Mahdist Sudan-Ethiopian Alliance
Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV offered Mahdist Sudan an alliance to drive out the Western powers. The Mahdists refused and instead attacked Ethiopia because they weren't Muslim. During the war both sides sustained heavy casualties and Emperor Yohannes was actually killed. The Ethiopians were able to recover and defeat the Italians at Adwa, but the Mahdists ened up getting crushed by the British at Omdurman.
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? What impact would a surviving Mahdist state have?
Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV offered Mahdist Sudan an alliance to drive out the Western powers. The Mahdists refused and instead attacked Ethiopia because they weren't Muslim. During the war both sides sustained heavy casualties and Emperor Yohannes was actually killed. The Ethiopians were able to recover and defeat the Italians at Adwa, but the Mahdists ened up getting crushed by the British at Omdurman.
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? What impact would a surviving Mahdist state have?