Khartoum

Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flowing north from Lake Victoria – and the Blue Nile, flowing west from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Divided by these two parts of the Nile, the Khartoum metropolitan area is a tripartite metropolis consisting of Khartoum proper, and linked by bridges to Khartoum North and Omdurman to the west. The place where the two Niles meet is known as al-Mogran or al-Muqran (The Confluence).

Khartoum was founded in 1821, north of the ancient city of Soba. In 1882 the British Empire took control of the Egyptian government, leaving the administration of Sudan in the hands of the Egyptians. At the outbreak of the Mahdist War, the British attempted to evacuate Anglo-Egyptian garrisons from Sudan but the Siege of Khartoum in 1884 resulted in the capture of the city by Mahdist forces and a massacre of the defending Anglo-Egyptian garrison. 

The city was raised, its buildings destroyed (except Mosques and Muslim structures), and approximately 4,000 men were put to the sword while approximately 2,000 women and children were enslaved. 

The capital was moved across the White Nile (to the west) to Omdurman. No effort was made to clean up the city by the Jihad government, however, people have begun to return and restore the city. 

Prior to the start of the war, the population of the city stood at approximately 40,000. Two years ago, the population stood at 27,000 - mostly a mixture of Europeans, Egyptians, and Sudanese. In 1887 that number is less than half, with crime and corruption only partially countered by Mahdist police/military.