The Mareb River ( Italian : fiume Mareb ), also known as the Gash River ( Arabic : القاش ), is a river flowing out of central Eritrea . Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia , between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at 14°53.6′N 37°54.8′E / 14.8933°N 37.9133°E / 14.8933; 37.9133 to the confluence of the Balasa with the Mareb at 14°38′N 39°1.3′E / 14.633°N 39.0217°E / 14.633; 39.0217 .
150-593: According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68 , the Mereb River is 440 kilometres (270 mi) long. The Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources reports its Ethiopian catchment area as 5,700 square kilometres (2,200 sq mi), with an annual runoff of 0.26 billion cubic meters. Other sources talking about a catchment of 21,000 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi) to 44,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi) over all, and
300-578: A Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such as R12 . During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed
450-473: A coup d'état on 11 April 2019 and Bashir's imprisonment. Sudan is currently embroiled in a civil war between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Islam was Sudan's state religion and Islamic laws were applied from 1983 until 2020 when the country became a secular state . Sudan is a least developed country and among
600-508: A stylus and was used for general record-keeping; and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, which was carved in stone or used for royal or religious documents. It is not well understood due to the scarcity of bilingual texts. The earliest inscription in Meroitic writing dates from between 180 and 170 BC. These hieroglyphics were found engraved on the temple of Queen Shanakdakhete . Meroitic Cursive is written horizontally, and reads from right to left. This
750-435: A "king", but identifying the interred individual and the polity he ruled over remains problematic. At Meroe, the last pyramids as well as non-royal burials are dated to the mid-4th century, which is conventionally thought to be when the kingdom of Kush came to an end. Afterwards began the so-called "post-Meroitic" period. This period saw a decline of urbanism, the disappearance of the Meroitic religion and script as well as
900-464: A 30-year-long military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan and committed widespread human rights abuses , including torture, persecution of minorities, alleged sponsorship of global terrorism , and ethnic genocide in Darfur from 2003–2020. Overall, the regime killed an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people. Protests erupted in 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in
1050-567: A Kushite attack on Primis (Qasr Ibrim), the Kushites sent ambassadors to negotiate a peace settlement with Petronius. The Kushites succeeded in negotiating a peace treaty on favorable terms. Trade between the two nations increased and the Roman Egyptian border being extended to "Hiera Sykaminos (Maharraqa)." This arrangement "guaranteed peace for most of the next 300 years" and there is "no definite evidence of further clashes." It
1200-595: A century until the Assyrian conquest , being dethroned by the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal in the mid-seventh century BC. Following the severing of ties with Egypt, the Kushite imperial capital was located at Meroë , during which time it was known by the Greeks as Aethiopia . From the third century BC to the third century AD, the northernmost part of Nubia would be invaded and annexed by Egypt. Ruled by
1350-666: A complex economy based on trade and industry; mastered archery; and developed a complex, urban society with uniquely high levels of female participation. The native name of the Kingdom was recorded in Egyptian as kꜣš , likely pronounced IPA: [kuɫuʃ] or IPA: [kuʔuʃ] in Middle Egyptian , when the term was first used for Nubia, based on the New Kingdom -era Akkadian transliteration of
1500-528: A discharge of 21.6 cubic metres per second (760 cu ft/s) in average over the year, and 870 cubic metres per second (31,000 cu ft/s) in peaks. Its headwaters rise south-west of Asmara in central Eritrea. It flows south, bordering Ethiopia, then west through western Eritrea to reach the Sudanese plains near Kassala . Unlike the Setit or Takazze rivers, which flow out of Ethiopia and also forms
1650-707: A dynastic change, while another one in 1761–1762 resulted in the Hamaj Regency , where the Hamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets. Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment; by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira. The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted
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#17327718912151800-561: A free vote on whether they wished independence or a British withdrawal. A polling process was carried out resulting in the composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government. On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes,
1950-615: A key province of the New Kingdom, economically, politically, and spiritually. Indeed, major pharaonic ceremonies were held at Jebel Barkal near Napata. As an Egyptian colony from the 16th century BC, Nubia ("Kush") was governed by an Egyptian Viceroy of Kush . Resistance to the early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is evidenced in the writings of Ahmose, son of Ebana , an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At
2100-746: A large army, where he was "ritually installed as the king of Egypt." From Thebes, Tantamani began his attempt at reconquest and regained control of a part of southern Egypt as far as Memphis from the native Egyptian puppet rulers installed by the Assyrians. Tantamani's dream stele states that he restored order from the chaos, where royal temples and cults were not being maintained. After defeating Sais and killing Assyria's vassal, Necho I , in Memphis, "some local dynasts formally surrendered, while others withdrew to their fortresses." Tantamani proceeded north of Memphis, invading Lower Egypt and, besieged cities in
2250-545: A multitude of campaigns against enemies ranging from Meroe in the south to Lower Nubia in the north while also donating to temples throughout Kush. King Nastasen ( c. 325) waged several wars against nomad groups and again in Lower Nubia. Nastasen was the last king to be buried at Nuri. His successors built six pyramids at Jebel Barkal and two in the old necropolis of el-Kurru, although the lack of inscriptions prevents identifying their occupants. It seems likely that this
2400-471: A native Egyptian ruler, Psamtik I son of Necho, placed on the throne as a vassal of Ashurbanipal , took control of Thebes. The last links between Kush and Upper Egypt were severed after hostilities with the Saite kings in the 590s BC. Kushite civilization continued for several centuries. According to Welsby, "throughout the Saite, Persian, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods, the Kushite rulers—the descendants of
2550-626: A natural border with Eritrea, the waters of the Mareb do not usually reach the Nile but dissipate in the sands of the eastern Sudanese plains, forming an inland delta . The Mareb is dry for much of the year, but like the Takazze is subject to sudden floods during the rainy season; only the left bank of the upper course of the Mareb is in Ethiopian territory. Its main tributaries are the Obel River on
