Ottoman Suakin 1541–1865: Lost and Found

Abstract

The island town of Suakin (Ott. Sevvakin) was one of the major Red Sea ports and, for a short period, the capital of the Ottoman eyelet of Habes. It lies 60 kilometres south of present-day Port Sudan, and has recently been the subject of a Sudanese-British collaborative archaeological project focusing on three main areas of research: archaeological study of the development of the settlement, architectural study of the ruins, and the future protection of the place as a cultural site. This chapter summarises the aspects of the project reflecting Suakin's Ottoman history. The study identifies material confirming the activities that led to this prosperity, namely trade. The archaeological evidence recovered in the recent excavations does support the existence of a wide-ranging trade network into which Suakin was linked from the earlier Ottoman period, covering neighbouring areas but also extending to east and south-east Asia.

Excavations at the medieval Red Sea port of Suakin, Sudan

“…The main focus of its activities was on the island, where an exclusive mercantile space emerged with occupants and visitors drawn from across the Red Sea region and further afield (Mallinson et al 2009). Masonry construction is noted early in the century, while the Beit el Basha itself was constructed in the middle part of the sixteenth century leading to the widespread shift to the use of stone in house building.…”

Design of Generative Model for the Language of Traditional Suakin Using Parametric Shape Grammar

“…It is approximately 750 m. long and less than 500 m. wide in size and is almost entirely flat desert plain (Figure 1). According to several references, Qezar, et al [26], Dirar [27] Salim [28], and Mallison [29], the earliest history of Suakin dated back to three thousand years BC, where it was used by ancient Egyptians on their way to the Kingdom of girl (Punt) in the East Africa to hunt Elephants. Suakin have been the Roman port of Evangelon Portus used by Ptolemy (Figure 2 and 3).…”

The Ottomans and the Funj sultanate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

“…Firstly, the Funj were themselves reliant on Suakin as their main entrepot for trade with the outside world, and they probably welcomed the access to world markets provided by Ottoman Suakin's prominent place on the trade routes connecting the Red Sea coast of Africa with India, South-East Asia and the Mediterranean. 69 Secondly, the Funj are unlikely to have wanted Ethiopia to win an absolute victory which might threaten Sinnār's own position and even independence. So they supplied both sides, Ethiopia with horses to keep the war going, the Ottomans with enough provisions to allow them to retain their East African foothold.…”