For the 2023 battle, see Battle of Khartoum (2023).
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Khedivate of Egypt • Turco-Egyptian Sudan British Empire
Mahdist State
Commanders and leaders
Charles George Gordon †
Muhammad Ahmad
Strength
7,000 troops 9 gunboats
30,000 to 50,000 troops
Casualties and losses
Entire force destroyed
Unknown, but reportedly heavy[not verified in body]
~4,000 civilians dead, many others enslaved
v
t
e
Mahdist War
Mahdist uprising (1881–1885)
Aba
Shaykan
El Teb
Tamai
Khartoum
Abu Klea
Abu Kru
Kirbekan
Tofrek
Ginnis
British-Egyptian expeditions (1885–1889)
Emin Pasha Expedition
Dufile
Suakin
Toski
Ethiopian campaigns (1885–1889)
Kufit
Guté Dili
Gallabat
Italian campaigns (1890–1894)
1st Agordat
Serobeti
2nd Agordat
Kassala
British-Egyptian reconquest (1896–1899)
Ferkeh
Rejaf
Abu Hamed
Atbara
Omdurman
Umm Diwaykarat
The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885. Sudanese Mahdist forces captured the city of Khartoum from its Egyptian garrison, thereby gaining control over the whole of Sudan.
Egypt had conquered Sudan in 1820, but had itself come under British domination in 1882. In 1881, the Mahdist War began in Sudan, led by Muhammad Ahmad who claimed to be the Mahdi. The Egyptian Army was unable to suppress the revolt, being defeated in several battles and retreating to their garrisons. The British refused to send a military force to the area, instead appointing Charles George Gordon as Governor-General of Sudan, with orders to evacuate Khartoum and the other garrisons. Gordon arrived in Khartoum in February 1884, where he found it impossible to reach the other garrisons which were already besieged. Rather than evacuating immediately, Gordon began to fortify the city, which was cut off when the local tribes switched their support to the Mahdi. Approximately 7,000 Egyptian troops and 27,000 (mostly Sudanese) civilians were besieged in Khartoum by 30,000 Mahdist warriors, rising to 50,000 by the end of the siege.
Attempts by the defenders to break out of the city failed. Food supplies began to run out; they had been expected to last six months, but the siege went on for ten, so the garrison and civilian population began to starve. After months of public pressure, the British government reluctantly agreed to send troops to relieve the siege. With the relief column approaching, the Mahdists launched a night assault on Khartoum. They broke through the defences and killed the entire garrison, including Gordon. A further 4,000 male civilians were killed, while many women and children were enslaved. The relief expedition arrived two days later; realising they were too late, they withdrew from Sudan. The Mahdi then founded a religious state in Sudan, the Mahdiyah, which would last for fourteen years.
The siegeofKhartoum (also known as the battle ofKhartoum or fall ofKhartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885. Sudanese Mahdist forces...
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century novels. The Triumph of the Sun (2005) by Wilbur Smith concentrates mainly on the siegeofKhartoum and the fate of the defeated, but carries the...
writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other (the payee), either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms...
mortally wounded leading one of the columns to relieve the SiegeofKhartoum during the Mahdist War Stewart, the eldest son of the Rev. Edward Stewart, was...
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siege of Khartoum, (February 1884 – 26 January 1885). After the unexpected death of the Mahdi in June 1885, Abdullah succeeded as leader of the Mahdists...
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Global Information
Khedivate of Egypt
British Empire
Mahdist State