He attempted to create a kingdom, which led to widespread discontent, and his eventual defeat and death at the hands of the British and Egyptians.

Abdullah was born into the Ta'aisha Baqqara tribe c. 1846 in Um Dafuq and was trained and educated as a preacher and holy man.

[4] He fought at the Battle of El Obeid, where William Hicks's Anglo-Egyptian army was destroyed (5 November 1883), and was one of the principal commanders at the siege of Khartoum, (February 1884 – 26 January 1885).

[1][4] He faced internal disputes over his leadership with the Ashraf and he had to suppress several revolts during 1885–1886, 1888–1889, and 1891 before emerging as sole leader of the Mahdiyah or Mahdist State.

[6] At first the Mahdiyah was run on military lines as a jihad state, with the courts enforcing Sharia law and the precepts of the Mahdi, which had equal force.

The Khalifa then fled south and went into hiding with a few followers and was eventually caught and killed by Reginald Wingate's Egyptian column at Umm Diwaikarat in Kordofan on 25 November 1899.