2700-585: A petty kingdom. After the prosperous reign of king Joel ( fl. 1463–1484) Makuria collapsed. Coastal areas from southern Sudan up to the port city of Suakin was succeeded by the Adal Sultanate in the fifteenth century. To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma , or the Funj , an African people originating from the south. Datings range from
2850-527: A priority of the revolutionary government. The following year, under Egyptian and Sudanese pressure, the British agreed to Egypt's demand for both governments to terminate their shared sovereignty over Sudan and to grant Sudan independence. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was duly declared an independent state. After Sudan became independent, the Gaafar Nimeiry regime began Islamist rule. This exacerbated
3000-513: A professor of biochemistry and brewing science at the University of California, Davis, "They must have consumed it because it was rather tastier than the grain from which it was derived. They would have noticed people fared better by consuming this product than they were just consuming the grain itself." Based on engraved plans of Meroitic King Amanikhabali 's pyramids, Nubians had a sophisticated understanding of mathematics as they appreciated
3150-682: A revival of the Nubian Empire, which rather continued in the form of a smaller kingdom centred on Napata . The city was raided by the Egyptian c. 590 BC, and sometime soon after to the late-3rd century BC, the Kushite resettled in Meroë . On the turn of the fifth century the Blemmyes established a short-lived state in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centred around Talmis ( Kalabsha ), but before 450 they were already driven out of
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#17327718912153300-586: A sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt. Mentuhotep II , the 21st century BC founder of the Middle Kingdom , is recorded to have undertaken campaigns against Kush in the 29th and 31st years of his reign. This is the earliest Egyptian reference to Kush ; the Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom. Under Thutmose I , Egypt made several campaigns south. The Egyptians ruled Kush in
3450-596: A social hierarchy over the next centuries which became the Kingdom of Kerma at 2500 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicates that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC. The Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma , Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia . The Kerma culture
3600-583: A suburb of modern-day Khartoum). Still in the sixth century they converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria. Between 639 and 641 the Muslim Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate conquered Byzantine Egypt. In 641 or 642 and again in 652 they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of
3750-714: A time, it was also possibly used to write the Old Nubian language of the successor Nubian kingdoms. The natives of the Kingdom of Kush developed a type of water wheel or scoop wheel , the saqiyah , named kolē by the Kush. The saqiyah was developed during the Meroitic period to improve irrigation. The introduction of this machine had a decisive influence on agriculture especially in Dongola as this wheel lifted water 3 to 8 meters with much less expenditure of labor and time than
3900-512: A victory for the double kingdom", since Assyria did not take Jerusalem, however the Egyptian and Kushite forces withdrew to Egypt and the Assyrian king Sennacherib appears to have occupied part of the Sinai. The power of the 25th Dynasty reached a climax under Taharqa . The Nile valley empire was as large as it had been since the New Kingdom. New prosperity revived Egyptian culture. Religion,
4050-456: Is a Benjamite (Psalms 7:1, KJV). In Greek sources Kush was known as Kous (Κους) or Aethiopia (Αἰθιοπία). The Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma , Sudan . It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia . The Kerma culture was based in the southern part of Nubia, or " Upper Nubia " (in parts of present-day northern and central Sudan ), and later extended its reach northward into Lower Nubia and
4200-405: Is a notable hafir built by the Kushites. It was built to retain the rainfall of the short, wet season. It is 250 m in diameter and 6.3 m deep. Bloomeries and blast furnaces could have been used in metalworking at Meroë. Early records of bloomery furnaces dated at least to seventh and sixth century BC have been discovered in Kush. The ancient bloomeries that produced metal tools for
4350-478: Is also sometimes referred to as North Sudan to distinguish it from South Sudan . Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan, which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". By the eighth millennium BC, people of
4500-691: Is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the besiegers might have been one of the reasons for the failure to take the city. The war that took place between Pharaoh Taharqa and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in the Near East by Assyria. Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon went further and invaded Egypt itself to secure his control of
4650-550: Is now known as South Kordofan to the Sinai. Pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II . Between 800 BCE and 100 AD the Nubian pyramids were built, among them can be named El-Kurru , Kashta , Piye , Tantamani , Shabaka , Pyramids of Gebel Barkal , Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah) , the Sedeinga pyramids , and Pyramids of Nuri . The Kingdom of Kush
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4800-741: Is often associated with an Aksumite invasion. An Aksumite presence in Meroe is confirmed by two fragmentary Greek inscriptions. The better preserved one referred to military actions and the imposition of a tribute. They probably belonged to Aksumite victory monuments and were dedicated to Ares / Maher , the god of war. Thus, they must have been erected before Aksum's conversion to Christianity in around 340, perhaps by king Ousanas (r. c. 310–330). An inscription from Aksum mentioning Kush as vassal kingdom may also be attributed to Ousanas. The trilingual stele of his successor Ezana describes another expedition which happened after 340. Ezana's army followed
4950-508: Is possible that the Roman emperor Nero planned another attempt to conquer Kush before his death in AD 68. Nero sent two centurions upriver as far as Bahr el Ghazal River in 66 AD in an attempt to discover the source of the Nile, per Seneca , or plan an attack, per Pliny . Kush began to fade as a power by the first or second century AD, sapped by the war with the Roman province of Egypt and
5100-583: The 'Urabi revolt , which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials. During the Khedivial period, dissent had spread due to harsh taxes imposed on most activities. Taxation on irrigation wells and farming lands were so high most farmers abandoned their farms and livestock. During
5250-536: The 9th century after the Hijra ( c. 1396–1494), the late 15th century, 1504 to 1509. An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli , lasting until 1685. In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded the Kingdom of Sennar , in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated. By 1523, when Jewish traveller David Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola. Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on
5400-593: The Arabisation of the state. To legitimise their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate an Umayyad descend . North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream as Al Dabbah , the Nubians adopted the tribal identity of the Arab Jaalin . Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan and most of Kordofan. West of
