Sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire in the Region of East Africa (1559 – 1875)

In the middle of the 16th century, spice trade routes were re-established through the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. At the same time, Portugal quickly built an eastern empire, using naval power to seize strategic points and control the Indian Ocean. Starting from Mozambique in East Africa in 1505, the first fleet sailed to the Red Sea along the South African coast, to the Kilwi Sultanate of present-day Tanzania, to the Agam Sultanate off the Kenyan coast, and to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The Islamic sultans in the East African region began to receive support from the Ottoman Empire against the Portuguese threat, and although the Ottoman Empire controlled the lands from Sudan to Mozambique in 1585-1586, Portugal lost its control after 1589. Portugal was able to block access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and monopolize the flow of goods from Asia via the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Mediterranean. This strategy posed a serious threat to the interests of the Ottoman Empire and led to naval conflicts over important supplies, especially pepper and spices. XVI. In the second half of the century, Portugal abandoned its forces because it lacked the manpower to continue its naval operations. They gathered in Berlin to avoid conflicts with Africa as a result of the century's rivalry. At the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference, a colonial policy was planned for Africa in general. The Ottoman Empire's relationship with the East African region lasted for four centuries, starting with the collapse of the Mamluk state in 1517. Ottoman XIV. In the XIX. century, in the regions where East Africa was dominant at that time, it consolidated itself as a power against the colonial logic of the Europeans and formed a structure based on its military power during this struggle. East Africa, especially Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Harar were part of the state during the last period of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans wanted a presence in the Red Sea, especially after Europeans began to arrive in the region. İsmail Pasha, who became Khedive in 1863, made great efforts to acquire new lands in the African continent. On June 1, 1875, by the order of Sultan Abdulaziz, the East African region was handed over to the Egyptian Khedive. Since Egypt was not the same as before, the Ottoman State sent two or three ships from Humayun to the Red Sea via Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Harar on October 9, 1887. At the end of the 19th century, East Africa came under the control of European colonialists and thus the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the East African region came to an end. Keywords: Ottoman State, East Africa, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, European Colonialism.