Mahdist State الدولة المهدية (Arabic) Al-Dawla al-Mahdiyah
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.[1]
Mahdist Sudan's approximate territory in 1894
Status	Unrecognized state
Capital	Omdurman
Common languages	Sudanese Arabic Otherlanguages of Sudan
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
• Mahdist revolt	1881–1885
• Fall of Khartoum	26 January 1885
• Sudan Convention	18 January 1899
• Battle of Umm Diwaykarat	24 November 1899
• Fall ofSanin Husain's holdout	1909
Population
• Pre-Mahdist[3]	7,000,000
• Post-Mahdist[3]	2,000,000–3,000,000
Currency	Legal tender:Riyal maqbul (silver)[4] De facto currencies:[4]Ottomanriyal majidi,Spanish dollar,Maria Theresa thaler
ISO 3166 code	SD
Preceded by Succeeded by Turco-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Sultanate of Darfur
Today part of	Sudan South Sudan Central African Republic

TheMahdist State, also known asMahdist Sudan or theSudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 byMuhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah (later Muhammadal-Mahdi) against theKhedivate of Egypt, which had ruledSudan since 1821. After four years of struggle, the Mahdist rebels overthrew theOttoman-Egyptian administration and established their own "Islamic and national" government with its capital inOmdurman. Thus, from 1885 the Mahdist government maintained sovereignty and control over the Sudanese territories until its existence was terminated by theAnglo-Egyptian forces in 1898.

Mohammed Ahmed al-Mahdi enlisted the people of Sudan in what he declared ajihad against the administration that was based inKhartoum, which was dominated by Egyptians and Turks. The Khartoum government initially dismissed the Mahdi's revolution. He defeated two expeditions sent to capture him in the course of a year. The Mahdi's power increased, and his call spread throughout Sudan, with his movement becoming known as theAnsar. During the same period, the'Urabi revolution broke out in Egypt, with the British occupying the country in 1882. Britain appointedCharles Gordon asGeneral-Governor of Sudan. Months after his arrival in Khartoum and after several battles with the Mahdi rebels, Mahdist forcescaptured Khartoum, and Gordon was killed in his palace. The Mahdi did not live long after this victory, and his successorAbdallahi ibn Muhammad consolidated the new state, with administrative and judiciary systems based on their interpretation ofIslamic law. TheCoptic Christians, who composed a substantial portion of the country's population, were forced to convert toIslam.^[5]

Sudan's economy was destroyed during theMahdist War and famine, war and disease reduced the population by more than half.^[6] 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.^{[7][failed verification]}

The Britishreconquered Sudan in 1898, ruling it after that in theory as acondominium with Egypt but in practice as a colony. However, remnants of the Mahdist State held out inDarfur until 1909.

From the early 19th century, Egypt had begun to conquerSudan and subjugated it as a source of human and material resources.^[8] This period became locally known as theTurkiyya, i.e. the "Turkish" rule by theEyalet and laterKhedivate of Egypt.^[7] The name was something of a misnomer: the Egyptians recruited local Sudanese for initially low-level, and then later quite high-level official posts. Egyptian control integrated Sudan into global commercial networks, but Egypt's trans-Mediterranean links proved a doubled-edged sword.^[8] In 1869, theSuez Canal opened and quickly became a key economic lifeline for theBritish Empire in India and the Far East. To defend this waterway, Britain sought a greater role in Egyptian affairs.^[9]

In 1873, the British government therefore supported a programme whereby an Anglo-French debt commission assumed responsibility for managing Egypt's fiscal affairs.^[9] To appease the commission, the Egyptians allowed Christian missionaries to proselytize throughout the Sudan.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile,Khedive Ismail appointed the BritonCharles George Gordon as governor-general of the Sudan. Gordon's (and the general British) commitment toabolition squarely opposed the traditional Sudanese economy, which was coming to center on theslave trade now thativory sources were being exhausted.^[10]

The debt commission eventually forced the Khedive to abdicate in 1877 for his more politically acceptable son,Tawfiq (reigned 1877–1892).^[9] In 1879, Egypt fell into the chaos of theUrabi revolt, and shortly thereafter Gordon resigned. His successors lacked direction fromCairo, and Sudanese discontent grew rapidly.^[11] Theillegal slave trade revived, although not enough to satisfy the merchants whom Gordon had bankrupted. The Sudanese army suffered from a lack of resources, and unemployed soldiers from disbanded units troubled garrison towns. Tax collectors arbitrarily increased taxation.