5550-650: The Bahr negash extended as far north as the Red Sea coast, and as far south (and west) as Shire and the capital was at Debarwa in modern Eritrea, about 20 miles (30 km) south of Asmara . The river's Eritrean floodplain was the location of a 2001 sighting of a sizable elephant herd, the first such sighting in Eritrea since 1955. 14°26′N 38°33′E / 14.433°N 38.550°E / 14.433; 38.550 Sudan Sudan , officially
5700-630: The Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt ; it was centred at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for nearly a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians . At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what
5850-452: The Coptic alphabet , while also using Greek , Coptic and Arabic . 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. Even the royal succession was matrilineal , with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir. From the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola
6000-410: The Kerma culture and the chronologically succeeding Kingdom of Kush is difficult to determine. The latter polity began to emerge around 1000 BC, 500 years after the end of the Kingdom of Kerma. The first Kushite king known by name was Alara , who ruled somewhere between 800 and 760 BC. No contemporary inscriptions of him exist. He was first mentioned in the funerary stela of his daughter Tabiry ,
6150-595: The Kushite Empire , or simply Kush , was an ancient kingdom in Nubia , centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt . The region of Nubia was an early cradle of civilization, producing several complex societies that engaged in trade and industry. The city-state of Kerma emerged as the dominant political force between 2450 and 1450 BC, controlling the Nile Valley between
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6300-559: The Late Bronze Age collapse , the Kushites reestablished a kingdom in Napata (now modern Karima, Sudan ). Though Kush had developed many cultural affinities with Egypt, such as the veneration of Amun , and the royal families of both kingdoms occasionally intermarried, Kushite culture, language and ethnicity was distinct; Egyptian art distinguished the people of Kush by their dress, appearance, and even method of transportation. In
6450-519: The Macedonians and Romans for the next 600 years, this territory would be known in the Greco-Roman world as Dodekaschoinos . It was later taken back by the Kushite king Yesebokheamani . The Kingdom of Kush persisted as a major regional power until the fourth century AD when it weakened and disintegrated from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions and invasions and conquest of
6600-497: The Meroitic alphabet , which was influenced by Egyptian writing systems c. 700–600 BC , although it appears to have been wholly confined to the royal court and major temples. Taharqa and his Judean allies initially defeated the Assyrians at Ashkelon when war broke out in 674 BC. The relatively small Assyrian force had first defeafed Canaanite and Arab tribes in the region and then immediately marched at great speed on Ashkelon, leaving them exhausted. However, in 671 BC,
6750-533: The Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), and then the resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). The Assyrians , from the tenth century BC onwards, had once more expanded from northern Mesopotamia , and conquered a vast empire, including the whole of the Near East , and much of Anatolia , the eastern Mediterranean , the Caucasus and early Iron Age Iran . According to Josephus Flavius,
6900-542: The Nilo-Saharan family, based in part on its syntax, morphology, and known vocabulary. In the Napatan Period Egyptian hieroglyphs were used: at this time writing seems to have been restricted to the court and temples. From the second century BC, there was a separate Meroitic writing system. The language was written in two forms of the Meroitic alphabet : Meroitic Cursive, which was written with
7050-528: The Red Sea . The Kush traded iron products with the Romans, in addition to gold, ivory and slaves. The Butana plain was stripped of its forests, leaving behind slag piles. In about 300 BC, the move to Meroë was made more complete when the monarchs began to be buried there, instead of at Napata. One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at Napata. According to Diodorus Siculus , Kushite king Ergamenes defied
7200-720: The Republic of the Sudan , is a country in Northeast Africa . It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, and South Sudan to the south. Sudan has a population of 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area and
7350-657: The Sudan Defence Force played an active part in responding to incursions early in World War Two. Italian troops occupied Kassala and other border areas from Italian Somaliland during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. The last British governor-general was Robert George Howe . The Egyptian revolution of 1952 finally heralded
7500-491: The Sudanese Communist Party . Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power. In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war but an end to American investment in the Jonglei Canal project. This had been considered absolutely essential to irrigate the Upper Nile region and to prevent an environmental catastrophe and wide-scale famine among
7650-415: The United Nations , Arab League , African Union , COMESA , Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . The country's name Sudan is a name given historically to the large Sahel region of West Africa to the immediate west of modern-day Sudan. Historically, Sudan referred to both the geographical region , stretching from Senegal on the Atlantic Coast to Northeast Africa and
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#17327718912157800-450: The Vali of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire , Muhammad Ali styled himself as Khedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with Ismaʻil Pasha mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. With the exception of the Shaiqiya and the Darfur sultanate in Kordofan, he was met without resistance. The Egyptian policy of conquest
7950-412: The shaduf , which was the previous chief irrigation device in the kingdom. The shaduf relied on human energy but the saqiyah was driven by buffalos or other animals. The people of Kerma , ancestors to the Kushites, built bronze kilns through which they manufactured objects of daily use such as razors , mirrors and tweezers . The Kushites developed a form of reservoir , known as a hafir , during
8100-424: The "list of conquered Asiatic principalities" from the Mut temple at Karnak and "conquered peoples and countries (Libyans, Shasu nomads, Phoenicians?, Khor in Palestine)" from Sanam temple inscriptions. However the regions in the southern Levant claimed by Shabataka were seen by Assyria as under their dominion, and imperial ambitions of both the Mesopotamian based Assyrian Empire and Kushite Empire made war with
8250-458: The 16th century BC, Nubia ("Kush") was governed by an Egyptian Viceroy of Kush . Resistance to the early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is evidenced in the writings of Ahmose, son of Ebana , an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At the end of the Second Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced
