Argo Island

Argo Island
Argo Island is located in Sudan
Argo Island
Location within Sudan
Country Sudan
StateNorthern

Argo Island (also: Island of Arkô and Jezira Argo) is an island of the Nile in Sudan. The island contains a town of the same name and the Nubian archaeology site of Tabo.

History

In the late medieval era Argo was home to the Mekkdom of Argo, a petty kingdom that rose around 1410. In the 1780s its ruling Zubayr dynasty was subjugated by the Shaigiya, who made it a vassal. After the Mamluks occupied Lower Dongola in 1812 they likewise made its rulers vassals and moved the king’s seat from Argo to Bani. In 1813 the Shaigiya sacked Argo while the Mamluks were away on campaign. According to local tradition its first king was al Hajj Muhammad. Argo’s king Tambal was deposed with Mamluk help and fled to Egypt. He returned in 1820 with the Turco-Egyptian expedition of Isma'il Kamil Pasha. The kingdom ended in 1821 with the Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan, after which the ruling family continued as local administrators.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Jacquet-Gordon, Bonnet & Jacquet 1969, pp. 103–111.
  2. 1 2 3 النوبي, سوار الذهب (2025-04-18). "الشيخ الزبير حمد الملك النور". ضفاف النيل (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-10-27.
  3. ↑ Beška 2020, p. 320.
  4. ↑ Beška 2020, pp. 323.
  5. ↑ Beška 2020, p. 325.

Sources

  • Jacquet-Gordon, Helen; Bonnet, Charles; Jacquet, Jean (1969). "Pnubs and the Temple of Tabo on Argo Island". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 55: 103–111. doi:10.2307/3856006. JSTOR 3856006.
  • Beška, Emanuel (2020). "Swan Song in the Nile Valley: The Mamlūk Statelet in Dongola (1812 to 1820)". Asian and African Studies. 29 (2).