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Thehistory of Sudan refers to the territory that today makes upRepublic of the Sudan and the state ofSouth Sudan, which became independent in 2011. The territory of Sudan is geographically part of a larger African region, also known as "Sudan". The term is derived fromArabic:بلاد السودانbilād as-sūdān, or "land of the black people",[1][2] and has sometimes been used more widely referring to theSahel belt ofWest andCentral Africa.
The modern Republic of the Sudan was formed in early 1956 and inherited its boundaries fromAnglo-Egyptian Sudan, established in 1899. For times predating 1899, usage of the term "Sudan" mainly applied to theTurkish Sudan and theMahdist State, and a wider and changing territory between Egypt in the North and regions in the South adjacent to modern Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
The early history of theKingdom of Kush, located along theNile region in northern Sudan, is intertwined with thehistory of ancient Egypt, with which it was politically allied over several regnal eras. By virtue of its proximity toEgypt, Sudan participated in the wider history of theNear East, with the important25th dynasty of Egypt and theChristianization of the three Nubian kingdomsNobatia,Makuria, andAlodia in the sixth century. As a result of Christianization, theOld Nubian language stands as the oldest recordedNilo-Saharan language (earliest records dating to the eighth century in an adaptation of theCoptic alphabet).
WhileIslam was already present on the SudaneseRed Sea coast and the adjacent territories since the 7th century, the Nile Valley did not undergoIslamization until the 14th-15th century, following the decline of the Christian kingdoms. These kingdoms were succeeded by theSultanate of Sennar in the early 16th century, which controlled large parts of the Nile Valley and theEastern Desert, while the kingdoms ofDarfur controlled the western part of Sudan. Two small kingdoms arose in the southern regions, theShilluk Kingdom of 1490, andTaqali of 1750, near modern-daySouth Sudan, but both northern and southern regions were seized byMuhammad Ali of Egypt during the 1820s. The oppressive rule of Muhammad Ali and his immediate successors is credited for stirring up resentment against the Turco-Egyptian and British rulers and led to the establishment of the Mahdist State, founded byMuhammad Ahmad in 1881.
Since independence in 1956, the history of Sudan has been tarnished by internal conflict, including theFirst Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972), theSecond Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), theWar in Darfur (2003–2020)–culminating in the secession ofSouth Sudan on 9 July 2011, after which theSouth Sudanese Civil War took place there in (2013–2020)– and the currentSudanese civil war (2023–present).
Affad 23 is anarchaeological site located in theAffad region of southern Dongola Reach in northernSudan,[3] which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldestopen-airhut in the world) and diversehunting andgathering loci some 50,000 years old".[4][5][6]
By the eighth millennium BC, people of aNeolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortifiedmud-brick villages, where they supplementedhunting andfishing on the Nile withgrain gathering andcattle herding.[7] During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the dryingSahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed a social hierarchy over the next centuries and became theKingdom of Kush (with the capital atKerma) around 1070 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicates that during the pre-dynastic periodLower Nubia and MagadanUpper Egypt were ethnically, and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of Pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC.[8] Together with other countries onRed Sea,Sudan is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancientEgyptians asPunt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Plan"), whose first mention dates to the 10th century BC.[9]
In eastern Sudan, theButana Group appears around 4000 BC. These people produced simple decorated pottery, lived in round huts and were most likely herdsmen, hunters, but also consumed land snails and there is evidence for some agriculture.[10]TheGash Group started around 3000 BC and is another prehistory culture known from several places. These people produced decorated pottery and lived from farming and cattle breeding.Mahal Teglinos was an important place about 10 hectare large. In the center were excavated mud brick built houses. Seals and seal impressions attest a higher level of administration. Burials in an elite cemetery were marked with rough tomb stones.[11] In the second millennium followed theJebel Mokram Group. They produced pottery with simple incised decoration and lived in simple round huts. Cattle breeding was most likely the economical base.[12]
Northern Sudan's earliest historical record comes from ancient Egyptian sources, which described the land upstream asKush. For more than two thousand years after theOld Kingdom (c. 2700–2180 BC), Egypt had a dominating and significant influence over its southern neighbor, and even afterward, the legacy of Egyptian cultural and religious introductions remained important.[7]
