Mahdist State
Mahdist State الدولة المهدية ( Arabic )Al-Dawla al-Mahdiyah | |||||||||||
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1885–1899 | |||||||||||
One of the flags of the Mahdi movement; most Mahdist flags varied in color but were similar to this one in their style. Unrecognized state | |||||||||||
Capital | Omdurman | ||||||||||
Common languages | |||||||||||
Religion | Islam | ||||||||||
Government | Islamic state | ||||||||||
Mahdi | |||||||||||
• 1881–1885 | Muhammad Ahmad | ||||||||||
Khalifa | |||||||||||
• 1885–1899 | Abdallahi ibn Muhammad | ||||||||||
Legislature | Shura council[2] | ||||||||||
Historical era | Scramble for Africa | ||||||||||
1881–1885 | |||||||||||
26 January 1885 | |||||||||||
• Sudan Convention | 18 January 1899 | ||||||||||
24 November 1899 | |||||||||||
• Fall of Sanin Husain's holdout | 1909 | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
• Pre-Mahdist[3] | 7,000,000 | ||||||||||
• Post-Mahdist[3] | 2,000,000–3,000,000 | ||||||||||
Currency |
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ISO 3166 code | SD | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Sudan South Sudan |
The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by
Mohammed Ahmed al-Mahdi enlisted the people of Sudan in what he declared a
Sudan's economy was destroyed during the Mahdist War and famine, war and disease reduced the population by half.[6][7][8][9] Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi declared all people who did not accept him as the awaited Mahdi to be infidels (kafir), ordered their killing and took their women and property.[10]
The British reconquered Sudan in 1898, ruling it after that in theory as a condominium with Egypt but in practice as a colony. However, remnants of the Mahdist State held out in Darfur until 1909.
History
Background
From the early 19th century, Egypt had begun to conquer
After the removal of Ismail in 1877, who had appointed him to the post, Charles George Gordon resigned as governor general of Sudan in 1880. His successors lacked direction from Cairo and feared the political turmoil that had engulfed Egypt. As a result, they failed to continue the policies Gordon had put in place. The illegal slave trade revived, although not enough to satisfy the merchants whom Gordon had put out of business. The Sudanese army suffered from a lack of resources, and unemployed soldiers from disbanded units troubled garrison towns. Tax collectors arbitrarily increased taxation.
Muhammad Ahmad
In this troubled atmosphere,
In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi ("expected one"). Some of his most dedicated followers regarded him as directly inspired by Allah. He wanted Muslims to reclaim the Quran and hadith as the foundational sources of Islam, creating a just society. Specifically relating to Sudan, he claimed its poverty was a virtue and denounced worldly wealth and luxury. For Muhammad Ahmad, Egypt was an example of wealth leading to impious behavior.[14] Muhammad Ahmad's calls for an uprising found great appeal among the poorest communities along the Nile, as it combined a nationalist, anti-Egyptian agenda with fundamentalist religious certainty.[13]
Even after the Mahdi proclaimed a
Advancing attacks
Early in 1882, the Ansar, armed with spears and swords, overwhelmed a British-led 7,000-man Egyptian force not far from
To the west, the Mahdist uprising was able to count on existing resistance movements. The Turkish rule of Darfur had been resented by locals, and several rebels had already begun revolts. Baggara rebels under Rizeigat chief Madibo pledged themselves to the Mahdi and besieged Darfur's Governor-General Rudolf Carl von Slatin, an Austrian in the khedive's service, at Dara. Slatin was captured in 1883, and more Darfuri tribes consequently joined the revolutionaries. Mahdist forces soon took control of most of Darfur.[15] At first, the regime change was very popular in Darfur.[16]
The advance of the Ansar and the Hadendowa rising in the east imperiled communications with Egypt and threatened to cut off garrisons at Khartoum, Kassala, Sennar, and Suakin and in the south. To avoid being drawn into a costly military intervention, the British government ordered an Egyptian withdrawal from Sudan. Gordon, who had received a reappointment as governor general, arranged to supervise the evacuation of Egyptian troops and officials and all foreigners from Sudan.
