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158-608: El-Gadarif is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The city represents an excellent example of the intermingled ethnicities of central Sudan . Recently, a university has been established there. The main feature of the city is the grain silo built by the Russians to store sorghum . The town is famous for its daily sesame seed auctions. The word Gedaref is derived from the Arabic phrase (Alli qada-Ye-rif) (Arabic القضا يرف), meaning 'He who has finished selling or buying should leave'. The phrase

316-568: A Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such as R12 . During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed

474-464: A coup d'état on 11 April 2019 and Bashir's imprisonment. Sudan is currently embroiled in a civil war between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Islam was Sudan's state religion and Islamic laws were applied from 1983 until 2020 when the country became a secular state . Sudan is a least developed country and among

632-460: A 30-year-long military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan and committed widespread human rights abuses , including torture, persecution of minorities, alleged sponsorship of global terrorism , and ethnic genocide in Darfur from 2003–2020. Overall, the regime killed an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people. Protests erupted in 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in

790-578: A British battalion led by Lieutenant-Colonel Parsons moved from Kassala toward Gedaref and clashed with a Mahdist Dervishes army composed of 3,500 men under the command of the Mahdist Emir Sa'ad-Allah in a jungle located between the River Atbara and Gedaref town. The fighting was fierce, but the forces of Parsons managed finally to defeat the Mahdist Dervishes. In the town a small garrison

948-540: A Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited, as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies—winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day—which (so far) none have. The Mahdi figure in Islam can be likened to the Maitreya figure of Buddhism . Both are prophesied saviors sharing

1106-538: A bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa'im : by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it had been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it. The Fatimids eventually dropped

1264-401: A distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma'ili Imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa'im at various times. When the sixth Shia imam Ja'far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma'il ibn Ja'far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi. Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il as

1422-683: A dynastic change, while another one in 1761–1762 resulted in the Hamaj Regency , where the Hamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets. Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment; by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira. The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted

1580-578: A few days before his death in 941. With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation ( الغيبة الكبرى , ghayba al-kubra ), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed. The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists. During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of

1738-552: A free vote on whether they wished independence or a British withdrawal. A polling process was carried out resulting in the composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government. On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes,

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1896-609: A key province of the New Kingdom, economically, politically, and spiritually. Indeed, major pharaonic ceremonies were held at Jebel Barkal near Napata. As an Egyptian colony from the 16th century BC, Nubia ("Kush") was governed by an Egyptian Viceroy of Kush . Resistance to the early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is evidenced in the writings of Ahmose, son of Ebana , an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At

2054-537: A messianic-like quality, and both are predicted to hold a position of world rulership. The prophesied savior duo of the Mahdi and the Messiah in Islam can be likened to the prophesied pair of the two Jewish savior figures, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David, respectively, in the sense that the Islamic Messiah and Masiach ben David take a central eschatological role, while the Mahdi and Mashiach ben Yosef take

2212-454: A new message. In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu'l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire . Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed. Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa'id ibn al-Husayn's partisans took control of

2370-552: A peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with "heavenly signs and arguments". Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri , the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi , the founder of Bábism ; Muhammad Ahmad , who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in

2528-570: A petty kingdom. After the prosperous reign of king Joel ( fl. 1463–1484) Makuria collapsed. Coastal areas from southern Sudan up to the port city of Suakin was succeeded by the Adal Sultanate in the fifteenth century. To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma , or the Funj , an African people originating from the south. Datings range from

2686-515: A priority of the revolutionary government. The following year, under Egyptian and Sudanese pressure, the British agreed to Egypt's demand for both governments to terminate their shared sovereignty over Sudan and to grant Sudan independence. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was duly declared an independent state. After Sudan became independent, the Gaafar Nimeiry regime began Islamist rule. This exacerbated

2844-710: A revival of the Nubian Empire, which rather continued in the form of a smaller kingdom centred on Napata . The city was raided by the Egyptian c. 590 BC, and sometime soon after to the late-3rd century BC, the Kushite resettled in Meroë . On the turn of the fifth century the Blemmyes established a short-lived state in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centred around Talmis ( Kalabsha ), but before 450 they were already driven out of

3002-569: A sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt. Mentuhotep II , the 21st century BC founder of the Middle Kingdom , is recorded to have undertaken campaigns against Kush in the 29th and 31st years of his reign. This is the earliest Egyptian reference to Kush ; the Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom. Under Thutmose I , Egypt made several campaigns south. The Egyptians ruled Kush in

3160-587: A social hierarchy over the next centuries which became the Kingdom of Kerma at 2500 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicates that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC. The Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma , Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia . The Kerma culture

