The Life of the Sudanese Mahdi

The Mahdia was an important Islamic millenarian movement of the Nilotic Sudan in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It contributed substantially to the emergence of the Sudan as a nation-state in the twentieth century. The Mahdi's family and heritage played a major political and cultural role in the Sudan, both before and after independence.This volume begins with introductory material on the Mahdia and a biographical sketch of the author of the Sra, followed by discussion of composition, acquisition, sources, and literary features of the account. The text itself presents a condensed paraphrase of the account while retaining the spirit of the original document. It pays special attention to preserving historical events. Appendixes include full transcriptions of the main source materials for the biography, two photographic reproductions of the handwriting of the original Arabic manuscripts, and an annotated list of the Mahdist proclamations and letters transcribed in the original Arabic text of the Sra.

The S?ra of the Mahdi; Explanatory Notes; Preface 1 : The Book of the Bliss of Him Who Seeks Guidance by the Life of the Imam the Mahdi; Introduction; 1: The Fulfillment of the Traditions in Respect of the Mahdi's Characteristics and Perfection 1; 2: The Mahdi's Characteristics, Attributes and Miracles 1; 3: The Mahdi's Religious Observances Before His Manifestation 1; 4: The Mahdi's Propaganda and Correspondence 1; 5: The Mustering of the Tribes and the Arrival of Successive Deputations to the Mahdi 1; 6: The Mahdi's First Battle With the Turks and His Victory Over Them 1; 7: The Mahdi's Hijra to Qad?r and His Jih?D, Before the Fall of El Obeid 1; 8: The Mahdi's Campaigns, Expeditions and Missions, And the Conquest of Some Towns 1; 9: The Mahdi's Death and the Accession of the Khalifa 1

Haim Shaked