Sudan, the largest country in Africa, boasts a history as diverse and multifaceted as its landscape. Sharing borders with nine neighbors, its geographical heart is the Nile, which flows from south to north. Its population is a mosaic of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, including Arabic speakers, Nubians, Beja, Nuba, Dinka, Shuluk Zandi, West African immigrants (Hausa, Fulani, Burno), Egyptians, Middle Easterners, and Coptic Christians.
The majority of the population is Muslim, representing about 72 to 75%. The rest are following either traditional African religions, or Christianity.
Ancient Kingdoms and the Spread of Islam
In ancient times, the northern part of Sudan was dominated by the Kingdom of Nubia, or Kush, which held sway from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Nubia even ruled Egypt at one point. The Kingdom of Nubia was destroyed about 350 A.D. by the armies of Axum. From the 6th century A.D., Coptic Christianity spread in Nubia, leading to the emergence of three Christian kingdoms.
Following the Arab-Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, Christian Nubia faced increasing pressure but resisted Muslim Egypt for several centuries. However, the gradual infiltration of Arab Muslims from Egypt and Arabia across the Red Sea led to the decline of Christianity in Nubia and the spread of Islam. By the beginning of the 16th century, the first Muslim state, the Fung Kingdom, arose in northern Sudan, with its capital in Sennar. Another Muslim kingdom, the Kingdom of Darfur, emerged further west. Islam in Sudan, like in West Africa, was associated with Sufism, a more egalitarian form of Muslim mysticism.
The Turkiyya and the Rise of the Mahdi
The Fung Kingdom dominated most of what is northern Sudan today until about 1821 when it was conquered by the invading armies of Mohammed Ali, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt. This period, known as the Turkiyya, or Turco-Egyptian period, was critical in Sudanese history. Mohammad Ali's primary goal was to create a slave army by recruiting Sudanese and to exploit the country's natural resources. Most of the captives were drafted into Muhamad Ali's army. But many were sold in the markets either in the Middle East or in northern Sudan.
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Slavery and the slave trade became widespread in the Sudan in the 19th century. Many traders and adventurers from the Middle East, and northern Sudan, as well as a few Europeans, established their headquarters in Khartoum, the capital, and engaged in the business of ivory, and the slave trade. Under growing pressure from European governments, the Turco Egyptian government tried to end the slave trade in the 1870s by extending its control over the equatorial provinces. That's actually how the regions of southern Sudan were incorporated into the present day modern Sudan.
The Turkish period was one of the most oppressive periods of Sudanese history, marked by heavy taxation and the proliferation of the slave trade. This oppression led to a rebellion in 1881, led by Muhammadd Ahmad, the Mahdi, who sought to overthrow the Turkish regime and establish an "authentic" Islamic state in Sudan.
The Condominium and the North-South Divide
Following the Mahdist revolt, Sudan came under Anglo-Egyptian rule, a period known as the Condominium. This was a unique arrangement, whereby it's supposed to be a joint administration, but in reality, the British had the upper hand. This period is basically a continuation of the earlier Turco Egyptian policies. The British felt the South was culturally different from the north, and so it was administered separately.
The British tried to discourage the spread of Arabic language and Islam in the south. Some British officials argued that the South was different and it was important to preserve the "traditional" culture. And of course, a number of regulations were instituted, for instance banning northern Sudanese traders from going to the south, also granting permissions. People had to obtain permissions to go to the South. This was part of what was called Closed Districts law, and they included other parts of Sudan such as the Nuba Mountains.
One of the most important features of colonial policy was uneven development in the sense that it concentrated economic development in the central part of the Sudan-social services, education and so on-and neglected different regions such as the South, Darfur, the East, and even the far north. This pattern of unequal development is really the main factor behind the continuing uprisings and conflicts in different parts of the Sudan, including the Darfur conflict. And unfortunately, this pattern continued even under the postcolonial Sudanese governments.
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By the 1940s, Sudan had one of the most militant labor movements, associated mainly with the railway workers. It was also a movement that was closely associated with the Sudanese Communist Party, which was the second largest Communist Party in Africa, perhaps after the South African Communist Party.
Independence and the Nimeiri Era
The two main political parties that led nationalism and came to power after independence are closely associated with the the two religious sects, namely the Khatimiyya and Mahdiyya. They held power whenever you had democratic rule from independence until they were finally overthrown in 1989.
Gaafar Nimeiri took over in 1969, ruling until 1985. Initially backed by the Communist Party, he later turned against them. One of the most important developments during Nimeiri's time was the signing of the Addis Ababa agreement in 1972, which ended the first civil war between the north and the south. However, he himself actually destroyed the agreement as a result of his own politics. He tried to redivide the South into several regions, and also he introduced Sharia law. This was a major change in modern Sudanese history. because for the first time in the 20th century, you have an attempt to actually apply Islamic law in the Sudan.
In the late 1970s, Nimeiri engaged in what was called “national reconciliation,” bringing in the sectarian parties, the Umma and National Unionists, and the Muslim Brothers led by Hasan Turabi. This helped the Islamist movement establish a strong economic and political base, planning for a future takeover of power.
Nimeiri launched a massive campaign against that involved closing bars, banning alcoholic drinks, and generally harassing people. It was a period of severe repression on all levels - social and cultural. But of course, even after Nimeiri was overthrown by a popular uprising in 1985, the subsequent rulers really didn't try to repeal the September laws.
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The basis of the opposition that ultimately threw Nimeiri out was the political repression that prevailed throughout his years. The national reconciliation did not bring any democratic change. Inflation was very high as well as unemployment. People were really experiencing serious hardship. So it started as a spontaneous uprising by people in the streets, and then it spread to involve professional associations, trade unions, and so forth.
Turbulence and the Rise of the Current Government
After the uprising, Nimeiri was overthrown by some of his generals. They established a transitional military government from 1985 to 86, and in 1986, general elections were held, and the main party that dominated the government at the time were the Umma party and the National Unionists. Both of them are sectarian. And the Muslim Brothers or the National Islamic Front, came third. So this was a period when the war in the south was still going on. There were several attempts to reach a peace settlement, but i...
Sudan's conflict, explained
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