Word: mahdy
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...Sudanese boatman, turned religious seer, involved the British Empire in a sticky little war. Mohamed Ahmed, who had declared himself the Mahdi, the long-awaited messiah of Islamic tradition, had whipped his dervish followers into a frenzied jihad (holy war) against the Sudan's Egyptian rulers. Since Egypt was under British occupation, Britain sent solemn, Bible-reading General Charles George ("Chinese") Gordon* to restore order. Instead, the fanatical dervishes bottled up the undermanned British garrison in Khartoum, hacked Gordon to death with their swords...
...week for "gallantry, determination and undaunted devotion to duty as liaison officer with the Commandos." The Admiral stands 5 ft. 2 in., and this is his second D.S.O. He won his first on the Nile, 46 years ago, when Horatio Herbert Kitchener, later Earl of Khartum, was fighting the Mahdi. The Admiral...
Bearded, greying, Sir Sayed Abdel Rahman el Mahdi Pasha grieved to see his subjects forego the joys of marriage because the price of wives had soared. The most diligent young Sudanese could not hope to save the $400 a buxom maiden's parents asked; $100 brides were never of much account...
...reaches of the Nile, sharp-eyed parents, bright-eyed youths and soft-eyed maidens gathered last week for bargain day. From tent to tent the bridegrooms raced, making their selections. The price was a flat $8 per wife, rich or poor, pretty or plain, young or not, with El Mahdi footing the difference. Then Sir Sayed, tall in his flowing black galabia, appeared upon his pillared porch to intone the Koran's marriage service. Upwards of 300 glistening couples took the vows at Omdurman and blessed his name. Up & down the Nile banks, in Khartoum and smaller Sudan towns...
...slurring reference to the Gordon Highlanders' part in the Battle of Tamai (1884), where the Mahdi's fanatic tribesmen momentarily broke the British defensive squares...