In this troubled atmosphere,Muhammad Ahmad ibn as Sayyid Abd Allah, who combined personal charisma with a religious and political mission, emerged, determined to expel theTurks and restoreIslam to its original purity. The son of aDanagla boatbuilder, Muhammad Ahmad had become the disciple ofMuhammad ash Sharif, the head of theSammaniyah Sufi order. Later, as asheikh of the order, Muhammad Ahmad spent several years in seclusion and gained a reputation as a mystic and teacher.^[12]

In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi ("expected one"). Some of his most dedicated followers regarded him as directly inspired by Allah.^[13] He wanted Muslims to reclaim theQuran andhadith 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.^[12]

Even after the Mahdi proclaimed ajihad, or holy war, against the Egyptians,Khartoum dismissed him as a religious fanatic. The Egyptian government paid more attention when his religious zeal turned to denunciation of tax collectors. To avoid arrest, the Mahdi and a party of his followers, theAnsar, made a long march toKurdufan, where he gained a large number of recruits, especially from theBaggara. From a refuge in the area, he wrote appeals to the sheikhs of the religious orders and won active support or assurances of neutrality from all except the pro-EgyptianKhatmiyyah. Merchants and Arab tribes that had depended on the slave trade responded as well, along with theHadendoaBeja, who were rallied to the Mahdi by an Ansar captain,Osman Digna.^[12]

Ahmad's new polity functioned as ajihad state, run like a military camp.^[15] The Mahdiyah equalized its male citizenry in totalitarian asceticism, mandating communaljibba; and firmly excluded women from all public space. The Mahdi dissolved allfiqh, insisting on theliteral meaning of the Quran.^[16]Sharia courts enforced Islamic law and the Mahdi's precepts, which had the force of law.^[15] A contemporary scout on behalf ofMuhammad as-Sanusi described the land as "a burning country, dying and reeking of death".^[17]

Early in 1882, the Ansar, armed with spears and swords, overwhelmed a British-led 7,000-man Egyptian force not far fromAl Ubayyid and seized their rifles, field guns and ammunition. The Mahdi followed up this victory by laying siege to Al Ubayyid and starving it into submission after four months. The Ansar, 30,000 men strong, then defeated an 8,000-man Egyptian relief force atSheikan. In these actions, the Ansar overcame an earlier aversion to the use of European weaponry (guns).^[18]

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 underRizeigat chief Madibo (Madibbu 'Ali) pledged themselves to the Mahdi and besieged Darfur's Governor-GeneralRudolf Carl von Slatin, anAustrian in the khedive's service, at Dara. Slatin'sdhimmi religion already depressedmorale amongst his men, and his chief lieutenant had married a close relation to the Mahdi. Slatin was captured in 1883,^[19] and more Darfuri tribes consequently joined the revolutionaries. Mahdist forces soon took control of most of Darfur. At first, the regime change was very popular in Darfur.^[20]

The Mahdiya's consistent military success also helped consolidate Ahmad's power. Following the battle at Sheikan, he ordered allSufi orders under his control to disband, lest they divide the Ansar ideologically.^[21]

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, andSuakin 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.

