Mahdist War
War that created the Mahdist State in Sudan and ended with Anglo-Egyptian reconquest.
Historical overview
Overview adapted from a Wikipedia summary and stored locally on May 11, 2026.
The Mahdist War was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam, and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later the forces of Britain. After four years, the Mahdist rebels overthrew the Ottoman-Egyptian administration with the fall of Khartoum and gained control over Sudan. The Mahdist State launched several unsuccessful invasions of their neighbours, expanding the scale of the conflict to also include the Italian Empire, the Congo Free State and the Ethiopian Empire. They also faced significant internal rebellion, and a major famine.
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High imperial age
Imperial expansion and late nineteenth-century state competition reshape Africa, East Asia and the Caribbean.
Japan rises as a regional power after war with Qing China. European colonial borders harden across Africa.