Over the centuries, trade developed. Egyptian caravans carried grain to Kush and returned to Aswan withivory,incense,hides, andcarnelian (a stone prized both asjewelry and forarrowheads) for shipment downriver. Egyptian governors particularly valuedgold in Nubia and soldiers in thepharaoh's army. Egyptian military expeditions penetrated Kush periodically during the Old Kingdom. Yet there was no attempt to establish a permanent presence in the area until theMiddle Kingdom (c. 2100–1720 BC), when Egypt constructed a network of forts along the Nile as far south as Samnah inLower Egypt to guard the flow of gold from mines in Wawat, the area between the First and Second Cataracts.[7]
Around 1720 BC,Canaanite nomads called theHyksos took over Egypt, ended the Middle Kingdom, severed links with Kush, and destroyed the forts along the Nile River. To fill the vacuum left by the Egyptian withdrawal, a culturally distinct indigenous Kushite kingdom emerged atKerma, near present-dayDongola. After Egyptian power revived during theNew Kingdom (c. 1570–1100 BC), the pharaohAhmose I incorporated Kush as an Egyptian ruled province governed by aviceroy. Although Egypt's administrative control of Kush extended only down to the Fourth Cataract, Egyptian sources list tributary districts reaching to theRed Sea and upstream to the confluence of theBlue Nile andWhite Nile rivers. Egyptian authorities ensured the loyalty of local chiefs by drafting their children to serve as pages at the pharaoh's court. Egypt also expected tribute ingold andworkers from local Kushite chiefs.[7]
Once Egypt had established political and military mastery over Kush, officials, priests, merchants, and artisans settled in the region. TheEgyptian language became widely used in everyday activities. Many rich Kushites took to worshipping Egyptian gods and built temples for them. The temples remained centres of official religious worship until the coming ofChristianity to the region during the sixth century. When Egyptian influence declined or succumbed to foreign domination, the Kushite elite regarded themselves as central powers and believed themselves as idols of Egyptian culture and religion.[7]
By the 11th century BC, the authority of the New Kingdom dynasties had diminished, allowing divided rule in Egypt, and ending Egyptian control of Kush. With the withdrawal of the Egyptians, there ceased to be any written record or information from Kush about the region's activities over the next three hundred years. In the early eighth century BC, however, Kush emerged as an independent kingdom ruled fromNapata by an aggressive line of monarchs who slowly extended their influence into Egypt. Around 750 BC, a Kushite king calledKashta conqueredUpper Egypt and became ruler ofThebes until approximately 740 BC. His successor,Piye, subdued theNile Delta and conquered Egypt, thus initiating theTwenty-fifth Dynasty. Piye founded a line of kings who ruled Kush and Thebes for about a hundred years. The dynasty's interference withAssyria's sphere of influence in the Near East caused a confrontation between Egypt and the powerful Assyrian state, which controlled a vast empire comprising much of theMiddle East,Anatolia,Caucasus[citation needed] and the EasternMediterranean Basin from their homeland inUpper Mesopotamia.
Taharqa (688–663 BC), the last Kushite pharaoh, was defeated and driven out of the Near East bySennacherib of Assyria. Sennacherib's successorEsarhaddon went further, launching a full-scale invasion of Egypt in 674 BC, defeating Taharqa and quickly conquering the land. Taharqa fled back to Nubia, and native Egyptian princes were installed by the Assyrians as vassals of Esarhaddon. However, Taharqa was able to return some years later and wrest back control of a part of Egypt as far asThebes from the Egyptian vassal princes of Assyria. Esarhaddon died in his capitalNineveh while preparing to return to Egypt and once more eject the Kushites.[13]
Esarhaddon's successorAshurbanipal sent a general with a small army which again defeated and ejected Taharqa from Egypt. Taharqa died in Nubia two years later. His successor,Tantamani, attempted to regain Egypt. He successfully defeatedNecho I, the puppet ruler installed by Ashurbanipal, taking Thebes in the process. The Assyrians then sent a powerful army southwards.Tantamani was heavily routed, and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent it never truly recovered. A native ruler,Psamtik I was placed on the throne, as a vassal of Ashurbanipal, thus ending the Kushite/Nubian Empire.
Egypt's succeeding dynasty failed to reassert full control over Kush. Around 590 BC, however, an Egyptian army sackedNapata, compelling the Kushite court to move to a more secure location further south atMeroë near the Sixth Cataract. For several centuries thereafter, the Meroitic kingdom developed independently of Egyptian influence and domination, which passed successively underIranian,Greek, and, finally,Roman domination. During the height of its power in the second and third centuries BC, Meroë extended over a region from the Third Cataract in the north toSoba, near present-dayKhartoum, in the south. An Egyptian-influenced pharaonic tradition persisted among a line of rulers at Meroë, who raisedstelae to record the achievements of their reigns and erectedNubian pyramids to contain their tombs. These objects and the ruins of palaces, temples, and baths at Meroë attest to a centralized political system that employedartisans' skills and commanded the labour of a large work force. A well-managedirrigation system allowed the area to support a higher population density than was possible during later periods. By the first century BC, the use ofEgyptian hieroglyphs gave way to aMeroitic alphabet adapted for theNubian-related language spoken by the region's people.
