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How did Muhammad Ahmad establish a mahdist state in Sudan?

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Fresco The Last Judgment by Michelangelo covers the west wall of the Sistine Chapel, depicting Christ at the center surrounded by angels and human figures in dramatic poses. — eschatology The Second Coming as depicted in “The Last Judgment,” fresco by Michelangelo, 1536-41, on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Palace, Vatican City.

Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah established a Mahdist state in Sudan by positioning himself as a divinely guided reformer, or mahdi, who would restore Islam to its original purity. His movement, known as the al-Mahdiyyah, gained momentum by capitalizing on widespread discontent with the Turco-Egyptian administration, which he viewed as both secularly corrupt and theologically heretical.12

His success relied on a coalition of three key groups:
* Holy men (faqihs): Religious figures who sought to purge the Sudan of the perceived unappealing orthodoxy of the Egyptian regime.13
* Merchants: Individuals formerly involved in the slave trade who hoped to reassert their economic status through a religious war against the government's anti-slavery campaigns.12
* Baqqarah Arabs: Cattle nomads from Kordofan and Darfur who served as the movement's "shock troops," driven by their hatred of taxes and government authority.13

The government’s failed attempts to arrest Muhammad Ahmad only increased his prestige. Following decisive military victories, including the destruction of an Egyptian army at Shaykan and the capture of Khartoum in 1885, the Mahdist state was formally established.12