The Mahdist War was a conflict in Sudan between the forces of the Mahdist state and the Turco-Egyptian government, later involving Britain. It began when Muhammad Ahmad, a religious leader, proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the expected redeemer of Islam, and called for revolt against what he saw as corrupt foreign rule. His followers destroyed an Egyptian army under Hicks Pasha in 1883, and in 1885 they captured Khartoum and killed the British general Charles Gordon, shocking public opinion in Britain. The Mahdi died soon afterwards, and his successor, the Khalifa Abdullahi, ruled for more than a decade. In 1898 an Anglo-Egyptian army under Herbert Kitchener won the Battle of Omdurman, and in the following year Sudan became an Anglo-Egyptian condominium.
Before and after
- from 20 December 1880 to 23 March 1881First Boer War
- 31 December 1880Birth of George Marshall
- 1881Launch of Los Angeles Times
- 1881Founding of Natural History Museum
- from 1881 to 1899Mahdist War
- 1881Founding of Kinshasa
- 1881Birth of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- 28 January 1881Death of Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- from 14 March 1881 to 1 January 1947Kingdom of Romania
More in Wars, politics & history
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- from 18 June 1812 to 18 February 1815War of 1812
- from 10 May 1857 to 20 June 1858Indian Mutiny of 1857
- from 18 March 1871 to 28 May 1871Paris Commune
- from 25 April 1898 to 11 August 1898Spanish–American War
- from 8 October 1912 to 18 July 1913Balkan Wars
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.