Omer Ertur

Bones in the Nile Omer Ertur

A NARRATIVE OF THE OMDURMAN CHRONICLES This historical narrative covers a period of nineteen months, January 1884 through July 1885, during which the Mahdist uprising in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan matures and forms the state of Mahdiya. Two principal characters in this armed political struggle are Charles George Gordon, the British general sent by the government of Great Britain to Khartoum to evacuate the Anglo-Egyptian garrison, and Muhammed Ahmed Al Mahdi, the leader of the Sudanese uprising against British colonial rule, whose army laid siege to the garrison town. Both men, the British general and the leader of the Sudanese uprising, meet their demise in highly questionable circumstances. Five months after successfully declaring independence from British-ruled Egypt, the leader of Mahdiya dies under mysterious circumstances. The story explains and describes the political environment that resulted in the assassination of Muhammed Ahmed and connects his unexpected death with the assassination of General Gordon. The narrative reveals the modus operandi of the two assassinations and the rationale of the assailants in undertaking these bloody actions and accomplishing their deadly aims. The story line is based on actual events that are described in chronicles presented at the end of the book. The main theme of the story is a contemplation upon the injustices and sufferings that resulted from the clash of two distinct civilizations, each with sharply enunciated political values, cultural habits, and religious dogmas.