- Date:
- March 13, 1884 - January 26, 1885
- Participants:
- British Empire
- Egypt
- Mahdist
Siege of Khartoum
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What was the Siege of Khartoum?
The Siege of Khartoum took place from March 13, 1884, to January 26, 1885. During the siege, al-Mahdī and his followers blockaded Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The city was defended by an Egyptian garrison under the British general Charles George Gordon. Although the British oversaw most of Egypt’s affairs, they let the Egyptians continue governing Sudan, which led to a revolt led by al-Mahdī. Despite British orders to abandon Sudan, Gordon intended to defeat the Mahdists before they could take Egypt. Eventually, the Mahdist forces captured the city, and its defenders, including Gordon, were killed.
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Where and when did the Siege of Khartoum take place?
The Siege of Khartoum took place in Khartoum, Sudan. It began on March 13, 1884, and ended on January 26, 1885, when the city fell to al-Mahdī and his followers. The city was defended by an Egyptian garrison under the British general Charles George Gordon. Eventually, the Mahdist forces captured Khartoum, resulting in the death of Gordon and the city's defenders.
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Who were the main groups involved in the siege?
During the Siege of Khartoum from March 13, 1884, to January 26, 1885, the primary groups involved were the Mahdists, followers of al-Mahdī, who laid siege to the city, and the Egyptian garrison, which defended Khartoum under the leadership of British General Charles George Gordon. Although the British government sent troops led by Gen. Sir Garnet Wolseley to aid the city, they arrived too late. Ultimately, the Mahdists captured Khartoum, resulting in the death of Gordon and the city's defenders.
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Why did the Mahdist forces attack Khartoum?
The Mahdist forces, followers of Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Mahdī, besieged Khartoum for religious and political reasons. Al-Mahdī aimed to purify Islam and overthrow what he viewed as an unbelieving Egyptian government.
By 1884, the Mahdist army was advancing on Khartoum, the seat of the Egyptian government in Sudan. Charles George Gordon was sent to evacuate Egyptians but instead fortified the city. The British government denied Gordon's requests for reinforcements. On January 26, 1885, around 50,000 Mahdist soldiers stormed Khartoum, leading to the death of Gordon and the city's remaining 7,000 defenders.
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What role did General Charles Gordon play during the siege?
During the Siege of Khartoum, General Charles George Gordon played a crucial role as the commander of the Egyptian garrison defending the city against the forces of al-Mahdī. Appointed to oversee the evacuation of Egyptians from Sudan, Gordon defied British orders and instead fortified Khartoum, aiming to defeat the Mahdists. Despite being denied reinforcements, he held a defensive line and launched gunboat raids to gather supplies. The siege ultimately led to the city's capture and Gordon's death, sparking public outcry in Britain against the government's inaction.
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How did the siege affect Sudanese and British history afterward?
The Siege of Khartoum had significant, long-lasting impacts on both Sudanese and British history.
Sudanese History
The siege and the subsequent death of Charles Gordon fueled Sudanese nationalism. The British officials scorned the Sudanese, who then turned to Egyptian nationalists for encouragement, which led to the birth of 20th-century Sudanese nationalism.
British History
The death of Gordon caused public outcry against Prime Minister William Gladstone’s government, who many felt did not do enough to save Gordon. The British, wanting to avoid handing Sudan over to Egyptian rule due to their oppression, declared the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in 1899. This gave Sudan a separate political status, jointly governed by the British and Egyptian crowns.
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Siege of Khartoum, (March 13, 1884–January 26, 1885), military blockade of Khartoum, capital of the Sudan, by al-Mahdī and his followers. The city, which was defended by an Egyptian garrison under the British general Charles George (“Chinese”) Gordon, was eventually captured, and its defenders, including Gordon, were slaughtered, which caused a storm of public protest against the alleged inaction of the British government under Prime Minister William Gladstone.
Context
The Sudan was a dependency of Egypt, which in 1882 was invaded and occupied by the British to safeguard their strategic interests. Though the British oversaw the majority of Egypt’s affairs, they allowed its khedive and his ministers to continue governing the Sudan. Years of Egyptian misrule there fueled a popular revolt led by al-Mahdī. Madhist forces defeated the Egyptians at El Obeid (Al-Ubayyiḍ) in 1882 and overran Kordofan and Darfur in 1883, which prompted discussion of the matter in Britain’s Parliament. However, hoping to avoid the cost of British intervention, Gladstone did not intercede. Sir Evelyn Baring, the British consul general in Cairo, ordered Gordon to oversee the evacuation of Egyptians from the Sudan. He succeeded in evacuating some 2,000 women, children, and sick or wounded soldiers before al-Mahdī’s forces closed in on Khartoum.
Gordon, despite British orders to abandon the Sudan, intended to defeat the Mahdists before they would be able to take Egypt as well. He held a defensive line at Khartoum and requested reinforcements but was denied. Now angry, Gordon sent a series of telegrams to London, which prompted Parliament to hold a vote of confidence on Gladstone and his government. Gladstone survived and persisted in refusing aid to Khartoum. After Gordon launched a failed attack on Halfaya (now in Khartoum North), he decided to return to the defensive. He utilized gunboat raids to obtain some matériel and reinforcements.
The siege
The Siege of Khartoum commenced on March 13, 1884. Mahdist forces quickly surrounded the city, and Gordon was in need of supplies and troops. In July, responding to a request by Queen Victoria, Gladstone sent aid in the form of troops led by Gen. Sir Garnet Wolseley. The Mahdists, after learning of two victories by Wolseley’s advancing forces, were on the verge of raising the siege, but further delay of the relief force encouraged them to make a final attack on the exhausted defenders of Khartoum.
British defeat and aftermath
On January 26, 1885, some 50,000 Mahdists, taking advantage of a gap in the ramparts along the White Nile and bursting through the Masallamiyyah Gate, stormed the city, overwhelming the defenders. The city’s garrison, having been reduced from some 7,000 men, was butchered, Gordon with it; he was decapitated, and his head was put on a pike. The forerunners of the relief force, consisting of river gunboats under Lord Charles Beresford, arrived off the city on January 28, two days too late, and, after a brief gun duel with the Mahdist defenders, retreated downriver. Soon afterward the Mahdists abandoned Khartoum and made Omdurman their capital. Gladstone suffered major political damage, as Gordon’s death was blamed on Gladstone’s refusal to send reinforcements earlier. His government officially fell in 1885.