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BRITAINASWARTIME"REVOLUTIONARY" 193
Bythen,however,BritishandSudanesesoldiershadinvadedDarfur
in acampaignmadedifficultandriskybythewaterlessandroadless
terrain.TheyoccupiedAliDinar'scapital,al-Fasher,on 23 May1916;
thesultanfledsouthwithhisremainingtroops,numberingabout
twothousand,whomtheBritishbombedwithplanessentfromEgypt.
Inal-FashertheBritishseizedcopiesofletterssentby AliDinarto
EnverPashaandtheTurkishsultan-caliphconfirmingthattheDarfur
chieftainhadjoinedthejihad.AsBritain'sforcespursuedthesultan,
someofhisfollowersrevolted,andheattemptedtogaintimefor his
escapebypretendingtonegotiatewiththeenemy.Butatthebegin-
ningofNovembertheBritishreachedAliDinar'scampatGiuba,a
village twohundredmilessouthwestofal-Fasher,andattackedhis
fewremainingdiseasedandhunger-riddenfollowers.Thesultandied
inthefighting."ThisendedthemostseriousdangerduringWorld
War Iofananti-BritishrevoltintheSudan.
Britain'ssuccessesinDarfurandLibya,andparticularlytheout-
breakoftheArabrevoltinJune,inturnassistedsignificantlyits ef-
fortstohaltthecontinuingcrisis inAbyssinia.TheBritishfeared
thattheupheavaltherewouldspilloverintoseveralneighboringBrit-
ish colonialpossessions.ThroughouttheworldwarTurkishand
GermanagentsinAbyssiniahadbefriendedtheheir-designatetothe
throne,Lij Iyasu.TheyhadencouragedhisconversiontoIslamand
urgedhimtoadoptanti-Alliedpolicies-whichhiscouncilofminis-
tersandimportanttribalchieftains,mostofwhombelongedtothe
AbyssinianChristianchurch,opposed.!"
Duringthefirstmonthsof 1916 Britain'stroublesinAbyssinia
mounted.TheItaliansinEritreainterceptedalettershowingthat
theTurkshadsoughttoestablishaMuslimpedigreeforIyasuby
claimingthathe wasdescendedthroughhisfatherfromFatima,a
daughteroftheProphetMuhammad.Also, aspecialmissionfrom
the"MadMullah"innearbyItalianSomalilandarrivedinAbyssinia
tovisitIyasu.ThelatterhaddeclaredtotheGermanminister,Syburg,
hisreadinesstojoinGermanyinthewar,buthe wasreluctantto do
sobecausehisinfluentialprimeminister,HabteGiorgis,favoredthe
Allies.JI3
TensionsincreasedfortheBritishwhenMuslimtribesmen,Ogaden
SomalisfromsoutheasternAbyssinia,attackedBritain'soutpostat