8400-479: The 1870s, European initiatives against the slave trade had an adverse impact on the economy of northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of Mahdist forces. Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah , the Mahdi (Guided One), offered to the ansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or being killed. The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional Sharia Islamic laws . On 12 August 1881, an incident occurred at Aba Island , sparking
8550-502: The 25th dynasty inevitable. In 701 BC, Taharqa and his army aided Judah and King Hezekiah in withstanding a siege by King Sennacherib of the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). There are various theories (Taharqa's army, disease, divine intervention, Hezekiah's surrender or agreeing to pay tribute) as to why the Assyrians failed to take the city. Historian László Török mentions that Egypt's army "was beaten at Eltekeh" under Taharqa's command, but "the battle could be interpreted as
8700-450: The 29th and 31st years of his reign. This is the earliest Egyptian reference to Kush ; the Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom. Under Thutmose I , Egypt made several campaigns south. The Egyptians ruled Kush in the New kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma. This eventually resulted in their annexation of Nubia c. 1504 BC . Around 1500 BC, Nubia
8850-399: The 8th century BC, King Kashta ("the Kushite") peacefully became King of Upper Egypt, while his daughter, Amenirdis , was appointed as Divine Adoratrice of Amun in Thebes . His successor Piye invaded Lower Egypt, establishing the Kushite-ruled Twenty-fifth Dynasty . Piye's daughter, Shepenupet II , was also appointed Divine Adoratrice of Amun. The monarchs of Kush ruled Egypt for over
9000-402: The Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The Belgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering Equatoria , and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack at Agordat (in Eritrea ) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia. In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in
9150-414: The Assyrian King Esarhaddon started the Assyrian conquest of Egypt with a larger and better prepared force. The Assyrians advanced rapidly and decisively. Memphis was taken, and Taharqa fled to Nubia, while his heir and other family members were taken to the Assyrian capital Nineveh as prisoners. Esarhaddon boasted how he "deported all Aethiopians from Egypt, leaving not one to pay homage to me" However,
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#17327718912159300-414: The Bedoin of Asia, he sailed upstream to Upper Nubia to destroy the Nubian bowmen." The tomb writings contain two other references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent. Egypt's international prestige had declined considerably towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period . Its historical allies, the inhabitants of Canaan , had fallen to
9450-499: The Black Land ( Kmt )". According to Kendall, "foreign lands" in this regard seems to include Lower Egypt while "Kmt" seems to refer to a united Upper Egypt and Nubia. Piye 's successor, Shabataka , defeated the Saite kings of northern Egypt between 711 and 710 BC and installed himself as king in Memphis . He then established ties with Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire . After the reign of Shabaka , Pharaoh Taharqa 's army undertook successful military campaigns, as attested by
9600-420: The British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories; the north and south. The assassination of a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in Cairo was the causative factor; it brought demands of the newly elected Wafd government from colonial forces. A permanent establishment of two battalions in Khartoum was renamed the Sudan Defence Force acting as under the government, replacing
9750-427: The Delta, a number of which surrendered to him. The Assyrians, who had maintained only a small military presence in the north, then sent a large army southwards in 663 BC. Tantamani was decisively routed, and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent it never truly recovered. Tantamani was chased back to Nubia, but he continued to try and assert control over Upper Egypt until c. 656 BC . At this date,
9900-420: The Great Depression. Cotton and gum exports were dwarfed by the necessity to import almost everything from Britain leading to a balance of payments deficit at Khartoum. In July 1936 the Liberal Constitutional leader, Muhammed Mahmoud was persuaded to bring Wafd delegates to London to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, "the beginning of a new stage in Anglo-Egyptian relations", wrote Anthony Eden . The British Army
10050-407: The Kingdom of Kush became a client Kingdom, which was similar to the situation under Ptolemaic rule of Egypt. Kushite ambition and excessive Roman taxation are two theories for a revolt that was supported by Kushite armies. The ancient historians, Strabo and Pliny, give accounts of the conflict with Roman Egypt. Strabo describes a war with the Romans in the first century BC. According to Strabo,
10200-498: The Kushite army led by Piye , in order to enhance the efficiency of Kushite archers and slingers . After leaving Thebes, Piye's first objective was besieging Ashmunein . Following his army's lack of success he undertook the personal supervision of operations including the erection of a siege tower from which Kushite archers could fire down into the city. Early shelters protecting sappers armed with poles trying to breach mud-brick ramparts gave way to battering rams . Bowmen were
10350-477: The Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a (diplomatic) bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt. With the disintegration of the New Kingdom around 1070 BC, Kush became an independent kingdom centered at Napata in modern northern Sudan. This more-Egyptianized "Kingdom of Kush" emerged, possibly from Kerma, and regained the region's independence from Egypt. The extent of cultural/political continuity between
10500-402: The Kushites "sacked Aswan with an army of 30,000 men and destroyed imperial statues...at Philae." A "fine over-life-size bronze head of the emperor Augustus " was found buried in Meroe in front of a temple. After the initial victories of Kandake (or "Candace") Amanirenas against Roman Egypt, the Kushites were defeated and Napata sacked. Remarkably, the destruction of the capital of Napata
10650-417: The Kushites chose to enter Egypt at this crucial point of foreign domination is subject to debate. Archaeologist Timothy Kendall offers his own hypotheses, connecting it to a claim of legitimacy associated with Jebel Barkal . Kendall cites the Victory Stele of Piye at Jebel Barkal, which states that " Amun of Napata granted me to be ruler of every foreign country," and "Amun in Thebes granted me to be ruler of
10800-597: The Kushites produced a surplus for sale. Nubian mummies studied in the 1990s revealed that Kush was a pioneer of early antibiotics . Tetracycline was being used by Nubians, based on bone remains between 350 AD and 550 AD. The antibiotic was in wide commercial use only in the mid 20th century. The theory states that earthen jars containing grain used for making beer contained the bacterium streptomyces , which produced tetracycline. Although Nubians were not aware of tetracycline, they could have noticed that people fared better by drinking beer. According to Charlie Bamforth,
10950-580: The Levant. This succeeded, as he managed to expel Taharqa from Lower Egypt. Taharqa fled back to Upper Egypt and Nubia, where he died two years later. Lower Egypt came under Assyrian vassalage but proved unruly, unsuccessfully rebelling against the Assyrians. Then, the king Tantamani , a successor of Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Lower Egypt from the newly reinstated Assyrian vassal Necho I . He managed to retake Memphis killing Necho in
