How did Sudan develop?
Many thousands of years BC There were traces of human life in Sudan. The oldest people on earth come from the region of East Africa and Sudan.
Residential houses were built in the 8th millennium BC. BC, also first settlements. As early as 1700 BC The first state developed.
Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush
The history of Sudan is closely related to neighboring Egypt. Sudan was part of Egypt in the time of the pharaohs and was called Nubia. Nubia was conquered by the Egyptians. For a short time, however, the Nubians also ruled Egypt, at the time of the famous kingdom of Kush. The Kushites, the rulers of the kingdom, even provided the pharaohs for a long time.
Only in the 5th century BC The Cushites had to limit themselves to the area of Nubia again. Their capital was called Meroe and the ruins of Meroe still bear witness to the importance of this time. The Kingdom of Kush went under in the middle of the 4th century AD. As a result, other kingdoms emerged in this area. Christianity had already spread in the region before that.
Islam is spreading in Sudan
The influence of Islam increased from the middle of the 13th century in the region of today’s Sudan and at the beginning of the 16th century Arab empires emerged, which expanded further. The manners and customs of Muslims shaped society and people lived according to the laws of Islam.
In the 19th century, Sudan came under Egyptian rule, with the south being able to escape the control of the Egyptians to a large extent. Khartoum was founded as the new capital.
Great Britain as a colonial power
Also in the 19th century the colonial power Great Britain began to show an interest in Sudan. The region was an interesting trading center for the British. They influenced politics and the economy and, starting from Sudan, carried out a brisk trade with India and Arabia.
But British rule was not welcome to the Sudanese and the local peoples began to defend themselves against the foreign rule of Great Britain and Egypt. This is how the Mahdi uprising came about in 1885, named after the leader of the movement.
The causes of later conflicts
But towards the end of the 19th century the British had brought Sudan back under their control and ruled together with the Egyptians. The British were particularly interested in the sources of the Nile and planted cotton.
Later conflicts have their origins in this time, as the south of Sudan was shaped by the influence of missionaries much more strongly by Christianity, while the north wanted to join Egypt. So the south got more and more independence. Actually, the south should be split off from the Islamic north. The south was separated from the north in the 1920s and Islam did not find its way into the south.
Republic of Sudan
As a country located in Africa according to areacodesexplorer, Sudan was to remain a British colony until 1953 and the Republic of Sudan was proclaimed in 1956.
However, South Sudan did not want to be under Arab domination and a long and serious civil war broke out. The Islamic-Arabic north and the Christian south fought each other. This civil war began in 1955 and ended for the first time in 1972, broke out again in 1983 and could only be ended with a peace treaty in 2005. In 2011 South Sudan became independent (see also History of South Sudan)
In 2003 another source of conflict broke out, this time in western Sudan, in the Darfur region. Rebel groups are demanding more participation in government. The Darfur conflict continues to this day. Many people have fled the region.
In 1983 Sharia, Islamic law, was introduced. From 1993 to 2019, Umar al-Bashir was President of Sudan. He ruled Islamic fundamentalist and he is accused of human rights violations. In April 2019 there was a military coup in Sudan and the president, who had ruled very authoritarian for many years, was removed. There was a fierce power struggle between the military and the opposition in Sudan. Many critics and opposition figures were killed. At first there was great uncertainty as to who could take over the government. In the end, they agreed on a so-called “Sovereign Council”, which should rule for three years, then elections are scheduled again.
