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Mahdist War - Quiz
Contributed by: Costello
  • 1. What colonial system was established in Sudan after the Mahdist War?
A) Italian colony
B) Ottoman province
C) Anglo-Egyptian administration
D) French protectorate
  • 2. In what year did Sudan gain its independence?
A) 1966
B) 1939
C) 1956
D) 1899
  • 3. Which group sided with the Mahdists during their war against Ethiopia?
A) Tukrir
B) Omdurman
C) Sufi orders
D) Khartoum elite
  • 4. What is the name of the patched tunic worn by Mahdist soldiers?
A) Shahada
B) Rayya
C) Muraqqa'a
D) Jibba
  • 5. After which battle did the British take a large portion of Mahdist textile booty back to Britain?
A) Battle of Omdurman
B) Siege of Khartoum
C) Battle of Shaykan
D) Battle of Abu Klea
  • 6. What served as the inspiration for the design of Mahdist flags and jibbas?
A) British military uniforms
B) Egyptian colonial dress
C) Ethiopian tribal clothing
D) Traditional Sufi textiles
  • 7. What specific phrase was added to Mahdist flags to claim the Mahdi's status?
A) O Lord of Majesty and Generosity
B) There is no God but Allah
C) Muḥammad al-Mahdī khalifat rasūl Allah
D) O Allah! O Ever-living
  • 8. Where was the 'Tailor of Flags' established after the fall of Khartoum?
A) Shaykan
B) Omdurman
C) London
D) Cairo
  • 9. In the context of the Mahdist army, what did the term 'rayya' come to signify?
A) A division of troops
B) A type of material
C) A colonial governor
D) A religious saint
  • 10. What were the three main divisions of the Mahdist army based on flag colors?
A) Red, Yellow, and Blue
B) Black, White, and Yellow
C) Black, Green, and Red
D) Blue, White, and Gold
  • 11. What did the wearing of the patched jibba symbolize for the followers?
A) Rejection of material wealth
B) High military rank
C) Wealth and prosperity
D) Membership in the British army
  • 12. Why did the Mahdi decree that the jibba should be worn by all his soldiers?
A) To keep them warm in winter
B) To identify them to the British
C) Because of fabric shortages
D) To enforce unity and cohesion
  • 13. Which film depicts the Battle of Abu Klea and the Battle of Shaykan?
A) Khartoum (1966)
B) The Four Feathers (1939)
C) Omdurman (1999)
D) The Four Feathers (2002)
  • 14. Which film adaptation focuses on the Battle of Abu Klea?
A) The Four Feathers (1939)
B) Khartoum (1966)
C) The Four Feathers (2002)
D) The Mahdi (1980)
  • 15. What was the purpose of the colored patches on the later Mahdist jibbas?
A) To repair tears in the fabric
B) To provide camouflage
C) To denote rank and military division
D) To signal surrender
  • 16. What was one of the reasons for Sudanese anger toward Egyptian rulers?
A) They banned all forms of Sufi worship.
B) They favored British economic interests.
C) They were perceived as foreign rulers.
D) They imposed high taxes on farmers.
  • 17. Which Christian individual was appointed to a high position by the Egyptian rulers, causing religious anger?
A) Rauf Pasha
B) Charles Gordon
C) Yusef Pasha
D) Rashid Bay Ahman
  • 18. Who proclaimed himself the Mahdi in the 1870s?
A) Abdullahi ibn Muhammad
B) Muhammad Ahmad
C) Yusef Pasha
D) Rauf Pasha
  • 19. Who was the governor of Sudan in August 1881?
A) Rashid Bay Ahman
B) Muhammad Ahmad
C) Charles Gordon
D) Rauf Pasha
  • 20. Where did the first conflict involving the Mahdi's followers occur?
A) Fashoda
B) Kordofan
C) Aba Island
D) Khartoum
  • 21. What caused the two Egyptian companies at Aba Island to destroy each other?
A) They mutinied against their commanders.
B) They fired blindly on one another.
C) They suffered from a food shortage.
D) They were misled by false orders.
  • 22. Where did the Mahdi retreat to after the Battle of Aba?
A) Kordofan
B) Cairo
C) Medina
D) Fashoda
  • 23. What was the name given to the Mahdi's followers?
A) Caliphs
B) Irregulars
C) Ansar
D) Quraysh
  • 24. Who commanded the Egyptian expedition from Fashoda that was slaughtered in 1881?
A) Rauf Pasha
B) Colonel Rashid Bay Ahman
C) Charles Gordon
D) Yusef Pasha
  • 25. What did the Mahdi call his flight from the British?