11100-482: The Mahdist War. In 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, Sudan was effectively administered as a Crown colony . The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha , of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting
11250-575: The Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia , penetrating as far as Gondar . In March 1889, king Yohannes IV of Ethiopia marched on Metemma ; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar-Rahman an-Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated
11400-726: The Meroitic language belongs. Kirsty Rowan suggests that Meroitic, like the Egyptian language , belongs to the Afro-Asiatic family. She bases this on its sound inventory and phonotactics , which she argues are similar to those of the Afro-Asiatic languages and dissimilar from those of the Nilo-Saharan languages. Claude Rilly proposes that Meroitic, like the Nobiin language , belongs to the Eastern Sudanic branch of
11550-432: The Meroitic period, as seen in the war against Rome around 20 BC. During the Bronze Age , Nubian ancestors of the Kingdom of Kush built speoi (a speos is a temple or tomb cut into a rock face) between 3700 and 3250 BC. This greatly influenced the architecture of the New Kingdom of Egypt . Tomb monuments were one of the more recognizable expressions of Kushite architecture. Uniquely Kushite tomb monuments were found from
11700-537: The Meroitic period. Eight hundred ancient and modern hafirs have been registered in the Meroitic town of Butana . The functions of hafirs were to catch water during the rainy season for storage, to ensure water is available for several months during the dry season as well as supply drinking water, irrigate fields, and water cattle. The Great Hafir, or Great Reservoir, near the Lion Temple in Musawwarat es-Sufra
11850-580: The New kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma. This eventually resulted in their annexation of Nubia c. 1504 BC . Around 1500 BC, Nubia was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt , but rebellions continued for centuries. After the conquest, Kerma culture was increasingly Egyptianized, yet rebellions continued for 220 years until c. 1300 BC . Nubia nevertheless became
12000-507: The Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own, Nobatia . By the sixth 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 modern Dongola ; and Alodia , in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital at Soba (now
12150-412: The Nile by Sufi holy men who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries and by David Reubeni's visit king Amara Dunqas , previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consumption of alcohol until the 18th century. Sudanese folk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until
12300-514: The Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan . Herbert Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdist Sudan from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. A year later, the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 resulted in the death of Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , subsequently bringing to an end
12450-625: The Nile, in Darfur , the Islamic period saw at first the rise of the Tunjur kingdom , which replaced the old Daju kingdom in the 15th century and extended as far west as Wadai . The Tunjur people were probably Arabised Berbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims. In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by the Fur Keira sultanate . The Keira state, nominally Muslim since
12600-518: The Noba were not necessarily Nubian-speakers , but that the term "Noba" was rather a pejorative Meroitic word applied to a large variety of people living outside the Meroitic state. A Meroitic stele found at Gebel Adda from around 300 AD, however, seems to mention a king bearing the Nubian name Trotihi. A bowl from a 4th-century elite burial in el-Hobagi features a Meroitic-Nubian inscription mentioning
12750-541: The Nubian bowmen." The tomb writings contain two other references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent. Egypt's international prestige had declined considerably towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period . Its historical allies, the inhabitants of Canaan , had fallen to the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), and then
12900-538: The Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation of Ajib , a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612 his successors, the Abdallab , were granted to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy. During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extent, but in the following century it began to decline. A coup in 1718 brought
13050-469: The United Kingdom as a condominium . In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession. The Egyptian revolution of 1952 toppled the monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan. Muhammad Naguib , one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence
13200-669: The XXVth Dynasty pharaohs, and the guardians of the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal —could have pressed their 'legitimate' claim for control of Egypt and they thus posed a potential threat to the rulers of Egypt." Herodotus mentioned an invasion of Kush by the Achaemenid ruler Cambyses ( c. 530 BC ). By some accounts Cambyses succeeded in occupying the area between the first and second Nile cataract , however Herodotus mentions that "his expedition failed miserably in
13350-495: The arts, and architecture were restored to their glorious Old, Middle, and New Kingdom forms. The Kushite pharaohs built or restored temples and monuments throughout the Nile valley, including Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, and Jebel Barkal. It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom. The Kushites developed their own script,
13500-619: The beginning of the empire, at el Kurru, to the decline of the kingdom. These monuments developed organically from Middle Nile (e.g. A-group) burial types. Tombs became progressively larger during the 25th dynasty, culminating in Taharqa's underground rectangular building with "aisles of square piers...the whole being cut from the living rock." Kushites also created pyramids, mud-brick temples (deffufa), and masonry temples. Kushites borrowed much from Egypt, as it relates to temple design. Kushite temples were quite diverse in their plans, except for
13650-443: The beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Mohammed Naguib , whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel Nasser , believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty. In addition, Nasser knew it would be difficult for Egypt to govern an impoverished Sudan after its independence. The British on
13800-577: The biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of the Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a (diplomatic) bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centred on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile , and the Atbarah River and the Nile River . It was established after
13950-479: The border of Egypt. The polity seems to have been one of several Nile Valley states during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt . In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Saï and became a sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt. Mentuhotep II , the 21st century BC founder of the Middle Kingdom , is recorded to have undertaken campaigns against Kush in
