increase taxes in Suakin.72 He introduced cotton cultivation in the Baraka Delta, which was ginned and pressed at Suakin; the telegraph to Kassala was also completed during this period.73 The Artiga Amir was left to deal with local affairs only,74 and the title of the Amir was downgraded to ‘Ommda.75 For the next fifty years, the port grew again in prosperity.

28There are several factors which led to Suakin’s decline. The competition between European forces and the Ottomans over the control of the Red Sea had a great influence on trade with Europe: because the latter were evicted from its shores, they started to find other sources and centres in East and West Africa. International trade in the Red Sea lost out as a result of these policies, affecting the activity of ports on its coast, including Suakin.76 Suakin rose to glory again following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The number of ships calling at Suakin increased from 146 in 1869 – most of which were Egyptian, Arabian and Indian – to 230 in 1877, including European ships.77 With the completion of the canal, France and Britain started to compete for strategic areas along the Red Sea. Junker, who visited Suakin in 1875, noticed the improvements and observed that Suakin had become Sudan’s main port and an outlet for its exports.78 Baker, visiting Suakin in 1869, the same year that the Suez Canal was opened, commented that “the Red Sea, instead of being a side street for maritime commerce, became the highway to the East”.79 During this period the reservoir (built by the Funj) was enlarged and a custom house and quay were built in Gezira.80

British sanctions on Suakin

29On October 5th, 1885, the British imposed economic sanctions and, on 15th October 1885, stopped all commercial enterprise with Sudan, putting pressure on Egypt to stop all commerce with Sudan. The policy was discussed by the British parliament in 1888 and was strongly criticised by the Egyptian chamber of commerce on February 23rd, 1894.81 The object of the sanctions was to put pressure on the Mahdiyya economically and commercially by isolating Sudan from the outside world. Predictably, this put great pressure on Suakin’s merchants and on the town’s revenues. Suakin went into a period of depression.

The second Turkiyya (1898‑1956)

Relocating the port: the rise of Port Sudan

30After the Mahdiyya and the re-capturing of Sudan,82 the Suakinese anticipated that their city and port would recommence its usual trade activities, especially after the economic sanctions were lifted.83 On the contrary, after the recapturing of Sudan by the British, some of the decisions made by the new administration would change Suakin for a long time. Instead of reviving Suakin, Britain was planning to move the port to Akik or Marsa Sheikh Bargouth (present-day Port Sudan). Further disturbance in the Red Sea added to Suakin’s final demise: the Turko-Italian war in 1912 disrupted the maritime trade and diverted commercial transactions to Port Sudan. However, Suakin managed to maintain good business during the First World War, it continued to be the main market for goods distributed through the Red Sea area, large caravans continued to leave for the country’s interior and a large number of pilgrims sailed to Jedda via Suakin. But Suakin then received yet another blow when the government transferred its importing base to Port Sudan. Suakin had managed to survive because of the strength of the old-fashioned links which had sustained it in times of difficulty. The merchants had hung on to their properties, hoping for a revival of business, and as long as the bank and the telegraph office remained open, they were able to continue trading from Suakin, making the rail journey to Port Sudan when necessary.84 Many of Suakin’s merchants had commercial ties with Aden, Jedda, India, Egypt, and Khedivial ships preferred to call at Suakin. Nevertheless, the mail line started the first regular service to Port Sudan in 1907.85 By 1909, Suakin still handled 63% of total imports into the country.

The railway’s impact on caravans and networks

31At the outset, directly after the war against the Mahdiyya independence armies, Suakin began to show some bustle and return to normality. A decision to build a railway from Atbara to Suakin increased trade and employment entered a period of growth as the result of the transportation system’s improvement. In 1905, with the completion of the railway, it became cheaper to ship goods from Sudan than through the Suez Canal. There were signs of recovery. Two Egyptian banks established branches, as well as port and shipping agencies, such as Gellatly, Hankey and Co. which reopened its branch in Suakin. The ginning factory opened its doors after twenty years of closure and so did the Eastern Telegraph Company, shipping companies and businesses.86 By 1905, Suakin was thriving and started to rise in importance again. However, the construction of a direct rail connection between Port Sudan and Kassala, later extended to Sennar and the Blue Nile, diverted more trade to Port Sudan and damaged the long-distance caravan trade which had been one of the rock-solid successes of Suakin’s continued existence (fig. 8). Furthermore, it changed all the ties and links the merchants had internally.87 As pointed out by one of my interviewees: “The British killed Suakin, they created Atbara and Port Sudan, in place of the old-established trade centres of Berber, Kassala, Shendiy and Sennar to further disconnect the Suakinese from their established relationship with their agents and contacts in these towns”.88

Fig. 8 – The railway’s impact on caravans (Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railways_in_Sudan.svg, JKan997).

