meanwhile, a religious rebellion had broken out in the sudan, led by muhammad ahmed, who proclaimed himself the mahdi. the mahdist rebels had seized the regional capital of kordofan and annihilated two british-led expeditions sent to quell it. the british soldier-adventurer charles george gordon, an ex-governor of the sudan, was sent to the sudanese capital, khartoum, with orders to evacuate its minority of european and egyptian inhabitants. instead of evacuating the city, gordon prepared for a siege and held out from 1884 to 1885. however, khartoum eventually fell, and he was killed.