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Sudan, the

A Dictionary of World History

Sudan, the A country in north-east Africa. Sudan takes its name from the great belt of open savannah crossing Africa south of the Sahara, from Ethiopia to Cape Verde.

Physical

Sudan has Egypt on its northern boundary, a coast on the Red Sea, and boundaries also with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre), the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. The largest country on the African continent, it has equatorial forest in the south and the Nubian Desert in the north; its whole length is traversed from south to north by the River Nile. The mid-south contains the Sudd swamps, which are mainly covered with reeds and papyrus grass. There is a region of savannah, and near the junction of the Blue and White Niles cotton is grown under irrigation on the plains of the Gezira. Further north are areas covered with acacia bushes, the source of gum arabic. In the extreme north years may pass without rain, and the only cultivation is on the river's banks.

Economy

The civil war, drought, and flooding have devastated the economy, which is also crippled by massive foreign debt ($135 billion in 1990), and have led to famine in the south among both Sudanese and the several million refugees from Ethiopia and Chad. The distribution of food aid has been seriously hampered by the war. Agriculture is the principal economic activity, with cotton, gum arabic, and sesame the main exports. Sugar cane, sorghum, and livestock are the other main products. Industry is limited to oil-refining and processing agricultural products such as sugar and cotton.

History

Nubian culture was established in northern Sudan about 30,000 years ago. Most of Nubia gradually came under the control of Egypt from about 4000 BC. Nubia later formed part of the kingdom of Cush, which lasted from the 11th century BC to the 4th century AD. From about the 6th century AD missionaries established Christianity in the area. From the 13th century Arab nomads began immigrating into Sudan and eventually took control of the Christian areas.

By 1800 northern Sudan consisted of the Muslim empire of the Funji, where an Islamic revival was occurring. The Funji were then conquered by MEHEMET ALI from Egypt (1820–23). In 1874 Khedíve Ismail, viceroy of Egypt, offered the post of governor of the Egyptian Sudan to the Briton Charles GORDON. His anti-slave administration was not popular. In 1881 Muhammad Ahmad declared himself MAHDI and led an Islamic rebellion in the Sudan. Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 and invaded the Sudan where Gordon was killed (1885). The Mahdists resisted Anglo-Egyptian forces until Kitchener defeated them at Omdurman in 1898. Following the FASHODA INCIDENT, an Anglo-Egyptian condominium was created for the whole Sudan (1899) under a British governor. A constitution was granted in 1948 but in 1951 King Farouk of Egypt proclaimed himself King of Sudan. After his fall, Egypt agreed to Sudan's right to independence; self-government was granted in 1953 and full independence in 1956. North-South political and religious tension undermined stability until General NIMEIRI achieved power in 1969 and negotiated an end to the civil war in the south (1972). However, the early 1980s saw the collapse of the economy, widespread starvation, and a renewal of separatist guerrilla activity in the south. Nimeiri was overthrown by the army in April 1985, and a brief civilian coalition government was formed under Sadiq al-Mahdi. But civil war continued; the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) militarized much of the south, while the Muslim Brotherhood's National Islamic Front (NIF) strengthened its hold in the north. A military coup by General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir in 1989 was followed by a ban on all political parties. The early 1990s saw an influx of several million refugees from Ethiopia and Chad. The continuing civil war, drought, and flooding led to large-scale destitution and famine. The strongly Islamic Bashir regime has been accused of sponsoring fundamentalist terrorism, particularly in neighbouring Egypt. The first presidential and parliamentary elections since the coup were held in March 1996, resulting in victory for Bashir and his supporters. In 1997 the SPLA made large gains in the south and east of the country. In 1999 Bashir announced that he would agree to the south seceding if this would end the civil war.

Capital:	Khartoum
Area:	2,503,890 sq km (966,757 sq miles)
Population:	33,551,000 (1998 est)
Currency:	1 Sudanese pound = 100 piastres = 1000 millimes
Religions:	Sunni Muslim 73.0%; traditional beliefs 16.7%; Roman Catholic 5.6%; Anglican 2.3%
Ethnic Groups:	Sudanese Arab 49.1%; Dinka 11.5%; Nuba 8.1%; Beja 6.4%; Nuer 4.9%; Azande 2.7%; Bari 2.5%; Fur 2.1%;Shilluk 1.7%; Lotuko 1.5%
Languages:	Arabic (official); Dinka; Nuba; other local languages
International Organizations:	UN; OAU; Arab League

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© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000.