After reaching Khartoum in February 1884, Gordon soon decided he could not extricate the garrisons, and called for reinforcements. The British government repeatedly refused to provide them, but Gordon disobeyed orders, preparing for a siege, and eventually British popular support forcedPrime MinisterGladstone to mobilize a relief force under the command of LordGarnet Joseph Wolseley. The force arrived too late: the first troops on steamboat reached Khartoum on 28 January 1885, to findthe town had fallen two days earlier. The Ansar had waited for theNile flood to recede before attacking the poorly defended river approach to Khartoum in boats, slaughtering the garrison, killing Gordon, and delivering his head to the Mahdi's tent. Kassala and Sennar fell soon after, and by the end of 1885, the Ansar had begun to move into the southern region. In all of Sudan, onlySawakin, reinforced by Indian army troops, andWadi Halfa on the northern frontier remained in Anglo-Egyptian hands.

The Mahdists destroyed Ottoman Khartoum, building a new capital across the river at Omdurman. All buildings were demolished and ransacked;^[22] when the British rebuilt the town 15 years later, no Ottoman-style architecture remained.^[23] The newly-captured wealth may have wrought a change in Mahdist standards of behavior: according to his enemies, "publicly [the Mahdi] continued to urge moderation on his followers, but in private he indulged in Turkish sensualities." His companions may have behaved similarly.^[24] Certainly, the Mahdist administration responded to its new finances. Thebeit al-māl, or public treasury, began to disburse funds to the poor, becoming a social services organization. Those women captured in the siege who had surviving male relatives or husbands were released to the same, but the many captives without a male guardian addled the Mahdist ideal of female seclusion. The Mahdi prescribed that they should be "married", and himself took three wives.^[25]

The Mahdi also struggled to delegate responsibilities. Justice was slow, as court decisions required his personal approval; and he continued to command his officers in the field even as he fell ill.^[26]

Six months after the capture of Khartoum, the Mahdi died, probably oftyphus (22 June 1885).^[15] The task of establishing and maintaining a government fell to his deputies—three caliphs chosen by the Mahdi in emulation of the Islamic prophetMuhammad.^[27] Rivalry among the three had begun even before the Mahdi's death, when he had unequivocally favoredAbdallahi ibn Muhammad as hiswazir over members of his own clan.^[28] Nevertheless, the three caliphs, each supported by people of his native region, continued to jockey until 1891, when Abdallahi achieved unchallenged supremacy, with the help primarily of the Baqqara Arabs.

Abdallahi's new rule demanded a legitimating principle. Some of the Mahdiya's new conquests still hoped for a return of Turkish rule; others were rapidly alienated by increasing autocracy; and yet others claimed themselves new divinely-inspired prophets.^[29] Abdallahi—now called theKhalifa (successor)—could not unite his followers against foreigners, as the foreignors had already been defeated and expulsed. The Khalifa was tooilliterate to present himself as another prophet; and the elites in other tribes owed him no personal loyalty. Quickly, he purged the Mahdiyah of the Mahdi's family and many of his early religious disciples. But he remained wary, and even the slightest hint of disloyalty in a tribe could sparkgenocidal reprisals.^[30] Abdallahi's massacre of the grain-farmingJuhaina tribe strained Sudan's food supply, and then an 1888drought broke it entirely. Sudan fell intofamine, even as it continued wars of conquest.^[31]

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 byEmperorYohannes IV of Ethiopia (1871–1889). In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia, penetrated as far asGondar, and captured prisoners and booty. The Khalifa then refused to conclude peace with Ethiopia. In March 1889, an Ethiopian force, commanded by the emperor, marched onMetemma; however, after Yohannes fell in the ensuingBattle of Gallabat, the Ethiopians withdrew.^{[citation needed]} Overall, the war with Ethiopia mostly wasted the Mahdists' resources.^[15]Abd ar Rahman an Nujumi, the Khalifa's best general, invaded Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated the Ansar atTushkah.^[15] The failure of the Egyptian invasion ended the myth of the Ansars' invincibility. TheBelgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conqueringEquatoria, and in 1893, the Italians repulsed an Ansar attack atAkordat (inEritrea) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia.

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.^[32] The opposition to the Mahdist government was also fuelled by many Mahdists behaving arrogantly and abusive towards the locals.^[33] 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.^[34] The Mahdist era became known as theumkowakia in Darfur—the "period of chaos and anarchy".^[32]

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In 1892,Herbert Kitchener (later Lord Kitchener) becamesirdar, or commander, of the Egyptian army and started preparations for the reconquest of Sudan. The British thought they needed to occupy Sudan in part because of international developments. By the early 1890s, British, French, and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other colonial powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan.