3318-564: A suburb of modern-day Khartoum). Still in the sixth century they converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria. Between 639 and 641 the Muslim Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate conquered Byzantine Egypt. In 641 or 642 and again in 652 they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of

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3476-572: A title for Jesus when he returns. Others, like the historian and the Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir ( d.  1373 ), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times . The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness. He

3634-504: A transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shia view of the Mahdi, including

3792-599: A tribal market developed. This place, originally called Suq Abu Sinn (Abu Sinn's Market) took the name Qadarif, anglicized as Gedaref. The Scottish explorer James Bruce (who called the town Teawa ) passed through al Qadarif in 1772. He recorded that its sheikh , Fidele, was a vassal of the Kingdom of Sennar . Today, Teawa or Twawa is the name of a hill in the western part of the city. The British explorer Samuel Baker stopped in this town in November 1862. He mentioned in his book The Nile Tributaries Of Abyssinia that it lay on

3950-491: A village; then into a town with its dwellers cultivating its fertile soil with sorghum , sesame , peanuts and vegetables. Its green plains during the rainy seasons attracted many nomad herds and peasants from neighbouring areas. According to Holt and Daly, the Shukriya , who were camel-owning nomads and the leading tribe of the southern Butana , were living and ruling the grain-producing rain lands of Gadarif or Qadarif, where

4108-474: Is also sometimes referred to as North Sudan to distinguish it from South Sudan . Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan, which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". By the eighth millennium BC, people of

4266-510: Is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad , who will appear shortly before Jesus . The Mahdi is mentioned in several canonical compilations of hadith , but is absent from the Quran and the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim . Thus, some Sunni theologians have questioned

4424-620: Is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali , and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world. He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad's descendants, as opposed to the Shia belief that he is of the Husaynid line. The Mahdi's name would be Muhammad and his father's name would be Abd Allah. Abu Dawud quotes Muhammad as saying: "The Mahdi will be from my family, from

4582-779: Is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the besiegers might have been one of the reasons for the failure to take the city. The war that took place between Pharaoh Taharqa and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in the Near East by Assyria. Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon went further and invaded Egypt itself to secure his control of

4740-588: Is now known as South Kordofan to the Sinai. Pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II . Between 800 BCE and 100 AD the Nubian pyramids were built, among them can be named El-Kurru , Kashta , Piye , Tantamani , Shabaka , Pyramids of Gebel Barkal , Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah) , the Sedeinga pyramids , and Pyramids of Nuri . The Kingdom of Kush

4898-458: Is served by a station on the national railway network . It is linked with the capital Khartoum via Wad Medani city by a net of roads, railway, airway, and seasonal direct roads. It is also linked to Port Sudan city with roads and railway through Kassala at a distance of about 200 km. There are also roads to the Gallabat at the edge of the boundary with Ethiopia connecting Gedarif with

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5056-479: Is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen , who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return. In Sunni Islam , the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead. Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, three— Abi Dawud , Ibn Maja , and al-Tirmidhi —contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of al-Bukhari and Muslim —considered

5214-409: Is the winner of information for development award i4d 2007 (e-India 2007) for the inclusion of the disabled , the winner of i4d 2008 awards for the best innovations at the grassroots Telecentres, and the winner of i4d 2009 for the initiatives of civil society for development (e-Agriculture project and other e-services). The population of the city is mainly Arab or Nuba Sudanese. It includes

5372-573: The 'Urabi revolt , which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials. During the Khedivial period, dissent had spread due to harsh taxes imposed on most activities. Taxation on irrigation wells and farming lands were so high most farmers abandoned their farms and livestock. During

5530-532: The 9th century after the Hijra ( c. 1396–1494), the late 15th century, 1504 to 1509. An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli , lasting until 1685. In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded the Kingdom of Sennar , in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated. By 1523, when Jewish traveller David Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola. Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on

5688-577: The Arabisation of the state. To legitimise their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate an Umayyad descend . North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream as Al Dabbah , the Nubians adopted the tribal identity of the Arab Jaalin . Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan and most of Kordofan. West of

5846-714: The Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt ; it was centred at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for nearly a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians . At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what

6004-448: The Coptic alphabet , while also using Greek , Coptic and Arabic . Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings. Even the royal succession was matrilineal , with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir. From the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola

6162-601: The Dajjal , as well as secular reports about long-lived men. Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible. He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state. Before his reappearance ( Arabic : ظهور , romanized :  ṭuhūr ),

