The presence of Greeks in Sudan dates back to the first quarter of the 19th century when Greek doctors and engineers followed the Egyptian campaign to conquer Sudan that took place in 1821 under the leadership of Muhammad Ali.

Later, merchants and other Greeks moved to the country. Within the following decades, the Greeks acquired a significant role in the economic life of Sudan.

Greeks and colonial conflict

At the end of the 19th century, Sudan experienced political changes. It became a conflict zone for European colonial powers who wanted to expand their sphere of influence in Africa. In 1885, the Greeks took part in the defence of the city of Khartoum when a local Sudanese leader, Mahdi, tried to throw off the Egyptian yoke.

The Greeks were the elite guard of the commander of the city, the British general Charles George Gordon. The Greek consul, Nikolaos Leontides, was appointed by Gordon as deputy governor and responsible for organising the defence of Khartoum.In contrast, the British governor’s advisers included his physician, Xenophon Xenoudakis.

Because of the courage displayed by the Greeks throughout the siege, Gordon likened them to the 300 men of Leonidas who fought in Thermopiles against the Persian Empire. Finally, the city fell into the hands of the Mahdi’s men. Some Greeks were killed, while others were imprisoned and forced to convert to Islam according to the dictates of the new regime.

British and Egyptians retake Sudan

Ten years later, the British army and the Egyptians decided to retake Sudan. This was made possible with the help of the Greek suppliers. Specifically, the Greeks supplied the English army with food and water, walking thousands of kilometres across the desert on camels.

After the occupation of Sudan by the Anglo-Egyptian troops, the mass entry of Greeks into the country began, the majority of whom were from the island of Lesbos.

Most of them took part in the reconstruction of the country. The most significant number settled in Khartoum, where the first Greek community was created in 1902.

In 1910, the Church of the Annunciation was built. A new port, Port Sudan, began to be built on the Red Sea and the Greeks, who immigrated in large numbers at the beginning of the 20th century, worked there. 1905, over a thousand Greek workers and artisans arrived in Port Sudan.

They erected houses and buildings for the English administration and later shops and hotels. They gradually created communities throughout the state (in Port Sudan, Wad Medani, El Obeid, and Kassala), which was the largest in Africa until its recent division into Sudan and South Sudan. The second big wave, which led to the increase of the Greek population, came after 1930. Greeks took advantage of the favourable conditions and established communities in southern Sudan, in Juba (1926) and Wau (1939).

Greeks in the Sudanese economy

Greeks had a strong presence in Sudan from the middle of the 19th century. They were active in every sector of the economy, society and culture and primarily defined the local history.

Greeks had always had a special relationship with the Sudanese, unlike the British, who considered them second-class, and this is a reason why the Greeks are still loved to this day.

They were successful merchants and pioneering industrialists. They emerged as a dominant force in the trade of alcoholic beverages, introduced new methods in agricultural production and were the protagonists of the country’s economic development.

The most important figure of the Greek parish was undoubtedly Gerasimos Kontomichalos, who acquired great economic power with a wide range of activities.

The immigrants from Kefalonia came to be the most important economic factor of the entire country. He helped to create Greek communities in many areas of Sudan and offered money to build the high school in Khartoum. Until his death, he was the backbone of the Greek community.

A special relationship

Greeks had always had a special relationship with the Sudanese, unlike the British, who considered them second-class, and this is a reason why the Greeks are still loved to this day. Also, Greeks did not leave Sudan when it became an independent country in 1956 and continued to play an essential role in the country’s life and prosperity.

In the Sudanese Civil War that broke out in 1956, following the independence of Sudan, the Greeks fought on the side of the southern rebels who sought self-determination.

Typical is the case of Dimitris Gialouris, from Plomari, on Lesbos Island, who arrived in South Sudan in the 1930s.

His three sons, Vasilis, Yiannis and Grigoris, fought in the liberation movement. The war lasted almost 40 years. By this time, the third generation of the family had taken part in the war.

Today, a descendant of Dimitris Yalouris is the governor of a province of the new state of South Sudan. At the same time, his sister is the wife of the country’s president.

The decline and remnants

The decline of the Greek community began after the 1969 coup when they lost their properties in the wave of nationalisations that followed. The final blow for the Greek community came in 1983 when a Sharia regime was imposed. Greeks sent their women and children out of Sudan, so there was a problem of population renewal.

Furthermore, the leading force in the liquor trade, the Greeks were hit hard and soon closed down their businesses.Despite the difficulties, the Greek community, although significantly reduced, remained in Sudan until a few months ago, completing two centuries of presence in the country. Unfortunately, however, due to the outbreak of the new civil war, the last Greeks left the country to save themselves.

Antonis Chaldeos, is a historian, and author from South Africa, dedicated to writing and researching the Greek communities of Africa.