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What happened at the Battle of Shaykan in 1883?
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At the Battle of Shaykan on November 5, 1883, the Mahdist forces achieved a decisive victory by destroying an Egyptian army of 10,000 men commanded by a British colonel.1
This engagement was a pivotal moment in the Mahdiyyah movement led by Muhammad Ahmad. Following this defeat, the Sudan was effectively lost to Egyptian control, and the subsequent attempt to hold Khartoum under the leadership of Charles George Gordon ultimately failed, leading to the city's capture and the massacre of its defenders in 1885.1