Book excerpt: The Mahdist Revolution began in the Sudan in 1881. Mohammed Ahmed proclaimed himself the Mahdi (the expected one or the deliverer in the Islamic faith), and clashed with the colonial Egyptian government of the Sudan established by Britain. Britain was drawn into the conflict by its interest in the Suez Canal, its heavy financial investments in Egypt, and its participation in supressing the Arabi revolt in Egypt.Mohammed Ahmed successfully defeated the Egyptian and British forces brought against him and established an Islamic state in the Sudan. He succeeded by effectively combining religious, economic, cultural, and military strategy under charismatic leadership.