Bor is a historic city in the Bor region of Jonglei State, located in the central region of South Sudan. It has also served as the headquarters of Jonglei state. The city is situated on the east side of the White Nile (Bahr al Jabal River) at the southern extent of the sudd, South Sudan's vast central wetlands.
History
Bor is located on the eastern bank of White Nile River, a site where an ivory trading depot was established in the 1860s. It grew into a regional hub of the ivory trade during the late nineteenth century. In 1874, Charles George Gordon established a government station there under the Turkiyah Government. where thousands of civilians were killed by Riek Machar's army of loyal tribesmen. Eventually South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 following 22 years of liberation struggle.
Bor is of historical importance to the people of South Sudan. It was in Malek, a small settlement about south of Bor, that one of the first modern Christian missions in present-day South Sudan was established by Archibald Shaw in 1906. Bor became the first area to host a Church Missionary Society station in 1906.
Malek was turned into a missionary stronghold in the Upper Nile Region. Shaw opened the first primary school in Malek. This school produced the first indigenous Anglican bishop to be consecrated in Dinkaland, Rt. Rev. Daniel Deng Atong, followed the Nikonora Achiek Deng Ariir. Daniel Deng Atong became the first to be baptized in Bor.
Bor was an epicenter of the start of the Second Sudanese Civil War. In Malual-Chaat barrack, statues of liberators and destroyed weapons are conserved and exhibited at historical heritage site.
Following the 2013 South Sudanese coup d'état attempt, Bor was contested in several weeks of combat between the national army and rebels led by Riek Machar due to its influential status on national affairs. A portion of the Nuer White Army joined the fighting as well.
In 2016, Bor was designated as the seat of Bor Municipality. The town is located on the east bank of the White Nile.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).