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History of Sudan

Africa's third-largest country by area, and once the land of the Kingdom of Kush.. 5 eras, 2180 BCE to today.

Kingdom of Kush, 2180 BCE–350 CE Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Following Egypt's disintegration amid the Late Bronze Age collapse, the Kushites reestablished a kingdom in Napata. In the 8th century BC, King Kashta became king of Upper Egypt, and his successor Piye invaded Lower Egypt, establishing the Kushite-ruled Twenty-fifth Dynasty. The kingdom of Kush persisted as a major regional power until the 4th century AD, when it weakened and disintegrated amid worsening climatic conditions, internal rebellions, and foreign invasions.

Seat of power: Napata

Sennar Sultanate, 1505–1821 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Funj Sultanate was an Islamic kingdom in what is now Sudan, northwestern Eritrea and western Ethiopia. Succeeding the medieval Nubian kingdoms of Makuria and Alodia, it was established in 1504 by Sultan Amara Dunqas, a convert to Islam who founded its capital Sennar on the Blue Nile. It reached its peak in the late 17th century, when it extended from the Third Cataract southwards to the western fringes of the Ethiopian Highlands and the Sobat River, east to the Red Sea, and west to Kordofan and the Nuba Mountains. In 1821 the last sultan, greatly reduced in power, was forced to surrender to the Turco-Egyptian conquest.

Seat of power: Sengs

Rulers

Mahdist Sudan, 1885–1899 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Mahdist State was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muhammad Ahmad against the Khedivate of Egypt, which had ruled Sudan since 1821. After four years of struggle, the Mahdist rebels overthrew the Ottoman-Egyptian administration and established their own Islamic and national government with its capital in Omdurman. Mahdist forces captured Khartoum, and Gordon was killed in his palace. The Mahdi did not live long after this victory, and his successor Abdallahi ibn Muhammad consolidated the new state, with administrative and judiciary systems based on their interpretation of Islamic law.

Seat of power: Omdurman

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1899–1956 Draft, not yet reviewed

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding to the territory of what is now both Sudans and parts of southeastern Libya. Legally, sovereignty and administration were shared between both Egypt and the United Kingdom, but in practice the structure of the condominium ensured effective British control over Sudan, with Egypt having limited local power and influence. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, Egypt pushed for an end to the condominium, and the independence of Sudan. By agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1953, Sudan was granted independence as the Republic of Sudan on 1 January 1956.

Seat of power: Khartoum

Sudan, 1956 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was declared an independent state. Between 1989 and 2019, a military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan with the National Congress Party (NCP) and committed widespread human rights abuses, including torture, persecution of minorities, alleged sponsorship of global terrorism, and ethnic genocide in Darfur from 2003-2020. Since 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a third civil war, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Seat of power: Khartoum

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.