Editing Atbara

{{For|the river|Atbara River}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->| official_name      = Atbara
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = {{Nobold|{{lang|ar|عطبرة}}}}
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in Sudan|City]]
| motto              = <!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline      = Atbara,british house.jpg
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| map_caption        = Location of Abu Hamad within Sudan
| pushpin_map        = Sudan<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Sudan
<!-- Location ------------------>| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[Image:Flag of Sudan.svg|25px]] [[Sudan]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[States of Sudan|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[River Nile (state)|River Nile]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->| government_footnotes = 
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| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
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| established_date3  = <!-- Area    --------------------->
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| area_water_km2     = <!-- Population   ----------------------->
| population_as_of   = 2008
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| population_total   = 134586
| population_density_km2 = auto
<!-- General information  --------------->| timezone           = 
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| coordinates        = {{coord|17|43|N|33|59|E|region:SD|display=inline}}
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
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[[File:Beja tent Atbara.jpg|thumbnail|Traditional [[Beja people|Beja]] tents alongside modern buildings]]
[[File:Railways in Sudan.svg|thumbnail|Map of railway lines in Sudan, showing location of Atbara]]
[[File:Atbara railway.jpg|thumb|Atbara Railway Station]]
[[File:Atbara railway2.jpg|thumbnail|Atbara railway factory workshop]]

'''Atbara''' (sometimes '''Atbarah''') ({{langx|ar|عطبرة}} ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in [[River Nile State]] in northeastern [[Sudan]].<ref name=EBatbara> [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-40468/Atbarah EB-Atbara "'Atbarah, or Atbara (The Sudan)" (description), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage]</ref>

Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the 'Railway City'.

Atbara's population was recorded as 134,586 during the 2008 census.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=5th Population Census |url=http://cbs.gov.sd/Tiedadat/Tiedadat3e.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113151654/http://cbs.gov.sd/Tiedadat/Tiedadat3e.htm |archive-date=13 November 2009 |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Central Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>

== History ==
The confluence of the [[Nile]] and its most northern tributary, the [[Atbarah River]]  (Bahr-el-Aswad, or Black River) was a strategic location for military operations.  in the year 1619 Atbara was conquered and sacked by forces of the [[Ethiopian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xeM8AAAAIAAJ |title=A History of the Arbas in the Sudan and Some Account of the People who Preceded Them and of the Tribes Inhabiting Darfur3 |publisher=CUP Archive |language=en}}</ref>  In the [[Battle of Atbara]], fought on 8 April 1898 near Nakheila, on the north bank of the river, [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]]'s Anglo-Egyptian army defeated the [[Mahdi]]st forces, commanded by Amir Mahmud Ahmad.  Kitchener's strengthened position led to a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Omdurman]] on 2 September 1898,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=823}} giving the [[United Kingdom|British]] control over the Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4943 |title=The River War from Project Gutenberg |publisher=Onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu |access-date=2013-12-10}}</ref>

The town was the centre of the [[Rail transport in Sudan|Sudanese railway industry]]. Few trains are made here now and rail traffic is much reduced. The original station and unusual dome-shaped houses of railway workers remain.  The first [[trade union]] in Sudan formed in 1946 among [[railroad]] workers in Atbara. 

Perhaps because of the influence of the railway unions, Atbara is also considered by many to be the home of Sudanese communism. [[Jaafar Nimeiri]], Sudan's president from 1969 to 1985, alternated between communism, capitalism, and Islamic fundamentalism – depending on who he was trying to get on his side and extract money from – and the communist phase had its stronghold around Atbara.

Atbara was also the starting point for [[Sudanese Revolution|mobilizations against the regime]] in December 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://orientxxi.info/magazine/les-espoirs-d-une-troisieme-revolution-au-soudan,2834|title=Les espoirs d'une troisième révolution au Soudan|first=Tarek|last=Cheikh|date=28 December 2018|website=Orient XXI}}</ref>

==Geography==
Atbara is located at the junction of the [[Nile River|Nile]] and [[Atbarah River|Atbarah]] rivers.

Atbara is made up of several districts including Umbukole district which was home to the First Higher School in Atbara. Other districts include the railway district, Almurabaat, Alsawdana and Almatar.

Umbukole was originally the name given to a capital city in a northern state in Kurti county. It is now mostly remembered as the name of a small district in Atbara.

One of the major districts of Atbara is Al-Dakhla (الداخلة) in Arabic. Some still use the name Al-Dakhla referring to Atbara.
===Climate===
Atbara has a [[hot desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''BWh''). The annual mean temperature reaches over 30&nbsp;°C (86&nbsp;°F) and the average highs exceed 40&nbsp;°C (104&nbsp;°F) during 7 months of the year. The annual average rainfall is 60&nbsp;mm, mostly from July and August. Atbara is sunny, averaging 3,545 hours of bright sunshine per year or 81% of possible sunshine.

