Sudan

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**Historical Overview of Sudan:**
– Sudan’s prehistoric era saw the development of Neolithic cultures and the Kingdom of Kush around 1700 BC.
– The Kingdom of Kush, with its capital at Kerma, ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and built Nubian pyramids.
– Medieval Christian Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, influenced by Afro-Byzantine and Arab cultures.
– Islamic kingdoms of Sennar and Darfur, founded by the Funj in the 15th century, and their conflicts with the Ottomans.
– The Turkiyah and Mahdiyyah periods marked by Egyptian-Ottoman rule and the leadership of Muhammad Ahmad, the Mahdi.

**Colonial and Post-Independence Periods:**
– The Funj Sultanate’s rule from the 1500s to the 1800s, marked by territorial expansion and internal conflicts.
– Anglo-Egyptian Sudan from 1899 to 1956 under joint British-Egyptian administration, with efforts to frustrate Sudan-Egypt unification.
– British colonial era actions, including taxation systems, governance structures, and border disputes with Abyssinia.
– The path to Sudan’s independence in 1956, the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972, and the shift towards export crops in the 1970s.
– The Bashir Era from 1989 to 2019, marked by economic challenges, IMF negotiations, and the end of Omar al-Bashir’s rule following mass protests.

**Geography and Demographics of Sudan:**
– Sudan’s geographical location, bordering several countries and the Red Sea, with an area of 1,886,068 square kilometers.
– A population of nearly 50 million people, making it the third-largest country in Africa by area.
– The capital and most populous city of Sudan is Khartoum.
– Sudan’s status as the least developed country, ranking 172nd on the Human Development Index.
– Over 60% of the population living in poverty, reliance on agriculture, and membership in international organizations like the United Nations and African Union.

**Religious and Cultural Transformations in Sudan:**
– Arabisation and Islamisation in Sudan, with the Funj Sultanate promoting orthodox Islam and adopting Arab identities.
– The rise of the Tunjur and Keira Sultanate in Darfur, driven by Arabised Berbers and Muslims.
– The impact of Turkiyah and Mahdiyyah periods on Sudan, including the imposition of Sharia laws and regional tensions.
– Anglo-Egyptian relations, the Italian threat during World War II, and the role of the Sudan Defence Force in repelling incursions.
– Efforts towards independence, political transitions, and economic challenges during the Bashir era.

**Governance and Independence of Sudan:**
– Sudan’s independence declared on 1 January 1956, following a period of British-Egyptian condominium.
– Various governance systems, including Islamist rule under the Gaafar Nimeiry regime and the transition to a secular state in 2020.
– Civil war leading to the independence of South Sudan in 2011, ending a 30-year military dictatorship by Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
– Sudan’s status as a republic with a parliamentary system post-independence, with key political agreements and shifts in governance.
– The impact of colonial legacies, nationalist movements, and international influences on Sudan’s governance and political landscape.

Sudan (Wikipedia)

Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Egypt to the north, Eritrea to the northeast, Ethiopia to the southeast, Libya to the northwest, South Sudan to the south, and the Red Sea to the east. It has a population of nearly 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area and the third-largest by area in the Arab League. It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011; since then both titles have been held by Algeria. Its capital and most populous city is Khartoum.

Republic of the Sudan
جمهورية السودان (Arabic)
Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān
Motto: النصر لنا
an-Naṣr lanā
"Victory is ours"
Anthem: نحن جند اللّٰه، جند الوطن
Naḥnu jund Allah, jund al-waṭan
"We are Soldiers of God, Soldiers of the Homeland"
Sudan displayed in dark green colour, claimed territories not administered in light green
Sudan displayed in dark green colour, claimed territories not administered in light green
Capital
and largest city
Khartoum
Capital-in-exilePort Sudan
Official languages
Ethnic groups
Religion
(2020)
Demonym(s)Sudanese
GovernmentFederal republic under a military junta
LegislatureVacant
Formation
2500 BC
1070 BC
• Makuria, Nobatia, and Alodia
c. 350
• Tunjur, Funj , and Darfur Sultanates
c. 1500
1820
1885
1899
1 January 1956
25 May 1969
6 April 1985
• Secession of South Sudan
9 July 2011
19 December 2018
20 August 2019
Area
• Total
1,886,068 km2 (728,215 sq mi) (15th)
Population
• 2024 estimate
50,467,278 (30th)
• Density
21.3/km2 (55.2/sq mi) (202nd)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $172.651 billion (71st)
• Per capita
Decrease $3,604 (151st)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $25.569 billion (96th)
• Per capita
Decrease $533 (171st)
Gini (2014)Positive decrease 34.2
medium
HDI (2022)Increase 0.516
low (170th)
CurrencySudanese pound (SDG)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+249
ISO 3166 codeSD
Internet TLD.sd
سودان.

The area that is now Sudan witnessed the Khormusan (c. 40000–16000 BC), Halfan culture (c. 20500–17000 BC), Sebilian (c. 13000 BC–10000 BC), Qadan culture (c. 15000–5000 BC), the war of Jebel Sahaba, the earliest known war in the world, around 11500 BC, A-Group culture (c. 3800 BC–3100 BC), Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500–1500 BC), the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1500 BC–1070 BC), and the Kingdom of Kush (c. 785 BC–350 AD). After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia.

Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan was gradually settled by Arab nomads. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate, while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the east. In 1811, Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah as a base for their slave trading. Under Turco-Egyptian rule of Sudan after the 1820s, the practice of trading slaves was entrenched along a north–south axis, with slave raids taking place in southern parts of the country and slaves being transported to Egypt and the Ottoman empire.

From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in the Mahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with the United Kingdom as a condominium. In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession.

The Egyptian revolution of 1952 toppled the monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan. Muhammad Naguib, one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence a priority of the revolutionary government. The following year, under Egyptian and Sudanese pressure, the British agreed to Egypt's demand for both governments to terminate their shared sovereignty over Sudan and to grant Sudan independence. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was duly declared an independent state.

After Sudan became independent, the Gaafar Nimeiry regime began Islamist rule. This exacerbated the rift between the Islamic North, the seat of the government, and the Animists and Christians in the South. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and the southern rebels, whose most influential faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which eventually led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019, a 30-year-long military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan and committed widespread human rights abuses, including torture, persecution of minorities, alleged sponsorship of global terrorism, and ethnic genocide in Darfur from 2003–2020. Overall, the regime killed an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people. Protests erupted in 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in a coup d'état on 11 April 2019 and Bashir's imprisonment. Sudan is currently embroiled in a civil war between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Islam was Sudan's state religion and Islamic laws were applied from 1983 until 2020 when the country became a secular state. Sudan is a least developed country and ranks 172nd on the Human Development Index as of 2022. It is one of the poorest countries in Africa; its economy largely relies on agriculture due to international sanctions and isolation, as well as a history of internal instability and factional violence. The large majority of Sudan is dry and over 60% of Sudan's population lives in poverty. Sudan is a member of the United Nations, Arab League, African Union, COMESA, Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.


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