Britian/Italy vs Mahdist/Ethiopian Allaince
Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV offered Mahdist Sudan an alliance to drive out the Western powers. The Mahdist's refused and instead attacked Ethiopia, both sides sustained heavy casualties during the war and Yohannes was killed.
What if the Mahdist's instead decided to ally with the Ethiopians? How strong would they be together? Would they have emerged victorious in a war against the British and Italians?
Background from Wiki:
"When Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, and incited Sudan into a long and violent revolt, his followers successfully either drove the Egyptian garrisons out of Sudan, or isolated them at Suakin and at various posts in the south.
Six months after the capture of Khartoum, Muhammad Ahmad died of typhus. He was buried in Omdurman near the ruins of Khartoum. The Mahdi had planned for this eventuality and chose three deputies to replace him, in imitation of the Prophet Muhammad. This led to a long period of disarray, due to rivalry among the three, each supported by people of his native region. This continued until 1891, when Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, with the help primarily of the Baqqara Arabs, emerged as unchallenged leader. Abdallahi, referred to as the "Khalifa" (Caliph, lit. "successor") purged the Mahdiyya of members of the Mahdi's family and many of his early religious disciples.
The "Khalifa" was committed to the Mahdi's vision of extending the Mahdiyah through jihād, which led to strained relations with practically every neighboring nation in Africa.
For example, the Khalifa rejected an offer of an alliance against the Europeans by Ethiopia's Emperor, Yohannes IV because the majority of the Ethiopians were not Muslim which made them less in the eyes of the Khalifa. Instead, in 1887 a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia, penetrated as far as Gonder, and captured prisoners and booty. The Khalifa continued to refuse to conclude hostilities or negotiate peace with Ethiopia unless every Ethiopian converted to Islam.
Yohannes agreed to British requests to allow these Egyptian soldiers to evacuate through his lands, with the understanding that the British Empire would then support his claims on important ports like Massawa on the Red Sea to import weapons and ammunition, in the event that Egypt was forced to withdraw from them. This was formalized in a treaty signed with the British at Adwa known as the Hewett treaty. The immediate result was that the wrath of the Mahdiyah fell upon Ethiopia: Ras Alula defeated an invading Mahdist army at the Battle of Kufit on 23 September 1885.
About the same time, Italy took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannes. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Neguses of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannes, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassals. Yohannes brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar and burned its holy churches.
In March 1889, an Ethiopian force commanded personally by the Nəgusa nagast (Emperor, lit. "King of Kings") invaded the Sudan and marched on Gallabat; however, after Yohannes IV fell in battle, the Ethiopians withdrew."
Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV offered Mahdist Sudan an alliance to drive out the Western powers. The Mahdist's refused and instead attacked Ethiopia, both sides sustained heavy casualties during the war and Yohannes was killed.
What if the Mahdist's instead decided to ally with the Ethiopians? How strong would they be together? Would they have emerged victorious in a war against the British and Italians?
Background from Wiki:
"When Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, and incited Sudan into a long and violent revolt, his followers successfully either drove the Egyptian garrisons out of Sudan, or isolated them at Suakin and at various posts in the south.
Six months after the capture of Khartoum, Muhammad Ahmad died of typhus. He was buried in Omdurman near the ruins of Khartoum. The Mahdi had planned for this eventuality and chose three deputies to replace him, in imitation of the Prophet Muhammad. This led to a long period of disarray, due to rivalry among the three, each supported by people of his native region. This continued until 1891, when Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, with the help primarily of the Baqqara Arabs, emerged as unchallenged leader. Abdallahi, referred to as the "Khalifa" (Caliph, lit. "successor") purged the Mahdiyya of members of the Mahdi's family and many of his early religious disciples.
The "Khalifa" was committed to the Mahdi's vision of extending the Mahdiyah through jihād, which led to strained relations with practically every neighboring nation in Africa.
For example, the Khalifa rejected an offer of an alliance against the Europeans by Ethiopia's Emperor, Yohannes IV because the majority of the Ethiopians were not Muslim which made them less in the eyes of the Khalifa. Instead, in 1887 a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia, penetrated as far as Gonder, and captured prisoners and booty. The Khalifa continued to refuse to conclude hostilities or negotiate peace with Ethiopia unless every Ethiopian converted to Islam.
Yohannes agreed to British requests to allow these Egyptian soldiers to evacuate through his lands, with the understanding that the British Empire would then support his claims on important ports like Massawa on the Red Sea to import weapons and ammunition, in the event that Egypt was forced to withdraw from them. This was formalized in a treaty signed with the British at Adwa known as the Hewett treaty. The immediate result was that the wrath of the Mahdiyah fell upon Ethiopia: Ras Alula defeated an invading Mahdist army at the Battle of Kufit on 23 September 1885.
About the same time, Italy took control of the port of Massawa, frustrating Ethiopian hopes and angering Yohannes. Yohannes attempted to work out some kind of understanding with the Italians, so he could turn his attention to the more pressing problem of the Mahdists, although Ras Alula took it upon himself to attack Italian units that were on both sides of the ill-defined frontier between the two powers. Domestic problems increased when the Neguses of both Gojjam and Shewa rebelled against Yohannes, and the Emperor had to turn his attention from the encroaching Italians to deal with his rebellious vassals. Yohannes brutally crushed the Gojjame rebellion, but before he could turn his attention to Shewa news arrived that the Mahdist forces had sacked Gondar and burned its holy churches.
In March 1889, an Ethiopian force commanded personally by the Nəgusa nagast (Emperor, lit. "King of Kings") invaded the Sudan and marched on Gallabat; however, after Yohannes IV fell in battle, the Ethiopians withdrew."