Meroë's succession system was not necessarily hereditary; thematrilineal royal family member deemed most worthy often became king. Thekandake or queen mother's role in the selection process was crucial to a smooth succession. The crown appears to have passed from brother to brother (or sister) and only when no siblings remained from father to son.
Although Napata remained Meroë's religious centre, northern Kush eventually fell into disorder as it came under pressure from theBlemmyes, nomads from east of the Nile. However, the Nile continued to give the region access to the Mediterranean world. Additionally, Meroë maintained contact withArab andIndian traders along theRed Sea coast and incorporatedHellenistic andIndian cultural influences into its daily life. Inconclusive evidence suggests that metallurgical technology may have been transmitted westward across thesavanna belt to West Africa from Meroë's iron smelteries.
Relations between Meroë and Egypt were not always peaceful. As a response to Meroë's incursions into Upper Egypt, aRoman army moved south and razedNapata in 23 BC. The Roman commander quickly abandoned the area, deeming it too poor to warrant colonization.
In the second century AD, theNobatia occupied the Nile's west bank in northern Kush. They are believed to have been one of several well-armed bands of horse- and camel-borne warriors who sold their skills to Meroë for protection; eventually they intermarried and established themselves among the Meroitic people as a military aristocracy. Until nearly the fifth century,Rome subsidized the Nobatia and used Meroë as a buffer between Egypt and the Blemmyes.
Meanwhile, the old Meroitic kingdom contracted because of the expansion of the powerfulKingdom of Aksum to the east. By 350, KingEzana of Axum had captured and destroyed the capital of Meroë, ending the kingdom's independent existence and conquering its territory.
On the turn of the fifth century, theBlemmyes established a short-livedstate in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centered around Talmis (Kalabsha), but before 450 they were already driven out of the Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own,Nobatia.[15] By the 6th century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras (Faras); the central kingdom,Makuria centred at Tungul (Old Dongola), about 13 kilometres (8 miles) south of modernDongola; andAlodia, in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital atSoba (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum).[16] Still in the sixth century they converted toChristianity.[17] In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria.[18]
Between 639 and 641 theMuslimArabs of theRashidun CaliphateconqueredByzantine Egypt. In641 or 642 and again in652 they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of the few who managed to defeat the Arabs during theIslamic expansion. Afterwards the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on theBaqt, a unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts, thus acknowledging Makuria's independence.[19] While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns[20] and intermarried with the localBeja.[21]
From the mid 8th-mid 11th century Christian Nubia went through itsGolden Age, when its political power and cultural development peaked.[22] In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the decliningUmayyads,[23] and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north asAkhmim.[24] Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state.[25] The culture of the Medieval Nubians has been described as "Afro-Byzantine",[26] with the significance of the "African" component increasing over time.[27] Increasing Arab influence has also been noted.[28] The state organization was extremely centralized,[29] being based on theByzantine bureaucracy of the 6th and 7th centuries.[30] Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings[31] and especially wall paintings.[32] The Nubians developed an own alphabet for their language,Old Nobiin, basing it on theCoptic alphabet, while also utilizingGreek,Coptic andArabic.[33] Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings.[34] Even the royal succession wasmatrilineal, with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir.[35]
Since the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well.[36] In the 14th (the earliest recorded migration from Egypt to the Sudanese Nile Valley dates to 1324[37]) and 15th centuryBedouin tribes overran most of Sudan,[38] migrating to theButana, theGezira,Kordofan andDarfur.[39] In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee toGebel Adda inLower Nubia, while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist as arump state.[40]The last known Makurian king wasJoel, who is attested for the years 1463 and 1484 and under whom Makuria probably witnessed a brief renaissance.[41] After his death the kingdom probably collapsed.[42]To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma, or theFunj, an African people originating from the south.[43] Datings range from the9th century after the Hijra (c. 1396–1494),[44] the late 15th century,[45] 1504[46] to 1509.[47] An Alodian rump state might have survived in the form of theKingdom of Fazughli, lasting until 1685.[48]
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In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded thekingdom of Sennar, in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated.[50] By 1523, whenJewish travellerDavid Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola.[51] Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on the Nile bySufi holymen who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries[52] and by David Reubeni's visit kingAmara Dunqas, previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim.[53] However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship and the consummation of alcohol until the 18th century.[54] Sudanesefolk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until the recent past.[55]
