Notes on Sultanic Bodyguards in Sinnar and Darfur








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Bibliography of the Mahdiyya

Notes on the Mahdiyya Unpublished Theses: Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed Shouk. “The Fiscal Administration of the Mahdist State in the Sudan (1881–1898).” MA thesis (University of Bergen, 1991).  Ahmed Khalid Abdalla. “The Lahawiyin: Identity and History in a Sudanese Arab Tribe.” PhD thesis (Durham University, 2010).  Badini, Francesca. “Le Pie Madri della Nigrizia e i Comboniani prigionieri della Mahdiyya (1881–1898): memoire ed epistole.” MA thesis (University of Bologna, 2016–2017). Deemer, James (Khalid) Davidson. “Umm Durmān during the Mahdiyya.” PhD thesis (Harvard University, 1988). Ewald, Janet Joran. “Leadership and Social Change on an Islamic Frontier: The Kingdom of Taqali, 1780–1900.” PhD thesis (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982). Johnson, Nels. “The Ideological Structure of the Sudanese Mahdiya.” MA thesis (McGill University, 1972). Kramer, Robert S. “Holy City on the Nile: Omdurman, 1885–1898.” PhD dissertation (Northwestern University, 1991).  Kuhn, Michael Will...
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R.S. O'Fahey, (1970) States and State Formation in the Eastern Sudan

R.S. O'Fahey, States and State Formation in the Eastern Sudan (Khartoum: Sudan Research Unit, 1970).  In discussing state formation in the eastern Sudanic region, O'Fahey focuses upon the kingdoms of Wadāy and Dār Fūr, the border states between them, and Sinnār (2). O'Fahey singles out environmental, commercial, and political aspects as being of key importance (3).  Though the states of the eastern Sudan were multi-tribal, the dynasties ruling them tended to originate in the central sedentary zone. This leads to the suggestion that such societies may have tribal origins (3–5). O'Fahey postulates that the origin of the 'Wise-Stranger' myth, which characterizes these states, may be a remembrance of the arrival of long-distance trade in the regions discussed. It is also suggested that trade acted as a stimulant to state formation, as imported arms increased the power of the sultans, and trade spurred encroachments into the northern (for camels) and southern (for s...
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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 ...
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