1.
2008 attack on Omdurman and Khartoum
–
In May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur ethnic minority rebel group, undertook a raid against the Sudanese government in the cities of Omdurman and Khartoum. More than 220 people were reported to be killed in the raid, including a Russian pilot and it was the first time that the War in Darfur, previously confined to western Sudan, reached the countrys capital. Overall, the war has claimed the lives of up to 300,000 people, despite decades of warfare in Southern Sudan, Khartoum had not experienced any street fighting since 1976. On May 10,2008, Sudanese National Islamic Front government troops, witnesses reported heavy gunfire and artillery fire in the west of Sudans capital and Sudan Peoples Armed Forces helicopters and vehicles rushing through the streets towards Omdurman. The plane was shot down by a machine gun and the pilot was killed as his parachute did not open after ejecting. JEM forces entered the city of Omdurman, targeting the Arbaeen military base, government troops backed up by tanks, artillery, and helicopter gunships were immediately deployed to Omdurman, and heavy fighting raged for several hours. Both attacks were repelled by government forces, Sudanese police said the alleged leader of the attackers, Mohamed Saleh Garbo, and his intelligence chief, Mohamed Nur Al-Deen, were both killed in the clash. The government declared an overnight curfew shortly after its cessation of hostilities at 1400 GMT. The JEM, however, had denied the claim of victory against the rebels, instead stating that fighting was still going on in Omdurman. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, sporadic fighting continued for the next 48 hours, Omdurman residents said there was more fighting on the morning of May 11. There were also reports of fighting on May 12 at markets in central Khartoum, the group has identified their goal as the overthrow of Omar al-Bashirs military government. He also said the rebels lost at least two-thirds of their vehicles, while the interior minister Ibrahim Mahmoud said the government forces destroyed more than 40 and seized about 17 vehicles. Also on this day, JEM admitted defeat in the raid in which said a third of all their fighters took part. The groups deputy chairman, Mahmoud Suleiman, said in a statement that it might have lost the Khartoum battle, but it has not lost the war. Turabi was released later that day, denying any such relationship between the PNC and JEM, the government said it has learned lessons from the raid and will be better prepared next time. It also offered a $125,000 USD bounty for Ibrahim, as one batch of the sentences was handed down, the condemned men stood up and shouted Go, JEM, go. Chad denied the allegations, but Sudan immediately cut off relations with Chad for the first time since a non-aggression pact was signed between the two governments in mid-March. He expressed concern about the effects that the attack would have on the UNs own efforts in the region and we want to see a calm and order restored
2.
Anglo-Egyptian invasion of Sudan
–
The Anglo-Egyptian invasion of Sudan in 1896–1899 was a reconquest of territory lost by the Khedives of Egypt in 1884 and 1885 during the Mahdist War. The British had failed to organise a withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Sudan. The invasion of 1896-99 defeated and destroyed the Mahdist state and re-established Anglo-Egyptian rule, there was a considerable body of opinion in Britain in favour of retaking Sudan after 1885, largely to avenge Gordon. However Lord Cromer, the British Consul-General in Egypt, had been the architect of the British withdrawal after the Mahdist uprising and he remained sure that Egypt needed to recover its financial position before any invasion could be contemplated. Sudan is worth a good deal to Egypt he said, but it is not worth bankruptcy, as late as 15 November 1895 he had been assured by the British government that it had no plans to invade Sudan. The French government had in fact just dispatched Jean-Baptiste Marchand up the Congo with the aim of reaching Fashoda on the White Nile. This encouraged the British to attempt the full-scale defeat of the Mahdist state, Lord Salisbury then ordered the Sirdar, Brigadier Herbert Kitchener to make preparations for an advance up the Nile. As Governor-General of Suakin from 1886–88, Kitchener had held off the Mahdist forces under Osman Digna from the Red Sea coast, Kitchener took a methodical, unhurried approach to recovering Sudan. In the first year his objective was to recover Dongola, in the second, to construct a new railway from Wadi Halfa to Abu Hamad, in the third, to retake Khartoum. All the soldiers were Sudanese or Egyptian, with the exception of a few hundred men from the North Staffordshire Regiment and some Maxim gunners. The Egyptian army in the 1880s was consciously trying to distance itself from the times of Muhammad Ali, nevertheless on the eve of the 1896 invasion the manumission status and precise recruitment conditions of many Sudanese soldiers in the Egyptian army was unclear. Egyptian conscripts were required to serve six years in the army, whereas Sudanese soldiers enlisted before 1903 were signed up for life, Kitchener placed great importance on transport and communications. Reliance on river transport, and the vagaries of the Nile flooding, had reduced Garnet Wolseleys Nile Expedition to failure in 1885 and this required the building of new railways to support his invasion forces. The first phase of railway building followed the campaign up the Nile to the supply base at Akasha. This bypassed the second cataract of the Nile and thereby ensured that supplies could reach Dongola all year round, the railway extended as far as Akasha on 26 June and as far as Kosheh on 4 August 1896. A dockyard was constructed and three new gunboats, larger than the Egyptian river boats already deployed, were brought in sections by rail. Each carried one 12-pounder forward-firing gun, two 6-pounders midships and four Maxim guns, at the end of August 1896 storms washed away a 12-mile section of the railway as preparations were being made to advance on Dongola. Kitchener personally supervised 5,000 men who worked night and day to ensure it was rebuilt in a week, after Dongola was taken, this line was extended south to Kermah
3.
Mahdist War
–
Eighteen years of war resulted in the joint-rule state of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the British Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt. Following the invasion by Muhammad Ali in 1819, Sudan was governed by an Egyptian administration, because of the heavy taxes it imposed and because of the bloody start of the Turkish-Egyptian rule in Sudan, this colonial system was resented by the Sudanese people. Throughout the period of Turco-Egyptian rule, many segments of the Sudanese population suffered extreme hardship because of the system of taxation imposed by the central government. Under this system, a tax was imposed on farmers and small traders. In bad years, and especially during times of drought and famine, fearing the brutal and unjust methods of the Shaiqiyya, many farmers fled their villages in the fertile Nile Valley to the remote areas of Kordofan and Darfur. The jallaba were also known to be slave trading tribes, by the middle 19th century the Ottoman Imperial subject administration in Egypt was in the hands of Khedive Ismail. Thus an ever increasing British role in Egyptian affairs seemed necessary and this commission eventually forced Khedive Ismail to abdicate in favor of his son Tawfiq in 1877, leading to a period of political turmoil. Also in 1873, Ismail had appointed General Charles Chinese Gordon Governor of the Equatorial Provinces of Sudan, for the next three years, General Gordon fought against a native chieftain of Darfur, Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur. Upon Ismails abdication in 1877, Gordon found himself with dramatically decreased support, exhausted by years of work, he resigned his post in 1880 and left early the next year. His policies were soon abandoned by the new governors, but the anger, another widely reported potential source of frustration was the Turco-Egyptian abolition of the slave trade, one of the main sources of income in Sudan at the time. In the 1870s, a Muslim cleric named Muhammad Ahmad preached renewal of the faith and liberation of the land, soon in open revolt against the Egyptians, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the promised redeemer of the Islamic world. In August 1881 the then-governor of the Sudan, Raouf Pasha, the captains of the two companies were each promised promotion if their soldiers were the ones to return the Mahdi to the governor. Both companies disembarked from the steamer that had brought them up the Nile to Aba Island, arriving simultaneously, each force began to fire blindly on the other, allowing the Mahdis scant followers to attack and destroy each force in turn at the Battle of Aba. The Mahdi then began a retreat to Kordofan, where he was at a distance from the seat of government in Khartoum. This movement, couched as a progress, incited many of the Arab tribes to rise in support of the Jihad the Mahdi had declared against the Turkish oppressors. Another Egyptian expedition dispatched from Fashoda was ambushed and slaughtered on the night of 9 December 1881, the Mahdi also legitimized his movement by drawing deliberate parallels to the life of the Prophet Muhammad. He called his followers Ansar, after the people who greeted the Prophet in Medina, and he called his flight from the British, the hijrah, after the Prophets flight from the Quraysh. The Egyptian administration in the Sudan, now thoroughly concerned by the scale of the uprising and this force approached the Mahdist gathering, whose members were poorly clothed, half starving, and armed only with sticks and stones
4.