Soon the Funj came in conflict with theOttomans, who had occupiedSuakin around 1526[56] and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola was repelled by the Funj in 1585.[57] Afterwards,Hannik, located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states.[58] The aftermath of the Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation ofAjib, a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612, his successors, theAbdallab, were granted the authority to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy.[59]
During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extend,[60] but in the following century it began to decline.[61] A coup in 1718 brought a dynastic change,[62] while another one in 1761/1762[63] resulted in theHamaj regency, where theHamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their puppets.[64] Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment;[65] by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira.[66]
The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted theArabization of the state.[67] In order to legitimize their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate anUmayyad descend.[68] North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream asAl Dabbah, the Nubians would adopt the tribal identity of the ArabJaalin.[69] Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan[70][71][72] and most of Kordofan.[73]
West of the Nile, inDarfur, the Islamic period saw at first the rise of theTunjur kingdom, which replaced the oldDaju kingdom in the 15th century[74] and extended as far west asWadai.[75] TheTunjur people were probably ArabizedBerbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims.[76] In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by theFurKeira sultanate.[75] The Keira state, nominally Muslim since the reign ofSulayman Solong (r.c. 1660–1680),[77] was initially a small kingdom in northernJebel Marra,[78] but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century[79] and eastwards under the rule ofMuhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786),[80] peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785.[81] The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-dayNigeria,[81] would last until 1821.[80]
From 1805,Ottoman Egypt underwent a period of rapid modernisation underMuhammad Ali Pasha, who declared himselfKhedive in defiance of his nominal suzerain, theOttoman Sultan. Within a matter of decades, Muhammad Ali transformed Egypt from a neglected Ottoman province to being virtually independent. Replicating the approach of his Mamluk predecessors in the medievalSultanate of Egypt, Muhammad Ali sought to expand Egypt's frontiers southwards into Sudan, both as a means of guaranteeing Egypt's security, and to gain access to Sudan's natural resources. Between 1820 and 1821, Egyptian forces under the command of Muhammad Ali's son conquered and unified the northern portion of the Sudan. Owing to Egypt's continuing de jure fealty to the Ottoman Sultan, the Egyptian administration was known as theTurkiyah. Historically, the pestilential swamps of theSudd discouraged expansion into the deeper south of the country. Although Egypt claimed all of present-day Sudan during most of the 19th century, and established a provinceEquatoria in southern Sudan to further this aim, it was unable to establish effective control over all of the area. In the later years of the Turkiyah,British missionaries travelled from modern-dayKenya into the Sudan to convert the local tribes to Christianity.
In 1881, a religious leader namedMuhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself theMahdi ("guided one") and began a war to unify the tribes in western and central Sudan. His followers took the name "Ansar" ("followers") which they continue to use today, in association with the single largest political grouping, theUmma Party (once led by a descendant of the Mahdi,Sadiq al Mahdi). Taking advantage of conditions resulting from Ottoman-Egyptian exploitation and maladministration, the Mahdi led a nationalist revolt culminating in the fall ofKhartoum on 26 January 1885. The interim governor-general of the Sudan, the British Major-GeneralCharles George Gordon, and many of the fifty thousand inhabitants of Khartoum were massacred.
The Mahdi died in June 1885. He was followed byAbdallahi ibn Muhammad, known as theKhalifa, who began an expansion of Sudan's area into Ethiopia. Following his victories in eastern Ethiopia, he sent an army to invade Egypt, where it was defeated by the British at Toshky. The British become aware of the weakness of the Sudan.
An Anglo-Egyptian force underLord Kitchener in 1898 was sent to Sudan. Sudan was proclaimed acondominium in 1899 under British-Egyptian administration. TheGovernor-General of the Sudan, for example, was appointed by "Khedival Decree", rather than simply by the British Crown, but while maintaining the appearance of joint administration, the British Empire formulated policies, and supplied most of the top administrators.
In 1896, aBelgian expedition claimed portions of southern Sudan that became known as theLado Enclave. The Lado Enclave was officially part of theBelgian Congo. An 1896 agreement between theUnited Kingdom and Belgium saw the enclave turned over to the British after the death ofKing Leopold II in December 1909.
At the same time theFrench claimed several areas:Bahr el Ghazal, and the Western Upper Nile up toFashoda. By 1896 they had a firm administrative hold on these areas and they planned on annexing them toFrench West Africa. An international conflict known as theFashoda incident developed between France and the United Kingdom over these areas. In 1899, France agreed to cede the area toAnglo-Egyptian Sudan.
From 1898, the United Kingdom and theKhedivate of Egypt administered all of present-day Sudan as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, but northern and southern Sudan were administered as separateprovinces of thecondominium. In the very early 1920s, the British passed the Closed Districts Ordinances which stipulated that passports were required for travel between the two zones, and permits were required to conduct business from one zone into the other, and totally separate administrations prevailed.