6320-656: The Gedaref Digital City Organization (GDCO) which is a non-governmental and non-profit organization, founded in 2005 in partnership between Gedaref city and Eindhoven community in the Netherlands. The initiative was taken by Dr. Agnes Ovington of Eindhoven Municipality , Gedaref Public Organization for Water and Development. GDCO, is part of the Telecentres Movement where ICT is used for community development. It won many international awards. It

6478-572: The Himyarite Kingdom . They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople . It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Jewish and Christian beliefs. Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments. These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in hadith books such as Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan al-Tirmidhi , but are absent from

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6636-518: The Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), and then the resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). The Assyrians , from the tenth century BC onwards, had once more expanded from northern Mesopotamia , and conquered a vast empire, including the whole of the Near East , and much of Anatolia , the eastern Mediterranean , the Caucasus and early Iron Age Iran . According to Josephus Flavius,

6794-591: The Rahad Scheme and the famous Gezira Scheme lie to the west. With the cultivation of sesame seed , sunflower , cotton , peanuts and cereals , especially sorghum , Gedaref has become the country's granary . Thus, if Sudan could be the granary of Africa and the Middle East, Gedaref is the breadbasket of the Sudan. Light industries in the city include cotton ginning and spinning mills and soap factories. The city

6952-525: The Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu'awiya I ( r.  661–680 ), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr , who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi

7110-704: The Shafi'i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji. Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers' view of Mahdi. There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles, for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha'rani . Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate , as a major Isma'ili Sh'a dynasty, the terms Mahdi and Qa'im were used interchangeably for

7268-406: The Sudan in 1931 to 1945 as Assistant Inspector for Gedaref, referred to Gedaref in his book (Shadows on the sand) , as a town with more African appearance than Arab , because of its hut houses (locally called quttiyya) made of wood, reeds and grass. Its population was more than fifteen thousand, a mixture of Arab tribes and peoples from Nigeria , Eritrea and Abyssinia . In September 1898

7426-453: The Sudan , with exception of Khartoum and Port Sudan has so many dwellers of Foreign origin among its population, as Gedaref. Kurds , Armenians , Panian of India, Greeks , Egyptian Copts , Ethiopians , Eritrean, Somalis , Chadians , Yemenis, Italians has been Sudanized since generations and well integrated in the Gedaref community. The main reason for this gathering of foreign and local groups of people in Gedaref can be attributed to

7584-420: The Sudan Defence Force played an active part in responding to incursions early in World War Two. Italian troops occupied Kassala and other border areas from Italian Somaliland during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. The last British governor-general was Robert George Howe . The Egyptian revolution of 1952 finally heralded

7742-491: The Sudanese Communist Party . Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power. In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war but an end to American investment in the Jonglei Canal project. This had been considered absolutely essential to irrigate the Upper Nile region and to prevent an environmental catastrophe and wide-scale famine among

7900-415: The United Nations , Arab League , African Union , COMESA , Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . The country's name Sudan is a name given historically to the large Sahel region of West Africa to the immediate west of modern-day Sudan. Historically, Sudan referred to both the geographical region , stretching from Senegal on the Atlantic Coast to Northeast Africa and

8058-450: The Vali of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire , Muhammad Ali styled himself as Khedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with Ismaʻil Pasha mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. With the exception of the Shaiqiya and the Darfur sultanate in Kordofan, he was met without resistance. The Egyptian policy of conquest

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8216-556: The Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim , the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation. In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shia, who later formed the Twelvers. Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century, in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi ( d.  919 ), Ya'qub al-Kulayni ( d.  941 ), and Ibn Babawayh ( d.  991 ), among others. This period also saw

8374-416: The capital of Al-Qadarif State which includes Gedaref city, Faw, Gallabat , and Fashaga areas. Gedaref is a trade centre for cotton , cereals , sesame seeds, and fodder produced in the surrounding areas, and it is a well-known agriculture area where a mechanized farming scheme has been introduced since 1954. About 70% of the total mechanized farming in the Sudan is carried out in Gedaref. The aim of

8532-853: The dry season , with minimal or no precipitation from November to March. The city is administratively and socially divided into Diems (ديم) or districts. The famous Deims are Deim Bakr, Deim El Nur, Diem Al Khama, Abakar Jibriel, Al- midan, Deim Abbas, Deim Saukin, Deim Sa'ad, Deim Hamad, Janayin, Abbayo, Nasr, Selamt El-Bey, Al Israa, Al Malik, A Nadher, Al Tadamun, Al Danagla, Al Jumhouriya, Al Mufaqaat, Al Syool, Al Mourada, Barnu, Badr, Marco, Al Rabaa, Ruwina, Addona, Taradona, Karfis, Al Kababish, Karrari, Al Mahrouga, Al Sufi, Al Muwazafien, Army Barracks and Police Barracks. Greater Gedaref includes many rural districts and villages such as Um Shagara, Al- Faw, Wad addida, Sabouniya, Koum Shitta, Um sawani, Um Sunaebra, Id Altin, Kassab, Al Samina, Shasheina, Al Hwata, Al Houri, AlMatna, and Al Shuwak. In 1994 Gedaref became

