Osman Digna

Who was Osman Digna?

Osman Digna was a follower of Muhammad Ahmad, the self-proclaimed Mahdi, in Sudan, who became his best known military commander during the Mahdist War. As the Mahdi's ablest general, he played an important role in the fate of General Charles George Gordon and the loss of the Sudan to Egypt. In Britain Osman became a notorious figure, both demonised as a savage and respected as a warrior. Winston Churchill describes him as an "astute" and "prudent" man, calling him "the celebrated, and perhaps immortal, Osman Digna."