In 1916, after theBritish government suspected that the sultan was falling under the influence of theOttoman government, an expedition was launched from Egypt to capture and annex Darfur into the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The colonial government directed financial and administrative resources to the tribes of central Sudan nearKhartoum - while the outlying regions such as Darfur remained mostly forgotten and ignored.[citation needed]K. D. D. Henderson was the last Britishgovernor of Darfur.[82]
In the south,English,Dinka,Bari,Nuer,Latuko,Shilluk,Azande and Pari (Lafon) were official languages, while in the north,Arabic and English were used as official languages. Islam was discouraged by the British in the south, where Christian missionaries were permitted to work. Condominium governors of south Sudan attended colonial conferences in East Africa, not in Khartoum, and the British hoped to add south Sudan to their East African colonies.
Most of the British focus was on developing the economy and infrastructure of the north. Southern political arrangements were left largely as they had been prior to the arrival of the British. Until the 1920s, the British had limited authority in the south.
In order to establish their authority in the north, the British promoted the power of SayyidAli al-Mirghani, head of theKhatmiyya sect and SayyidAbd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, head of theAnsar sect. The Ansar sect essentially became the Umma party, and Khatmiyya became theDemocratic Unionist Party.
In 1943, the British began preparing the north for self-government, establishing a North Sudan Advisory Council to advise on the governance of the six north Sudanese provinces:Khartoum,Kordofan,Darfur, and the Eastern,Northern, andBlue Nile provinces. Then, in 1946, the British administration reversed its policy and decided to integrate north and south Sudan under one government. The south Sudanese authorities were informed at theJuba Conference of 1947 that they would in future be governed by a common administrative authority with the north. From 1948, 13 delegates, nominated by the British authorities, represented the south on the Sudan Legislative Assembly.
Many southerners felt betrayed by the British, because they were largely excluded from the new government. The language of the new government was Arabic, but the bureaucrats and politicians from southern Sudan had, for the most part, been trained in English. Of the eight hundred new governmental positions vacated by the British in 1953, only four were given to southerners.
Also, the political structure in the south was not as organized in the north, so political groupings and parties from the south were not represented at the various conferences and talks that established the modern state of Sudan. As a result, many southerners did not consider Sudan to be a legitimate state.
On 12 February 1953, theUnited Kingdom and theKingdom of Egypt concluded an agreement providing for Sudanese self-government and self-determination.[83] The transitional period toward independence began with the inauguration of the first parliament in 1954. On 18 August 1955 an army revolt (Torit mutiny) in the southern Sudanese city ofTorit broke out,[84] which although quickly suppressed, led to a low level guerrilla insurgency by former southern rebels, and marked the beginning of theFirst Sudanese Civil War.[85] On 15 December 1955 the Premier of SudanIsmail al-Azhari announced that Sudan would unilaterally declare independence in four days' time.[86] On 19 December 1955 the Sudanese parliament, unilaterally and unanimously, declared Sudan's independence.[87] The British and Egyptian governmentsrecognized the independence of Sudan on 1 January 1956.[88] TheUnited States was among the first foreign powers to recognize the new state. However, theArab-led Khartoum government ignored their promises to southerners to create afederal system, which led to a mutiny by southern army officers that sparked seventeen years of civil war (1955–1972). In the early period of the war, hundreds of northern bureaucrats, teachers, and other officials, serving in the south were massacred.
TheNational Unionist Party (NUP), under Prime MinisterIsmail al-Azhari, dominated the first cabinet, which was soon replaced by a coalition of conservative political forces. In 1958, following a period of economic difficulties and political manoeuvring that paralysed public administration, Chief of Staff Major GeneralIbrahim Abboud overthrew the parliamentary government in a bloodlesscoup d'état.[89]
Gen. Abboud did not carry out his promises to return Sudan to civilian government, however, and popular resentment against army rule led to a wave of riots and strikes in lateOctober 1964 that forced the military to relinquish power.[90]
The Abboud regime was followed by a provisional government until parliamentary elections in April 1965 led to a coalition government of the Umma and National Unionist Parties under Prime MinisterMuhammad Ahmad Mahjoub. Between 1966 and 1969, Sudan had a series of governments that proved unable either to agree on a permanent constitution or to cope with problems offactionalism, economic stagnation, and ethnic dissidence. The succession of early post-independence governments were dominated byArab Muslims who viewed Sudan as a Muslim Arab state. Indeed, the Umma/NUP proposed1968 constitution was arguably Sudan's first Islamic-oriented constitution.
Dissatisfaction culminated in acoup d'état on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col.Gaafar Nimeiry, became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties, except theSudanese Socialist Union as the ruling party.[91] Disputes betweenMarxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted ina briefly successful coup in July 1971, led by theSudanese Communist Party. Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power.[92]
In 1972, theAddis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to a ten years hiatus in the civil war.[93]
Until the early 1970s, Sudan's agricultural output was mostly dedicated to internal consumption. In 1972, the Sudanese government became more pro-Western, and made plans to export food andcash crops. However, commodity prices declined throughout the 1970s causing economic problems for Sudan. At the same time, debt servicing costs, from the money spent mechanizing agriculture, rose. In 1978, theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiated aStructural Adjustment Program with the government. This further promoted the mechanized export agriculture sector. This caused great economic problems for the pastoralists of Sudan.