8690-479: The 1870s, European initiatives against the slave trade had an adverse impact on the economy of northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of Mahdist forces. Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah , the Mahdi (Guided One), offered to the ansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or being killed. The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional Sharia Islamic laws . On 12 August 1881, an incident occurred at Aba Island , sparking

8848-405: The Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate . The propaganda of the Mahdi's return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shias, who were in a state of confusion ( hayra ) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions. In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa'id ibn al-Husayn , declared himself

9006-418: The Agricultural boom that swept the city and turned it to a major centre of trade in the area. Education in Gedaref has been far developed in the last decades. The city counts about 73 schools of different levels. With the establishment of Al Qadarif University the city has accomplished its dream to become an education shrine for the whole area of southeast Sudan . Boarding schools has been established in

9164-402: The Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The Belgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering Equatoria , and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack at Agordat (in Eritrea ) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia. In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in

9322-414: The Bedoin of Asia, he sailed upstream to Upper Nubia to destroy the Nubian bowmen." The tomb writings contain two other references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent. Egypt's international prestige had declined considerably towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period . Its historical allies, the inhabitants of Canaan , had fallen to

9480-420: The British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories; the north and south. The assassination of a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in Cairo was the causative factor; it brought demands of the newly elected Wafd government from colonial forces. A permanent establishment of two battalions in Khartoum was renamed the Sudan Defence Force acting as under the government, replacing

9638-402: The Ethiopian city of Gonder , and from there to the Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba . The city has also an airport called Azaza Airport ( IATA : GSU , ICAO : HSGF ). The Gedaref State Broadcasting was established in 1995 with a frequency of 1485 kHz. A television station was followed in 1996 with a range of 50 km. Gedaref is distinguished also by its digital city , directed by

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9796-420: The Great Depression. Cotton and gum exports were dwarfed by the necessity to import almost everything from Britain leading to a balance of payments deficit at Khartoum. In July 1936 the Liberal Constitutional leader, Muhammed Mahmoud was persuaded to bring Wafd delegates to London to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, "the beginning of a new stage in Anglo-Egyptian relations", wrote Anthony Eden . The British Army

9954-416: The Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense. The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ( r.  715–717 ) encouraged

10112-467: The Levant. This succeeded, as he managed to expel Taharqa from Lower Egypt. Taharqa fled back to Upper Egypt and Nubia, where he died two years later. Lower Egypt came under Assyrian vassalage but proved unruly, unsuccessfully rebelling against the Assyrians. Then, the king Tantamani , a successor of Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Lower Egypt from the newly reinstated Assyrian vassal Necho I . He managed to retake Memphis killing Necho in

10270-402: The Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib ( d.  715 ) is said to identify Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

10428-420: The Mahdi recognized as ruler by the people. The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world. With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would fight the Dajjal, and will be able to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus (believed to be

10586-407: The Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world. In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka'ba. He would be

10744-423: The Mahdi. This brought about schism in the unified Isma'ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat , still held that Muhammad ibn Isma'il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism. In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia ) and bring forth

10902-408: The Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants . The Mahdi features in both Shia and Sunni branches of Islam , though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shias , the Mahdi is believed to be Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi , twelfth Imam, son of

11060-422: The Mahdist War. In 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, Sudan was effectively administered as a Crown colony . The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha , of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting

11218-464: The Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia , penetrating as far as Gondar . In March 1889, king Yohannes IV of Ethiopia marched on Metemma ; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar-Rahman an-Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated

11376-545: The Minaret of Jesus) and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal. The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani , another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before

11534-567: The New kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma. This eventually resulted in their annexation of Nubia c.  1504 BC . Around 1500 BC, Nubia was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt , but rebellions continued for centuries. After the conquest, Kerma culture was increasingly Egyptianized, yet rebellions continued for 220 years until c.  1300 BC . Nubia nevertheless became

11692-502: The Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own, Nobatia . By the sixth century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras ( Faras ); the central kingdom, Makuria centred at Tungul ( Old Dongola ), about 13 kilometres (8 miles) south of modern Dongola ; and Alodia , in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital at Soba (now