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 headWadi Halfa and extended and reinforced the perimeter defenses around Sawakin. In March 1896, the campaign started as theDongola Expedition. Despite taking the time to reconstructIshma'il Pasha's former3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge railway south along the east bank of the Nile, Kitchener captured theformer capital ofNubia by September.^[35] The next year, the British constructed anew rail line directly across the desert fromWadi Halfa toAbu Hamad,^[36] which they captured in theBattle of Abu Hamed on 7 August 1897.^[37] (The3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, hastily adopted to make use of available rolling stock, meant supplies from theEgyptian network required transshipment via steamer fromAsyut to Wadi Halfa. The Sudanese system retains the incompatible gauge to this day.) Anglo-Egyptian units fought a sharp action at Abu Hamad, but there was little other significant resistance until Kitchener reachedAtbarah and defeated the Ansar. After this engagement, Kitchener's soldiers marched and sailed towardOmdurman, where the Khalifa madehis last stand.^[15]

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 toKordufan, died in fighting atUmm Diwaykarat in November 1899.^[15] Although the Khalifa had retained considerable support until his death,^[15] many areas welcomed the downfall of his regime. Sudan's economy had been all but destroyed during his reign and the population had declined by approximately one-half because of famine, disease, persecution, and warfare. Before the revolt, roughly 8 million people lived in Sudan; an Egyptian census afterwards recorded barely 2.5 million.^[6] Moreover, none of the country's traditional institutions or loyalties remained intact. Tribes had been divided in their attitudes toward Mahdism, religious brotherhoods had been weakened, and orthodox religious leaders had vanished.

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.^[38] The holdouts were concentrated atKabkabiya (led bySanin Husain), Dar Taaisha (led by Arabi Dafalla), and Dar Masalit (led by Sultan Abuker Ismail). The reestablishedSultanate of Darfur consequently had to crush the Mahdist loyalists in a series of lengthy wars.^[39] 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.^[40][41]

The Mahdi's direct family did not participate in the Mahdist resistance, and instead regained substantial power during the remainingBritish occupation.^[42] A descendant of his would win1986 Sudanese parliamentary elections, the most recent fair and free elections as of 2024, mainly on the support of the(modern) Ansar.^[42][43]

The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) has become known as the first genuine Sudanese nationalist government.^{[citation needed]} However, 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.^[44] 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.^[15] However, Khalifa Abdallahi maintained several commonalities with the (disorganized) regime of his predecessor.

The Mahdist regime imposed traditionalSharia law.^[15]Zakat (almsgiving) became the tax paid to the state,^[45] a significant portion of which was allocated towards sustaining the extravagant lifestyles of the movement's leaders. The Mahdi outlawed foreign innovations, including Western medicine, and expulsed all doctors.^[46] His government reluctantly incorporated foreign military technology, and initially staffed itself withAshraf andCopts only for lack of any other literate officials.^[47] Later, it severely persecutedChristians in Sudan, includingCopts.^[5] Ottoman vices, includingsnuff andalcohol (the latter forbidden in Islam) were all part of contemporary Sudanese culture; the Mahdist regime acted to strictly prohibit them.^[48] The Ottomanfez was also forbidden.^[46]

The Khalifa instituted appointed Ansar (usually Baqqara) as amirs over each of the several provinces.Borderland provinces were undermartial law, while internal provinces funded military expenditures.^[49] The Khalifa also ruled over richAl Jazirah. Although he failed to restore this region's commercial wellbeing, the Khalifa organized workshops to manufacture ammunition and to maintain river steamboats.^[15]

Abdallahi also authorized theburning 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.^{[citation needed]}

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, theshahada.^{[citation needed]} The government enforced mandatorysalah, and also required twice-daily recitation of the Mahdi'srātib, or prayerbook.^[50] After the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa attempted to argue that a visit to his tomb replaced thehajj pilgrimage toMecca.^[51] The Mahdi justified these as responses to instructions conveyed to him by God in visions.

