It was in vain that reinforcements were hurried from
Khartoum to the assistance of the garrison: there was some severe
fighting; the town was completely cut off; and, after a six
months' siege, it surrendered. A great quantity of guns and
ammunition and ?100,000 in spices fell into the hands of the
Mahdi. He was master of Kordofan: he was at the head of a great
army; he was rich; he was worshipped. A dazzling future opened
before him. No possibility seemed too remote, no fortune too
magnificent. A vision of universal empire hovered before his
eyes. Allah, whose servant he was, who had led him thus far,
would lead him onward still, to the glorious end.
For some months he remained at El Obeid, consolidating his
dominion. In a series of circular letters, he described his
colloquies with the Almighty and laid down the rule of living
which his followers were to pursue. The faithful, under pain of
severe punishment, were to return to the ascetic simplicity of
ancient times. A criminal code was drawn up, meting out
executions, mutilations, and floggings with a barbaric zeal. The
blasphemer was to be instantly hanged, the adulterer was to be
scourged with whips of rhinoceros hide, the thief was to have his
right hand and his left foot hacked off in the marketplace.
No more were marriages to be celebrated with pomp and feasting,
no
more was the youthful warrior to swagger with flowing hair;
henceforth, the believer must banquet on dates and milk, and his
head must be kept shaved.
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