11850-412: The Nile by Sufi holy men who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries and by David Reubeni's visit king Amara Dunqas , previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consumption of alcohol until the 18th century. Sudanese folk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until

12008-503: The Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan . Herbert Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdist Sudan from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. A year later, the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 resulted in the death of Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , subsequently bringing to an end

12166-557: The Nile, in Darfur , the Islamic period saw at first the rise of the Tunjur kingdom , which replaced the old Daju kingdom in the 15th century and extended as far west as Wadai . The Tunjur people were probably Arabised Berbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims. In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by the Fur Keira sultanate . The Keira state, nominally Muslim since

12324-528: The Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation of Ajib , a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612 his successors, the Abdallab , were granted to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy. During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extent, but in the following century it began to decline. A coup in 1718 brought

12482-627: The Sudan , is a country in Northeast Africa . It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, and South Sudan to the south. Sudan has a population of 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area and

12640-474: The Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal. Those who hold enmity towards Ali ( Arabic : نَواصِب‎ , romanized :  nawāṣib , lit.   'haters') will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shia Islam. The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam, and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment. He establishes

12798-462: The United Kingdom as a condominium . In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession. The Egyptian revolution of 1952 toppled the monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan. Muhammad Naguib , one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence

12956-638: The Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries. In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908),

13114-450: The appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God's command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years, whereas Jesus after 40 years. Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before

13272-619: The area. The early advent of the flamingo flock, or the Simber (Arabic السمبر) as it is locally called, gives the sign of the beginning of the Kharif. El-Gadarif has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSh ), characterized by hot temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons. The period from March to May is particularly hot, with high temperatures routinely exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). The wet season occurs mainly from June to September. The months from October to May constitute

13430-795: The basis of the Mayoral Bakr, whose influence extends to the frontier town of Gallabat on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border. During the Second World War, Gedaref became very important for the Condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , by providing food (mainly grain and oil seeds ) to the armies of the Allies in East Africa. After the war the town became also more attractive for agricultural investment to many segments of Sudanese tribes, especially after

13588-443: The beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Mohammed Naguib , whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel Nasser , believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty. In addition, Nasser knew it would be difficult for Egypt to govern an impoverished Sudan after its independence. The British on

13746-686: The belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( r.  717–720 ), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir ( d.  728 ) and al-Farazdaq ( d.  728–730 ). Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna . These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions ( hadith ) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether

13904-559: The biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of the Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a (diplomatic) bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centred on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile , and the Atbarah River and the Nile River . It was established after

14062-501: The book. The associated verb is hada , which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided. Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish

14220-771: The central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the "Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful , the Mahdi". Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids. This forced Sa'id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909. There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah ; as

14378-452: The city as early as the 1960s to accommodate young villagers and rural areas youth. Among the famous children of the city are Rashid Bakr (former Vice President 1983) and Ahmed Al Jabri (singer). There are seven hotels. Gedaref is twinned with: [REDACTED] Eindhoven , the Netherlands, and [REDACTED] Konya , Turkey. Sudan Sudan , officially the Republic of

14536-648: The country and slaves being transported to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire . From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty . Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in the Mahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with

14694-419: The day of Ashura (the tenth of Muharram ), the day the third Imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be "a young man of medium stature with a handsome face," with black hair and beard. A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid, after which the angels, jinns , and humans will flock to the Mahdi. This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join

14852-461: The descendants of Fatimah". Another hadith states: Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father's name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression. Before the arrival of

15010-524: The desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men ... of Syria and ... Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them ... He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on

15168-414: The early works of Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj . The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet ("the guide") and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit ), Abraham , al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs ( هداة مهديون , hudat mahdiyyun ). During

15326-476: The eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari ( d.  874 ), who is said to be in occultation ( ghayba ) by divine will. This is rejected by Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet. The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y ( ه-د-ي ), commonly used to mean "divine guidance". Although the root appears in the Qur'an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in

15484-516: The eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari . According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868, though his birth was kept hidden from the public. He lived under his father's care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids . When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids, the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life

15642-401: The eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shia. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri , who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari , abolished the office on the orders of the imam just

15800-670: The end of the Second Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced the twin existential threats—the Hyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. Taken from the autobiographical inscriptions on the walls of his tomb-chapel, the Egyptians undertook campaigns to defeat Kush and conquer Nubia under the rule of Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC). In Ahmose's writings, the Kushites are described as archers , "Now after his Majesty had slain

15958-462: The enemies of the Mahdi, and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites. The Mahdi will then go to Kufa , which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj'a ( lit.   ' return ' ). The episode of Jesus' return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to