British response
After reaching Khartoum in February 1884, Gordon soon realized that he could not extricate the garrisons. As a result, he called for reinforcements from Egypt to relieve Khartoum. Gordon also recommended that
Increasing British popular support for Gordon eventually forced
The Mahdists destroyed Khartoum, the city that was built by the Ottomans. All buildings were demolished and ransacked. The women were raped and forced to divorce their "kafir" husbands. It was only after the British came back after about 15 years that the city was rebuilt. By this time no historical buildings, Ottoman style mosques and architecture remained.[10]
Abdallahi ibn Muhammad
Six months after the capture of Khartoum, the Mahdi died, probably of
Originally, the Mahdiyah functioned as a
Regional relations remained tense throughout much of the Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's commitment to using jihad to extend his version of Islam throughout the world. For example, the Khalifa rejected an offer of an alliance against the Europeans by
As the Mahdist government became more stable and well-organized, it began to implement taxes and implement its policies throughout its territories. This negatively impacted its popularity in much of Sudan, as many locals had joined the Mahdists to gain autonomy while removing a centralist and oppressive government. In Darfur, rebellions against Abdallahi ibn Muhammad's rule broke out because he was ordering Darfurians to migrate north to better defend the Mahdist State, while favoring the Baggara over other Darfurian ethnicities in regards to government positions. The main resistance was led by religious leader Abu Jimeiza of the Tama tribe in western Darfur.[16] The opposition to the Mahdist government was also fuelled by many Mahdists behaving arrogantly and abusive towards the locals.[18] Several states bordering the Mahdist State to the west began to provide the Darfurian rebels with troops and other support. Faced with a growing number of rebels, the Mahdist rule in Darfur gradually collapsed.[19] The Mahdist era became known as the umkowakia in Darfur—the "period of chaos and anarchy".[16]
Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan
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In 1892,
In 1895, the British government authorized Kitchener to launch a campaign to reconquer Sudan. Britain provided men and materiel while Egypt financed the expedition. The Anglo-Egyptian Nile Expeditionary Force included 25,800 men, 8,600 of whom were British. The remainder were troops belonging to Egyptian units that included six battalions recruited in southern Sudan. An armed river flotilla escorted the force, which also had artillery support. In preparation for the attack, the British established an army headquarters at the former rail head
On 2 September 1898, the Khalifa committed his 52,000-man army to a frontal assault against the Anglo-Egyptian force, which was massed on the plain outside Omdurman. The outcome was never in doubt, largely because of superior British firepower. During the five-hour battle, about 11,000 Mahdists died, whereas Anglo-Egyptian losses amounted to 48 dead and fewer than 400 wounded.