32As related by interviewees and by secondary data, the improvement of lorry tracks in the 1930s directly affected the camel caravans.89 But by far the most important resolutions, which had enormous implications for the merchants, were the closures of the National Bank in 1923, the Eastern Telegraph in 1924 and the school in 1927. Cotton from Kassala and Toker was sent to Port Sudan ginneries, and only the surplus (if there was a good harvest) was sent to Suakin, so that hope of a trade revival became more distant.90 The nomads’ main livelihood depended on the caravan trade. To begin with, charges for dispatching consignments by rail or vehicles were very high. For that reason, the nomads managed to withstand losing their livelihood and competed with the railway and motor vehicles until the first half of the 20th century.91

Discussion: ports and hinterlands, interconnection and interdependence

Challenging previous interpretations

33C.M. Kusimba argues that hinterlands played critical roles in trade networks with port cities, yet explanations about urbanism in East African history is predominantly based on foreign trading and traders and, on the whole, neglect economic and cultural interchange with interior communities.92 This is echoed by R. Murphey, who argues that “the port requires good access to hinterland even more than to the sea-linked foreland”.93 Likewise, T.T. Yong suggests that “port cities are meaningless unless they serve a hinterland or are linked to it”.94 G. Connah accurately points out: “What ship would ever visit a port unless there was a chance of a cargo to collect?”.95 Port cities and hinterlands have intertwined and multilayered links with each other. I believe the role played by the hinterland in the story of Suakin’s success has not been given the recognition it deserves, although some aspects have been considered.96

The port, an interface to the hinterland

34T. Power accurately maintains that ports are mainly dependent on their hinterland and he suggests that “in the case of the Red Sea, the hinterlands become particularly important to understanding the rise and demise of the ports”.97 I also believe that ports in general, and along the Red Sea in this case, are not merely centres for importing goods, but they also serve as ports for the export of products from the hinterlands and the interior. In that respect, they are middlemen between the hinterland and international markets. As highlighted by some scholars, “a remarkable characteristic in the history of the coast is the recurrent locational shifts of trading centres and the lack of continuity in the history of ancient harbours”.98 Suakin and Red Sea ports are located in a formidable and unforgiving climate. The continuity of Red Sea ports depended on their flexibility and their access to the hinterlands. This is the case for Suakin: throughout its history, its port had robust interaction with the hinterland and the interior. The Suakinese relied entirely on trade as the main, and only, source of revenue, owing to the absence of other sources such as agriculture or industry (these were limited, and thus used locally). There were goldsmiths, blacksmiths, leather shops, weaving and basketry for local use. From the past to the present, the nomads sold animal oil, camel milk and firewood in Suakin market. There was very limited agriculture in the Shatta area in Suakin, and some produce came from the Gash area.99

Interconnection and interdependence

35Suakin as a commercial town has always served and continued its relations with both the hinterland and places across the sea. Major caravan routes had also penetrated deep beyond the regional boundaries, northwards as far as Egypt and Cairo, southwards to highland and lowland Ethiopia and the kingdom of Kulla and westwards to Bornu and Hausaland.100 The caravan routes to Suakin opened the country to Arabia, Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, India and the Far East via sea routes. According to J.C.M. Starkey, ports along the Red Sea coast, although set apart from their hinterlands, were as dependent on them as on their sea lanes.101 Al Shamiy stresses that harbours along the Red Sea coast were also criss-crossed by trade from the hinterland.102 It is evident that the active trade connection between Suakin and the hinterland is one of the main reasons for its endurance, prosperity and wealth. Suakin maintained a constructive affiliation with the Beja nomads involved in the caravan trade, as the main trade routes passed through their homeland and linked Suakin to the main assembling and distribution centres. It had trade relationships and networks in most of the major cities in the hinterland for instance: Kassala, Shendiy, Berber, Sennar, El Fashir and Al Obyed. Merchants organised extensive, dynamic and functional networks, accomplishing business in all key centres. Interviewees assert that their families had agents and strong links and networks in all the established trade centres.103 This testifies to the shared objectives, joint interdependency and interconnection between port cities and their hinterlands. Suakin as a destination for caravans as well as ships is expressed in both prose and poetry, such as the following two examples recorded by the author :104

The caravans faring from afar find no rest, but upon
Reaching your shores fall to slumber
Ships likewise sail the seas speeding towards your
Coast, braving storm and thunder
(verse from a poem by Yagoub Babikir Omar, recited by a male interviewee, around 80 years old, Khartoum, 2013).