In 1976, the Ansar mounted a bloody butunsuccessful coup attempt.[94] In July 1977, President Nimeiry met with Ansar leaderSadiq al-Mahdi, opening the way forreconciliation. Hundreds of political prisoners were released, and in August a general amnesty was announced for all opponents of Nimeiry's government.[95]
Sudan relied on a variety of countries for its arms supplies. Since independence the army had been trained and supplied by the British, but relations were cut off after the Arab-IsraelSix-Day War in 1967. At this time relations with the US andWest Germany were also cut off. From 1968 to 1971, theSoviet Union andEastern Bloc nations sold large numbers of weapons and provided technical assistance and training to Sudan. At this time the army grew in manpower from 18,000 to roughly 60,000 men. Large numbers oftanks,aircraft, andartillery were acquired at this time, and they dominated the army until the late 1980s. Relations cooled between the two sides after the coup in 1971, and the Khartoum government sought to diversify its suppliers. Egypt was the most important military partner in the 1970s, providingmissiles, personnel carriers, and other military hardware.[citation needed]
Western countries began supplying Sudan again in the mid-1970s. The United States began selling Sudan a great deal of equipment around 1976. Military sales peaked in 1982 at US$101 million. The alliance with the United States was strengthened under the administration ofRonald Reagan. American aid increased from $5 million in 1979 to $200 million in 1983 and then to $254 million in 1985, mainly for military programs. Sudan thus became the second largest recipient of US aid to Africa (after Egypt). The construction of four air bases to house Rapid Deployment Force units and a powerful listening station for theCIA nearPort Sudan was decided.[96]
In 1983, the civil war in the south was reignited following the government'sIslamification policy which would have institutedIslamic law, among other things. After several years of fighting, the government compromised with southern groups. In 1984 and 1985; after a period of drought, several million people were threatened by famine, particularly in western Sudan. The situation was worsened by the new Government of Sudan attempting to hide the situation internationally.[97]
In March 1985, the announcement of the increase in the prices of basic necessities, at the request of theIMF with which the regime was negotiating, triggered the first demonstrations. On 2 April, eight unions called for mobilization and a "general political strike until the abolition of the current regime". On the 3rd, massive demonstrations shook Khartoum, but also the country's main cities; the strike paralysed institutions and the economy. On 6 April 1985, a group of military officers, led by Lieutenant GeneralAbd ar Rahman Siwar adh Dhahab,overthrew Nimeiri, who took refuge in Egypt. Three days later, Dhahab authorized the creation of a fifteen-manTransitional Military Council (TMC) to rule Sudan.[97]
In June 1986,Sadiq al Mahdi formed a coalition government withUmma Party, theDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP), theNational Islamic Front (NIF), and four southern parties. Unfortunately, however, Sadiq proved to be a weak leader and incapable of governing Sudan. Party factionalism, corruption, personal rivalries, scandals, and political instability characterized the Sadiq regime. After less than a year in office, Sadiq al Mahdi dismissed the government because it had failed to draft a new penal code to replace the sharia, reach an agreement with the IMF, end the civil war in the south, or devise a scheme to attract remittances from Sudanese expatriates. To retain the support of the DUP and the southern political parties, Sadiq formed another ineffective coalition government.
In 1989, the government and southern rebels began to negotiate an end to the war, but acoup d'état brought a military junta into power which was not interested in compromise. The leader of the junta,Omar al-Bashir, consolidated his power over the next few years, declaring himself president and ruling with theNational Congress Party (NCP).[98]
The civil war has displaced more than 4 million southerners. Some fled into southern cities, such as Juba; others trekked as far north as Khartoum and even into Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, and other neighbouring countries. These people were unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves, and malnutrition and starvation became widespread. The lack of investment in the south resulted as well in what international humanitarian organizations call a "lost generation" who lack educational opportunities, access to basic health care services, and little prospects for productive employment in the small and weak economies of the south or the north.
In early 2003 anew rebellion ofSudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) andJustice and Equality Movement (JEM) groups in the western region ofDarfur began. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias (Janjaweed) allied with the government. The rebels have alleged that these militias have been engaging inethnic cleansing in Darfur, and the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouringChad. There are various estimates onthe number of human casualties, ranging from under twenty thousand to several hundred thousand dead, from either direct combat or starvation and disease inflicted by the conflict.
