biography
| name: |
Mohammed Ahmed
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| |
known as the Mahdi
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1844–85)
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| biography:
| African political and religious leader, born in Dongola, N Sudan. A student of religion from his youth, in 1881 he proclaimed his divine mission to purify Islam and the governments that defiled it. He became a relentless and successful rebel against Egyptian rule in E Sudan, becoming known as the Mahdi, or Muslim messiah (1882). He made El Obeid his capital in 1883, and annihilated an Egyptian army under William Hicks (‘Hicks Pasha’, 1830–83). In 1885 Khartoum was taken, and General Gordon killed. |
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