16116-542: The establishment of the Mechanized Farming Corporation in 1968. The geographical feature of the city is marked by a group of hills surrounding it and small khors (tiny dry valley creeks). The largest is called Khor Maqadim, which runs from the southeast part of the city between Deim El Nur and Deim Suakin districts to the northwestern part of the city in Deim Bakr District. Its course overflows during

16274-403: The expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders. Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma'il's return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja'far al-Sadiq. In

16432-418: The fall season, when heavy rain falls in the highland areas along the Ethiopian border. The climate of Gedaref is hot and rainy in the summer. The rainy season extends four months, with an average of annual rainfall of 700 to 900 mm. In the autumn during the rainy seasons, or Kharief (Arabic الخريف) as it is locally called, large pools of water and green meadows with trees of various kinds of acacia cover

16590-523: The few who managed to defeat the Arabs during the Islamic expansion . Afterward the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on a unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts , thus acknowledging Makuria's independence. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns and intermarried with the local Beja . From

16748-534: The final end of the world. In Twelver Shi'ism , the largest Shia branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot. For the Twelver Shia, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation . This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad , son of

16906-622: The former garrison of Egyptian army soldiers, saw action afterward during the Walwal Incident . The Wafdist parliamentary majority had rejected Sarwat Pasha 's accommodation plan with Austen Chamberlain in London; yet Cairo still needed the money. The Sudanese Government's revenue had reached a peak in 1928 at £6.6 million, thereafter the Wafdist disruptions, and Italian borders incursions from Somaliland, London decided to reduce expenditure during

17064-406: The founder of the movement; he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus . However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities. Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but

17222-522: The ground ... He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him. Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I ( r.  680–683 ), after Mu'awiya's death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for

17380-456: The hadith's prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer. Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of

17538-539: The help primarily of the Baggara of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as the unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of Khalifa (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed Ansar (who were usually Baggara ) as emirs over each of the several provinces. Regional relations remained tense throughout much of

17696-482: The historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, 'the Imam rightly guided by God' ( al-imam al-mahdi bi'llah ): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima. Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to

17854-517: The imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma'ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria, and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma'il, who would overthrow

18012-656: The indigenous Beja people . The total population is 269,395 (as of 2008). Inhabitants origins in Gedaref have rapidly changed during the last decades. Dwellers who belong to various nationalities had settled in the area along with the indigenous people . Today the mosaic of population includes many Sudanese tribes from different regions as far as Dar Fur , Kordofan , southern and northern Sudan . Tribes like Shaigiya , Baggara , Dinka , Fur , Nuba , Masalit , Shukriya , Beja , Hausa people , Songhay people and many other Sudanese tribes are represented in Gedaref. No other city in

18170-487: The kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world. In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as "submission to God." It is in this sense, according to Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi , that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone. His rule will be paradise on earth, which will last for seventy years until his death, though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years. In Isma'ilism

18328-495: The late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi , the leader of the MEK , also claimed to be a 'representative' of the Mahdi. The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad , the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi. Adnan Oktar , a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi. Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing

18486-511: The local tribes, most especially the Dinka. In the civil war that followed their homeland was raided, looted, pillaged, and burned. Many of the tribe were murdered in a bloody civil war that raged for over 20 years. Mahdi The Mahdi ( Arabic : ٱلْمَهْدِيّ , romanized :  al-Mahdī , lit.   'the Guided';; Persian : مهدی ) is a figure in Islamic eschatology who

18644-467: The market to leave so that the market could be closed on time. Another theory is that the town was named for the range of hills surrounding the area which looks like cartilage . Yet there is confusion in the spelling of the word in Arabic , because "cartilage" in Arabic is written as Ghadarif (Arabic غضارف) not Qadarif (Arabic قضارف), the spelling of the town name. Al-Gada-ye-rif market place developed into

18802-429: The mechanized farming is to develop the areas socially and economically. Many large and endless individual fields grew suddenly and have scattered over the whole area surrounding Gedarif such as Um-seinat, Al-Ghadambliya, making use of the fertile soil and abundant rainfall (avg. 700 to 900 mm/year), and relatively obtainable manpower. The River Gash Irrigation Scheme is located to the northeast of Al-Qaḍārif, while

18960-463: The medieval Nubians has been described as " Afro-Byzantine ", but was also increasingly influenced by Arab culture. The state organisation was extremely centralised, being based on the Byzantine bureaucracy of the sixth and seventh centuries. Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings and especially wall paintings. The Nubians developed an alphabet for their language, Old Nobiin , basing it on

19118-601: The messianic imam anticipated in Shia traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu'man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah , while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa'im (instead of Mahdi). In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal. One exception

