In the Sudan during the Turkïya, slaves were often con- scripted as soldiers in the army regiments known as the jihädïya. By the 1890s they actually outnumbered the contracted Egyptian soldiers by a ratio of two to one. These slave soldiers were absolutely essential to the main- tenance of the military camps, work that presumably included the tasks Kämil so dreaded for Egyptian soldiers. His indignation also echoed with resentment over Egyptians' loss of authority over the Sudanese themselves, and the consequent shame at occupying the low status once belonging to the Sudanese.

Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Coloni…, loc. 722