Mahdi War

Question 1

Who was sent from Britain to act as the Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan in May 1887?

Answer 1

Charles Gordon

Question 2

When had Charles Gordon become the Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan?

Answer 2

May 1877

Question 3

What happened to Charles Gordon in May 1877?

Answer 3

Became the Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan

Question 4

Between what years was Colonel Charles Gordon the Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan?

Answer 4

1877-1880

Question 5

What role did Colonel Charles Gordon have between the years:

1877-1880

Answer 5

Governor-General of Egyptian administered Sudan

Question 6

What is the definition of Mahdi?

Answer 6

An Islamic redeemer- regarded by Shi’ites as the Twelfth Inman (the final successor to the prophet Muhammad)

Question 7

What was the term used to describe an Islamic redeemer- regarded by Shi’ites as the Twelfth Inman (the final successor to the prophet Muhammad)?

Answer 7

Mahdi

Question 8

What happened in June 1881?

Answer 8

Sudanese Islamic cleric Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi or saviour of mankind

Question 9

When had Sudanese Islamic cleric Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi or saviour of mankind?

Answer 9

June 1881

Question 10

What happened to Sudanese Islamic cleric Muhammad Ahmad in June 1881?

Answer 10

Proclaimed himself the Mahdi or saviour of mankind

Question 11

How did the Mahdi impact an emerging political movement?

Answer 11

Turn them into a jihadist (a person fighting a holy war) army, through drawing on long term hostility towards Egyptian rule combined with recent resentment regarding Sudanese rule.

Question 12

How did the Mahdi turn an emerging political movement into a jihadist army?

Answer 12

Through drawing on long term hostility towards Egyptian rule combined with recent resentment regarding Sudanese rule.

Question 13

What did the Mahdist seek to do?

Answer 13

Liberate Sudan from outside rule (Egyptians and British)

Question 14

What happened by 1882?

Answer 14

Mahdi had complete control over the area surrounding Khartoum

Question 15

When had the Mahdi taken complete control over the area surrounding Khartoum?

Answer 15

1882

Question 16

What happened by September 1883?

Answer 16

Joint British-Egyptian military expedition under the command of Colonel William Hicks launched a counter attack against the Mahdist

Question 17

When was there a joint British-Egyptian military expedition under the command of Colonel William Hicks, who launched a counter attack against the Mahdist?

Answer 17

September 1883

Question 18

What was the impact of the September 1883 Joint British-Egyptian military expedition under the command of Colonel William Hicks launching a counter attack against the Mahdist?

Answer 18

Hicks was murdered

Question 19

Who commanded the September 1883 Joint British-Egyptian military expedition, who launched a counter attack against the Mahdist?

Answer 19

Colonel William Hicks

Question 20

What did Colonel William Hicks do in September 1883?

Answer 20

Led the joint British-Egyptian military expedition, who launched a counter attack against the Mahdist

Question 21

What was the impact of the joint British-Egyptian military expedition, under the command of Colonel William Hicks who launched a counter attack against the Mahdist in September 1883?

Answer 21

General Gladstone ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of both British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum in 1884

Question 22

Why had Gladstone ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of both British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum in 1884?

Answer 22

The impact of the joint British-Egyptian military expedition, under the command of Colonel William Hicks who launched a counter attack against the Mahdist in September 1883 and its failure

Question 23

What did Gladstone ask for in 1884?

Answer 23

Ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of both British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum

Question 24

When had Gladstone ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of both British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum?

Answer 24

1884

Question 25

What happened in January 1885?

Answer 25

British-Egyptian forces defending Khartoum were overrun

Question 26

When were the British-Egyptian forces defending Khartoum were overrun?

Answer 26

January 1885

Question 27

What was the impact of the British-Egyptian forces defending Khartoum being overrun in January 1885?

Answer 27

Entire garrison was killed | General Gordon was beheaded

Question 28

What happened to General Gordon in January 1885?

Answer 28

Beheaded

Question 29

When was General Gordon beheaded?

Answer 29

January 1885

Question 30

What was the result of the garrison being killed and General Gordon being beheaded in January 1885?

Answer 30

Gladstone did not retaliate as he didn’t want to spend money or continue the loss of life

Question 31

What happened in June 1899?

Answer 31

Sudan taken under the control of the British

Question 32

When was Sudan taken under the control of the British?

Answer 32

June 1899

Question 33

Why did Britain want to take Sudan under their rule in June 1899?

Answer 33

Prevent instability and anti-European sentiment spreading to Egypt

Question 34

What inspired the Mahdi

Answer 34

Egyptian crisis | British assertion of overlordship (asserting their authority)

Question 35

What did the Mahdi preach?

Answer 35

A holy war that would culminate in his elevation to the throne of the Turkish Sultans as the fountainhead of a purified Islam

Question 36

What support did the Mahdi have?

Answer 36

Religious tribesmen of Sudan

Question 37

What experience did Colonel William Hicks have before his work in Sudan?

Answer 37

Retired Indian Army officer

Question 38

Why did Hicks expedition fail in September 1883?

Answer 38

Poorly funded | Weakened after the Urabi Pasha revolutionary movement

Question 39

What happened in November 1883?

Answer 39

Hicks and his troops were overwhelmed and slaughtered by the Mahdist movement

Question 40

When were Hicks and his troops were overwhelmed and slaughtered by the Mahdist movement?

Answer 40

November 1883

Question 41

What was General Gordons reputation?

Answer 41

Very popular in Britain as he was seen as a no-nonsense sword-bearer of evangelical Christianity

Question 42

What happened two days after the death of Gordon?

Answer 42

General Sir Garent Wolseley began a slow process up the Nile

Question 43

How did Queen Victoria regard Gladstone’s government?

Answer 43

‘The worst I have ever had’

Question 44

Who said that Gladstone’s government was ‘The worst I have ever had’?

Answer 44

Queen Victoria

Question 45

How did Queen Victoria react to the murder of Gordon in January 1885?

Answer 45

Blamed Gladstone

Question 46

Who did Queen Victoria blame for the death of Gordon in January 1885?

Answer 46

Gladstone

Question 47

Despite public outrage, what happened to Gladstone in Autumn 1885?

Answer 47

He won the general election

Question 48

What is the impact of Gladstone winning the Autumn 1885 general election?

Answer 48

Showed the public outrage due to the death of Khartoum in January 1885 was not that strong as he still went on to win

Question 49

Why was Sudan abandoned and give to the Mahdists for 10 years (1886-1896)?

Answer 49

Lord Salisbury in June 1886, after the aftermath of the Irish home rule crisis

Question 50

What was the aftermath of the Irish home rule crisis?

Answer 50

In June 1886, Lord Salisbury abandoned Sudan to the Mahdism

Question 51

How was Sudan governed?

Answer 51

Under the Egyptian government as they had conquered it in the beginning of the 19th century