14100-674: The country and slaves being transported to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire . From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty . Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in the Mahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with
14250-555: The course of the Atbara until reaching the Nile confluence, where he waged war against Kush. Meroe itself is not mentioned, suggesting that Ezana did not attack the town. Aksum's presence in Nubia was likely short-lived. Meroitic texts from as early as the 1st century BC hint to conflicts with the Noba , who lived west of the Nile and were governed by their own chiefs and kings. Perhaps it
14400-482: The decline of its traditional industries. However, there is evidence of third century AD Kushite Kings at Philae in demotic and inscription. It has been suggested that the Kushites reoccupied lower Nubia after Roman forces were withdrawn to Aswan. Kushite activities led others to note "a de facto Kushite control of that area (as far north as Philae) for part of the third century AD. Thereafter, it weakened and disintegrated due to internal rebellion. The fall of Meroe
14550-682: The desert." Achaemenid inscriptions from both Egypt and Iran include Kush as part of the Achaemenid empire. For example, the DNa inscription of Darius I ( r. 522–486 BC ) on his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam mentions Kūšīyā ( Old Persian cuneiform : 𐎤𐎢𐏁𐎡𐎹𐎠, pronounced Kūshīyā ) among the territories being "ruled over" by the Achaemenid Empire . Derek Welsby states "scholars have doubted that this Persian expedition ever took place, but... archaeological evidence suggests that
14700-518: The east and west. There is some record of conflict between the Kushites and Ptolemies. In 275 or 274 BC, Ptolemy II (r. 283–246 BC) sent an army to Nubia, and defeated the Kingdom of Kush, annexing to Egypt the area later known as Triakontaschoinos . In addition, There was a serious revolt at the end of Ptolemy IV, around 204 BC, and the Kushites likely tried to interfere in Ptolemaic affairs. It has been suggested that this led to Ptolemy V defacing
14850-543: The effectiveness of the occupation. Dynastic struggles led to the Ptolemies abandoning the area, so "the Kushites reasserted their control...with Qasr Ibrim occupied" (by the Kushites) and other locations perhaps garrisoned. According to Welsby, after the Romans assumed control of Egypt, they negotiated with the Kushites at Philae and drew the southern border of Roman Egypt at Aswan. Theodor Mommsen and Welsby state
15000-450: The emergence of regional elites buried in large tumuli. Princely burials from Qustul ( c. 380–410) and Ballana (410–500) in Lower Nubia are connected to the rise of Nobatia . To its north were the Blemmyes , who in around 394 established a kingdom centered around Talmis that lasted until it was conquered by Nobatia in around 450. The political developments south of the third cataract remain obscure, but it appears that Dongola ,
15150-693: The end of the Second Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced the twin existential threats—the Hyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. Taken from the autobiographical inscriptions on the walls of his tomb-chapel, the Egyptians undertook campaigns to defeat Kush and conquer Nubia under the rule of Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC). In Ahmose's writings, the Kushites are described as archers , "Now after his Majesty had slain
15300-533: The few who managed to defeat the Arabs during the Islamic expansion . Afterward the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on a unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts , thus acknowledging Makuria's independence. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns and intermarried with the local Beja . From
15450-408: The first and fourth cataracts , an area as large as Egypt. The Egyptians were the first to identify Kerma as "Kush" probably from the indigenous ethnonym "Kasu", over the next several centuries the two civilizations engaged in intermittent warfare, trade, and cultural exchange. Much of Nubia came under Egyptian rule during the New Kingdom period (1550–1070 BC). Following Egypt's disintegration amid
15600-638: The former garrison of Egyptian army soldiers, saw action afterward during the Walwal Incident . The Wafdist parliamentary majority had rejected Sarwat Pasha 's accommodation plan with Austen Chamberlain in London; yet Cairo still needed the money. The Sudanese Government's revenue had reached a peak in 1928 at £6.6 million, thereafter the Wafdist disruptions, and Italian borders incursions from Somaliland, London decided to reduce expenditure during
15750-496: The fortress of Dorginarti near the second cataract served as Persia's southern boundary." From around 425–300 BC, beginning under the rule of king Amannote-erike , Kush saw a series of kings who revitalized older practices such as the erection of royal steles or royal statues. It was likely also in this period when several older pyramids, among them that of Taharqo, were enlarged. The stele of king Harsiotef , who from around 400 BC ruled for at least 35 years, reports how he fought
15900-437: The genitive kūsi . It is also an ethnic term for the native population who initiated the kingdom of Kush. The term is also displayed in the names of Kushite persons, such as King Kashta (a transcription of kꜣš-tꜣ "(one from) the land of Kush"). Geographically, Kush referred to the region south of the first cataract in general. Kush also was the home of the rulers of the 25th Dynasty . The name Kush , since at least
16050-433: The harmonic ratio. The engraved plans is indicative of much to be revealed about Nubian mathematics. The ancient Nubians also established a system of geometry which they used in creating early versions of sun clocks . During the Meroitic period in Nubian history, the Nubians used a trigonometric methodology similar to the Egyptians. During the siege of Hermopolis in the eighth century BC, siege towers were built for
16200-545: The help primarily of the Baggara of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as the unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of Khalifa (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed Ansar (who were usually Baggara ) as emirs over each of the several provinces. Regional relations remained tense throughout much of
16350-523: The kingdom of Kush by the Noba people who introduced the Nubian languages and gave their name to Nubia itself. Because the Noba and the Blemmyes were at war with the Kushites, the Aksumites took advantage of this, capturing Meroë and looting its gold, marking the end of the kingdom and its dissolution into the three polities of Nobatia , Makuria and Alodia , though the Aksumite presence in Meroe
16500-462: The later capital of Makuria as well as Soba , the capital of Alodia , were founded in that period. Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia eventually converted to Christianity in the 6th century, marking the beginning of medieval Nubia. The Meroitic language was spoken in Meroë and Sudan during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC). It became extinct around 400 AD. It is uncertain to which language family
16650-560: The local tribes, most especially the Dinka. In the civil war that followed their homeland was raided, looted, pillaged, and burned. Many of the tribe were murdered in a bloody civil war that raged for over 20 years. Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush ( / k ʊ ʃ , k ʌ ʃ / ; Egyptian : 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 kꜣš , Assyrian : [REDACTED] Kûsi , in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; Coptic : ⲉϭⲱϣ Ecōš ; Hebrew : כּוּשׁ Kūš ), also known as