Omdurman
–
Omdurman is the largest city in Sudan and Khartoum State, lying on the western banks of the River Nile, opposite the capital, Khartoum. Omdurman has a population of 2,395,159 and is the centre of commerce. With Khartoum and Khartoum North or Bahri, it forms the cultural and industrial heart of the nation, the name Omdurman literally translates as Mother of Durmān, but who she was or might have been is not known. There are unattested legends of a known as Umm Durmān who lived in an area at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. In 1884, Muḥammad Aḥmad, the Mahdi, made his headquarters in the village of Omdurman. The conflicts that followed over the fifteen years have become known as the Mahdist War. Following the defeat of the defenders of Khartoum in 1885. The city, now the location of the tomb of the Mahdi, however, in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, Lord Kitchener decisively defeated the Mahdist forces and killed the Khalifa, ensuring British control over the Sudan. In the battle Omdurman, the British army faced Sudanese defenders consisting of over 52,000 poorly armed desert tribesmen dervishes, in space of five hours the battle was over. The Sudanese defenders suffered over 93 percent casualty with at least 10,000 killed, by contrast there were fewer than four hundred casualties on the British side with forty-eight British soldiers lost their life. Then, General Kitchener proceeded to order the destruction of the Mahdis tomb, Kitchener restored Khartoum as the capital and, from 1899 until 1956 Sudan was jointly governed by Great Britain and Egypt. Although most of the city was destroyed in the battle, the Mahdis tomb was restored and refurbished, on 10 May 2008 the Darfur rebel group of the Justice and Equality Movement moved into the city where they engaged in heavy fighting with Sudanese government forces. Their goal was to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashirs government, Omdurman features a hot desert climate, with only the months of July and August seeing significant precipitation. Khartoum averages a little over 155 millimetres of precipitation per year, based on annual mean temperatures, Omdurman is one of the hottest major cities in the world. Temperatures may exceed 53 °C in mid-summer. It has dry winters and its average annual high temperature is 37.1 °C, with six months of the year seeing an average monthly high temperature of at least 38 °C. Furthermore, throughout the year, none of its average high temperatures falls below 30 °C. This is something not seen in major cities with hot desert climates such as Riyadh or Baghdad or Phoenix. Although its diurnal temperature variation is fair enough temperatures cool off during the night, the city literally does not experience seasons, just like most parts of the Arabian peninsula and north-eastern Africa where its either hot or very hot all year long
5.
Khartoum
–
Khartoum is the capital and second largest city of Sudan and the state of Khartoum. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing north from Lake Victoria, the location where the two Niles meet is known as al-Mogran. The main Nile continues to north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. The origin of the word, Khartoum, is uncertain, one theory argues that khartoum is derived from Arabic khurṭūm, probably referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles. Some scholars speculate that the word derives from the Nubian word, Agartum, other Beja scholars suggest Khartoum is derived from the Beja word, Hartoom. Additionally, the dream interpreting magicians in Genesis 41,8 are referred to as חַרְטֻמֵּ֥י, suggesting that in ancient times the word already existed. In 1821, Khartoum was established 24 kilometres north of the ancient city of Soba, by Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Egypts ruler, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who had just incorporated Sudan into his realm. Originally, Khartoum served as an outpost for the Egyptian Army and it also became a focal point for the slave trade. Later, it became the center of Sudan and official capital. On 13 March 1884, troops loyal to the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad started a siege of Khartoum, the siege ended in a massacre of the Anglo-Egyptian garrison. On 26 January 1885, the damaged city fell to the Mahdists. On 2 September 1898, Omdurman was the scene of the bloody Battle of Omdurman, in 1973, the city was the site of an anomalous hostage crisis in which members of Black September held 10 hostages at the Saudi Arabian embassy, five of them diplomats. The US ambassador, the US deputy ambassador, and the Belgian chargé daffaires were murdered, a 1973 United States Department of State document, declassified in 2006, concluded, The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yasser Arafat. In 1977, the first oil pipeline between Khartoum and the Port of Sudan was completed, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Khartoum was the destination for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in neighboring nations such as Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Many Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees assimilated into society, while others settled in large slums at the outskirts of the city, since the mid-1980s, large numbers of refugees from South Sudan and Darfur fleeing the violence of the Second Sudanese Civil War and Darfur conflict have settled around Khartoum. In 1991, Osama bin Laden purchased a house in the affluent al-Riyadh neighborhood of the city and he lived there until 1996, when he was banished from the country. The destruction of the factory produced diplomatic tension between the U. S. and Sudan, the factory ruins are now a tourist attraction. The sudden death of SPLA head and vice-president of Sudan, John Garang, the riots finally died down after Southern Sudanese politicians and tribal leaders sent strong messages to the rioters
6.
Sudan
–
Sudan, also known as North Sudan since South Sudans independence and officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northern Africa. It is the third largest country in Africa, the River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, by virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th. As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language, Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa and also the third largest country in the Arab world and its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan are regulated by an organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law, the countrys place name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, during the fifth millennium BC migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the centuries become the Kingdom of Kush at 1700 BC. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile, and the Atbarah River and it was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to the Sinai, pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East, but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II. Sennacheribs successor Esarhaddon went further, and invaded Egypt itself, deposing Taharqa, Taharqa fled back to his homeland where he died two years later. Egypt became an Assyrian colony, however, king Tantamani, after succeeding Taharqa, Esarhaddon died while preparing to leave the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in order to eject him. However, his successor Ashurbanipal sent an army into southern Egypt and routed Tantamani. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at Meroë, in ancient Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia
7.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
8.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
9.
Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
10.
Khedivate of Egypt
–
Upon the conquest of the Sultanate of Egypt by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, the country was governed as an Ottoman eyalet. The Porte was content to local rule to remain in the hands of the Mamluks, the Egyptian military caste of Circassian. Between 1799 and 1801, the Ottoman Porte, working at times with Frances main enemy, by August,1801, the remaining French forces of General Jacques-François Menou withdrew from Egypt. Following the defeat of the French, the Porte assigned Husrev Pasha as the new Wāli of Egypt, many of these were freed by or fled with the British, while others held Minya between Upper and Lower Egypt. Amid these disturbances, Husrev Pasha attempted to disband his Albanian bashi-bazouks without pay and this led to rioting that drove Husrev Pasha from Cairo. During the ensuing turmoil, the Porte sent Muhammad Ali Pasha to Egypt, however, Muhammad Ali seized control of Egypt, declaring himself ruler of Egypt and quickly consolidating an independent local powerbase. After repeated failed attempts to remove and kill him, in 1805, demonstrating his grander ambitions, Muhammad Ali Pasha claimed for himself the higher title of Khedive, ruling the self-proclaimed Khedivate of Egypt. He murdered the remaining Mamluk beys in 1811, solidifying his own control of Egypt and he is regarded as the founder of modern Egypt because of the dramatic reforms he instituted in the military, agricultural, economic and cultural spheres. By this revolutionary method of land nationalization Muhammad Ali became proprietor of nearly all the soil of Egypt, the pasha also attempted to reorganize his troops on European lines, but this led to a formidable mutiny in Cairo. Muhammad Alis life was endangered, and he sought refuge by night in the citadel, the revolt was reduced by presents to the chiefs of the insurgents, and Muhammad Ali ordered that the sufferers by the disturbances should receive compensation from the treasury. The project of the Nizam Gedid was, in consequence of this mutiny, while Ibrahim was engaged in the second Arabian campaign the pasha turned his attention to strengthening the Egyptian economy. He created state monopolies over the products of the country. He set up a number of factories and began digging in 1819 a new canal to Alexandria, the old canal had long fallen into decay, and the necessity of a safe channel between Alexandria and the Nile was much felt. Another notable fact in the progress of the country was the development of the cultivation of cotton in the Delta in 1822. The cotton grown had been brought from the Sudan by Maho Bey, efforts were made to promote education and the study of medicine. To European merchants, on whom he was dependent for the sale of his exports, Muhammad Ali showed much favor and it was also under Muhammad Alis encouragement that the overland transit of goods from Europe to India via Egypt was resumed. In 1820 Muhammad Ali gave orders to commence the conquest of eastern Libya and he first sent an expedition westward which conquered and annexed the Siwa oasis. Alis intentions for Sudan was to extend his rule southward, to capture the caravan trade bound for the Red Sea
11.
