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Introduction to Mahdist Military Organisation

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Introduction to Mahdist Military Organisation In June, 1881, a Sufi shaykh, or holyman, named Muḥammad Aḥmad residing on a small island in the White Nile publicly proclaimed himself to be the Mahdī, the redeemer of Islam. An act which drew the ire of the incumbent Turco-Egyptian regime. The government authorities attempted and failed to summon Muḥammad Aḥmad to the capital, Khartoum, whereupon it was decided to send a military expedition to arrest him. The Mahdī, however, had anticipated this [1].  Exhibit in the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Display_of_unidentified_contents_-_Royal_Museum_for_Central_Africa_-_DSC06706.JPG He first set about summoning the surrounding tribes to come to his aid, which they did until his forces numbered from 313–350 men. It is here that we get the first instance of Mahdist military organisation, with the Mahdī taking inspiration from that of a Sufi ṭarīqa (or brotherhood). He divided his fo
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Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyid Abdallah

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Muhammad Ahmad From 1844-1881     Much has been written of Muhammad Ahmad the Mahdi, but few have followed the life of Muhammad Ahmad the man, the boat builder's son, the dedicated student, or the respected shaykh. Thus, the following will be a brief description of the life of Muhammad Ahmad from his birth in 1844 to his manifestation as al-Mahdi al-Muntazar on Aba Island in 1881.  Muhammad Ahmad. Illustration by Giha / Musa Qism al-Din       Muhammad Ahmad Ibn al-Sayyid Abdallahi was born on August 12th, 1844, on Labab Island in just south of the town of New Dongola (Holt 45. Nicoll 12. Qadal 37). The son of a Dongolawi shipbuilder who claimed to be a member of the Ashraf (to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad), a legacy which was drilled into the mind of the young boy, whom, it is said, could recite his full lineage back to Ali ibn Abi Talib (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet), a full list of which can be found in Nu'am -Shoucair's Tarikh al-Sudan  and Haim Shaked&
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A Brief Introduction to the Mahdiyya

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  The Sudanese Mahdiyya, 1881–1898 A Brief Introduction Update of 7/25/24: The author recommends the reader also consult a). Fergus Nicoll's A Bibliography of the Mahd īa: بيبلوغرافيا المهدية (Khartoum: Q āsim Data Centre, 2010) and b). Ahmed Ibrahim Abu Shouk's "A Bibliography of the Mahdist State in the Sudan (1881-1898)" Sudanic Africa 10 (1999), 133-168.      During the 19th century Egypt, a nominal piece of the Ottoman Empire, had expanded southwards up the Nile establishing a colonial rule over the regions now known as modern Sudan, South Sudan, and Eritrea ( For an in-depth overview of the Turco-Egyptian Sudan see: Hill, Richard Leslie. Egypt in the Sudan, 1820–1881 . (London: Oxford University Press, 1966). However, Egypt’s rule over the Sudan was not a pleasant one with a multitude of complaints being caused due to corruption within the Turco-Egyptian regime alongside a number of tribal and religious conflicts ( Shuqayr, Na’um. Ta’rikh al-Sudan . ed. Muham
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