In 2004 Chad brokered negotiations inN'Djamena, leading to theApril 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement between the Sudanese government, the JEM, and the SLA. However, the conflict continued despite the ceasefire, and theAfrican Union (AU) formed aCeasefire Commission (CFC) to monitor its observance. In August 2004, the African Union sent 150Rwandan troops in to protect the ceasefire monitors. It, however, soon became apparent that 150 troops would not be enough, so they were joined by 150Nigerian troops.
On 18 September 2004United Nations Security Council issuedResolution 1564 declaring that the government of Sudan had not met its commitments, expressing concern at helicopter attacks and assaults by theJanjaweed militia against villages in Darfur. It welcomed the intention of the African Union to enhance its monitoring mission in Darfur and urged all member states to support such efforts. During 2005 theAfrican Union Mission in Sudan force was increased to about 7,000.
TheChadian-Sudanese conflict officially started on 23 December 2004, when thegovernment of Chad declared astate of war withSudan and called for the citizens ofChad to mobilize themselves againstRally for Democracy and Liberty (RDL) militants (Chadian rebels backed by theSudanese government) and Sudanese militiamen who attacked villages and towns in eastern Chad, stealing cattle, murdering citizens, and burning houses.
Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004, although skirmishes in parts of the south have reportedly continued. The two sides have agreed that, following a final peace treaty, southern Sudan will enjoy autonomy for six years, and after the expiration of that period, the people of southern Sudan will be able to vote in a referendum on independence. Furthermore, oil revenues will be divided equally between the government and rebels during the six-year interim period. The ability or willingness of the government to fulfil these promises has been questioned by some observers, however, and the status of three central and eastern provinces was a point of contention in the negotiations. Some observers wondered whether hard line elements in the north would allow the treaty to proceed.
A final peace treaty was signed on 9 January 2005 inNairobi. The terms of the peace treaty were that the south would have autonomy for six years, followed by a referendum on secession, and both sides of the conflict would merge their armed forces into a 39,000-strong force after six years if the secession referendum should turn out negative. Income from oilfields was to be shared evenly between north and south; jobs were to be split according to varying ratios (central administration: 70 to 30,Abyei/Blue Nile State/Nuba Mountains: 55 to 45, both in favour of the government), and Islamic law was to remain in the north, while continued use of the sharia in the south was to be decided by the elected assembly.
The decade of the 1990s also experienced a tendency to impose strictSharia-based Islamic laws and practices under theNational Islamic Front andHassan al-Turabi. Education was overhauled to focus on the importance ofArab andIslamic culture, for example by memorizing the Quran in religious institutions; school uniforms were replaced with combat fatigues and students engaged in paramilitary drills. Religious police ensured that women were veiled, especially in government offices and universities. The former, more tolerant political culture became much harsher, with human rights groups alleging a proliferation of torture chambers known as "ghost houses" used by security agencies. The war against the non-Muslim south was declared ajihad.[99][100] On state television, actors simulated "weddings" between jihad martyrs and heavenly virgins (houris).[101] Turabi also gave asylum and assistance to non-Sudanese Islamists, includingOsama bin Laden and otherAl Qaeda members.[99][101]
On 31 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council approvedResolution 1706 to send a new peacekeeping force of 17,300 to Darfur. In the following months, however,UNMIS was not able to deploy to Darfur due to the Government of the Sudan's steadfast opposition to a peacekeeping operation undertaken solely by the United Nations. The UN then embarked on an alternative, innovative approach to try to begin stabilize the region through the phased strengthening of AMIS, before transfer of authority to a joint African Union/United Nations peacekeeping operation. Following prolonged and intensive negotiations with the Government of the Sudan and significant international pressure, it finally accepted the peacekeeping operation in Darfur.
In 2009 theInternational Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and war crimes. In 2009 and 2010 aseries of conflicts between rival nomadic tribes inSouth Kordofan caused a large number of casualties and displaced thousands.
An agreement for the restoration of harmony between Chad and Sudan, signed 15 January 2010, marked the end of a five-year war between them.[102] The Sudanese government and the JEM signed a ceasefire agreement ending the Darfur conflict in February 2010.
In January 2011, areferendum on independence for Southern Sudan was held, and the South voted overwhelmingly to secede later that year as theRepublic of South Sudan, with its capital atJuba andKiir Mayardit as its first president. Al-Bashir announced that he accepted the result, but violence soon erupted in the disputed region ofAbyei, claimed by both the North and the South.
