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Mint:
Birmingham
Artist:
Wyon, Leonard Charles
Artist:
Pinches, John
Ruler:
Victoria (1837-1901)
Ruler:
Victoria regina et imperatrix
(With the title of)
The serious weakening of Ottoman Egyptian power under foreign influence led to increasing attempts to shed Egyptian dominion in the Sudan, where in 1881 Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyid 'Abd Allah was proclaimed as Mahdi (the legendary final redeemer of Islam). He and his allies soon threatened to remove the Sudan entirely from the Khedive's control. Several serious defeats of Egyptian forces in 1884 led to a concerted British campaign in defence of Egyptian claims, but control could not be recovered. The British withdrew their forces to Egypt and to Khartoum, where General Gordon defended the city whilst awaiting a relief column that, beset by Mahdist attacks, arrived too late.
After this disaster Suakim, on the Red Sea, remained the last British bridgehead in Sudan, and was subject to a number of sieges. The Suakin Field Force, formed to defend this outpost, were repeatedly engaged by Mahdist troops without much conclusion beyond heavy casualties to either side, until the eventual complete British withdrawal in 1890.
The bars on this medal indicate participation in four such engagements, of which several were extremely small. It was awarded to E. H. Middleton, whose rank and unit are not given but who was almost certainly with the 20th Hussars, the only British unit present at Toski. The Watson Collection includes another medal of his; Lester Watson acquired this one at some point before 1928.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, acquired before 1928
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 35.7 mm
Weight: 50.24 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
1884 CE - 1890 CE
Inscription present: Bust of Victoria facing left with veil
Inscription present: Sphynx on pedestal facing left
Accession number: CM.1221-2009
Primary reference Number: 141315
Watson Catalogue: 115
Ordering: M-0104
Previous object number: LW.0104
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Egyptian Medal" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141315 Accessed: 2024-12-22 10:41:17
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141315
|title=Egyptian Medal
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 10:41:17|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141315
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0104_281_29.jpg"
alt="Egyptian Medal"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Egyptian Medal</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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