After the siege of Khartoum , now the location of the tomb of the Mahdi, the city grew rapidly.
However, in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898 (which actually took place in the nearby village of Kerreri), Lord Kitchener decisively defeated the Mahdist forces and killed Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, the Khalifa, ensuring British control over the Sudan.

In September 1898 the British army of twenty thousand well drilled men equipped with the
latest arms, Maxim guns and Martini-Henry rifles under the command of General
Horatio Herbert Kitchener invaded Sudan.
In the battle of Omdurman, the British Army faced Sudanese defenders consisting of over 52,000 poorly armed desert
tribesmen dervishes; in the space of five hours the battle was over.
The Sudanese defenders suffered many casualties, with at least 10,000 killed.
By contrast there were fewer than four hundred casualties on the British side with forty-eight British soldiers losing their lives.
Then, General Kitchener proceeded to order the destruction of the Mahdi's tomb and in the words of Winston Churchill, "carried off the Mahdi's head in a kerosene can as a trophy".

Kitchener restored Khartoum as the capital and, from 1899 until 1956 Sudan was jointly governed by Great Britain and Egypt.
Although most of the city was destroyed in the battle, the Mahdi's tomb was restored and refurbished.

On 10 May 2008 the Darfur rebel group of the Justice and Equality Movement moved into the city where they engaged in heavy fighting with Sudanese government forces.
Their goal was to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government.
After the siege of Khartoum , now the location of the tomb of the Mahdi, the city grew rapidly. However, in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898 (which actually took place in the nearby village of Kerreri), Lord Kitchener decisively defeated the Mahdist forces and killed Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, the Khalifa, ensuring British control over the Sudan.
In September 1898 the British army of twenty thousand well drilled men equipped with the
latest arms, Maxim guns and Martini-Henry rifles under the command of General
Horatio Herbert Kitchener invaded Sudan. In the battle of Omdurman, the British Army faced Sudanese defenders consisting of over 52,000 poorly armed desert
tribesmen dervishes; in the space of five hours the battle was over. The Sudanese defenders suffered many casualties, with at least 10,000 killed. By contrast there were fewer than four hundred casualties on the British side with forty-eight British soldiers losing their lives. Then, General Kitchener proceeded to order the destruction of the Mahdi's tomb and in the words of Winston Churchill, "carried off the Mahdi's head in a kerosene can as a trophy".
Kitchener restored Khartoum as the capital and, from 1899 until 1956 Sudan was jointly governed by Great Britain and Egypt. Although most of the city was destroyed in the battle, the Mahdi's tomb was restored and refurbished.
On 10 May 2008 the Darfur rebel group of the Justice and Equality Movement moved into the city where they engaged in heavy fighting with Sudanese government forces. Their goal was to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government.
Omdurman