16800-468: The medieval Nubians has been described as " Afro-Byzantine ", but was also increasingly influenced by Arab culture. The state organisation was extremely centralised, being based on the Byzantine bureaucracy of the sixth and seventh centuries. Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings and especially wall paintings. The Nubians developed an alphabet for their language, Old Nobiin , basing it on
16950-431: The mid eighth to mid eleventh century the political power and cultural development of Christian Nubia peaked. In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the declining Umayyads , and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north as Akhmim . Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state. The culture of
17100-527: The modern Sudan. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān ( بلاد السودان ), or "The Land of the Blacks ". The name is one of various toponyms sharing similar etymologies , in reference to the very dark skin of the indigenous people. Prior to this, Sudan was known as Nubia and Ta Nehesi or Ta Seti by Ancient Egyptians named for the Nubian and Medjay archers or bowmen. Since 2011, Sudan
17250-551: The most important force components in the Kushite military. Ancient sources indicate that Kushite archers favored one-piece bows that were between six and seven feet long, with a draw strength so powerful that many of the archers used their feet to bend their bows. However, composite bows were also used in their arsenal. Greek historian Herodotus indicated that primary bow construction was of seasoned palm wood, with arrows made of cane. Kushite arrows were often poisoned-tipped . Elephants were occasionally used in warfare during
17400-403: The name of Arqamani on inscriptions at Philae. "Arqamani constructed a small entrance hall to the temple built by Ptolemy IV at selchis and constructed a temple at Philae to which Ptolemy contributed an entrance hall." There is evidence of Ptolemaic occupation as far south as the second cataract, but recent finds at Qasr Ibrim, such as "the total absence of Ptolemaic pottery" have cast doubts on
17550-470: The name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French, and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over
17700-686: The native Egyptian vassal rulers installed by Esarhaddon as puppets were unable to effectively retain full control of the entire country, and Taharqa was able to regain control of Memphis. Esarhaddon's 669 BC campaign to once more eject Taharqa was abandoned when Esarhaddon died in Harran on the way to Egypt, leaving Esarhaddon's successor, Ashurbanipal the task. He defeated Taharqa, driving his forces back into Nubia, and Taharqa died in Napata soon after in 664 BC. Taharqa's successor, Tantamani sailed north from Napata, through Elephantine , and to Thebes with
17850-540: The other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdist successor, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , who it was believed would resist Egyptian pressure for Sudanese independence. Abd al-Rahman was capable of this, but his regime was plagued by political ineptitude, which garnered a colossal loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Both Egypt and Britain sensed a great instability fomenting, and thus opted to allow both Sudanese regions, north and south to have
18000-777: The outbreak of what became the Mahdist War . From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad Ahmad led a successful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan, known as the Turkiyah . Muhammad Ahmad died on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum. After a power struggle amongst his deputies, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , with
18150-480: The poorest countries in the world, ranking 170th on the Human Development Index as of 2024 and 185th by nominal GDP per capita . Its economy largely relies on agriculture due to international sanctions and isolation, as well as a history of internal instability and factional violence. The large majority of Sudan is dry and over 60% of Sudan's population lives in poverty. Sudan is a member of
18300-501: The priests and had them slaughtered. This story may refer to the first ruler to be buried at Meroë with a similar name such as Arqamani , who ruled many years after the royal cemetery was opened at Meroë. During this same period, the Kushite authority may have extended some 1,500 km along the Nile River valley from the Egyptian frontier in the north to areas far south of modern Khartoum and probably also substantial territories to
18450-520: The process and besieged cities in the Nile Delta. Ashurbanipal , who had succeeded Esarhaddon, sent a large army in Egypt to regain control. He routed Tantamani near Memphis and, pursuing him, sacked Thebes . Although the Assyrians immediately departed Upper Egypt after these events, weakened, Thebes peacefully submitted itself to Necho's son Psamtik I less than a decade later. This ended all hopes of
18600-482: The recent past. Soon the Funj came in conflict with the Ottomans , who had occupied Suakin c. 1526 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. Afterwards, Hannik , located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states. The aftermath of
18750-660: The region, which was thin on the ground. The British ambassador blocked Italian attempts to secure a Non-Aggression Treaty with Egypt-Sudan. But Mahmoud was a supporter of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem ; the region was caught between the Empire's efforts to save the Jews, and moderate Arab calls to halt migration. The Sudanese Government was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign . Formed in 1925,
18900-508: The reign of Sulayman Solong (r. c. 1660–1680), was initially a small kingdom in northern Jebel Marra , but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century and eastwards under the rule of Muhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786), peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785. The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-day Nigeria , would last until 1821. In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali of Egypt , invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically
19050-405: The resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). The Assyrians , from the tenth century BC onwards, had once more expanded from northern Mesopotamia , and conquered a vast empire, including the whole of the Near East , and much of Anatolia , the eastern Mediterranean , the Caucasus and early Iron Age Iran . According to Josephus Flavius, the biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of
19200-718: The rift between the Islamic North, the seat of the government, and the Animists and Christians in the South. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and the southern rebels, whose most influential faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which eventually led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019,
19350-682: The right bank (in Eritrea) and the Sarana, Balasa, Mai Shawesh, and 'Engweya Rivers on the left (in Ethiopia). The Mareb was important historically as the boundary between two separately governed regions in the area: the land of the Bahr negash ( Tigrinya "kingdom of the sea", also known as Medri Bahri or "land of/by the sea") to the north of the river, and the Tigray to the south. The territories under
