Sagallo (russian: Сагалло; ar, ساغلو; french: Sagallou) was a short-lived settlement established in 1889 by a Russian monk and adventurer on the

Gulf of Tadjoura The Gulf of Tadjoura (; ) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean in the Horn of Africa. It lies south of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, or the entrance to the Red Sea, at . The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pea ...

French Somaliland French Somaliland (french: Côte française des Somalis, lit= French Coast of the Somalis so, Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which time it became the French Ter ...

(modern-day Djibouti). It was located some west of Djibouti City.

History

Sagallo was originally a small coastal village. During antiquity Sagallo was part of the city-states that in engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting the merchants with Phoenicia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Greece, Parthian Persia, Saba,

Nabataea The Nabataean Kingdom (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''), also named Nabatea (), was a political state of the Arab Nabataeans during classical antiquity. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled many of the trade routes of the region, ...

, and the Roman Empire.

French rule

The Ottoman Empire had control over the area from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. From 1862 until 1894, the land to the north of the

was called ''Obock'' and ruled by Somali and

Afar Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

s, local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to gain a foothold in the region.Raph Uwechue, ''Africa year book and who's who'', (Africa Journal Ltd.: 1977), p.209.''A Political Chronology of Africa'', (Taylor & Francis: 2001), p. 132 . In 1894, Léonce Lagarde established a permanent French administration in the

city of Djibouti Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; so, Magaalada Jabuuti, french: link=no, Ville de Djibouti, ar, مدينة جيبوتي, aa, Gabuutî Magaala) is the eponymous capital of Dji ...

and named the region ''Côte française des Somalis'' (

), a name which continued until 1967.

Achinov settlement

In 1883, Nikolai Ivanovich Achinov, an adventurer and

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

of Penza (b. 1856Ernest A. Wallis Budge,
A history of Ethiopia, Nubia and Abyssinia
', Taylor & Francis,1928.) visited Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire) in order to establish clerical and political ties between the two countries. After his return to Russia, Achinov voiced his plans for an 1888 expedition to the

to establish a settlement, while claiming to be a free

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. Achinov assured the participants that the sultan of Tadjoura, Mohammed Loitah, had permanently leased him land in the region. It was purely on his own initiative, and without the involvement of the Russian government, that on 10 December 1888, Achinov along with 165 Terek Cossacks boarded the ''Kornilov'', a ship heading from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

to Alexandria. The expedition then boarded the ''Lazarev'' which brought them to

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

. There, Achinov rented the Austrian ship ''Amfitrida'', which entered the

on 6 January 1889. The expedition was greeted by a group of Ethiopian priests. Achinov struggled to keep the Cossacks under his control, but some raided the

Danakil Danakil may refer to: * Danakil people or Afar people, an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa *Danakil Depression, a desert basin in north-eastern Ethiopia and southern Eritrea *Danakil Desert, a desert in the Horn of Africa *Danakil Depression or A ...

, stealing a cow and a sheep after driving off the local tribesmen with rifle fire. The sultan accepted 60 francs from Achimov as reparations. The French foreign office demanded an explanation of Achinov's actions and the Russian ambassador in Paris distanced the Russian Empire from him. On January 14, the abandoned Egyptian fort of Sagallo was chosen as the new base of the expedition. Achinov named the fort New Moscow. A tent was erected to serve as the church of St. Nicholas and a flag of the expedition was raised. Rumours about the formidable size of the expedition quickly spread through the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...

. Later, several colonists escaped to

Obock Obock (also Obok, aa, Hayyú) is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City. The French ...

, informing the French of the settlement's whereabouts. On 5 February, the Cossacks noticed a French cruiser and three French gunboats. An ultimatum was issued, but Achinov misunderstood it and did not surrender. The artillery barrage that followed came as a complete surprise for the Russians, leaving 6 colonists dead and 22 wounded. A white shirt was raised to show surrender. The Russian government disavowed Achinov, accusing him of disobedience to the Tsar and acts of piracy. Participants were arrested and deported to Odessa aboard the ''Zabiyaka''.

History

French rule

Achinov settlement

Climate

See also

References

Further reading