The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

Tewfik Pasha Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt and the Turco-Egyptian Sudan, Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the s ...

to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included

British forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...

who served during the

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It e ...

and the subsequent

Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...

, who received both the British

Egypt Medal The Egypt Medal (1882–1889) was awarded for the military actions involving the British Army and Royal Navy during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and in the Mahdist War, Sudan between 1884 and 1889. Resentment at increasing British and other Eur ...

and the Khedive's Star. Cast in bronze and lacquered, it is also known as the Khedive's Bronze Star.

History

After the outbreak of the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882, the United Kingdom met with opposition from

Ahmed ‘Urabi Ahmed Urabi (; Arabic: ; 31 March 1841 – 21 September 1911), also known as Ahmed Ourabi or Orabi Pasha, was an Egyptian military officer. He was the first political and military leader in Egypt to rise from the '' fellahin'' (peasantry). Urabi ...

a nationalist and supporter of Egyptian independence. The British success in the war strengthened the position of the

of Egypt,

, a supporter of the British government, who decided to reward all British and Indian Army soldiers who took part in the campaign and who had received the British

. Permission was granted to wear the star in uniform. The award of the Star was extended to the subsequent

in the Sudan until 1891. When the

reconquest of the Sudan The Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan in 1896–1899 was a reconquest of territory lost by the Khedives of Egypt in 1884–1885 during the Mahdist War. The British had failed to organise an orderly withdrawal of the Egyptian Army from Sudan, and t ...

recommenced in 1896, the Khedive authorised a new

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hi ...

. The Khedive also made a small number of awards of the Star to Egyptian civilians for non-military service.

Description

The medal consists of a five-pointed bronze star darkened by means of lacquer. On the obverse, the centre of the star shows an image of the sphinx with the pyramids in the background, all within a ring bearing the word "EGYPT" and the appropriate date, above the corresponding Arabic inscription. The reverse has the monogram of

Tawfiq Pasha Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. ...

, crowned. The suspension bar for the dark blue ribbon bears a crescent and a star. Issued unnamed, some recipients arranged privately for their details to be engraved on the reverse.Naming of Khedive's Stars
Michael Hargreave Mawson, accessed 27 February 2020. The medal was manufactured by Henry Jenkins and Sons of Birmingham, who also made the

Kabul to Kandahar Star The Kabul to Kandahar Star, also known as the Roberts Star or Kandahar Bronze Star was awarded to those British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian troops who participated in the 320 mile march from Kabul to Kandahar in Afghanistan betwe ...

of 1880.

Different versions

There are four variations of the star that correspond to the different campaigns with only one star, the earliest qualified for, awarded to each recipient: * Dated 1882: for service in support of the Khedive in the

. For service in the Sudan during the

: * Dated 1884: operations between 19 February and 26 March 1884, relating to the first

Suakin Expedition The Suakin Expedition was either of two British-Indian military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham, to Suakin in Sudan, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops dur ...

. * Dated 1884-6: operations from 26 March 1884 to 7 October 1886, including the

Nile expedition The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition (1884–1885), was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to Sudan to help the Egyptians withdraw their garr ...

to relieve General Gordon besieged at

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and for the 1885 operations near

Suakin Suakin or Sawakin (, Beja: ''Oosook'') is a port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about north. Suakin used to be considered the height ...

. * Undated: operations from 1887 to 1891, mainly near Suakin and along the Nile. In addition, a clasp inscribed Tokar in Arabic only (توكار) was awarded to those present at the action at Tokar on 19 February 1891. This was fitted to the Star already held or, for new recipients, awarded with an undated Star. Tokar clasp for Khedives star

The Tokar clasp For British forces, the Star is always accompanied by the

, with the exception of service at Tokar in 1891, where the Egypt Medal was not awarded.

References

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book, last=Mayo, first=John Horsley, title= Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy, Volume II, url=https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration02mayouoft/page/416/mode/2up , publisher=A. Constable & Co, London , year=1897 British campaign medals Orders, decorations, and medals of Egypt Awards established in 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War Mahdist War 1882 establishments in Egypt