Egyptian army officers joined the Mahdist cause mainly from resentment at the khedive’s betrayal

Evidence

“The former officers of `Arabï who, in the Sudan, have passed into the ranks of the rebellion and have given, bit by bit, a regularized organization to the Mahdist bands, have done so out of hatred for the British, with no doubt, but they have also done it, principally, out of resentment against Tawfïq’s betrayal of them.” Tawfïq’s betrayal of the Egyptian nationalists to the British thus provided their excuse for defecting from Egypt to join the Mahdïya; yet the same nationalists continued to perform a civic duty by providing the “bands of the Mahdï” with some kind of organization, in a sense taming the fanaticism of the dervishes. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 487

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s comparative project: here Egyptian officers defect from khedial service into the Sudan, blurring the boundary between Egyptian and Sudanese anti-colonial struggles.