Mahdist Sudan
–
Mahdist Sudan was an unrecognized state that attempted unsuccessfully to break Egyptian rule in the Sudan. Developments in Sudan during the late 19th century were influenced by the British position in Egypt. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened and quickly became Britains economic lifeline to India, to defend this waterway, Britain sought a greater role in Egyptian affairs. In 1873, the British government therefore supported a programme whereby an Anglo-French debt commission assumed responsibility for managing Egypts fiscal affairs and this commission eventually forced khedive Ismail to abdicate in favor of his more politically acceptable son, Tawfiq. After the removal in 1877 of Ismail, who had appointed him to the post and his successors lacked direction from Cairo and feared the political turmoil that had engulfed Egypt. As a result, they failed to continue the policies Gordon had put in place, the illegal slave trade revived, although not enough to satisfy the merchants whom Gordon had put out of business. The Sudanese army suffered from a lack of resources, and unemployed soldiers from disbanded units troubled garrison towns, the son of a Dongola boatbuilder, Muhammad Ahmad had become the disciple of Muhammad ash Sharif, the head of the Sammaniyah order. Later, as a sheikh of the order, Muhammad Ahmad spent several years in seclusion and gained a reputation as a mystic, in 1880, he became a Sammaniyah. In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi or expected one, some of his most dedicated followers regarded him as directly inspired by Allah. He wanted Muslims to reclaim the Quran and hadith as the sources of Islam. Specifically relating to Sudan, he claimed its poverty was a virtue and denounced worldly wealth, for Muhammad Ahmad, Egypt was an example of wealth leading to impious behavior. Even after the Mahdi proclaimed a jihad, or holy war, against the Turkiyah, the Egyptian government paid more attention when his religious zeal turned to denunciation of tax collectors. To avoid arrest, the Mahdi and a party of his followers, the Ansar, made a march to Kurdufan. From a refuge in the area, he appeals to the sheikhs of the religious orders. Merchants and Arab tribes that had depended on the slave trade responded as well, along with the Hadendoa Beja, who were rallied to the Mahdi by an Ansar captain, Osman Digna. Early in 1882, the Ansar, armed with spears and swords, overwhelmed a British-led 7, 000-man Egyptian force not far from Al Ubayyid and seized their rifles, field guns and ammunition. The Mahdi followed up victory by laying siege to Al Ubayyid. The Ansar,30,000 men strong, then defeated an 8, next the Mahdi captured Darfur and imprisoned Rudolf Carl von Slatin, an Austrian in the khedives service, who later became the first Egyptian-appointed governor of Darfur Province
12.
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
–
His term as Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General, in 1914, at the start of the First World War, Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. Kitchener died on 5 June 1916 when HMS Hampshire sank west of the Orkney Islands and he was making his way to Russia in order to attend negotiations when the ship struck a German mine. He was one of more than 600 killed on board the ship, Kitchener was born in Ballylongford near Listowel, County Kerry, in Ireland, son of army officer Henry Horatio Kitchener and Frances Anne Chevallier. His father had recently bought land in Ireland under a scheme to encourage the purchase of land after selling his commission. They then moved to Switzerland where the young Kitchener was educated at Montreux, then at the Royal Military Academy, pro-French and eager to see action, he joined a French field ambulance unit in the Franco-Prussian War. His father took him back to England after he caught pneumonia after ascending in a balloon to see the French Army of the Loire in action. Commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 4 January 1871, his service in France had violated British neutrality, and he was reprimanded by the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief. He served in Palestine, Egypt, and Cyprus as a surveyor, learned Arabic, Sir Walter Kitchener, had also entered the army, and was Governor of Bermuda from 1908 to 1912. In 1874, at age 24, Kitchener was assigned by the Palestine Exploration Fund to a mapping-survey of the Holy Land, replacing Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake, who had died of malaria. Conder and Kitchener’s expedition became known as the Survey of Western Palestine because it was confined to the area west of the Jordan River. The survey collected data on the topography and toponymy of the area, as well as local flora, the results of the survey were published in an eight-volume series, with Kitchener’s contribution in the first three tomes. This survey has had an effect on the Middle East for several reasons, The ordnance survey serves as the basis for the grid system used in the modern maps of Israel. The collection of data compiled by Conder and Kitchener are still consulted by archaeologists, the survey itself effectively delineated and defined the political borders of the southern Levant. For instance, the border between Israel and Lebanon is established at the point in upper Galilee where Conder and Kitchener’s survey stopped. In 1878 having completed the survey of Western Palestine, Kitchener was sent to Cyprus to undertake a survey of newly acquired British protectorate. Then in 1879 he became vice-consul in Anatolia, in 1883 Kitchener became a Freemason. On 4 January 1883 Kitchener was promoted to captain, given the Turkish rank bimbashi, Egypt had recently become a British puppet state, its army led by British officers, although still nominally under the sovereignty of the Khedive and his nominal overlord the Sultan of Turkey
13.
Battle of Shaykan
–
After the Mahdi retreated into Kordofan in 1881 he started to raise an army there and in Darfur. A force of 4,000 was sent to him, but it was ambushed near El Obeid and destroyed. The Mahdis forces had grown spectacularly, and by 1883 British sources placed their size at 200,000, although that is almost certainly an overestimate. The Egyptian Governor, Raouf Pasha, decided that the solution to the growing rebellion was a fight. He hired a number of European officers to lead his force, placing them under the command of William Billy Hicks, Hicks force was composed mostly of Egyptian soldiers who had been imprisoned after fighting in the Urabi Revolt. They were released for service in Sudan and accordingly showed little inclination to fight and they initially stayed near Khartoum and met small portions of the Mahdist forces on April 29, near the fort of Kawa, on the Nile, beating them off without too much trouble. Similar skimishes followed over the few weeks. Later during the summer of 1883, they heard that the Mahdi himself was besieging El Obeid, the Egyptian officials decided to capture him and, despite Hicks reluctance, planned an expedition from their current location at Duem on the Nile to El Obeid, about 200 miles away. The Kordofan expedition was made up of about 8,000 Egyptian regulars,1,000 bashi-bazouk cavalry,100 tribal irregulars and they carried supplies for 50 days on an immense baggage train consisting of 5,000 camels. The army also carried some ten mountain guns, four Krupp field guns, by the time the expedition started, El Obeid had fallen, but the operation was maintained to relieve Slatin Bey, the Governor of Darfur. Either by mistake or by design, their guides led them astray, the regulars morale plummeted and they started to desert en masse. After marching for some time they were set upon by the entire Mahdist army on November 3, the Egyptian forces quickly formed into a defensive square. According to reports published in England soon after, the square held for two days before finally collapsing, about one-third of the Egyptian soldiers surrendered and were later freed, while all the officers were killed. Only about 500 Egyptian troops managed to escape and make it back to Khartoum, neither Hicks nor any of his senior officers were among them. Apparently only two or three Europeans survived, one survivor was newspaper artist Frank Power, who had initially been with the column but was invalided back to Khartoum with dysentery. At the time Power was working for a German-language publication, among two Europeans killed were Edmund ODonovan of The Daily News and Frank Vizetelly of the Graphic. After the battle the Mahdist army made El Obeid a centre for operations for some time and their success also emboldened Osman Digna, whose Hadendoa tribesmen, the so-called fuzzy-wuzzies, joined the rebellion from their lands on the Red Sea coast. Henry Vizetelly Churchill Winston, The River War, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London,1952
14.
