The Mahdi's Tomb
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The Mahdi's tomb or ''qubba'' () is located in Omdurman, Sudan. It was the burial place of
Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal (; 12 August 1843 – 21 June 1885) was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi and led a war against Egyptian rule in Sudan, which culminated in a remarkable vi ...
, the leader of an Islamic revolt against
Turco-Egyptian Sudan Turco-Egyptian Sudan (), also known as Turkish Sudan or Turkiyya (, ''at-Turkiyyah''), describes the rule of the Eyalet and later Khedivate of Egypt over what is now Sudan and South Sudan. It lasted from 1820, when Muhammad Ali Pasha started h ...
in the late 19th century. The
Mahdist State The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah (later Muhammad Mahdi, al-Mahdi) against ...
was established in 1885 after the
Siege of Khartoum The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885. Mahdist State, Sudanese Mahdist forces captured the city of Khartoum, Sudan, from its Khedivate of Egypt, Egypti ...
. Muhammad Ahmad died shortly after this Mahdist victory and was buried at Omdurman. The Mahdist State was led by the Mahdī's successor, the Khalifa Abdullahi, until 1898 when an Anglo-Egyptian force, led by Lord Kitchener, defeated the Mahdists at the
Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...
. This victory marked the success of Kitchener's reconquest of Sudan. After the Battle, the Mahdī's tomb was seriously damaged by naval gunfire on Lord Kitchener's orders. The tomb was reconstructed in 1947 under the direction of the Mahdī's son, al-sayyid ʿAbd-al-Raḥman al-Mahdī. It is located next to the
Khalifa House Museum The Khalifa House Museum is an Ethnography, ethnographic museum, located opposite the The Mahdi's tomb, tomb of Muhammad Ahmad in the city of Omdurman in Sudan. Towards the end of the 19th century, it was the residence of the successor of the Mu ...
. The tomb has been listed as a site of 'outstanding cultural value' by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
.


Background


The Mahdiyya

In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself al-Mahdī al-Muntaẓar (the Expected Rightly-guided One or Mahdī'), successor of the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
. He called his followers to join a
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
against Turco-Egyptian Sudan. Extortionate fiscal burdens administered by this government since its establishment in the 1820s had created widespread discontent among the Sudanese. Increasing European dominance over the Egyptian administration in the 1870s led to the appointment of European and American representatives into positions of power. The fact that many of these were Christian, like General Charles Gordon, threw the religious status of the occupation into question for Sudanese Muslims. Furthermore, European pressure on the Egyptian government to suppress the slave trade in Sudan created powerful resentment in Sudan especially among trading classes like the ''jallaba''. Galvanised by widespread resentment for Ottoman-Egyptian rule, discontented members of Sudanese tribes and Sufi orders joined the Mahdist army. The Mahdī united his Sufi and non-Sufi followers by naming them '' anṣār'', after the earliest followers of the Prophet Muhammad. The Mahdist state was established after four years of fighting, ending in the 1885 Siege of Khartoum where the British governor-general of Sudan, General Gordon, was killed and decapitated. Muhammad Ahmad al Mahdī died unexpectedly six months after this victory and was buried at Omdurman. During the period of Mahdist rule, his tomb became the most sacred site in Sudan.


Desecration of the tomb

In 1896 a British force was sent to reconquer Sudan. Many saw this as retribution for the death of General Gordon, which had caused a wave of patriotic outrage amongst the British. After the Battle of Omdurman, the dome of the ''
qubba A ''qubba'' (, pl. ''qubāb''), also transliterated as ḳubba, kubbet and koubba, is a cupola or domed structure, typically a tomb or shrine in Islamic architecture. In many regions, such as North Africa, the term ''qubba'' is applied commonly f ...
'' was destroyed by gunboat fire from Kitchener's small
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
fleet. The body of the Mahdi was disinterred and beheaded. This symbolic decapitation echoed General Gordon's death at the hands of the Mahdist forces in 1885. The headless body of the Mahdi was thrown into the Nile. Lord Kitchener kept the Mahdī's skull and it was rumoured that he intended to use it as a drinking cup or ink well. and, in the words of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, "carried off the Mahdi's head in a kerosene can as a trophy". Allegedly the skull was later buried at
Wadi Halfa (, , ":wikt:esparto, Esparto Valley") is a city in the Northern (state), Northern state of Sudan on the shores of Lake Nasser, Lake Nubia near the Egypt–Sudan border, border with Egypt. It is the terminus of a rail transport in Sudan, rail lin ...
.


Controversy

News of the desecration of the Mahdi's tomb reached a shocked British audience. There was some argument that this treatment was justified due to the perceived ‘savage’ nature of the Mahdist forces. However, there was also widespread respect for the Mahdist forces as fighting men, particularly among British soldiers. The success by the ''anṣār'' in breaking the British military square was famously remembered in Rudyard Kipling's poem ‘ Fuzzy-Wuzzy’ (a derogatory term for the people of the Beja tribe, many of whom fought in the Mahdist army). Eventually Lord Kitchener was required to write a letter of apology to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
for the actions of his troops after the Battle of Omdurman, particularly in relation to the desecration of the Mahdi's tomb and the treatment of his body.


Fragments of the Mahdī’s tomb in the UK

Fragments of the tomb were taken back to Britain as trophies and many of these fragments are now held in cultural institutions in the UK. At least three of the large brass finials from the domes of the tomb survive. One is held at the
Royal Engineers Museum The Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general. History The museum is housed in ...
in Kent, another is held at
Blair Castle Blair Castle (in Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteil Bhlàir'') stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their clan chief, chief, the ...
in Scotland and one is at the
Khalifa House Museum The Khalifa House Museum is an Ethnography, ethnographic museum, located opposite the The Mahdi's tomb, tomb of Muhammad Ahmad in the city of Omdurman in Sudan. Towards the end of the 19th century, it was the residence of the successor of the Mu ...
in Omdurman, located next to the reconstructed tomb of the Mahdī.A relic of Charles Gordon
''National Museums Scotland''. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
"Imperial trophies collecting on campaign during the reconquest of Sudan"
''The National Army Museum'', 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2020. * Nicoll, Fergus
Material related to the Mahdīa
. Retrieved December 21, 2020. * Parsons, Michael (2015
"Brick from the Mahdi’s tomb used as a Big House doorstop"
''Irish Times''. Retrieved December 23, 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdi's Tomb Historic sites in Sudan Omdurman Mahdist War Islamic architecture in Africa Buildings and structures completed in 1885 Buildings and structures completed in 1947 Rebuilt buildings and structures