244 Mahdi, a.d. 1881—1882.

1881. May. July.

August 9th December.

1882. 4th Marcli.

April.

May. nth May.

i4lh May.

7th June.

S4th June.

17th June, 20th July.

August.

19th August 23r(l August.

4th, 5th, Cth September.

The person in question was a Sheikh named Mohammed Ahmed, the son of a carpenter, and a native of Dongola. He was born about the year 1848, and educated in a village near Khartoum, where he studied religion. In 1870 he became a Sheikh, and after a short stay at Kaka, near Kodok, he finally took up his residence on the Island of Aba. Here his influence much increased, he gradually acquired a great reputation for sanctity, and in time assembled a considerable number of dervishes or holy men around him. He augmented his influence by marrying daughters of the leading Sheikhs of the Baggara, and by his power and tact succeeded in merging together the various tribes.

The principles of his teachings were universal equaUty, universal law and reUgion, with a community of goods. All who refused to credit his mission were to be destroyed, whether Christian, Mohammedan, or Pagan.

The causes of the rebelhon were ascribed to — 1. The venahty of the officials, and the oppressive and imjust maimer of collecting the taxes. 2. The suppression of the slave trade. Most of the supporters of the Mahdi, more especially the Baggara tribes, owed all their wealth to their traffic in slaves.

3. The miUtary weakness of Egypt. This was not, however, any real cause of rebellion, as the troops in the Sudan would have been sufiicient, had they been properly handled.

In May 1881 the Mahdi first advanced his claims to being the prophet foretold by Mohammed. In July Rauf Pasha, then Governor of the Sudan, had his attention drawn to these pretensions. The Mahdi was then living at Marabia, near the Island of Aba.

In August he pubUcly proclaimed his mission during the Feast of Ramadan, and small parties of troops were sent to dispose of him, but failed to do so. He first showed himself in force in the neighbourhood of Sennar, and then took refuge in the Shilluk country, finally taking up his position at Jebel Gedir, about 90 miles west of Kaka on the White Nile.

A force of 350 regulars, under one Rashid Bey, attacked the Mahdi, but were defeated with loss. The latter, having recruited his force, began early in spring to threaten the province of Kordofan. Rauf Pasha was now recalled, and Abd el Gader appointed in his place. Pending the arrival of the latter, Giegler Pasha was temporarily appointed.

In April a concentration of troops was directed on Kaka, and 3,000 men collected there, whereby the garrisons throughout the country were much reduced.

The rebels, taking advantage of this concentration, attacked Sennar, and had many minor successes in that part of the country, until they were dispersed by Giegler Pasha, who arrived about the middle of May.

Abd el Kader reached Khartoum on the 11th May. On the 1 4th the Egyptian troops were successful in an action near El Obeid, the result of which, however, was unimportant.

Towards the end of May Yusef Pasha, Governor of Kodok, was ordered to march with the force from Kaka against the Mahdi, who was in the hills at Gedir. After great delays, Yusef set out with a large disorganised force of several thousand men and swarms of camp-followers ; but the rains had begun, and progress was slow.

On the 7th June, the Egyptian army came face to face with the rebels in a densely wooded country. A zeriba was commenced, and the troops were formed up in hollow square, but the rebels broke in upon them, defeated, and utterly destroyed the whole force.

This crushing defeat placed the Egyptian Government in a critical position, and gave great impetus to the insurrection.

The Mahdi now sent a portion of his army, under Wad el Makashif, across the White Nile by the ford of Abu Zeid, to threaten Sennar. He remained himself for some week at Gedir, though detachments of his following were raiding in Kordofan.

On the 24th June the rebels attacked Bara, but were repulsed with heavy loss. On the 17th an attack was made on Um Shanga, in Darfur, but was likewise repulsed ; but towards Shakka an Egyptian force of 1,000 men was almost annihilated on the 20th July.

Many minor engagements were fought upon the lines of communication between Kordofan and Dueim, which resulted in favour of the rebels.

At the beginning of August the Mahdi, with the bulk of his forces, was at Jebel Gedir ; a second army was wasting Kordofan ; a third stretched along the White Nile from Dueim to Geziret Aba on the north-east, and from Kaka to Marabia on the east bank.

The rebels were defeated at Bara, and El Obeid was revictualled. On the 23rd Dueim was attacked, but the rebels were here driven back with a loss of 4,500 men ; and Makashif, who was advancing on Khartoum, was also defeated with heavy loss about the same time.

The Mahdi now took the field in person and advanced on El Obeid. On three successive days, he made desperate assaults on the garrison, but on each occasion he was repulsed with great slaughter. The rebels are said to have had