First and Second Battles of El Teb
–
A second British force under Sir Gerald Graham arrived on the 29th, engaging and defeating Osman Digna with few casualties. Britains involvement in the Sudan was a consequence of its support for the Khedive of Egypt following the repression of Urabi Pashas revolt in 1882, the Mahdist forces enjoyed considerable success against Egyptian troops in 1882 and 1883, and several towns garrisoned by Egyptian troops found themselves surrounded. In their haste to be rid of the Sudanese question, the British urged the Egyptians to evacuate their troops, the port of Suakin, on the Red Sea, could be supplied by ship and still held out. But further inland, the towns of Tokar and Sinkat were completely cut off, in February 1884, a 3,000 strong force was dispatched from Suez to Suakin to relieve the beleaguered garrisons. The command of force was entrusted to Baker Pasha accompanied by other European officers. From the start the expedition was beset with problems, the greater part of the infantry was formed from Egyptian Gendarmerie Battalions who had enrolled on the condition they would serve only for civil service in Egypt. On the news they were being sent to Sudan, many of them deserted, on the 3 February, Baker moved his force by ship from Suakin to Trinkitat, on the coast near Tokar. He set up a camp on the beach, and set off the next day, the Egyptians, who were not used to marching in formation, advanced in a confused mass. At the halting place of El Teb, on the road to Tokar they were attacked by a Mahdist force 1,000 strong, despite their superiority in numbers and weaponry, the troops became panic-stricken, and fled after firing a single volley. The Mahdists caught up with them and inflicted losses, killing all the European officers who tried to resist. Baker, unable to rally his men, retreated to the camp with the few survivors, of a force of 3,500, barely 700 returned. After returning to Suakin, Baker tried to organize the defence of the city, but the Egyptian troops had grown distrustful of the British officers, and refused to obey. This defeat sealed the fate of the garrisons, the Sinkat garrison sallied out to try to reach Suakin on foot, the Tokar garrison surrendered without a fight. In Britain, Bakers defeat incensed the imperialist faction, represented by Lord Wolseley, reluctantly, the British government agreed and several units returning from India were diverted to Suakin. On the 21st, the force under the command of Sir Gerald Graham left for El Teb and it was composed of 4,500 men with 22 guns and 6 machine guns. On the 29th, they approached the main Mahdist position, on a hill near El Teb and this position consisted of various entrenchments and rifle pits. The Mahdists also had artillery pieces including Krupp guns captured from the Tokar garrison, some of whom had changed sides. The British, forming into a square, circled the Mahdist entrenchments to outflank them, under cover of dense rifle, after a brief artillery duel, the Mahdist guns were silenced, and the British advanced
15.
Battle of Tamai
–
The Battle of Tamai took place on 13 March 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna. Despite his earlier victory at El Teb, Graham realised that Osman Dignas force was far from broken, accordingly, a second expedition departed from Suakin on 10 March in order to defeat the Mahdists definitively. The force was composed of the units that had fought at El Teb,4,500 men. The Mahdists had roughly 10,000 men, most of them belonging to Osman Dignas Hadendoa tribe, on the night of 12 March the British formed an encampment, not far from Osman Dignas positions. From around 1 oclock until dawn, Mahdist riflemen approached the camp and opened fire, but their shooting was imprecise, at dawn, the artillery was brought to bear against the Mahdist skirmishers and they were driven back. The infantry then formed two infantry squares each of brigade-size and advanced. One square was commanded by Colonel Davis, with General Graham, a sudden onslaught of Mahdists rushed into this gap. The Black Watch found themselves under attack from the Sudanese. The square was flooded with a rush of tribesmen and a brutal hand-to-hand fight resulted, the Black Watch eventually won the contest, driving the Sudanese out, and reforming their square. Finding themselves in danger of being cut off, the British units fell back in disarray but were reformed in good order. The Mahdist advance was halted by volleys from the square, which had survived the attack. The concentrated flanking fire they inflicted caused huge casualties among the Mahdists, the British units then reformed, and resumed their advance, driving the shaken Mahdists out of the ravine and inflicting more casualties on them as they fled. Osman Dignas camp was captured later that day, but Osman Digna escaped, during this battle, the British suffered more losses than in any other battle of the Mahdist war,214 soldiers being wounded or killed, ten of which were officers. The Mahdists also suffered heavily, losing 4,000 men, the British hoped that this defeat would deal a great blow to Osman Dignas prestige as well as weakening his forces, and that he would lose his hold over the Hadendoa. However this was not the case, and when later that year, Grahams force was withdrawn from the Sudan, therefore, Graham’s campaign came to be seen purely as a punitive exercise against the Sudanese to restore British military pride. Winston Churchill, who participated in the Mahdist war, was critical of the British Governments attitude in Eastern Sudan. The British Government resolved to add to it, the garrisons they had refused to rescue they now determined to avenge. But as they fought without reason, they conquered without profit and it has been suggested that the objective of British operations in that sector was to avert a possible peril to navigation in the Red Sea
16.
Siege of Khartoum
–
The Battle of Khartoum, Siege of Khartoum or Fall of Khartoum was the conquest of Egyptian held Khartoum by the Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad. After a ten-month siege, when the Mahdists finally broke into the city, since the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, the British military presence had ensured that Egypt remained a de facto British protectorate. Egypt also controlled Sudan, and the administration of Sudan was considered a domestic Egyptian matter by the British government and it was left to the Khedives government to administer. As a result, the suppression of the Mahdist revolt was left to the Egyptian army, the Mahdis forces captured huge amounts of equipment and overran large parts of Sudan, including Darfur and Kordofan. The Mahdist forces backed their self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad and he claimed to be the redeemer of the Islamic nation and enjoyed the support of many in Sudan who desired independence from their Egyptian rulers. The rebellion brought Sudan to the attention of the British government, prime Minister William Gladstone and War Secretary Lord Hartington did not wish to become involved in Sudan and persuaded the Egyptian government to evacuate all their garrisons in Sudan. General Charles George Gordon, a figure in Great Britain. His fears were based on the Mahdis claim to dominion over the entire Islamic world and on the fragility of the Egyptian army, which had suffered several defeats at the hands of the Sudanese. Gordon favoured a policy in Sudan, in agreement with noted imperialists such as Sir Samuel Baker and Sir Garnet Wolseley. On his way to Khartoum with his assistant, Colonel Stewart, here he committed a cardinal mistake by revealing that the Egyptian government wished to withdraw from Sudan. The tribesmen became worried by news, and their loyalty wavered. Gordon arrived at Khartoum on 18 February 1884, but instead of organising the evacuation of the garrisons and his first decisions were to reduce the injustices caused by the Egyptian colonial administration, arbitrary imprisonments were cancelled, torture instruments were destroyed, and taxes were remitted. To enlist the support of the population, Gordon legalised slavery and this decision was popular in Khartoum, but caused controversy in Britain. Gordon was determined to smash up the Mahdi and he requested that a regiment of Turkish soldiers be sent to Khartoum as Egypt was still nominally a province of the Ottoman Empire. When this was refused, Gordon asked for a unit of Indian Muslim troops, all these proposals were rejected by the Gladstone cabinet, since Britain was still intent on evacuation and refused absolutely to be pressured into military intervention in Sudan. Gordon began to resent the governments policy, and his telegrams to Cairo became more acrimonious, on 8 April he wrote, I leave you with the indelible disgrace of abandoning the garrisons and added that such a course would be the climax of meanness. Knowing that the Mahdists were closing in, Gordon finally ordered the strengthening of the fortifications around Khartoum, the city was protected to the north by the Blue Nile and to the west by the White Nile. In the southern part of the town, which faced the open desert, he prepared a system of trenches, makeshift Fougasse-type land mines
17.
