The Sudanese remember him for these justifications and consider his reign a blessing at most times. He was succeeded by Isma'il Pasha, who was known for his tyranny. He committed many injustices that no one before him had committed. He allowed his subordinates to take what was forbidden to others and ordered the people to demand bribes from the rulers and officials that they had taken from them since Sudan was annexed to Egypt. Among those rulers was one who was beaten more than fifty lashes and was not released until he had collected a large sum of money. He then traveled to Sennar, where he collected about fifty thousand pounds. At the end of his tenure, he was imprisoned due to his bad deeds until he died, having done nothing good during his reign except encourage the people to cultivate cotton.

In the beginning of the year 1877, Isma'il Abu Basha succeeded him in his position. The injustices doubled and the calamities continued upon Sudan. Despite his cunning in administration, he was extremely greedy for money. The taxes in his era became so heavy that it became impossible to pay them. These injustices instilled in the hearts of the people a desire for revolution and rebellion. He was succeeded by Gordon Pasha, son of Isma'il Abu Basha, whom we have already mentioned. He was appointed to remove injustice, but he failed because he was a cruel man. He was a tyrant far exceeding Isma'il Abu Basha in cruelty. He twisted facts and exaggerated shortcomings. What made matters worse was Gordon's freeing of slaves and prohibition of their trade. The people could not bear this calamity and saw no way to improve their lives for many reasons, including that the slave trade was a great source of wealth for them. Also, the people of Sudan could not cultivate their lands with their own hands, and their women did not have servants to attend to them. Their surprise was great.