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 is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

of north-east

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, who described the course of the

White Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. In the stri ...

in 19th-century

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and modern

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. 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 around the ...

mother from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) 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 during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, in

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

. 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 between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(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, Gordon of Khartoum and General Gordon , was a British ...

. 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 Turco-Egyptian Sudan (), also known as Turkish Sudan or Turkiyya (, ''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 h ...

, 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 people (, pron. ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo''), which is part of the Cushitic language ...

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

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

and also was active in the deployment of

gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...

. Gordon regarded him, perhaps unfairly, as a brilliant

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

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

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

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

Sudd The Sudd (, Nuer: Baki̱ec, Dinka: Toc) is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's '' Baḥr al-Jabal'' section. The Arabic word ' is derived from ' (), meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The term "the sudd" has come to ref ...

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

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

. In 1881, Muhammad Rauf Pasha, Gordon's successor at Khartoum, appointed Frank Lupton 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 people of Armenian descent Italian soldiers 19th-century Italian explorers Italian explorers of Africa 19th century in Sudan