{{Weather box
 | width       = auto
 | collapsed   = yes
 | metric first = yes
 | single line = yes
 | location    = Atbara (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1943–present)
 | Jan record high C = 41
 | Feb record high C = 42
 | Mar record high C = 46.1
 | Apr record high C = 47.1
 | May record high C = 48
 | Jun record high C = 48
 | Jul record high C = 47.7
 | Aug record high C = 47
 | Sep record high C = 47.6
 | Oct record high C = 44.6
 | Nov record high C = 43
 | Dec record high C = 39.4
 | year record high C = 48
 | Jan high C = 30.6
 | Feb high C = 33.1
 | Mar high C = 36.7
 | Apr high C = 40.7
 | May high C = 43.2
 | Jun high C = 44.0
 | Jul high C = 41.9
 | Aug high C = 40.8
 | Sep high C = 42.1
 | Oct high C = 40.3
 | Nov high C = 35.8
 | Dec high C = 31.9
 | year high C = 38.4
 | Jan mean C = 22.5
 | Feb mean C = 24.5
 | Mar mean C = 27.8
 | Apr mean C = 31.9
 | May mean C = 35.9
 | Jun mean C = 36.0
 | Jul mean C = 35.0
 | Aug mean C = 34.2
 | Sep mean C = 35.1
 | Oct mean C = 33.1
 | Nov mean C = 28.2
 | Dec mean C = 24.1
 | year mean C = 30.7
 | Jan low C = 14.5
 | Feb low C = 15.9
 | Mar low C = 18.8
 | Apr low C = 23.0
 | May low C = 28.6
 | Jun low C = 28.0
 | Jul low C = 28.0
 | Aug low C = 27.6
 | Sep low C = 28.0
 | Oct low C = 25.8
 | Nov low C = 20.6
 | Dec low C = 16.2
 | year low C = 22.9
 | Jan record low C = 6
 | Feb record low C = 5.5
 | Mar record low C = 10
 | Apr record low C = 13
 | May record low C = 18.8
 | Jun record low C = 21
 | Jul record low C = 19
 | Aug record low C = 18.6
 | Sep record low C = 20
 | Oct record low C = 16.4
 | Nov record low C = 11.7
 | Dec record low C =  6.5
 | year record low C = 5.5
 | precipitation colour = green
 | Jan precipitation mm = 0.0
 | Feb precipitation mm = 0.0
 | Mar precipitation mm = 0.0
 | Apr precipitation mm = 0.2
 | May precipitation mm = 3.4
 | Jun precipitation mm = 0.8
 | Jul precipitation mm = 10.8
 | Aug precipitation mm = 24.2
 | Sep precipitation mm = 5.3
 | Oct precipitation mm = 5.1
 | Nov precipitation mm = 0.0
 | Dec precipitation mm = 0.0
 | year precipitation mm = 49.7
 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
 | Jan precipitation days = 0.0
 | Feb precipitation days = 0.0
 | Mar precipitation days = 0.0
 | Apr precipitation days = 0.1
 | May precipitation days = 0.5
 | Jun precipitation days = 0.2
 | Jul precipitation days = 1.2
 | Aug precipitation days = 2.0
 | Sep precipitation days = 0.9
 | Oct precipitation days = 0.5
 | Nov precipitation days = 0.0
 | Dec precipitation days = 0.0
 | year precipitation days = 5.5
 | Jan humidity = 38
 | Feb humidity = 32
 | Mar humidity = 25
 | Apr humidity = 23
 | May humidity = 24
 | Jun humidity = 23
 | Jul humidity = 36
 | Aug humidity = 41
 | Sep humidity = 34
 | Oct humidity = 32
 | Nov humidity = 37
 | Dec humidity = 40
 | year humidity = 32
 | Jan sun = 275.9
 | Feb sun = 257.6
 | Mar sun = 282.1
 | Apr sun = 282.0
 | May sun = 266.6
 | Jun sun = 243.0
 | Jul sun = 226.3
 | Aug sun = 207.7
 | Sep sun = 225.0
 | Oct sun = 282.1
 | Nov sun = 288.0
 | Dec sun = 288.3
 | year sun = 3124.6
 | source 1 = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="WMONormals">{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Sudan/CSV/Atbara_62680.csv
|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Atbara
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = January 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/SU/62680.TXT
| server = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| title = Atbara Climate Normals 1961–1990
| access-date = July 7, 2015}}</ref>
|source 2 =  Meteo Climat (record temperatures)<ref name = meteoclimat>
{{cite web
| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1844
| title = Station Atbara
| publisher = Meteo Climat
|language = fr
| access-date = 22 October 2016}}</ref>
}}

==Economy==
The trans-African automobile route — the [[Cairo-Cape Town Highway]] passes through Atbara. 

Atbara is an important railway junction and railroad manufacturing centre, and most employment in Atbara is related to the rail lines. The Sudanese National Railway Company's headquarters are located in Atbara. 

The city also is home to one of Sudan's largest cement factories, the Atbara Cement Corporation.

==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#efefef;" | Year
! style="background:#efefef;" | Population
|-
| 1956
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,300
|-
| 1973
| style="text-align:right;"| 66,116
|-
| 1983
| style="text-align:right;"| 73,009
|-
| 1993
| style="text-align:right;"| 87,878
|-
| 2007 (Estimate)
| style="text-align:right;"| 111,399
|-
|2008<ref name=":0" />
|style="text-align:right;"|134,586
|}

==Notable residents==
A well-known resident was [[Mandour Elmahdi]], who wrote ''[[A Short History of the Sudan]]''.

==See also==
* [[Ethiopia]] - border country for the [[Blue Nile]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{EB1911|wstitle=Atbara|volume=2|page=823}}

==External links==
{{commonscatinline|Atbarah}}
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/SU/53/Atbara.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 356m (Red dots are railways)]

{{coord|17|41|50|N| 33|58|42|E|region:SD_type:city|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in River Nile State]]