Analyse the factors that led to the decline of the Mahdist State by 1885-1898
History 11
When the Mahdist had finally gotten free from the Turko-Egyptian rule the Mahdist finally got their chance to be a state of their own. They finally threw out the Turko-Egyptian administration and created their own centralized administration and the high income taxes the previous rulers had and replaced it with less demanding and lighter taxes of the Koran. The Mahdist state was structured in states that had military governments that would maintain control. Khalifa was ambitious It seemed like he knew what he was doing. Khalifa was very ambitious that he made an oath to serve the Mahdi until victory was achieved. All was going to plan and Khalifa knew what the Mahdist people wanted but the process of creating his dream was too much of a task for Khalifa. Khalifa seemed he wasn’t ready to lead the Mahdist state. Since the Mahdist state had collapsed only after 13 years, the collapse shows he was not ready for ruling a state. Many factors led up to the decline of the Mahdist Empire. Khalifa had created his own administration and reduce the heavy taxes to the Koran taxes that the Mahdist state was before the Turko-Egyptians came in. With taxes put down that meant there would be less income for Khalifa to use on his administration. He didn’t have enough money to satisfy the needs of the local military governments that he created; he didn’t have enough money to be able to spend for the Mahdist state and for his own private spending. With Khalifa not really good at economics and finance he failed at creating a centralised economy that would function well. That is a major problem because for a leader to be successful in ruling a country and developing a country he needs a well-structured economy so the leader has the money to develop a country. This is a main factor to the decline of the Mahdist state because with not having ample amounts of money Khalifa cannot run a country because for a country to develop you need people to work and for people to work you need to pay salaries. Without money Khalifa couldn’t afford development. With all the money being occupied for military usage it was sure that the economy would collapse. The economy was so critically managed the Mahdist state currency had gotten a downfall trend. It was a matter of time of Khalifa’s and the Mahdist state downfall due to all economic problems they were facing. The Mahdist state which was known to be divided into two factions because of Mohammed Ahmad death was divided into two factions, The Baqqara clan and the Riverine people or the Arladal-balad people. Like in Uganda with the Buganda people and the Acoli people the Riverine people had the top government positions while the Baqqara had the top positions within the military but through Khalifa who was part of the Baqqara clan, the tables had turned, The Baqqara clan got top positions in the miniature military governments that Khalifa had made to run the provinces within the Mahdist state. This made the people of Arladal-balad really mad due to the fact they were forced to have Baqqara leaders rather than their preferred Riverine leader. With military governments comes a consequence for Khalifa because at any given moment each province can start a military coup which in 1886 and 1887 did happen. Confirms that Khalifa was not organized due to him not being prepared to lead the Mahdist state many of his self-made provinces had tried to revolt against him. In these two occasions he managed to defend with his own army again shows the amount of money he puts into his army because without money a country would have a hard time to have an efficient military. Khalifa making an oath to the Mahdi victory was a mistake that sparked his guaranteed decline and eventually his throne. Khalifa even though spending a lot of money on his military was not thinking about how much more money and resources he needed to be able to go to war. A war is a task that country really needs to prepare to be able to succeed that means getting the people involved and to agree with the war for recruitment of soldiers and for funding the expenses of war. Need to be able to bring basic essentials needed like food, water and medical supplies for the troops. Important resources for weapons and of course the most important having a plan if the state would have been defeated in the frontline which Khalifa did not have since he did get overthrown. Khalifa and the Mahdi were successful in killing important Emperor Yohannis in Ethiopia but they never seemed to have takeover Ethiopia thus not being successful of his conquest. Khalifa, failing his mission to conquest Egypt, started his downfall when his troops were defeated in Egypt. With only a few loyal soldiers left to his use and with everybody against the Khalifa administration including the riverine people and other states like Egypt it was sure his administration would collapse. Khalifa seemed he wasn’t ready to lead the Mahdist state. Since the Mahdist state had collapsed only after 13 years, the collapse shows he was not ready for ruling a state. Many factors led up to the decline of the Mahdist Empire. Mistakes such as continuing the Jihad that the Mahdi had created to defeat other states was a mistake because the country didn’t have an efficient economy to handle pressure of a war that needs a lot of funding. With the country divided he could not get the people behind him and due to that it had caused 2 military coups within two years. The decline of the Mahdist state shows how many factors can build up and together work against you to end an Administration and here it was Khalifa’s Administration.