Omdurman

OMDURMAN

historical capital of the sudan.

Although Khartoum is the official capital of the Sudan, Omdurman is the country's historic, cultural, and spiritual capital. It is also part of a tri-city metropolitan area (with Khartoum and Khartoum North) that forms the country's political, industrial, and commercial heart. Originally an insignificant fishing village on the west bank at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, Omdurman became a major city at the end of the nineteenth century when Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi made it his military headquarters in 1884. After the Mahdist forces destroyed Khartoum (1885), the Mahdi's successor, Khalifa Abdullah, made Omdurman his capital, and the city grew as the site of the Mahdi's tomb. The Battle of Karari (1898), which took place near Omdurman, marked the defeat of the Mahdist state in Sudan by the Anglo-Egyptian army of Lord Kitchener. Although most of the city was destroyed after the battle, the Mahdi's tomb has been restored and embellished. The Khalifa's former residence is now a museum. Recently, Omdurman has grown rapidly, and has an estimated population of well over two million. The major Sudanese political groups have their headquarters in the city, as do the television and radio networks and the famous soccer and cultural clubs. Although the official headquarters of the army is in Khartoum, the principal military installations are in Omdurman, including those of Sudan's air force.

see also ahmad, muhammad; khartoum; kitchener, horatio herbert; mahdi.

Bibliography

Ahmed, Medani Mohammed. Current Studies on the Sudan. Omdurman, Sudan: Mohamed Omer Beshir's Center for Sudanese Studies, 1998.

Pollock, John. Kitchener: Architect of Victory, Artisan of Peace. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001.

Woodward, Peter, ed. Sudan after Nimeiri. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.

robert o. collins
updated by khalid m. el-hassan