Siege of Khartoum 1884
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 March 1884 – 26 January 1885 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1884 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Sudan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mahdist War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Charles George Gordon, Khedivate of Egypt, Mahdist Sudan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 15.6100, 32.5300 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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, Sudan, from its Egyptian garrison, thereby gaining control over the whole of Turco-Egyptian 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 troops, 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…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Khartoum (revision 1379636555), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Omdurman 1898 · 16 km
- Battle of Abu Klea 1885 · 173 km
- Second battle of Dongola 652 · 347 km
- Battle of Shaykan 1883 · 367 km
- Northern front, East Africa, 1940 1940 · 374 km
Other battles of the Mahdist War
- Battle of Shaykan 1883
- Battle of Tamai 1884
- First and second battles of El Teb 1884
- Battle of Abu Klea 1885
- Battle of Ginnis 1885
- Battle of Dufile 1888
- Battle of Omdurman 1898
All 8 battles of the Mahdist War →
Browse more: battles in Sudan · Africa · 19th century battles