ABSTRACT
The previous chapter contained an analysis of the connection between the rise of the Masālīt Sultanate and the Mahdiyya (both as a faith and a centralizing state). The rise of the sultanate coincided with and was connected with the overthrow of the Turco-Egyptian regime by the Mahdist state. The founder of the Masālīt Sultanate was an agent of the new Mahdist regime. His son and successor, involved in an ideological battle with the neighbouring sultans, defended his country’s (and his own) new status by referring to his Mahdist faith. Moreover, the wars of the Mahdiyya – the struggle between the western front and the Mahdist state, and the precarious balance of power which came into existence as a result – enabled the Masālīt to consolidate their sultanate through power politics and clever diplomacy.
