The Mahdist State: Religious Resistance in Sudan

Resistance to empire took many forms, and in Sudan it took the form of a religious movement. In 1881 Muhammad Ahmad, a Sufi teacher, declared himself the Mahdi, a redeemer figure in some Islamic traditions, and called for a revolt against Egyptian rule, which many Sudanese saw as corrupt, heavily taxing and dominated by foreigners. His followers won a series of victories and captured Khartoum in January 1885, ending Egyptian and British control.

The Mahdi died months later, and his successor, the Khalifa Abdallahi, ruled a state that lasted until 1898. The Mahdist state built an army, a treasury and courts, but it also faced famine, internal rivalries and wars with Ethiopia. Its history shows how religion could unite people against foreign rule. British accounts long portrayed the Mahdists as fanatics, but historians today study the movement's political goals and social grievances.