192 Re-occupation of Tokar.

Battle of Matamma, 9th March, 18S9.

Death of John.

Accession of Menelik.

1890.

1891.

Keoccupation of Tokar, 19th February, 1892.

Italians on the scene.

1893.

was now determined to capture Gallabat and advance on Omdurraan ; he therefore left Gondar at the end of February, and advanced against Matamma, the capital of Gallabat. Zeki Tumal had fortified this town, and held it with 60,000 men ; but the Abyssinians surrounded and overwhelmed them (9th March). During the last stage of the fight, however, King John was killed by a stray bullet, whereupon his army retired at once. The Dervishes harassed their retreat and captured the body of their monarch, so to all intents the result amounted to an Abyssinian reverse.

On hearing of this, John's rival, Menelik of Shoa, seized the throne and proclaimed himself Negus Naga-sti, shortly afterwards making a treaty of friendship with the Italians.

During 1890 Handub was still occupied by the enemy, but in the first days of 1891 Colonel Holled Smith, then Governor, attacked and occupied it during the absence of Osman Digna (27th January). He then followed up his advantage by seizing Trinkitat and Teb, and on the 19th February, after a sharp fight with the enemy at Tokar, he occupied the ruins of that town and the village of Afafit, and drove Osman Digna back to Temrin.

This action and its results were a heavy and, as it proved, a final blow to the Dervish power in the direction of Suakin. Trade was reopened between Suakin and Berber in the summer of 1891, and although Osman Digna threatened reprisals, the tribes were getting tired of Mahdist rule, and refused to respond to his overtures. Raids occurred on a small scale near Tokar and Sinkat during 1892 and 1893, but led to no definite action.

Meanwhile the Italians had been steadily increasing their sphere of operations from Massawa, and by a protocol of the 15th April, 1891, had defined the northern frontier of their new colony of Eritrea as starting from Ras Kasar on the Red Sea coast, and thence proceeding in a south-westerly direction to the Atbara, passing east of Kassala. A further proviso enabled the Italians to take and occupy Kassala (if they could), with a small section of Egyptian territory, on condition that they were to hand it over to Egypt if required.

During 1893 the Dervishes, alarmed at the growth of the Italian power, determined to invade Eritrea, and a