Historical Committee

After over a decade of hosting the Historical Committee, MUNDP 2024 proudly presents the Mahdist War.

The Mahdist War, also known as the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a significant armed conflict that lasted from 1881 to 1899 in Sudan. Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, a self-proclaimed Mahdi (“the Guided One”), led a revolt against Egyptian-Ottoman rule and Western influence in the region.

Muhammad Ahmad amassed a large following among Sudanese dissatisfied with the oppressive rule of the Egyptian administration, high taxes, and cultural interference in the early 1880s. The forces defeated the Egyptian armies with decisive victories.

Under the leadership of the Mahdi and, later, his successor, Khalifa Abdullahi, the Mahdist forces established a theocratic Islamic state with its capital in Omdurman. 

During the conflict, the Mahdists resisted British and Egyptian efforts to suppress their movement. However, British and Egyptian forces decisively defeated the Mahdists at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, leading to the dissolution of the Mahdist state. The conflict was resolved in 1899 with the formation of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a British-Egyptian condominium that lasted until 1956, when Sudan achieved independence.

The Mahdist War was a defining moment of resistance against colonial rule and Western influence in the region, with far-reaching consequences for the history of Sudan. Long after the conflict, the influence of the Mahdist movement on Sudanese politics and society shaped the nation’s struggle for independence and self-determination.