The Mahdist State had a large military which became increasingly professional as time went on.^[52] From an early point, the Mahdist armies recruited defectors from the Egyptian Army and organized professional soldiers in the form of thejihadiya, mostly Black Sudanese. These were supported by tribal spearmen and swordsmen as well as cavalry.^[53] Thejihadiya 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.^[54] 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".^[54] The Europeans generally called the Mahdist soldiers "dervishes".^[15]

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 theBeja people.^[12] The early forces of the Mahdi were termed the "ansar",^[15] and divided into three units led by a Khalifa. These units were termedraya ("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 theWhite andBlue 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.^[52] 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 theMulazimiyya, 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 intorubs ("quarters") consisting of 800 to 1200 fighters. In turn,rubs were split into four sections, one administrative, onejihadiya, one sword- and spear-wielding infantry, and one cavalry. Thejihadiya units were further split into "standards" of 100 led by officers known asra's mi'a, and intomuqaddamiyya of 25 undermuqaddam.^[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 thesteamboatsFasher andMusselemieh, followed by theMuhammed Ali andIsmailiah.^[55] In addition, several armed steamboats which had been supposed to aid Charles Gordon's besieged force were wrecked and abandoned in 1885.^[56] At least two of these, theBordein andSafia, were salvaged by the Mahdists.^[57][a] The captured steamboats were armed with light artillery pieces,^[54][59] and crewed by Egyptians as well as Sudanese.^[55] The Mahdist navy also used supply ships.^[60]

In October 1898, parts of the Mahdist navy were sent up the White Nile to assist the expedition againstEmin Pasha's forces. TheIsmailiah was sunk on 17 August 1898 as it was placingnaval mines on the Nile near Omdurman to block the advance of Anglo-British gunboats. One mine accidentally exploded, destroying the ship.^[55] TheSafia andTawfiqiyeh, towing barges with 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers, were sent up the Blue Nile against French forces holdingFashoda on 25 August 1898. There, the two ships attacked the fort, but theSafia broke down and was exposed to heavy fire before being towed to safety by theTawfiqiyeh. TheTawfiqiyeh subsequently retreated to Omdurman, but encountered a large Anglo-Egyptian fleet on the way and surrendered.^[55] The Mahdist navy fought its last battle on 11 or 15 September 1898,^[55][61] when the Anglo-Egyptian gunboatSultan encountered theSafia near Reng. The two ships fought a short battle, and theSafia was badly damaged^[55] before being boarded and captured.^[61] TheBordein was eventually captured when Omdurman fell to the Anglo-Egyptian forces.^[62]

At the start of his insurgency, the Mahdi encouraged his followers to wear similar clothing in form of thejibba.^[15] 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 thejibba and maintained their traditional appearances. Riverine forces recruited from theJa'alin tribe and theDanagla mostly wore simple white robes (tobe). The Beja also did not adopt thejibba until 1885.^[15]

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-producingjibba to provide the troops with clothing. Although thejibba still varied in their style, with certain tribes and armies favoring certain patterns and colors, the Mahdist forces became increasingly professional in appearance. Thejibba also indicated a fighter's rank within the Mahdist armies. Lower-ranking commanders (emirs) wore more colorful and elaboratejibba. The most senior military leadership preferred the most simple designs, however, to indicate their piety.^[63] The Khalifa wore plain white.^[64] Some Mahdist troops possessed mail armour, helmets, and quilted coats, although these were more often used in parades than in combat.^[52] One unit within the Mahdist armies, theMulazimiyya, adopted a full uniform, as all their members wore identical white-red-bluejibba.^[1]

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]

• History of Sudan
• Mahdist War
• In Desert and Wilderness (novel)
• Millennarianism in colonial societies

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15°38′54″N32°29′03″E / 15.64833°N 32.48417°E /15.64833; 32.48417

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