Mopping-up operations required several years, but organized resistance ended when the Khalifa, who had escaped to
Holdouts
Even though the Mahdist State factually ceased to exist after Umm Diwaykarat, some Mahdist holdouts continued to persist. One officer, Osman Digna, continued to resist the Anglo-Egyptian forces until captured in January 1900. However, the most long-lasting Mahdist holdouts survived in Darfur, despite the fact that Mahdist rule had already been collapsing there before the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest.[24] The holdouts were concentrated at Kabkabiya (led by Sanin Husain), Dar Taaisha (led by Arabi Dafalla), and Dar Masalit (led by Sultan Abuker Ismail). The reestablished Sultanate of Darfur consequently had to crush the Mahdist loyalists in a series of lengthy wars.[25] The Kabkabiya holdout under Sanin Husain persisted until 1909, when it was destroyed by the Sultanate of Darfur after a siege of 17 or 18 months.[26][27]
The Mahdiyah
The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional Sharia Islamic laws. The state's administration was first properly organized under Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad who attempted to use the Islamic law to unify the different peoples of Sudan.[17]
Sudan's new ruler also authorized the burning of lists of pedigrees and books of law and theology because of their association with the old order and because he believed that the former accentuated tribalism at the expense of religious unity. The Mahdi forbid anything deemed foreign to Sudan, including Western education, industrial practices, and medical advancements. The fez was perceived as too closely associated with Ottoman culture and was forbidden.[28]
The Mahdiyah has become known as the first genuine Sudanese nationalist government. The Mahdi maintained that his movement was not a religious order that could be accepted or rejected at will, but that it was a universal regime, which challenged man to join or to be destroyed. The Mahdi modified Islam's five pillars to support the dogma that loyalty to him was essential to true belief. The Mahdi also added the declaration "and Muhammad Ahmad is the Mahdi of God and the representative of His Prophet" to the recitation of the creed, the shahada. Moreover, service in the jihad replaced the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, as a duty incumbent on the faithful. Zakat (almsgiving) became the tax paid to the state, a significant portion of which was allocated towards sustaining the extravagant lifestyles of the movement's leaders.[28] The Mahdi justified these as responses to instructions conveyed to him by God in visions.
The Mahdist regime was also known for its severe persecution of Christians in Sudan, including Copts.[5]
Military
Army
The Mahdist State had a large military which became increasingly professional as time went on.[29] From an early point, the Mahdist armies recruited defectors from the Egyptian Army and organized professional soldiers in the form of the jihadiya, mostly Black Sudanese. These were supported by tribal spearmen and swordsmen as well as cavalry.[30] The jihadiya and some tribal units lived in military barracks, while the rest were more akin to militia.[1] The Mahdist armies also possessed limited artillery, including mountain guns and even machine guns. However, these were few in numbers, and thus only used as defenses for important towns and to the river steamers that acted as the state's navy.[31] In general, the Mahdist armies were highly motivated by their belief system. Exploiting this, the Mahdist commanders used their riflemen to screen charges by their melee infantry and cavalry. Such attacks often proved effective, but also led to extremely high losses when employed "unimaginatively".[31] The Europeans generally called the Mahdist soldiers "dervishes".[17]
Muhammad Ahmad's early insurgent force which was mostly recruited among the poor Arab communities living at the Nile. The later armies of the Mahdiyah were recruited among various groups, including mostly autonomous groups such as the Beja people.[13] The early forces of the Mahdi were termed the "ansar",[17] and divided into three units led by a Khalifa. These units were termed raya ("flags") in accordance to their standards. The "Black Flag" was mostly recruited from western Sudanese, mainly Baggara, and commanded by Abdallahi ibn Muhammad. The "Red Flag" was led by Muhammad al-Sharif and mostly consisted of riverine recruits from the north. The "Green Flag" under Ali Hilu included troops drawn from the southern tribes living between the White and Blue Nile. After the Mahdi's death, the command of the "Black Flag" was passed to Abdallahi ibn Muhammad's brother Yaqub and became the state's main army, based at the capital Omdurman.[29] As the Mahdist State expanded, provincial commanders raised new armies with separate standards which were modelled on the main armies.[1] The most elite forces within the Mahdist armies were the Mulazimiyya, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad's bodyguards. Commanded by Uthman Shaykh al-Din, these were based at the capital and 10,000 strong, most armed with rifles.[1]