On 6 June 2011armed conflict broke out inSouth Kordofan between the forces of Northern andSouthern Sudan, ahead of the scheduled independence of the South on 9 July.[103] This was followed by an agreement for both sides to withdraw fromAbyei. On 20 June, the parties agreed to demilitarize the contested area of Abyei, whereEthiopian peacekeepers would be deployed.[104] On 9 July 2011, South Sudan became an independent country.[105]
In April 2019, afterseveral months of sustained street protests Sudan's president Omar al-Bashirwas ousted.[106] Since the fall of his government, the country has been ruled by theSovereignty Council of Sudan, made up of both military and civilian representatives as the highest power in the transitional period. Until thenext Sudanese General Elections, planned for 2022, the country is to be jointly led by the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council,Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Prime MinisterAbdallah Hamdok.[107]
Following al-Bashir's removal from power, street protests organised by theSudanese Professionals Association and democratic opposition groups continued, calling on the rulingTransitional Military Council (TMC) to "immediately and unconditionally" step aside in favour of a civilian-ledtransitional government, and urging other reforms in Sudan.[108] Negotiations between the TMC and the civilian opposition to form a joint transition government took place during late April and in May, but stopped when theRapid Support Forces and other TMC security forces killed 128 people in theKhartoum massacre on 3 June 2019.[109]
In October 2020, Sudan concluded anagreement to normalize diplomatic relations withIsrael, which was part of the agreement with the United States to remove Sudan from the U.S.list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.[110]
During the 2020–2021Tigray War, Sudan also became collaterally involved. On 18 December 2020, Sudanese military would have been advancing towards the disputedEthiopia-Sudan border area. AnEEPA report stated that the Sudanese Commander-in-Chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, visited the area. Egypt condemned the border attack by Ethiopia on Sudan, and said that it stands in full solidarity with Sudan and called for all measures to ensure that such events do not reoccur.[111] AnEEPA report stated that on 18 December 2020, the Sudanese government has accused the Ethiopian government of using artillery against Sudanese troops conducting operations in the border area. Tensions have been rising between the two countries in recent weeks after Sudan reoccupied land that it said was occupied by Ethiopian farmers. The government of Ethiopia has so far not commented on the matter.[111] On 18 December 2020, Sudanese authorities were instructing recently arrived Tigrayan refugees inHamdayet camp to dismantle and go to the mainland of Sudan in fear of potential war between Ethiopia and Sudan.[111] On 19 December 2020, tension between Ethiopia and Sudan was increasing. Sudan has sent more troops, including Rapid Support Forces, and equipment to the border area. Support from theBeni Amer and al-Habb tribes in the states ofKassala andGedaref, including food supplies and finances. Talks with Ethiopia have stopped.[112] AnEEPA report stated that on 19 December 2020, Sudan had captured Eritrean soldiers dressed inAmhara militia uniforms fighting along the Sudan border alongside Amhara special forces.[112] On 20 December 2020, the Sudanese army had regained control of Jabal Abu Tayyur, in the disputed land on the Ethiopia-Sudan border. Heavy fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and Amhara militia in Metemma near the Ethiopian-Sudanese border.[113]
On 25 October 2021, theSudanese military, led by GeneralAbdel Fattah al-Burhan, took control of the government in a military coup. At least five senior government figures were initially detained.[114] CivilianPrime MinisterAbdalla Hamdok refused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance; he was moved tohouse arrest on 26 October.
Key civilian groups including theSudanese Professionals Association andForces of Freedom and Change called forcivil disobedience and refusal to cooperate with the coup organisers.
Faced with internal and international resistance, al-Burhan declared his willingness to restore the Hamdok Cabinet on 28 October, although the deposed Prime Minister declined this initial offer, making any further dialogue conditional on the full restoration of the pre-coup system.[115] On 21 November 2021, Hamdok and al-Burhan signed a 14-point deal that reinstated Hamdok as prime minister and stated that all political prisoners would be freed. Civilian groups includingForces for Freedom and Change and theSudanese Professionals Association rejected the deal, refusing continued power-sharing with the military.[116]
A war between theSudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitaryRapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the military government ofSudan, began on 15 April 2023, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city ofKhartoum and theDarfur region.[117] As of 15 August 2023, between 4,000 and 10,000 people had been killed and 6,000 to 12,000 others injured,[118] while as of 12 September 2023, over 4.1 million were internally displaced and more than 1.1 million others had fled the country as refugees.[119]
The war began with attacks by the RSF on government sites as airstrikes, artillery, and gunfire were reported across Sudan. Throughout the conflict, RSF leaderMohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo and Sudan'sde facto leader and army chiefAbdel Fattah al-Burhan have disputed control of government sites in Khartoum, including the general military headquarters, thePresidential Palace,Khartoum International Airport, Burhan's official residence, and theSNBC headquarters, as well as states and towns in Darfur and Kordofan. The two sides were then joined by rebel groups who had previously fought against the two sides. Starting in June, the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) attacked army positions in the south of the country.[120][121] In July, a faction of theSudan Liberation Movement led byMustafa Tambour (SLM-T) officially joined the war in support of the SAF, while in August, the rebelTamazuj movement based in Darfur and Kordofan joined forces with the RSF.[122]
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