Lot 2599

Description

Sudan, Revolutionary coinage of Mohammed Ahmed, silver twenty piastres, AH 1302 (1885), (KM.2, M.1346). Fine and rare.

Mohammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah (August 12, 1844 - June 22, 1885) was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith. His proclamation came during a period of widespread resentment among the Sudanese population of the oppressive policies of the Turco-Egyptian rulers, and capitalized on the messianic beliefs popular among the various Sudanese religious sects of the time. From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Mohammad Ahmad led a successful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan (known as the Turkiyah). During this period, many of the theological and political doctrines of the Mahdiyya were established and promulgated among the growing ranks of the Mahdi’s supporters. After Mohammad Ahmad’s unexpected death on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum, his chief deputy, Abdullah ibn Mohammad took over the administration of the nascent Mahdist state. This rare issue of these silver twenty piastres took place after the fall of Khartoum and before his death in June 1885.