The "flags" were further divided into rubs ("quarters") consisting of 800 to 1200 fighters. In turn, rubs were split into four sections, one administrative, one jihadiya, one sword- and spear-wielding infantry, and one cavalry. The jihadiya units were further split into "standards" of 100 led by officers known as ra's mi'a, and into muqaddamiyya of 25 under muqaddam.[1]
The Mahdist navy emerged during the early rebellion, as the insurgents took control of boats operating on the Nile. In May 1884, the Mahdists captured the steamboats Fasher and Musselemieh, followed by the Muhammed Ali and Ismailiah.[32] In addition, several armed steamboats which had been supposed to aid Charles Gordon's besieged force were wrecked and abandoned in 1885.[33] At least two of these, the Bordein and Safia, were salvaged by the Mahdists.[34][a] The captured steamboats were armed with light artillery pieces,[31][36] and crewed by Egyptians as well as Sudanese.[32] The Mahdist navy also used supply ships.[37]
In October 1898, parts of the Mahdist navy were sent up the White Nile to assist the expedition against
Uniform
At the start of his insurgency, the Mahdi encouraged his followers to wear similar clothing in form of the jibba.[17] As a result, the core army of the Mahdi and Abdallahi ibn Muhammad had a relatively regulated appearance from an early point. In contrast, other armies of supporters and allies initially did not adopt the jibba and maintained their traditional appearances. Riverine forces recruited from the Ja'alin tribe and the Danagla mostly wore simple white robes (tobe). The Beja also did not adopt the jibba until 1885.[17]
As time went on and the Mahdist State became better organized under Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad's leadership, its armies became more and more professional. By the 1890s factories in Omdurman and provincial centers were mass-producing jibba to provide the troops with clothing. Although the jibba still varied in their style, with certain tribes and armies favoring certain patterns and colors, the Mahdist forces became increasingly professional in appearance. The jibba also indicated a fighter's rank within the Mahdist armies. Lower-ranking commanders (emirs) wore more colorful and elaborate jibba. The most senior military leadership preferred the most simple designs, however, to indicate their piety.[40] The Khalifa wore plain white.[41] Some Mahdist troops possessed mail armour, helmets, and quilted coats, although these were more often used in parades than in combat.[29] One unit within the Mahdist armies, the Mulazimiyya, adopted a full uniform, as all their members wore identical white-red-blue jibba.[1]
Flags
The Mahdist State and its armies had no uniform flags, but still used certain designs repeatedly. Most flags carried four lines of Arabic texts which signified allegiance to God, Muhammad, and the Mahdi. The flags were usually white with colored borders, and the text displayed in varying colors. Most military units had their own individual flags.[1]
See also
- History of Sudan
- Mahdist War
- In Desert and Wilderness (novel)
- Millennarianism in colonial societies
Notes
- ^ According to Roger Branfill-Cook, the Mahdists also salvaged the Talahawiyeh (also known as Tel El-Hoween) and Tawfiqiyeh,[32] but Angus Konstam argued that there is no evidence that either vessel was salvaged, with remnants of the Talahawiyeh still visible in 1909, reportedly where it had sunk under Anglo-Egyptian service.[35]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Knight 2005, p. 37.
- ISBN 978-0-415-27417-3.
The Mahdist administration centred around the person of the Khalifa Abdullah, both as the ultimate authority as well as the prime mover of the administrative system and initiator of policy. It has been noted that the Khalifa used to consult with his closest aides (such as his brother Ya'qub, and son 'Uthman Shaykh al-Din), and occasionally call for a meeting of the 'State Council'—apparently an advisory council—to which the Mahdi's surviving companions were invited.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8147-9578-1.
Estimates cite that the population of Sudan fell from seven million before the Mahdist revolt to between two and three million after the end of the Mahdist era.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-10358-0.
- ^ a b Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Sudan : Copts, 2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749ca6c.html Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine [accessed 21 December 2010]
- ^ Francis Mading Deng, War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan p.51
- ^ a b Jok Madut Jok, War and Slavery in Sudan (2001) p.75
- ^ a b Edward Spiers, Sudan: The Reconquest Reappraised (1998) p.12
- ^ a b Henry Cecil Jackson, Osman Digna (1926) p.185
- ^ ISBN 978-0750932998.
- ^ Knight 2005, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Knight 2005, pp. 18–20.
- ^ a b c d Knight 2005, p. 24.
- ISBN 9780813348339.
- ^ Ali 2015, pp. 44–45.
