The public treasury of the Muslims

In 1885 Khartoum fell into the hands of the Mahdist movement which put an end to 60 years of Egyptian rule in the Sudan. An independent state was founded along Islamic principles, which also affected fiscal institutions like the Public Treasury. Through the translation and edition of the monthly budgets of nine and a half months in 1897, one can study closely the various items of revenue and expenditure, the currencies in circulation, the system of accountancy, and the organisation of the Treasury.

In addition to an analysis of the revenues, the introduction focuses on the organisation of the Treasury and on the system of accountancy and concludes that the Mahdists relied heavily on early Islamic as well on Ottoman models, which they modified to suit local conditions.