Osman Digna (Arabic: عثمان دقنة)(c. 1836 – 1926) was a follower of the Mahdi in Sudan, and hailed from the Hadendoa tribe of the Beja people. His birthplace is unknown; Suakin was said to be the town where he was born. When he was called Osman Ali, Osman Digna lived in Alexandria, Egypt, where he dealt in the selling of slaves. After the English forced him to quit his business, he took part in the revolt of Ahmed 'Urabi. After the failure of that movement at the Battle of Tel al-Kebir (September 13, 1882), he attached himself to the cause of the Mahdi.
About this time he received the name Digna because of the fullness of his beard. He maintained himself at the head of a powerful army around Suakin and inflicted a severe defeat on Baker Pasha near Tokar, southeast of that place, on February 4, 1884. Immediately after this victory, however, he was defeated by General Graham near Tokar and at Tamanieh. As the Mahdi's ablest general, he was largely responsible for the fate of Gordon and the loss of the Sudan to Egypt and the only foreign commander broke the British infantry square in Battle of Tamai, yet he lost the Battle. In December, 1888, he suffered a bloody reverse at the hands of General Grenfell at Suakin, where he lost an arm. In 1899 he fought in the last campaign of the Mahdist forces, whose strength had been broken in the previous year at Omdurman. On January 19, 1900, he was captured near Tokar and sent as a prisoner to Rosetta. He served in prison for eight years and after his release remained in Egypt until his death in 1926.
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- This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.
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