Original Sudanese Mahdi Dervish Arm Dagger with British Blade Captured at Omdurman in 1898
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Original Item: One of a Kind. This amazing Arm Dagger came with our Dervish Kulah Khud Helmet sold previously, bearing the bring back officer's name of LT. A.M. TAYLOR. He was a member of the 33rd HUSSARS and brought this back from the Battle of OMDURMAN outside KHARTOUM in 1898. The dagger is very large and the scabbard is fitted with a really substantial semi-rigid leather arm ring. The scabbard is a hard leather, colored green and red, with tin decorated panels.
The blade is double edged, measuring 11 1/2" in length and 17" overall, very long for an arm dagger. Most interestingly, the blade from this dagger is actually made from a captured British Blade! The middle of the blade is marked:
CAST STEEL
V (CROWN) R
WARRANTED
Next to this is a stamped head and MARK, so this definitely started out as some type of British implement. Most likely not a sword, but possibly part of a shovel or other similar tool. Definitely worth of further research!
The dagger's wood hilt is covered in brass/iron decorated sheeting and the pommel is in the form of a Crucifix. This would be the Abyssinian influence, where Christianity and Judaism had taken a strong hold.
Clearly a dagger of some note and a worthy War Trophy for a British Officer, ready to display!
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah (Arabic: محمد أحمد ابن عبد الله; August 12, 1844 – June 22, 1885) was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself the Mahdi (or Madhi), the 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. More broadly, the Mahdiyya, as Muhammad Ahmad's movement was called, was influenced by earlier Mahdist movements in West Africa, as well as Wahabism and other puritanical forms of Islamic revivalism that developed in reaction to the growing military and economic dominance of the European powers throughout the 19th century.
From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad 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, the Ansars. After Muhammad Ahmad's unexpected death on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum, his chief deputy, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad took over the administration of the nascent Mahdist state.
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