19276-431: The mid eighth to mid eleventh century the political power and cultural development of Christian Nubia peaked. In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the declining Umayyads , and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north as Akhmim . Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state. The culture of

19434-560: The millenarian rhetoric. The Tayyibi Musta'li Isma'ili Shia believe that their Occulted Imam and Mahdi is Abu'l-Qasim al-Tayyib , son of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah . In Zaydism , the concept of imamate is different from the Isma'ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such,

19592-519: The modern Sudan. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān ( بلاد السودان ), or "The Land of the Blacks ". The name is one of various toponyms sharing similar etymologies , in reference to the very dark skin of the indigenous people. Prior to this, Sudan was known as Nubia and Ta Nehesi or Ta Seti by Ancient Egyptians named for the Nubian and Medjay archers or bowmen. Since 2011, Sudan

19750-403: The most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does al-Nasa'i . Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun ( d.  1406 ), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri, an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered

19908-508: The name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French, and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over

20066-592: The now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites . For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites , who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya, and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina . This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq , who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj'a . Later on, these traditions were also employed by

20224-412: The orthodoxy of the Mahdi. The doctrine of the Mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Some of the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar al-Thaqafi declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , a son of Caliph Ali ( r.  656–661 ), to be

20382-535: The other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdist successor, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , who it was believed would resist Egyptian pressure for Sudanese independence. Abd al-Rahman was capable of this, but his regime was plagued by political ineptitude, which garnered a colossal loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Both Egypt and Britain sensed a great instability fomenting, and thus opted to allow both Sudanese regions, north and south to have

20540-745: The outbreak of what became the Mahdist War . From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad Ahmad led a successful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan, known as the Turkiyah . Muhammad Ahmad died on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum. After a power struggle amongst his deputies, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , with

20698-470: The poorest countries in the world, ranking 170th on the Human Development Index as of 2024 and 185th by nominal GDP per capita . Its economy largely relies on agriculture due to international sanctions and isolation, as well as a history of internal instability and factional violence. The large majority of Sudan is dry and over 60% of Sudan's population lives in poverty. Sudan is a member of

20856-510: The process and besieged cities in the Nile Delta. Ashurbanipal , who had succeeded Esarhaddon, sent a large army in Egypt to regain control. He routed Tantamani near Memphis and, pursuing him, sacked Thebes . Although the Assyrians immediately departed Upper Egypt after these events, weakened, Thebes peacefully submitted itself to Necho's son Psamtik I less than a decade later. This ended all hopes of

21014-594: The public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina , the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid's sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid's son and successor Mu'awiya II ( r.  683–684 ) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to

21172-427: The recent past. Soon the Funj came in conflict with the Ottomans , who had occupied Suakin c.  1526 and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola was repelled by the Funj in 1585. Afterwards, Hannik , located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states. The aftermath of

21330-425: The region, which was thin on the ground. The British ambassador blocked Italian attempts to secure a Non-Aggression Treaty with Egypt-Sudan. But Mahmoud was a supporter of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem ; the region was caught between the Empire's efforts to save the Jews, and moderate Arab calls to halt migration. The Sudanese Government was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign . Formed in 1925,

21488-508: The reign of Sulayman Solong (r. c. 1660–1680), was initially a small kingdom in northern Jebel Marra , but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century and eastwards under the rule of Muhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786), peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785. The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-day Nigeria , would last until 1821. In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali of Egypt , invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically

21646-426: The return to life of (some) Shia Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali , to exact their revenge on their oppressors. Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE), and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE. These traditions were appropriated by various Shia sects in different periods, including

21804-466: The rift between the Islamic North, the seat of the government, and the Animists and Christians in the South. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and the southern rebels, whose most influential faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which eventually led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019,

21962-467: The third-largest by area in the Arab League . It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011 ; since then both titles have been held by Algeria . Sudan's capital and most populous city is Khartoum . The area that is now Sudan witnessed the Khormusan ( c. 40000–16000 BC), Halfan culture ( c. 20500–17000 BC), Sebilian ( c. 13000–10000 BC), Qadan culture ( c. 15000–5000 BC),

22120-427: The time ( صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān ) and does not age. Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shia if he wishes. The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community. Shia scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr , Jesus , and

22278-442: The trade route between Khartoum and Kassala , and described at length its twice-weekly market. During the Turkiyah (Egyptian rule), Gedaref became an administrative unit with a strong military garrison . The Mahdist forces preserved this status when they occupied the town in 1884 during the Mahdist Revolt , using it as a base to conquer other places in the area and in neighbouring Ethiopia . Sir Gawain Bell , who worked in

