The simple home of al-Mahdi in Omdurman. Born Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, he assumed the title of al-Mahdi in 1881. His crowning victory in his campaign to purify Islam and destroy the governments that defiled it was the capture of Khartoum on 26th January 1885 and the killing of the British Commander, Major-General Charles Gordon (Chinese Gordon), during the final assault on the capital.