A) Mahdiyya
B) Hijrah
C) Jihad
D) Ansar
  • 26. Who represented Abu Bakr Al Sidiq within the Mahdi's movement?
A) Rashid Bay Ahman
B) Abdullahi ibn Muhammad
C) Muhammad Ahmad
D) Yusef Pasha
  • 27. On what date did the Mahdi lead a dawn assault against Yusef Pasha's forces?
A) 7 June 1882
B) August 1881
C) 9 December 1881
D) November 1881
  • 28. What title did Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah proclaim for himself?
A) The Caliph
B) The Mahdi
C) The Khedive
D) The Sultan
  • 29. In what year did the Mahdist War conclude?
A) 1899
B) 1898
C) 1881
D) 1956
  • 30. Which of these empires was involved in the Mahdist War conflicts?
A) Spanish Empire
B) German Empire
C) Ethiopian Empire
D) Russian Empire
  • 31. What name was given to the Turco-Egyptian administration in Sudan?
A) The Turkiyah
B) The Mahdiyya
C) The Condominium
D) The Khedivate
  • 32. What class of merchants specialized in long-distance trade?
A) Mahdists
B) Jallāba
C) Turco-Egyptians
D) Khedives
  • 33. What international commission took control of Egypt's revenues in 1876?
A) The Mahdist Council
B) The Suez Authority
C) Caisse de la Dette Publique
D) The Ottoman Commission
  • 34. What was the main reason for Egypt's massive foreign debt under Ismail Pasha?
A) Loss of trade routes
B) Internal famine
C) Military defeat
D) Modernization projects
  • 35. Which trader-warlord did Charles George Gordon attempt to defeat?
A) Tewfik Pasha
B) Muhammad Ahmad
C) Earl Granville
D) Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur
  • 36. What was the attitude of the British government towards the Sudan before the reconquest?
A) Eager for annexation
B) Fully funded the military
C) Refused direct responsibility
D) Supported the Mahdists
  • 37. Who commanded the Hicks expedition?
A) Charles Gordon
B) William Hicks
C) Sir Evelyn Baring
D) John Stewart
  • 38. How many Nordenfelt guns did the Hicks expedition have?
A) 4
B) 6
C) 10
D) 12
  • 39. What city was the Hicks expedition intending to relieve, but had already fallen?
A) Tokar
B) El-Obeid
C) Khartoum
D) Sennar
  • 40. How many survivors were there from the Egyptian army at the Battle of El Obeid?
A) 500
B) 7,300
C) 1,000
D) 12
  • 41. Who was the British Consul-general in Egypt who requested a British officer to coordinate the withdrawal?
A) Sir Auckland Colvin
B) Sir Edgar Vincent
C) Earl Granville
D) Sir Evelyn Baring
  • 42. Which rebellion had Charles Gordon previously gained renown for commanding?
A) Sudanese Revolt
B) Taiping Rebellion
C) Mahdist War
D) Egyptian Uprising
  • 43. When did Gordon leave England for his Sudan mission?
A) 15 March 1884
B) 18 January 1884
C) 18 February 1884
D) 24 January 1884
  • 44. What was one of the two main orders given to Gordon?
A) Collect debt repayments
B) Evacuate all Egyptian garrisons
C) Conquer the Mahdi
D) Annex Sudan for Britain
  • 45. When did Gordon arrive in Khartoum?
A) 18 February 1884
B) 18 January 1884
C) 24 January 1884
D) 15 March 1884
  • 46. According to H. W. Gordon, until what date could British officers have easily escaped Khartoum?
A) 3 November 1883
B) 18 February 1884
C) 14 December 1884
D) 15 March 1884
  • 47. How long did the siege of Khartoum last?
A) 500 days
B) 200 days
C) 100 days
D) 313 days
  • 48. Who led the Anglo-Egyptian Army during the reconquest of Sudan?
A) Sir Gerald Graham
B) Reginald Wingate
C) Herbert Kitchener
D) Sir Garnet Wolseley
  • 49. What technological advantage did Kitchener's army possess against the Mahdists?
A) Maxim machine-guns
B) Tanks
C) Air support
D) Chemical weapons
  • 50. Which former prisoner of the Khalifa wrote a detailed account of his captivity to influence British public opinion?
A) Father Joseph Ohrwalder
B) Rudolf Carl von Slatin
C) Colonel Arimondi
D) Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand
  • 51. Which treaty required Ethiopia to facilitate the evacuation of Egyptian garrisons?
A) Treaty of Khartoum
B) Hewett Treaty
C) Treaty of Adwa
D) Treaty of Fashoda
  • 52. Which country handed over control of Kassala to the British in 1897?
A) Egypt
B) Italy
C) France
D) Ethiopia
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