Romolo Gessi (30 April 1831 – 1 May 1881), also called Gessi Pasha, was an Italian soldier, governor in the Turkish-Egyptian administration and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

of north-east

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, who described the course of the

White Nile The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

in 19th-century

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and modern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Gessi was born to an Italian father and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

mother from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, in

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

. He acquired his military experience serving in the volunteer corps of Garibaldi in 1859 and 1860. He was one of numerous Garibaldi volunteers who went on to be regular soldiers, not only in the new Italian army, but in several others.

Service in the British Empire in the Crimea and Sudan

Gessi fought with the British forces in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

(1854–55), where he first met General

Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and ...

. Gordon later described him as "Italian subject, aged 49 (in 1881). Short, compact figure; cool, most determined man. Born genius for practical ingenuity in mechanics. Ought to have been born in 1560, not 1832. Same disposition as Francis Drake. Had been engaged in many petty political affairs. Was interpreter to Her Majesty's Forces in the Crimea, and attached to the headquarters of the Royal Artillery."Moorehead, 168. In 1876, while serving under governor-general Gordon in the

Turkish Sudan Turkish Sudan (), also known as Turkiyya ( ar, التركية, ''at-Turkiyyah''), describes the rule of the Eyalet and later Khedivate of Egypt over what is now Sudan and South Sudan. It lasted from 1820, when Muhammad Ali Pasha started his co ...

, he explored the course of the

in the area of Bahr El Jebel and mapped its descent from Lake Albert. He then ventured in the territory of the

Oromo people The Oromo (pron. Oromo language, Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic people, Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), ...

, later becoming governor of the Bahr-el-Ghazal province, where he struggled against Sebehr and the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and also was active in the deployment of

gum arabic Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the '' Acacia'' tree, ''Senegalia sen ...

. Gordon regarded him, perhaps unfairly, as a brilliant

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

- perhaps he did not come up to Gordon's standards of noncomformist rectitude. In 1880, while returning to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, he found the Nile obstructed and was held up for three months in the

Sudd The Sudd (' or ', Dinka language, Dinka: Toc) is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's ''Mountain Nile, Baḥr al-Jabal'' section. The Arabic language, Arabic word ' is derived from ' (), meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The ...

, becoming ill. This illness led to his death, shortly after his return to

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

. In 1881,

Muhammad Rauf Pasha Muhammad Rauf Pasha (c.1832 – 1888) was an Egyptian soldier and colonial administrator who served in turn as governor of Equatoria and Harar, and governor general of Sudan. He was ineffective and did little to prevent the Mahdist movement develo ...

, Gordon's successor at Khartoum, appointed

Frank Lupton Frank Miller Lupton, or Lupton Bey, (1854 – 8 May 1888) was a British sailor who served as an administrator in the Egyptian Sudan. He was governor of Bahr el Ghazal province in 1881 at the start of the Mahdist War. Cut off from supplies and re ...

governor of the Bahr el Ghazal in place of Gessi. After his death, his son Felice published his father's memoirs in the book, ''Sette anni nel Sudan egiziano'' (Milano, 1891).

Citations

Sources

* * * Zaccaria, Massimo: ''Il flagello degli schiavisti: (Romolo Gessi in Sudan, 1874-1881)'', Fernandel scientifica, Ravenna, 1999, p. 272; ,

External links

*
Gessi: A man at the service of Gordon Pasha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gessi, Romolo 1831 births 1881 deaths People from Ravenna Italian soldiers Italian explorers Explorers of Africa 19th century in Sudan