Khartoum initially grew because of the Turko-Egyptian conquest of Sudan in 1821. 

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Troops loyal to the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad laid siege to Khartoum against the defenders led by British General Charles George Gordon, resulting in the massacre of the Anglo-Egyptian garrison.

Omdurman was the scene of the bloody battle in which British forces under Sirdar Horatio Kitchener defeated the Mahdist forces defending the city.