A Prisoner of the Khaleefa: Twelve Years Captivity at Omdurman

Charles Neufeld

Karl Neufeld, also known as Charles Neufeld was a German merchant, active in 19th-century Sudan, who was kept as a prisoner by the Mahdist state for twelve years and set free after the British victory over the Mahdist forces. He published his autobiography about this experience under the title A Prisoner of the Khaleefa. Twelve Years Captivity at Omdurman in 1899. During the first half of World War I, Neufeld also acted as translator and undercover agent for the German Empire, trying to incite Arabs against the British Empire.