Tell the seafaring ships of your youth while embracing them tenderly
Let them know of your steadfastness, perpetuity and serenity
High in your eminence you were a lighthouse to our souls
Let the ships seek to anchor in no other harbour but yours
(poem by Othman Ali, recited by a male interviewee, around 60 years old, Sinkat, 2009).

Political stability

36By and large, national and international peace and stability have a visible effect on trade, affluence and wealth. This is reflected in a buzzing, dynamic activity, trade increase and boom in all the connected spaces, not only port cites. Suakin experienced periods of highs and lows and was very much influenced by national stability as well as international political affairs on the Red Sea as illustrated above.105

37Red Sea ports, hinterlands, caravans, Beja nomads and desert routes were inseparably connected and interlinked. They were affected by the global, as well as internal, political climate and conditions. As I established earlier, political and economic circumstances during successive kingdoms that governed Sudan had a considerable impact on the interchange of goods in Suakin. The Ottomans controlled the Red Sea as a route but did not rule the interior or hinterland.106 Trade routes which intersected the country were managed by the Funj kingdom. Collaboration between the Funj sultanate and the Ottomans resulted in the most successful and economically effective outcome in terms of the amount of trade and was one of the major reasons for the continuity and wealth of ports along the Red Sea. All previous studies acknowledge the Ottomans’ role in Suakin, but the Funj role in these achievements has not been acknowledged. Multiple, complex factors in Suakin, leading to this success story, and allowing it to become one of the most notable commercial centres on the Red Sea, have previously been completely discounted. Colonial interpretation of the town’s eminence seems to fail to notice Suakin’s substantial importance to the hinterland and the interior kingdoms.

Conclusion

38I have demonstrated in this article that Suakin was a well-known and successful port, and not only because of foreigners and settlers, as suggested by the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial texts that constitute the vast majority of relevant documentation and literature. This view only offers a one-dimensional and limited perspective of outsiders and totally disregards the traditional links, networks and economic relationships between Suakin and both its hinterland and the country’s interior. Rather, Suakin’s rise to distinction was not only due to foreigners and settlers, but also to indigenous populations107 and a multiplicity of other factors. Cooperation was necessary for its continuity and strength.

39Port cities serve a range of purposes. They are realms where dynamic interaction and exchange with hinterlands takes place. They are the conduit for products from the hinterlands to overseas markets, as well as serving as collection and distribution centres for overseas products to the hinterlands. I stress that, in the case of Suakin, if the port and the sea acted as the heart of Suakin, then the supplies, goods and pilgrims from the hinterland were its lifeblood. The role of the Beja nomads and the country’s interior in the success of Suakin and other ancient ports on the Sudanese Red Sea coast has been disregarded until recently.

40The Beja nomads played a vital role in the success of Sudanese Red Sea ports. I believe that, without the Beja nomads’ involvement, Sudanese Red Sea ports would have been mainly dependent on the transport of pilgrims and the limited resources such as pearls, trochus shells and sea salt that were available in the area. They would not have had access to the range of commodities desired by the overseas markets. In addition, with the absence of motor vehicle transport at the time and, without the Beja nomads’ participation, Sudanese Red Sea ports would not have had access to resources from far and wide. Additionally, even if motor vehicle transport had existed at the time, the price of transporting merchandise would have been very high and availability of fuel would have been problematic. It would have been even more challenging to cross such areas on untarmacked roads without the knowledge of the routes and water resources. Not only that, but most importantly, the routes crossed the Beja’s homeland, so the exchange of goods from and to Suakin would not have been achievable without their collaboration.

41Political stability does not only allow the development of land routes, but also of sea routes, leading to international competition over these maritime trade networks. As I demonstrated previously, the Red Sea has experienced several episodes of international struggle for its control and this has had substantial impacts on ports’ decline, discontinuity or success. The hinterland commodities were vital to feed exports and the commercial structure. By examining the hinterland, port and overseas policies as a single interrelated entity, it is possible to see the continual undividable links. Colonial views neglected Suakin’s extensive significance for the hinterland political states, and the Beja tribes, who facilitated the distribution and the passage of goods and travellers across their land and were paramount for its durability. Conveyance of goods from the production and collection centres to the ports on the Red Sea coast and the other way round was an active exchange. Trade routes could be considered as the “arteries” that maintained Suakin’s continuance, prosperity and economic success. The mutual benefits that Suakin, its hinterland and more importantly the inhabitants of the latter brought to each other contributed to the port’s success as an international centre of commerce and international trade. Suakin’s holistic history therefore has to be recognized as an history dynamically interweaving the local, regional and international networks: it is a story of connected landscapes.