- ^ a b c Ali 2015, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Knight 2005, p. 33.
- ^ Ali 2015, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Ali 2015, p. 46.
- ^ Gleichen, Edward ed. The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: A Compendium Prepared by Officers of the Sudan Government, Vol. 1, p. 99. Harrison & Sons (London), 1905. Accessed 13 Feb 2014.
- ^ Sudan Railway Corporation. "Historical Background Archived 10 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine". 2008. Accessed 13 Feb 2014.
- ISBN 0-246-11103-8.
- ^ Francis Mading Deng, War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan (1995) p.51
- ^ Ali 2015, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Ali 2015, p. 47.
- ^ Lobban & Dalton 2014, p. 37.
- ^ Daly 2010, p. 93.
- ^ ISBN 978-0857861221.
- ^ a b c Knight 2005, p. 36.
- ^ Knight 2005, pp. 36–37.
- ^ a b c Knight 2005, p. 38.
- ^ a b c d e f g Branfill-Cook 2018, Sudan, Mahdist State.
- ^ Konstam 2016, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Konstam 2016, pp. 8–9, 15.
- ^ Konstam 2016, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Konstam 2016, pp. 12, 15.
- ^ Konstam 2016, p. 40.
- ^ a b Konstam 2016, p. 15.
- ^ Konstam 2016, p. 12.
- ^ Knight 2005, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Knight 2005, p. 35.
Works cited
- Ali, Hamid Eltgani (2015). Darfur's Political Economy: A quest for development. New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85743-711-9.
- Branfill-Cook, Roger (2018). River Gunboats: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-380-3.
- Daly, Martin W. (2010) [1st pub. 2007]. Darfur's Sorrow: The Forgotten History of a Humanitarian Disaster (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521131872.
- Konstam, Angus (2016). Nile River Gunboats 1882–1918. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1476-0.
- Knight, Ian (2005) [1st pub. 1989]. Queen Victoria's Enemies (2): Northern Africa (3rd ed.). Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-937-1.
- Lobban, Richard A. Jr.; Dalton, Christopher H. (2014), Libya: History and Revolution, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-4408-2885-0
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Thomas Ofcansky. "Sudan: The Mahdiyah, 1884–98". Country Studies. Federal Research Division. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
Further reading
- Fadlalla, Mohamed H. Short History of Sudan, iUniverse, 30 April 2004, ISBN 0-595-31425-2.
- Holt, P. M. "The Mahdia in the Sudan, 1881–1898" History Today (Mar 1958) 8#3 pp 187–195.
- Holt, P. M. (1970). The Mahdist State in the Sudan, 1881–1898 : a study of its origins, development and overthrow. Clarendon. ISBN 0198216602.
- Pradines, Stephane; Khorasani, Manouchehr Moshtagh (2018). "Sufi in War: Persian influence on African weaponry in the 19th century Mahdist Sudan". Journal of Asian and African Studies. XXI (5): 254–270. ISSN 0021-9096.
- Kramer, Robert S. (2010). Holy City on the Nile: Omdurman During the Mahdiyya, 1885–1898. Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 978-1558765160.
- Searcy, Kim (2011). The Formation of the Sudanese Mahdist State: Ceremony and Symbols of Authority 1882–1898. Brill. ISBN 9789004191075.
- Seri-Hersch, Iris (2009). "Confronting a Christian Neighbor: Sudanese Representations of Ethiopia in the early Mahdist Period, 1885–1889". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 41 (2). Cambridge University: 247–267. S2CID 53521483.
- Seri-Hersch, Iris (2019). "'Transborder' Exchanges of People, Things and Representations: Revisiting the Conflict between Mahdist Sudan and Christian Ethiopia, 1885–1889".
- Wilson, Patrick R., ed. (2015). The Mahdist Wars Source Book: Vol. 2: Comprising Materials. The (Virtual) Armchair General Publishing. ISBN 978-0692524732.