Details

Object type

banner

Title

Mahdist army banner

Culture/School

Islamic; Sudanese Mehdist movement

Place Associated

Africa, North Africa, Sudan,Umdurman (place associated)

Date

Second half of 19th century

Dimensions

overall: 1003 mm x 1676 mm

Description

In Sudan in 1898, Britain and Egypt joined forces to reclaim power from the Sudanese Mehdist forces.

This banner was carried into battle at Umdurman by soldiers of the Medhi army as a declaration of their faith in Allah. Taken at the battle of Omdurman, 2nd September 1898 by Major J A E MacBean, DSO, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 10th Battalion Sudanese.

Muhammad Ahmad Ibn Abdullah (died 1885) founded the Medhist movement in 1881. He denounced the influence of nineteenth-century Western values on Islam, coupled with the corruption and oppressiveness of the Egyptian administration. He predicted the coming of an Islamic messianic figure, the Medhi – the divinely guided one. As his following grew, he eventually claimed to be the Medhi himself, and led a reformist movement with political as well as religious goals. His army of followers – 'Ansar' (meaning helpers or supporters) – wore woollen rags at first, demonstrating their rejection of material wealth and their self-denial.

ID Number

1929.50

Location

In storage