Al Mahdi of Sudan defeats British & Egyptian army - part 5 / 6

In 1880-81 Al Mahdi became convinced that the rulers of Egypt and the Sudan were all corrupt puppets of the infidel Europeans and that the ruling class in general had abandoned true Islam. He felt his mission was to destroy those defiling forces and agents. Before his death al Mahdi named three Khalifas to be his successors. One emerged as the dominant figure and ruled with the support of the Baqqara Arabs.