Dongola

Dongola, New, a town of Nubia on the left bank of the Nile, above the third cataract, 750 miles S. of Cairo. It was formerly an independent kingdom with a capital, Old Dongola, the ruins of which are 75 miles S.E., on the right bank of the Nile. It was destroyed by Mamelukes in 1820. A good trade in slaves was formerly carried on here, but the Soudanese war crippled it. In the campaign of 1884-85 New Dongola was the base of British operations against the forces of the Mahdi.