The Four Feathers friend of his late father, who is an imposing retired general. He questions his own motives, but says he will redeem himself by acts that will convince his critics to take back the feathers. He travels on his own to Egypt and Sudan, where in 1882 Muhammad Ahmed proclaimed himself the Mahdi (Guided One) and raised a Holy War. On 26 January 1885, his Dervish forces captured Khartoum and killed its British governor, General Charles George Gordon. Most of the action over the next six years takes place in the eastern Sudan, where the British and Egyptians held Suakin. Durrance
Khartoum (state) Khartoum (state) Khartoum State () is one of the eighteen states of Sudan. Although it is the smallest state by area (22,142 km), it is the most populous (5,274,321 in 2008 census). It contains the country's second largest city by population, Omdurman, and the city of Khartoum, which is the capital of the state as well as the national capital of Sudan. The capital city contains offices of the state, governmental and non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, and the main airport. The city is located in the heart of Sudan at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile,