THE RISE OF THE MAHDI
History of War|Issue 110
One of the most infamous conflicts of Queen Victoria's reign lasted from 1881 to 1899 - but exactly how did Britain become embroiled in a war in which it had little interest?
THE RISE OF THE MAHDI

The rise of the Mahdist movement T lies with Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyid Abd Allah. Born in Dongola province, Nubia, in 1844, Muhammad was the son of a humble boatbuilder. His father uprooted the family and move to Karari, a village near Khartoum in Sudan, where Muhammad developed a strong interest in Islam. He veered away from the more orthodox studies and leaned towards the Sufi tradition. As he grew, his religious beliefs and practices became increasingly strict.

No photograph of Muhammad exists but Father Joseph Ohrwalder, once a prisoner of the Mahdists, described him in his Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp: "His outward appearance was strangely fascinating; he was a man of strong constitution, very dark complexion, and his face always wore a pleasant smile... Under this smile gleamed a set of singularly white teeth, and between the two upper middle ones was a V-shaped space... As a messenger of God, he pretended to be in direct communication with the Deity. All orders which he gave were supposed to have come to him by inspiration, and it became therefore a sin to refuse to obey them; disobedience to the Mahdi's orders was tantamount to resistance to the will of God, and was therefore punishable by death."

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 110 de History of War.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 110 de History of War.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE HISTORY OF WARVer todo
NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES
History of War

NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES

In their quest for evermore novel and bloody entertainment, the Romans staged enormous naval fights on artificial lakes

time-read
6 minutos  |
Issue 138
OPERATION MANNA
History of War

OPERATION MANNA

In late April 1945, millions of Dutch civilians were starving as Nazi retribution for the failed Operation Market Garden cut off supplies. eet as In response, Allied bombers launched a risky mission to air-drop food

time-read
10+ minutos  |
Issue 138
GASSING HITLER
History of War

GASSING HITLER

Just a month before the end of WWI, the future Fuhrer was blinded by a British shell and invalided away from the frontline. Over a century later, has the artillery brigade that launched the fateful attack finally been identified?

time-read
8 minutos  |
Issue 138
SALAMANCA
History of War

SALAMANCA

After years of largely defensive campaigning, Lieutenant General Arthur Wellesley went on the offensive against a French invasion of Andalusia

time-read
8 minutos  |
Issue 138
HUMBERT 'ROCKY'VERSACE
History of War

HUMBERT 'ROCKY'VERSACE

Early in the Vietnam War, a dedicated US Special Forces officer defied his merciless Viet Cong captors and inspired his fellow POWs to survive

time-read
7 minutos  |
Issue 138
LEYTE 1944 SINKING THE RISING SUN
History of War

LEYTE 1944 SINKING THE RISING SUN

One of the more difficult island campaigns in WWII's Pacific Theatre saw a brutal months-long fight that exhausted Japan’s military strength

time-read
10+ minutos  |
Issue 138
MAD DAWN
History of War

MAD DAWN

How technology transformed strategic thinking and military doctrine from the Cold War to the current day

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
BRUSHES WITH ARMAGEDDON
History of War

BRUSHES WITH ARMAGEDDON

Humanity came close to self-annihilation with the Cuban Missile Crisis, Broken Arrows’ and other nuclear near misses

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
THE DEADLY RACE
History of War

THE DEADLY RACE

How the road to peace led to an arms contest between the USA and USSR, with prototypes, proliferation and the world’s biggest bomb

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT
History of War

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

Einstein, Oppenheimer and the race to beat Hitler to the bomb. How a science project in the desert helped win a war

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 138