Battle of Abu Klea
–
The place is generally known in British military records as Abu Klea, which arose as a contemporary British spelling of its Arabic name, Abu Tͅuleiħ. The British forces consisted of the 1,100 British of the Desert Column under Sir Herbert Stewart, four light field pieces and a small Naval Brigade manning a Gardner machine gun completed the force. The Desert Column arrived on the salient overlooking the wadi of Abu Klea not long before sunset, the British built a defensive position, but were sniped at from the high ground around them by Mahdist rifle-units - mainly slave-soldiers from southern Sudan - all night. At first light Stewart ordered them to form a square, which they achieved with perfect discipline, the square moved slowly towards the wells along the side of the wadi, over very difficult, undulating, rocky ground. Suddenly the square was ambushed by a huge Mahdist force that had been concealing itself in the wadi. The British guns were on the face of the square. Several officers and men of HMS Alexandra were killed at the battle, as the British halted to repel the Mahdist force, a gap opened up towards the rear left corner of the square. This was caused when Captain Lord Charles Beresford RN, commanding the Naval Brigade, Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby then gave an impromptu order for the Heavy Camel Regiment to wheel out of the square in support of the Gardner gun. The gun had been tested and found very reliable in Britain and it fired seventy rounds and then jammed, and as the crew tried to clear it they were cut down in a rush by the Dervishes. Lord Beresford was scratched on the hand by a spear as he managed to duck under the gun. The weight of the rush pushed the back into the face of the square. Several Dervishes got inside the square, but found the full of camels. The battle was short, lasting fifteen minutes from start to finish. Casualties for the British were nine officers and 65 other ranks killed, the Mahdists lost 1,100 dead during the fifteen minutes of fighting, made all the worse by only 5,000 of the Dervish force being engaged. Among the Dervish dead was Musa wad Helu, one of the Mahdist chiefs, British national hero Colonel F. G. Burnaby of the Royal Horse Guards was killed by a spear to the throat. Frank Rhodes distinguished himself when several horses were shot under him during the engagement, gunner Alfred Smith fought bravely to save his officer, Lieutenant Guthrie, and was awarded a VC. The column was too late to save Khartoum, the Mahdists captured it two days before the column arrived, leading to the death of General Gordon, the British then withdrew from the Sudan, leaving the Dervishes of the Mahdi to rule Sudan for the next 13 years. The official public blame for failure was left with Prime Minister Gladstone for delaying several months, to the considerable anger expressed in public of Queen Victoria
18.
Battle of Tofrek
–
The Battle of Tofrek was fought on 22 March 1885 some 5 miles inland from the port of Suakin on the Red Sea coast of Sudan. The Mahdists were heavily defeated, losing some 1000 of their 2000 fighters as compared to the loss of 70 British, the force arrived in Suakin on 12 March 1885. Graham’s Suakin Field Force consisted of a combination of British and Indian troops totalling some 13,000 men, the British force included troops from, Royal Engineers commanded by Lt. Col. E. P. Leach, VC, The Kings Shropshire Light Infantry under Lt. Col. R. H. Truell, Royal Marine Light Infantry under Lt. Col. Ozzard. Indian contingent comprised troops from, Bengal Cavalry, the expedition successfully achieved its objectives and returned to Suakin the same night. Graham’s next objective was to attack Osman Dignas headquarters at Tamai, tools, materials, water, provisions, Garner guns and ammunition were to be carried by some 1500 transport animals. Part of the force was to out the full 8 miles to construct the larger No.2 zeriba. Small garrisons were to remain in both zeribas while the bulk of the force was to return to camp the same evening, however, on the morning of 22 March, General Graham personally made a last-minute change to the plan. Some 6 miles out of Suakin, McNeill came across an area of about half a mile square from where he telegraphed back to Suakin proposing that he stop. The reply instructed him to do as he proposed and that in the circumstances, zeriba or zareba is a native word meaning an improvised stockade, especially, one made of thorn bushes. This is exactly what was to be constructed, additional protection was provided by a cordon of entrenchments with sandbag parapets around the inside perimeter of the stockade. Construction of the zeriba was the responsibility of the Royal Engineers and Madras Sappers with British and Indian troops assisting in the work of cutting the trees, others were tasked with unloading water and stores and with protecting the working parties from enemy attack. Those that could be spared were ordered to rest within the protection of the zeriba, the diagram at right illustrates the disposition of troops etc. immediately before and during the battle. Indian troops were positioned along the northern, southern and western perimeters of the zeriba, the two redoubts were manned by British troops – the Royal Marine Light Infantry in the completed northern redoubt and half of the Berkshire battalion in the uncompleted southern one. Working parties of engineers and others were completing the zeriba’s walls, outside the zeriba, on the eastern side, the other half the Berkshire battalion guarded the camels and mules, preventing them from straying into the bush as they awaited the march back to Suakin. By 2, 00pm, the redoubt was largely complete. With their rifles piled inside the redoubt, parties of men were at work out on the edge of the clearing out in front of the Sikh lines. Around 2,45 pm scouting Lancers reported to McNeill that the enemy was gathering south and west of the zeriba, the main attack came from the south and west of the zeriba
19.
Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
–
Emin Pasha was an Ottoman doctor and naturalist who had been appointed Governor of Equatoria. He was able to send and receive letters via Buganda and Zanzibar and had been informed in February 1886 that the Egyptian government would abandon Equatoria, in July, he was encouraged by missionary Alexander Mackay to invite the British government to annex Equatoria itself. The government was not interested in such a venture. Scottish businessman and philanthropist William Mackinnon had been involved in colonial ventures. Stanley declared himself ready at a moments notice to go, the Committee raised a total of about £32,000. Stanley was officially still in the employment of Léopold II of Belgium, in return, Léopold would provide his Free State steamers for the transportation of the expedition up the river, from Stanley Pool as far as the mouth of the Aruwimi River. By 1 January 1887, Stanley was back in London preparing the expedition to widespread public acclaim, Stanley himself was intent that the expedition be one of humanitarian assistance rather than of military conquest. He declared, The expedition is non-military--that is to say, its purpose is not to fight, destroy, or waste, its purpose is to save, to relieve distress, to carry comfort. But it also has means of purchasing the friendship of tribes and chiefs, of buying food, in a number of publications made after the expedition, Stanley asserts that the purpose of the effort was singular, to offer relief to Emin Pasha. For example, he writes the following while explaining the final route decision, the advantages of the Congo route were about five hundred miles shorter land journey, and less opportunities for deserting. It also quieted the fears of the French and Germans that, behind this professedly humanitarian quest, however, Stanleys other writings point to a secondary goal which was precisely territorial annexation. He writes in his book on the expedition, about his meeting with the Sultan of Zanzibar, when he arrived there at the start of the expedition, at first, he is not explicit on the agenda but it is clear enough. We then entered heartily into our business, how absolutely necessary it was that he should enter into an agreement with the English within the limits assigned by Anglo-German treaty. It would take too long to describe the details of the conversation, a few pages further in the same book, Stanley explains what the matter was about and this time, he makes it clear that indeed, it had to do with annexation. I have settled several little commissions at Zanzibar satisfactorily, one was to get the Sultan to sign the concessions which Mackinnon tried to obtain a long time ago. As the Germans have magnificent territory east of Zanzibar, it was, the concession that we wished to obtain embraced a portion of East African coast, of which Mombasa and Melindi were the principal towns. For eight years, to my knowledge, the matter had been placed before His Highness, the records at the National Archives at Kew, London, offer an even deeper insight and show that annexation was a purpose he had been aware of for the expedition. This is because there are a number of treaties curated there, amongst these were a number that have long been identified as possible frauds
20.
Battle of Gallabat
–
The Battle of Gallabat was fought 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is an event in Ethiopian history because Nəgusä Nägäst Yohannes IV was killed in this battle. The fighting occurred at the site of the settlements of Gallabat and Metemma. When the Mahdists rebelled against the Egyptians, many Egyptian garrisons found themselves isolated in Sudan, after that, the Mahdist Khalifa, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, considered the Ethiopians as his enemies and sent his forces to attack them. These raids led to a Mahdist defeat by Ras Alula on 23 September 1885 at Kufit, a few years later, the negus of Gojjam, Tekle Haymanot attacked the Mahdists at Metemma in January 1887, and sacked the town. In response, that year the Mahdists under Abu Anga campaigned out of Metemma into Ethiopia. Tekle Haymanot confronted him at Sar Weha on 18 January 1888, the Mahdists proceeded to Gondar, and set about ransacking the town. Churches were pillaged and burnt, and many inhabitants were carried away into slavery, despite this damage to the historic capital, Emperor Yohannes held back from a counterattack due to his suspicions of Menelik II, then only the ruler of Shewa. He wanted to campaign against Menelik, but the clergy and his senior officers pressed him to handle the Mahdist threat first, the Abyssinians under Ras Gobana Dacche did defeat the Mahdists in the Battle of Guté Dili in the province of Wellega on 14 October 1888. Following this victory the Emperor accepted the advice of his people, and if I die at Matamma in the hands of the heathens I shall go to heaven. In late January 1889, Yohannes mustered an army of 130,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry in Dembiya. The Sudanese gathered an army of 85,000 and fortified themselves in Gallabat, surrounding the town with a huge zariba, on 8 March 1889 the Ethiopian army arrived within sight of Gallabat, and the attack began in earnest the next day. The wings were commanded by the Emperors nephews, Ras Haile Maryam Gugsa over the left wing, the Ethiopians managed to set the zariba alight, and, by concentrating their attack against one part of the defense managed to break through the Mahdist lines into the town. The defenders suffered heavy losses and were about to break down completely, the Emperor Yohannes, who led his army from the front, had shrugged off one bullet wound to his hand, but a second lodged in his chest, fatally wounding him. He was carried back to his tent, where he died that night, before he died, Yohannes commanded his nobles to recognize his son, Ras Mengesha. The Ethiopians, demoralized by the death of their ruler, began to melt away, the Mahdists inflicted heavy losses upon the Ethiopians and captured the body of the dead Emperor, whose head they cut off and sent back to Omdurman as a trophy. The death of the Emperor caused a period of turmoil in Ethiopia. For the Mahdists the consequences were severe, as many of their best soldiers had perished in the battle, the Khalifa prudently decided to stop offensive actions against Ethiopia and the conflict dwindled to small-scale cross-border raiding
21.
Battle of Toski
–
The battle of Toski took place on August 3rd,1889 in Egypt between the Anglo-Egyptian forces and the Mahdist Sudanese. Since 1882, the British had taken control of Egypt and found themselves involved in the Sudan war, for this reason, they decided to reform and rearm the Egyptian Army. A British general, Sir Francis Grenfell was appointed Sirdar and British officers trained the newly formed units, the Sudanese, on the other hand had not renounced their ambition of spreading the Mahdist faith to Egypt. In 1889, the Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sent the Emir Wad-el-Nujumi, the Mahdists avoided Wadi Halfa where most of the Egyptian troops were garrisoned, and camped at Toski by the Nile,76 km within the Egyptian border. Here they were attacked by the Egyptians, who completely annihilated them after a five-hour fight, apart from the officers commanding the Egyptian units, the only British troops participating were a squadron of the 20th Hussars. This battle effectively ended the Mahdist threat to Egypt, the Political Martyr, General Gordon and the Fall of Kartum by S Monick-Military History Journal Vol 6 No 6
22.
Second Battle of Agordat
–
The Second Battle of Agordat was fought in late December 1893, between Italian colonial troops and Mahdists from the Sudan. Emir Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern Sudan and this force encountered 2,400 Italians and their Eritrean askaris at Agordat, west of Asmara, commanded by Colonel Arimondi. Over 1,000 Dervishes, including the Emir, were killed in severe fighting, the outcome of the battle constituted. the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries. A year later, Italian colonial forces seized Kassala
23.
Battle of Ferkeh
–
The Battle of Ferkeh occurred during the Mahdist War when an army of the Mahdist Sudanese was surprised and wiped out by the British and Egyptian forces under Sir Herbert Kitchener on 7 June 1896. In 1896, as part of the Sudan campaign, Kitcheners Anglo-Egyptian force was advancing on Dongola, Ferkeh was a small fortified village on the banks of the Nile. It was the first important Mahdist position they encountered, at the time, it was occupied by 3,000 Mahdist warriors, led by the Emirs Hammuda and Osman Azrak. Kitcheners force, nominally in service of the Khedive of Egypt and it numbered 9,000 men, accompanied by three batteries of field guns and one battery of Maxim guns. Kitchener divided his force into two columns, one was formed mostly of infantry, and had to march along the Nile to attack Ferkeh from the North. The other consisted of cavalry, camel-mounted infantry and horse units and was sent through the desert to attack from the South-East. Both columns departed in the evening of the 6th, and marched through the night, the attack caught the Mahdists completely by surprise, and they made only uncoordinated attacks against the deploying Egyptians, during which Hammuda was killed. Many of the Mahdists then turned and fled, the cavalry column should have cut off their retreat, but they were hidden from view by the terrain, and many made good their escape along the Nile, including Osman Azrak. Other Mahdists stayed in their fortifications in the village, and fought to the bitter end, the Egyptians had to clear the position with bayonets. The battle lasted less than three hours—from 04,30 to 07, 20—and resulted in the deaths of 20 Egyptians and 800 to 1000 Mahdists and it was the first significant action during the Sudan campaign. The river war - an account of the Reconquest of the Sudan, Eyre and Spottiswoode, hot fighting at Ferkeh, How the Sirdar surprised and routed the Mahdis Emirs
24.
Battle of Atbara
–
The Battle of Atbara took place during the Second Sudan War. Anglo-Egyptian forces defeated 15,000 Sudanese rebels, called Mahdists or Dervishes, the battle proved to be the turning point in the conquest of Sudan by a British and Egyptian coalition. By 1898, the combined British and Egyptian army was advancing down the Nile river into Sudan, after a brief artillery bombardment of the Mahdist camp, the combined British and Egyptian brigades attacked. Soon, the British and Egyptian troops were in the Mahdist camp, the Victorians at War, 1815–1914, An Encyclopedia of British Military History
25.
Mahdi
–
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for five, seven, nine, or nineteen years before the Day of Judgement and will rid the world of evil. There is no reference to the Mahdi in the Quran. According to Islamic tradition, the Mahdis tenure will coincide with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, differences exist in the concept of the Mahdi between Shia Muslims and adherents of the Sunni tradition. For Sunnis, the Mahdi is the Muslims future leader who is yet to come, for most Shia Muslims, the Mahdi was born but disappeared and will remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world, a doctrine known as the Occultation. For Twelver Shia, this hidden Imam is Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be the Mahdi. The term mahdi does not occur in the Quran, but it is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y, the term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet and without any messianic significance. As an honorific it has used in some instances to describe Muhammad, as well as Abraham, al-Hussain. During the second war, after the death of Muʾawiya. In Kufa during the rebellion in 680s, Al-Mukhtar proclaimed Muhammad al-Hanafiyyah as the Mahdi in this heightened sense. Among the Umayyads, Sulayman encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, early discussions about the identity of al-Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions attributed to Muhammad, by the time of the Abbasid Revolution in the year 750, Mahdi was already a known concept. Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph As-Saffah assumed the title of the Mahdi for himself and they became known as Kaysanites, and introduced what later became two key aspects of the Shias concept of the Mahdi. The first was the notion of return of the dead, particularly of the Imams, the second was that after al-Hanafiyyahs death they believed he was, in fact, in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina. This later developed into the known as the Occultation. The Mahdi appeared in early Shi’ite narratives, spread widely among Shi’ite groups and became dissociated from its historical figure, during the 10th century, based on these earlier beliefs, the doctrine of Mahdism was extensively expanded by Al-Kulayni, Ibrahim al-Qummi and Ibn Babawayh. In particular, in the early 10th century, the doctrine of the Occultation, the Mahdi became synonymous with the Hidden Imam who was thought to be in occultation awaiting the time that God has ordered for his return. This return is envisaged as occurring shortly before the final Day of judgment, in fact, the concept of the hidden Imam was attributed to several Imams in turn. Some historians suggest that the term itself was introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century
26.
