Did Wikipedia remove the word "occupation" from the Ansar (Sudan) article?

Yes. "occupation" appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included. We saved the article's opening paragraph at 4 moments between 2015 and 2025, and the counts come from those saved copies.

When did the Ansar (Sudan) article stop using the word "occupation"?

The word appeared 1 times in the opening at its peak in 2015. It appears nowhere in the article today, checked against the live article on 2026-08-02.

How can I verify what Wikipedia's Ansar (Sudan) article used to say?

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What did Wikipedia remove from the Ansar (Sudan) article?

The opening as it read in 2015

Ansar movement The Ansar ( ), or followers of the Mahdi, is a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad (12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885), the self-proclaimed Mahdi .¹ Northern Sudan has long been inhabited by Arabic-speaking people who farm the Nile valley and follow a nomadic pastoral way of life elsewhere. Sudan came under Egyptian suzerainty when an Ottoman force conquered and occupied the region in 1820–21.² Muhammed Ahmad, a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island , proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians culminating in the capture of Kartoum in January 1885.³ Muhammed Ahmad died a few months later. His successor the Khalifa 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad maintained the independence of the Mahdist state until 1898, when an Anglo-Egyptian force regained control.⁴ The Mahdi's eldest surviving son Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi was the religious and political leader of the Ansar throughout most of the colonial era of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898-1955) and for a few years after Sudan gained independence in January 1956. His descendants have led the movement since then.

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 651225706.

The opening as it stood in 2020

Muhammad Ahmad , who inspired the Ansar movement The Ansar ( ), or followers of the Mahdi, is a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad (12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885), the self-proclaimed Mahdi . Northern Sudan has long been inhabited by Nubian people who farm the Nile valley and follow a nomadic pastoral way of life elsewhere. Sudan came under Egyptian suzerainty when an Ottoman force conquered and occupied the region in 1820–21. Muhammed Ahmad, a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island , proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians culminating in the capture of Khartoum in January 1885. Muhammed Ahmad died a few months later. His successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , maintained the independence of the Mahdist state until 1898, when an Anglo-Egyptian force regained control. The Mahdi's eldest surviving son, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , was the religious and political leader of the Ansar throughout most of the colonial era of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898-1955) and for a few years after the Sudan gained independence in January 1956. His descendants have led the movement since then.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963228344.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

A religious and political group in Sudan, initially followers of the Mahdi Mohamad Ahmed The Ansar ( ) are a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad (12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885), a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island who proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians culminating in the capture of Khartoum in January 1885. Muhammad Ahmad , who inspired the Ansar movement When Muhammed Ahmad died a few months later, his successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , maintained the independence of the Mahdist State until 1898, when an Anglo-Egyptian force re-conquered the area . The Mahdi's eldest surviving son, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , was the religious and political leader of the Ansar throughout most of the colonial era of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955) and for a few years after the Sudan gained independence in January 1956. His descendants have led the movement since then.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175075551.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Sudanese group, initially followers of the Mahdi Mohamad Ahmed For other uses, see Ansar . The Ansar ( Arabic : أنصار ) are a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad (12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885), a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island who proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians , culminating in the capture of Khartoum in January 1885. Muhammad Ahmad , who inspired the Ansar movement When Muhammed Ahmad died a few months later, his successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , maintained the independence of the Mahdist State until 1898, when an Anglo-Egyptian force re-conquered the area . The Mahdi's eldest surviving son, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , was the religious and political leader of the Ansar throughout most of the colonial era of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955) and for a few years after the Sudan gained independence in January 1956. His descendants have led the movement since then.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1277328696. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.