The Second Battle of Agordat was fought in late December 1893, between Italian colonial troops and Mahdists from the

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 ...

. Emir Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern

and led about 10–12,000 men east from

Kassala Kassala ( ar, كسلا) is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. Its 2008 population was recorded to be 419,030. Built on the banks of the Gash River, it is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. Many of its inhabit ...

. This force encountered 2,400

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

and their Eritrean askaris at

Agordat Agordat; also Akordat or Ak'ordat) is a city in Gash-Barka, Eritrea. It was the capital of the former Barka province, which was situated between the present-day Gash-Barka and Anseba regions. History Excavations in Agordat uncovered pottery ...

, west of

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...

, commanded by Colonel Arimondi. Over 1,000

Dervishes Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

, including the

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

, were killed in severe fighting. The outcome of the battle constituted: A year later, Italian colonial forces seized

Sources

{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 1893 in Sudan 1893 in the Italian Empire

December 1893 events Italian Eritrea fr:Combat d'Agordat