22436-401: The two countries. Under the Delimitation, Sudan's border with Abyssinia was contested by raiding tribesmen trading slaves, breaching boundaries of the law. In 1905 local chieftain Sultan Yambio, reluctant to the end, gave up the struggle with British forces that had occupied the Kordofan region, finally ending the lawlessness. Ordinances published by Britain enacted a system of taxation. This

22594-430: The war of Jebel Sahaba , the earliest known war in the world, around 11500 BC, A-Group culture (c. 3800–3100 BC), Kingdom of Kerma ( c. 2500–1500 BC), the Egyptian New Kingdom ( c. 1500–1070 BC), and the Kingdom of Kush ( c. 785 BC – 350 AD). After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia , Makuria , and Alodia . Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan

22752-454: The world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur'an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned. There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death. The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali ( ḏū l-fiqār ) in his hand, between the corner of the Ka'ba and the station of Abraham . By some accounts, he will reappear on

22910-588: Was allowed to return to Sudan to protect the Canal Zone. They were able to find training facilities, and the RAF was free to fly over Egyptian territory. It did not, however, resolve the problem of Sudan: the Sudanese Intelligentsia agitated for a return to metropolitan rule, conspiring with Germany's agents. Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini made it clear that he could not invade Abyssinia without first conquering Egypt and Sudan; they intended unification of Italian Libya with Italian East Africa . The British Imperial General Staff prepared for military defence of

23068-425: Was based in the southern part of Nubia, or " Upper Nubia " (in parts of present-day northern and central Sudan), and later extended its reach northward into Lower Nubia and the border of Egypt. The polity seems to have been one of several Nile Valley states during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt . In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Saï and became

23226-404: Was commonly given the epithet al-Qa'im ( القائم ), which can be translated as 'he who will rise,' signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time. Distinctively Shia is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi, whose life has been prolonged by divine will. An intimately related Shia notion is that of raj'a ( lit.   ' return ' ), which often means

23384-469: Was expanded and intensified by Ibrahim Pasha 's son, Ismaʻil, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered. The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his son Tewfik Pasha in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in

23542-417: Was following the precedent set by the Khalifa. The main taxes were recognized. These taxes were on land, herds, and date-palms. The continued British administration of Sudan fuelled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With a formal end to Ottoman rule in 1914, Sir Reginald Wingate

23700-468: Was gradually settled by Arab nomads . From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate , while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the east. In 1811, Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah as a base for their slave trading . Under Turco-Egyptian rule of Sudan after the 1820s, the practice of trading slaves was entrenched along a north–south axis, with slave raids taking place in southern parts of

23858-420: Was in danger from the Abbasids. Only a few of the elite among the Shia, known as the deputies ( سفراء , sufara ; sing. سفير safir ) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation ( ghayba al-sughra ). The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Amri , a trusted companion and confidant of

24016-399: Was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bedouin tribes overran most of Sudan, migrating to the Butana , the Gezira , Kordofan and Darfur . In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee to Gebel Adda in Lower Nubia , while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as

24174-466: Was later developed into 'Al-Gadarif'. The story of the name begins when Arab nomad tribes roaming the Butana plains in East-central Sudan chose the place where the city is built as a market place called Suq Abu Sinn (the Market of Abu Sinn), where the nomads exchanged their commercial commodities with the indigenous people . When the sun set, a herald used to call 'AIli Qada-ye-rif ... Alli qada-ye-rif', asking every one who had finished his dealing in

24332-443: Was left consisting of 200 soldiers led by the Mahdi Emir Nur Angara . The Mahdist Dervishes who fought bravely realized their defeat and retreated to the west of the city. Most of the defeated army was composed of soldiers from the Darfur and Kordofan regions of western Sudan . They had no choice except to settle their status with the British to stay and live with their families in the western part of Gedaref, which later became

24490-516: Was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept. A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler. There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will ... An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up ... in

24648-420: Was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari . Dissatisfaction culminated in a coup d'état on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col. Gaafar Nimeiry , became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties. Disputes between Marxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in a briefly successful coup in July 1971 , led by

24806-469: Was sent that December to occupy Sudan as the new Military Governor. Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan , as was his brother and successor, Fuad I . They continued upon their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate of Egypt was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan , but it was Saad Zaghloul who continued to be frustrated in the ambitions until his death in 1927. From 1924 until independence in 1956,

24964-419: Was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri ( d.  728 ) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept. Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph al-Saffah ( r.  750–754 ) assumed the title of "the Mahdi" for himself. In Shia Islam, the eschatological Mahdi

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