Siege of Khartoum currency Siege of Khartoum currency Siege of Khartoum currency, an emergency paper money, was issued by Governor-General of the Sudan, British Major-General Charles George Gordon during the Siege of Khartoum. Denominated in piastre (and a 50 Egyptian pound bill), the first issue notes were dated 25 April 1884 and produced as late as November 1884. Gordon began his military career with the Royal Engineers (1852) and fought in the Crimean War and in China, playing a significant role in stopping the Taiping Rebellion (1863–64). He was appointed Governor of Equatoria (1872–76), and then Governor-general of the Sudan (1877–80). Gordon was re-appointed
Siege of Khartoum relief to Khartoum. He was rebuked by Queen Victoria in a telegram which became known to the public. His government fell in June 1885, though he was back in office the next year. The public outcry soon weakened, first when press coverage and sensationalism of the events began to diminish and secondly when the government released details of the £11.5 million military budget cost for pursuing war in the Sudan. In reality, Gladstone had always viewed the Egyptian-Sudanese imbroglio with distaste and had felt some sympathy for the Sudanese striving to throw off the Egyptian colonial rule. He once declared