Muhammad Ahmad
–
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29,1881, proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith. From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, during this period, many of the theological and political doctrines of the Mahdiyya were established and promulgated among the growing ranks of the Mahdis supporters, the Ansars. When Muhammad Ahmad was still a child, the moved to the town of Karari, north of Omdurman. While his siblings joined his fathers trade, Muhammad Ahmad showed a proclivity for religious study and he studied first under Sheikh al-Amin al-Suwaylih in the Gezira region around Khartoum, and subsequently under Sheikh Muhammad al-Dikayr Abdallah Khujali near the town of Berber in North Sudan. Determined to live a life of asceticism, mysticism and worship, in 1861 he sought out Sheikh Muhammad Sharif Nur al-Daim, Muhammad Ahmad stayed with Sheikh Muhammad Sharif for seven years, during which time he was recognized for his piety and asceticism. Near the end of period, he was awarded the title of Sheikh himself. He was permitted to give tariqa and Uhūd to new followers, in 1870, his family moved again in search for timber, this time to Aba Island on the White Nile south of Khartoum. On Aba Island, Muhammad Ahmad built a mosque and started to teach the Quran and he soon gained a notable reputation among the local population as an excellent speaker and mystic. Any deviation from the Quran was therefore heresy, in 1872, Muhammad Ahmad invited Sheikh Sharif to move to al-Aradayb, an area on the White Nile neighboring Aba Island. Despite initially amicable relations, in 1878 the two leaders had a dispute motivated by Sheikh Sharifs resentment of his former students growing popularity. The dispute led to violence between their followers, and while they temporarily reconciled their differences, the experience revealed to Muhammad Ahmad his mentors ostensible faults. As a result of this dispute, Sheikh Sharif expelled his former student from the Samaniyya order. After recognizing that the split with Sheikh Sharif was irreconcilable, Muhammad Ahmad approached a rival leader of the Samaniyya order named Sheikh al-Qurashi wad al-Zayn. The elderly sheikh eagerly accepted him and his followers, and under his new master, Muhammad Ahmad resumed his life of piety, while in Kordofan, he also enhanced his reputation by granting baraka to the common people who attended his sermons en masse. On 25 July 1878, Sheikh al-Qurashi died and his followers recognized Muhammad Ahmad as their new leader, around this time, Muhammad Ahmad first met Abdallahi bin Muhammad al-Taaishi, who was to become his chief deputy and successor in the years to come. On 29 June 1881, Muhammad Ahmad publicly announced his claim to be the Mahdi so as to prepare the way for the coming of the Prophet Isa. In part, his claim was based on his status as a prominent Sufi sheikh with a following in the Samaniyya order. Yet the idea of the Mahdiyya had been central to the belief of the Samaniyya prior to Muhammad Ahmads manifestation, the previous Samaniyya leader, Sheikh al-Qurashi Wad al-Zayn, had asserted that the long-awaited-for redeemer would come from the Samaniyya line
27.
Charles George Gordon
–
Major General Charles George Gordon CB, also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator. He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army, but he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the Ever Victorious Army, a force of Chinese soldiers led by European officers. In the early 1860s, Gordon and his men were instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, for these accomplishments, he was given the nickname Chinese Gordon and honours from both the Emperor of China and the British. He entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt in 1873 and later became the Governor-General of the Sudan, where he did much to suppress revolts, exhausted, he resigned and returned to Europe in 1880. A serious revolt broke out in the Sudan, led by a Muslim religious leader and self-proclaimed Mahdi. In early 1884 Gordon had been sent to Khartoum with instructions to secure the evacuation of soldiers and civilians. However, after evacuating about 2,500 British civilians, in defiance of those instructions, he retained a smaller group of soldiers, in the buildup to battle, the two leaders corresponded, each attempting to convert the other to his faith, but neither would accede. Only when public pressure to act had become irresistible did the government, with reluctance and it arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Gordon was born in Woolwich, London, a son of Major General Henry William Gordon, all of Gordons brothers also became Army officers. Gordon grew up in England, Ireland, Scotland and the Ionian Islands as his father was moved from post to post and he was educated at Fullands School in Taunton, Taunton School, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1843, Gordon was devastated when his favorite sibling, his sister Emily died of tuberculosis, writing years later humanly speaking it changed my life, it was never the same since. After her death, her place as Gordons favorite sibling was taken by his very religious older sister Augusta, as a cadet, Gordon showed exceptional talents at map-making and in designing fortifications, which led to him choosing to become a Royal Engineer or a sapper. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 23 June 1852, completing his training at Chatham. The sappers were an elite who performed the work, led storming parties, demolished obstacles in assaults, carried out rear-guard actions in retreats. As an officer, Gordon showed strong charisma and leadership, a man medium of stature, but with striking blue eyes, the charismatic Gordon had the ability to inspire men to follow him anywhere. Gordon was first assigned to construct fortifications at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, during his time in Milford Haven, Gordon was befriended by a young couple, Francis and Anne Drew, who introduced him to evangelical Protestantism. Gordon was especially impressed with Philippians 1,21 where St. Paul wrote, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain and he attended diverse congregations, including Roman Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist. Gordon, who said to a Roman Catholic priest that the church is like the British Army, one army but many regiments
28.
Rifle
–
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
29.
Machine gun
–
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
30.
Artillery
–
Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
31.
Caliphate
–
A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt, before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik, or another from the same root. The term caliph, derives from the Arabic word khalīfah, which means successor, steward, however, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was successor selected by God. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation, candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir, Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community consensus, the Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla of all Muslims in the event of Ghadir Khumm. The caliph was often known as Amir al-Muminin, Muhammad established his capital in Medina, after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, according to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Muminin was Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the title, while the Shia consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam as part of his secular reforms, the Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-Muminin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate. Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the authority of the Caliph. Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors, Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and he faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Alis tumultuous rule lasted only five years and this period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shia minority sect of Islam, the followers of all four Rashidun Caliphs became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rashidun each region of the Caliphate had its own governor, Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor of Syria, succeeded Ali as Caliph
32.
Nile
–
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It is generally regarded as the longest river in the world, in particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan. The Nile has two tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself, the Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water and silt. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa and it flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast, the two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt, then ends in a large delta, Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, in the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile is called Ḥpī or Iteru, meaning river. In Coptic, the words piaro or phiaro meaning the river come from the ancient name. The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus and the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος, beyond that, however, the etymology is disputed. One possible etymology derives it from a Semitic Nahal, meaning river, the standard English names White Nile and Blue Nile, to refer to the rivers source, derive from Arabic names formerly applied only to the Sudanese stretches which meet at Khartoum. Above Khartoum, the Nile is also known as the White Nile, at Khartoum the river is joined by the Blue Nile. The White Nile starts in equatorial East Africa, and the Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia, both branches are on the western flanks of the East African Rift. The drainage basin of the Nile covers 3,254,555 square kilometers, the source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria, but the lake has feeder rivers of considerable size. It is either the Ruvyironza, which emerges in Bururi Province, Burundi, or the Nyabarongo, the two feeder rivers meet near Rusumo Falls on the Rwanda-Tanzania border. Gish Abay is reportedly the place where the water of the first drops of the Blue Nile develop. The Nile leaves Lake Nyanza at Ripon Falls near Jinja, Uganda and it flows north for some 130 kilometers, to Lake Kyoga. For the remaining part it flows westerly through the Murchison Falls until it reaches the very northern shores of Lake Albert where it forms a significant river delta
33.
River gunboat
–
A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation and they would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more than one cannon, one might be a howitzer, the USS San Pablo described in Richard McKennas The Sand Pebbles is an example of this class of vessel, serving on the US Navys Yangtze Patrol. Stronger river warships were river monitors, various European powers, the USA, and Japan, maintained flotillas of these shallow draft gunboats patrolling Chinese rivers. These gunboats were enforcing those nations treaty rights under the treaties that China had started to sign following her defeat during the first Opium War with Britain, the advantages of steam power and shallow drafts meant that the new European vessels initially vastly outclassed anything available to the Chinese. Foreign powers had coerced concessions from China, like extraterritoriality for their citizens in China, royal Navy gunboats, numbering on average 15 a year in Chinese waters, served as station ships, assigned to specific ports, and were designed for river functions. The RN maintained patrols and escorts up and down the Yangtze based in Shanghai until the end of the International Concessions in 1941 and these boats were part of the Navys China Station and vessels of various classes were deployed and often moved to and from other major world rivers. The Navy had built a number of gunboats for the Crimean war in the 1850s. As these boats were scrapped they were replaced by purpose built for inshore and river service around the world, Beacon-. Ladybird and Bee were involved in the USS Panay incident, the Insects were supplemented in 1937 by the Dragonfly-class boats, three of which, Dragonfly, Grasshopper and Scorpion were involved in the fighting down the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. U. S. Navy craft were of varying age, design, size, the earliest craft made brief excursions upriver between 1861 and 1901, but were rarely assigned on permanent patrol. In 1903 converted gunboats of the Spanish Navy captured in 1898, USS Elcano, a 620-ton craft with a crew of 103, and USS Villalobos, a 350-ton ship with 50 men, served until 1928, when they were decommissioned and sunk. USS Callao and Quiros served until 1916 and 1923, in 1914 two 204-ton, 50-man patrol craft of British design and built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard were disassembled, shipped to China, and reassembled in Shanghai. USS Palos patrolled until 1934, when she became the station boat at Chungking, the Yangtze Patrol was formally established in 1922 as a component of the Asiatic Fleet. Six new craft were designed and built in 1928 in Shanghai, USS Guam and Tutuilla,380 tons and a crew of 60, were able to ply the entire river year round. USS Panay and Oahu,450 tons and a complement of 65, except for Panay, sunk by Japanese aircraft in December 1937, the newer ships served in China until late 1941. Brazilian Navy official website, Roraima Class gunboats
34.
Flotilla
–
A flotilla, or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats. Groups of larger warships are usually called squadrons, but similar units of non-capital ships may be called squadrons in some instances, a flotilla is usually commanded by a rear admiral, a commodore or a captain, depending on the importance of the command. A flotilla is often divided into two or more divisions, each of which might be commanded by the most senior commander, a flotilla is often, but not necessarily, a permanent formation. In modern navies, flotillas have tended to become administrative units containing several squadrons, as warships have grown larger, the term squadron has gradually replaced the term flotilla for formations of destroyers, frigates and submarines in many navies. A naval flotilla has no equivalent on land, but is, perhaps. In the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, a Flotilla is the organizational unit. A Flotilla is led by an elected Flotilla Commander assisted by an elected Vice Flotilla Commander, a Coast Guard Auxiliary Division consists of multiple Flotillas and a District consists of multiple Divisions. Auxiliary Districts are organized along Coast Guard District lines and are administered by a Coast Guard officer who is called the Director of the Auxiliary. In the Russian Navy, the flotilla has tended to be used for brown-water naval units - those operating not on the oceans and real seas. In the 18th century, the term applied to the comparatively small fleets operating on those seas where Russia did not have much naval presence yet. The word flotilla has also used at times to refer to a small fleet of vessels. There is also such thing as a holiday, in which is a group of chartered yachts that set sail together on the same route. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Tactical formation Chesapeake Bay Flotilla of U. S. Navy Chief Director of Auxiliary, USCG G-PCX Web Site - Flotilla Organizational Structure. USCG Auxiliary Office of the Chief Director, Coast Guard Auxiliary Los Angeles Flotilla Coast Guard Auxiliary Lake Clarke Flotilla
35.
Cavalry
–
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
36.
Ansar (Sudan)
–
The Ansar, or followers of the Mahdi, is a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad, the self-proclaimed Mahdi. Northern Sudan has long inhabited by Arab people who farm the Nile valley. Sudan came under Egyptian suzerainty when an Ottoman force conquered and occupied the region in 1820–21, muhammed Ahmad, a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island, proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians culminating in the capture of Khartoum in January 1885, muhammed Ahmad died a few months later. His successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, maintained the independence of the Mahdist state until 1898 and his descendants have led the movement since then. Muhammed Ahmad claimed to receive inspiration from God. After taking power in Sudan between 1883 and 1885 he established the Mahdist regime, which was ruled by a version of the sharia. Muhammed Ahmed appointed three Caliphs or lieutenants, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, Ali wad Hilu, and his young cousin and he emulated Muhammad, who was followed by the four Rashidun caliphs. Abdillahi corresponded to Abu Bakr, Ali wad Hilu to Umar, Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi was to have taken the place of Uthman, but refused the honor. The Mahdist state was at first run on military lines as a state, with the courts enforcing Islamic jurisprudence and the precepts of the Mahdi. Later, the Caliph established a more traditional administration, the state was expansionary, and engaged in wars with Ethiopia. In 1892 General Herbert Kitchener was appointed commander of the Egyptian army, after careful preparations and a slow advance, on 2 September 1898 the main Anglo-Egyptian forces engaged with a Mahdist army of 52,000 at the Battle of Omdurman. With greatly superior firepower, the British won a crushing victory, Caliph Abdillahi fled, and a year later was killed with other Mahdist leaders at the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat. According to the hadith, no one will more resemble me than al-Mahdi and it is said that the Mahdi will appear after hearts become hard and the earth is filled with wickedness. Following him, the Antichrist will appear, with all the signs that the Hour has come. Sunnis believe that Jesus will slay the anti-Christ, muhammed Ahmed revealed himself as al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, the awaited guide in the right path, usually seen as the Mahdi. His mission was to redeem the faithful and to prepare the way for the coming of the Prophet Isa. His movement was fundamentalist, demanding a return to the principles of Islam
37.
Dervish
–
A dervish or darvesh is someone guiding a Sufi Muslim ascetic down a path or Tariqah, known for their extreme poverty and austerity. Their focus is on the values of love and service. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God and their most common practice is Sama which is associated with Rumi. Dervish is a Turkish word from the 1580s that is derived from the Persian word darvīsh and it has been used in the same manner as the Arabic word Faqir to refer to Muslim holy men who have given up worldly pleasures for an austere and religious life. Many dervishes are mendicant ascetics who have taken a vow of poverty, the main reason they beg is to learn humility, but Dervishes are prohibited to beg for their own good. They have to give the money to other poor people. Others work in professions, Egyptian Qadiriyya – known in Turkey as Kadiri – are fishermen. Some classical writers indicate that the poverty of the dervish is not merely economic and it is, however, also practiced by other orders. The Sama is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy, the name Mevlevi comes from the Persian poet Rumi, who was a dervish himself. This practice, though not intended as entertainment, has become a tourist attraction in Turkey, there are various orders of Dervishes, almost all of which trace their origins from various Muslim saints and teachers, especially Imam Ali. Various orders and suborders have appeared and disappeared over the centuries, Dervishes spread into North Africa, Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iran, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Other groups include the Bektashis, who are connected to the janissaries, and the Senussi, other fraternities and subgroups chant verses of the Quran, play drums or whirl in groups, all according to their specific traditions. They practice meditation, as is the case with most of the Sufi orders in South Asia, many of whom owe allegiance to, or were influenced by, each fraternity uses its own garb and methods of acceptance and initiation, some of which may be rather severe. This Dervish army enabled Hassan to carve out a state through conquest of lands claimed by the Somali Sultans, the Ethiopians. The Dervish State acquired renown in the Islamic and Western worlds due to its resistance against Britain, the Dervish State successfully repulsed British-led Somali and Ethiopian forces four times and forced them to retreat to the coastal region. The polity also maintained relations with authorities, receiving support from the Ottoman and German empires. The Turks also named Hassan Emir of the Somali nation, the Dervish State was finally defeated by the British in 1920. Various western historical writers have used the term dervish rather loosely, linking it to, among other things
Four awards were made of the Victoria Cross, all for gallantry shown on 2 September 1898.
Queen's Sudan Medal, British campaign medal awarded to British and Egyptian forces which took part in the Sudan campaign between 1896 and 1898.
Khedive's Sudan Medal (1897), Egyptian campaign medal awarded to British and Egyptian forces which took part in the Sudan campaign between 1896 and 1898.
