Description
General Gordon’s Star for the Siege of Khartoum, an Original example of the Pewter sand cast copy of General Gordon’s Order of the Medjidie Badge.
A complete example with attached crescent suspension, in good preserved condition with all tips of the arms surviving.
This unusual star is likely to be the lowest quality British Order or Medal ever produced. That is because it was produced during the Siege of Khartoum, by order of “General Gordon of Khartoum”. Major General Charles George Gordon, aka “Gordon Pasha”, was a highly decorated War Hero under employment of the Khedive of Egypt, serving as his Governor General of Sudan.
After a lengthy and epic siege, General Gordon was desperately in need of the British Relief Force, but they arrived too late.
The Mahdi had breached the city, and send in his man to capture Gordon, apparently as they swarmed him, he stood at the top of the steps with his revolver and sword, and died there, where he and his body servant, took out as many as they could manage before he went down swinging his sword.
By the time his servant awoke from the action, Gordon’s head had been removed and taken as a trophy. By nightfall the Garrison had been slaughtered to the last man.
During the siege, morale was extremely low and things were looking rather dire for the defenders.
The star of course bears a striking resemblance to the Egyptian Order of the Medjidie, Mecidiye Nişanı, General Gordon owned one of these examples and use it as the basis for the new medal.
General Gordon decided to make a medal to award to those trapped, he drew up the medal based on his own Order of the Medjidie and had a goldsmith called Bishara Abdul Malik during 1884 produce the medals, made mostly from Pewter.
As there was a lack of previous metals available and machinery, the pieces were made rather crudely from mostly Pewter, with some other bits of silver and gold etc mixed in depending on the piece, by the Sand Casting process, with a few key features changed by General Gordon to properly transform it into the “Khartoum Star”.
The Arabic Script around the centre was replaced by “The Siege of Khartoum” and dated in the Arabic Calendar translating to 1883/4.
Shortly after they were made, the Mahdists overwhelmed Khartoum and murdered General Gordon, it was then believed that the Star would paint a large target on any surviving wearers, proof that they sided with the enemy.
