Gordon and the Sudan: Prologue to the Mahdiyya 1877-1880

Drawing on an extensive pool of archival sources from Europe, Egypt, and North America, the book considers a period of three years, preceding the Mahdist revolution in the Sudan. From 1877 to 1880 Charles Gordon served as Governor-General of the Turco-Egyptian Sudan, conquered and ruled by the armies of Egypt’s Muhammad Ali dynasty, beginning in 1820. Moore-Harell asserts that Gordon was neither a tool of British interests nor a modern Christian crusader – though many authors over the years have portrayed him in just this way. Gordon, she argues, acted with local interests in mind while remaining loyal to khedivial, not British, authority. She describes Gordon as a political reformer who tried to establish a more locally responsive and conciliatory government. Reversing longstanding Turco-Egyptian policies that had sought to marginalize Sudanese Sufi leaders, Gordon adopted a tolerant attitude towards Sudanese Islam and included more Sudanese in his administration.
Focussing on a brief historical moment of dramatic political change, Gordon and the Sudan is a fascinating book that will appeal to historians of Egypt, Sudan, and the British Empire while perhaps also explaining some of Gordon’s enduring mystique.