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 support of the Mahdi, and cut the Egyptian traffic on the Nile and the telegraph to Cairo. Communications were not entirely cut, as runners could still get through, but the siege had begun and Khartoum could only rely on its own food stores, which could last five or six months. On 16 March an abortive sortie from Khartoum was launched, which led to the death of 200 Egyptian troops as the combined forces besieging Khartoum grew to over 30,000 men. Through the months of April, May, June, and July, Gordon and the garrison dealt with being cut off as food