The Mahdi state of Sudan and the Khedivate of Egypt (allied to Britain) engaged in a war for control over Sudan. The Sudan had been ruled by Egypt from 1821 and its administration was dominated by Egyptians and Turks.

Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah

Source: Unknown artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Sudanese contested Khedivate power under the charismatic leadership of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah who declared himself the ‘Mahdi’, a prophesied leader of Islam that would appear during the end of times. The Mahdists were defeated by Anglo-Egyptian forces and Sudan was absorbed into the British Empire.