Heston And Olivier Star: "Khartoum," Plus Some History

NOTE: This article contains information about the movie "Khartoum," including its ending. If you have not seen the movie before and if you don't want to know the ending (although the ending is really obvious), please be forewarned.

While the historical "siege of Khartoum" took place in 1884-85, and the movie was released in 1966, and I'm writing this in November of 2014, you will see that the wars and killings centered around this general topic are not new, and they remain with us to this very day.

The movie "Khartoum" was released back in the mid 1960s and was loosely based upon historical events in the Sudan in eastern Africa in the 1880s. Charlton Heston starred as British General Charles Gordon, who a few years earlier had served in the Sudan as part of the Turkish-Egyptian governing authority, and who played a big role in ending the slave trade there, giving Gordon a great deal of popularity among many of the Sudanese. Gordon had become well known to the British public for his earlier role in China, where he led a highly successful force of British, American and Chinese troops in support of the Chinese emperor to put down some rebellions. This earned Gordon the nickname, "Chinese Gordon." Laurence Olivier starred as "the Mahdi," a self proclaimed Sudanese religious and military leader, whose name was Muhammad Ahmad. The Mahdi led a rebellion against the governing powers of the Sudan (see more below), and thousands of Sunni Muslim Sudanese who believed him to be the true successor to the Prophet Muhammad, flocked to his cause.

Sudan, or "the" Sudan, as I use (I must have been taught that in school long ago, and it therefore sounds more natural to me), had a complicated relationship with Egypt, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and Britain. The region had long been linked with Egypt, but much of Egypt and the Sudan was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The British got involved in Egypt in the early 1880s, and this brought calls for the use of British forces to quell the uprising led by the Mahdi, something the British government did not want to do. The Sudan was garrisoned by Egyptian troops, but with some British officers. The movie depicts the British government's resistance to sending troops and instead asking General Gordon to go to the Sudan in an attempt to satisfy those calling for military forces to be sent, and to evacuate British and Egyptian military, governmental and business personnel from the region. Remember, this is a movie and not a documentary, and as such, actual historical events are not always followed, but rather depicted in some fashion to generally represent the historical events, and then too, there is always the need for any film to make money, and thus scenes are often added for tension and to get people interested to pay to see it.

Khartoum was the center for the administration of the Sudan and Gordon arrives there to jubilant crowds, for his reputation is so powerful, people feel they will now be saved from the Mahdi's takeover. While Gordon prepares a defense of the city, he also tries to get the British government to change its policy and to send troops. The movie shows Gordon going to meet with the Mahdi on a couple of occasions during the ten month siege of Khartoum, although that likely never happened in real life, but historically, the two leaders did exchange various communications. Gordon wants the Mahdi to allow the Egyptian troops and administrators to leave unharmed, but while the Mahdi wants Gordon to leave, he will not permit the Egyptians to leave, as they are marked for death. The Sudanese population will then have to submit to strict Islamic law or be executed. Meanwhile, back in Britain, the public wants British troops sent to the Sudan to "save Gordon." The government relents and finally thousands of troops are sent to Egypt, where they spend time training for the hot climate and rough terrain. The government really hopes this delay will force Gordon to abandon Khartoum, save himself, and join these British forces in Egypt, something, however, he will not do. Historically, Gordon had strong, but somewhat out of the ordinary, Christian religious beliefs, and the religious element of his life is depicted in the movie. In his last meeting with the Mahdi, the two use their religious views against one another, as each essentially condemns the other to death as the will of their views of God (Allah).

The pressure on the British government becomes too much, and the troops in Egypt are given the order to move into the Sudan. The Mahdi organizes his attack on Khartoum and gives the order for the assault. The Egyptian troops put up a valiant defense, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, but in the end the Mahdi's forces overcome their resistance and enter the city. Gordon, who is in his residence, goes out to meet the Mahdi's forces. As he appears at the head of some steps, the soldiers cease fire and grow silent. Gordon descends a few steps and one of the soldiers throws a spear which kills him and his body topples from the staircase. Gordon is beheaded and his head is put atop a long pike and carried to the Mahdi, who is terrified by its sight, as he had ordered that Gordon not be killed (historically true). The idea here is, the Mahdi was an astute leader, and he knew that killing the famous Gordon "could" bring substantial British military forces against him. The narrator tells us the British troops arrived just two days later (true), but that the Sudan suffered terribly in the aftermath of the Mahdi's victory, although the Mahdi's rule was short lived, as he too died just a short time later, and the narrator says, "Why, we shall never know," but with the implication that Gordon's religious "threat" or "curse" to the Mahdi in their last meeting had been fulfilled. Historically, how Gordon died is not really known, but the scene in the movie was not "invented" by the filmmaker, but rather was taken from some accounts and from a famous painting depicting Gordon's death. The actual final battle was not really as seen in the movie, as one of Gordon's own men opened one of the gates to the city, allowing the Mahdi's forces to enter. Many of the Egyptians were killed in the fighting, with survivors being executed, and some Sudanese were executed, with the total number being in the thousands. The Mahdi did indeed die just a few months later, "presumably" from typhus.  

The following were consulted for this article:
"Gordon of Khartoum-The Saga Of A Victorian Hero" by John H. Waller, published by Atheneum, 1988.
"Gordon of Khartoum" by Peter Johnson, published by Patrick Stevens, 1985

WORD HISTORY:
Ennet-This now largely British dialectal, but generally antiquated word for "duck," the waterfowl, goes back to Indo European "anet/anat," with the meaning "waterbird, waterfowl." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "anuth," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ened/enid," which meant "duck." This later became "enede," before the later version, "ennet," which is also at times written "annet." Other forms in the Germanic languages are: German "Ente," Low German "Aant," Dutch "eend," West Frisian "ein," Danish and Norwegian "and," Icelandic "önd," Swedish "and," but also "an."