19500-695: The third-largest by area in the Arab League . It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011 ; since then both titles have been held by Algeria . Sudan's capital and most populous city is Khartoum . The area that is now Sudan witnessed the Khormusan ( c. 40000–16000 BC), Halfan culture ( c. 20500–17000 BC), Sebilian ( c. 13000–10000 BC), Qadan culture ( c. 15000–5000 BC),
19650-440: The time of Josephus , has been connected with the biblical character Cush , in the Hebrew Bible ( Hebrew : כּוּשׁ ), son of Ham (Genesis 10:6). Ham had four sons named: Cush, Put , Canaan , and Mizraim (Hebrew name for Egypt). According to the Bible, Nimrod , a son of Cush, was the founder and king of Babylon , Erech , Akkad and Calneh , in Shinar (Gen 10:10). The Bible also makes reference to someone named Cush who
19800-441: The twin existential threats—the Hyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. Taken from the autobiographical inscriptions on the walls of his tomb-chapel, the Egyptians undertook campaigns to defeat Kush and conquer Nubia under the rule of Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC). In Ahmose's writings, the Kushites are described as archers , "Now after his Majesty had slain the Bedoin of Asia, he sailed upstream to Upper Nubia to destroy
19950-401: The two countries. Under the Delimitation, Sudan's border with Abyssinia was contested by raiding tribesmen trading slaves, breaching boundaries of the law. In 1905 local chieftain Sultan Yambio, reluctant to the end, gave up the struggle with British forces that had occupied the Kordofan region, finally ending the lawlessness. Ordinances published by Britain enacted a system of taxation. This
20100-430: The war of Jebel Sahaba , the earliest known war in the world, around 11500 BC, A-Group culture (c. 3800–3100 BC), Kingdom of Kerma ( c. 2500–1500 BC), the Egyptian New Kingdom ( c. 1500–1070 BC), and the Kingdom of Kush ( c. 785 BC – 350 AD). After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia , Makuria , and Alodia . Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan
20250-465: The wife of king Piye . Later royal inscriptions remember Alara as the founder of the dynasty, some calling him "chieftain", others "king". A 7th century inscription claimed that his sister was the grandmother of king Taharqo . An inscription of the 5th century king Amanineteyerike remembered Alara's reign as long and successful. Alara was probably buried at el-Kurru, although there exists no inscription to identify his tomb. It has been proposed that it
20400-559: Was Alara who turned Kush from a chiefdom to an Egyptianized kingdom centered around the cult of Amun . Alara's successor Kashta extended Kushite control north to Elephantine and Thebes in Upper Egypt . Kashta's successor Piye seized control of Lower Egypt around 727 BC. Piye's Victory Stela , celebrating these campaigns between 728 and 716 BC, was found in the Amun temple at Jebel Barkal. He invaded an Egypt fragmented into four kingdoms, ruled by King Peftjauawybast , King Nimlot , King Iuput II , and King Osorkon IV . Why
20550-498: Was a time of unrest and conflict within the royal elite. Aspelta moved the capital to Meroë , considerably farther south than Napata , possibly c. 591 BC , just after the sack of Napata by Psamtik II . Martin Meredith states the Kushite rulers chose Meroë, between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts , because it was on the fringe of the summer rainfall belt, and the area was rich in iron ore and hardwood for iron working . The location also afforded access to trade routes to
20700-426: Was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt , but rebellions continued for centuries. After the conquest, Kerma culture was increasingly Egyptianized, yet rebellions continued for 220 years until c. 1300 BC . Nubia nevertheless became a key province of the New Kingdom, economically, politically, and spiritually. Indeed, major pharaonic ceremonies were held at Jebel Barkal near Napata. As an Egyptian colony from
20850-588: Was allowed to return to Sudan to protect the Canal Zone. They were able to find training facilities, and the RAF was free to fly over Egyptian territory. It did not, however, resolve the problem of Sudan: the Sudanese Intelligentsia agitated for a return to metropolitan rule, conspiring with Germany's agents. Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini made it clear that he could not invade Abyssinia without first conquering Egypt and Sudan; they intended unification of Italian Libya with Italian East Africa . The British Imperial General Staff prepared for military defence of
21000-444: Was an alphabetic script with 23 signs used in a hieroglyphic form (mainly on monumental art) and in a cursive form. The latter was widely used; so far some 1,278 texts using this version are known (Leclant 2000). The script was deciphered by Griffith, but the language behind it is still a problem, with only a few words understood by modern scholars. It is not as yet possible to connect the Meroitic language with other known languages. For
21150-425: Was based in the southern part of Nubia, or " Upper Nubia " (in parts of present-day northern and central Sudan), and later extended its reach northward into Lower Nubia and the border of Egypt. The polity seems to have been one of several Nile Valley states during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt . In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Saï and became
21300-469: Was expanded and intensified by Ibrahim Pasha 's son, Ismaʻil, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered. The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his son Tewfik Pasha in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in
21450-417: Was following the precedent set by the Khalifa. The main taxes were recognized. These taxes were on land, herds, and date-palms. The continued British administration of Sudan fuelled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With a formal end to Ottoman rule in 1914, Sir Reginald Wingate
21600-468: Was gradually settled by Arab nomads . From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate , while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the east. In 1811, Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah as a base for their slave trading . Under Turco-Egyptian rule of Sudan after the 1820s, the practice of trading slaves was entrenched along a north–south axis, with slave raids taking place in southern parts of
21750-399: Was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bedouin tribes overran most of Sudan, migrating to the Butana , the Gezira , Kordofan and Darfur . In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee to Gebel Adda in Lower Nubia , while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as
21900-428: Was likely short lived. Sometime after this event, the Kingdom of Alodia would gain control of the southern territory of the former Meroitic empire including parts of Eritrea. Long overshadowed by its more prominent Egyptian neighbor, archaeological discoveries since the late 20th century have revealed Kush to be an advanced civilization in its own right. The Kushites had their own unique language and script; maintained
22050-440: Was not a crippling blow to the Kushites and did not frighten Candace enough to prevent her from again engaging in combat with the Roman military. In 22 BC, a large Kushite force moved northward with intention of attacking Qasr Ibrim . Alerted to the advance, Gaius Petronius , prefect of Roman Egypt, again marched south and managed to reach Qasr Ibrim and bolster its defenses before the invading Kushites arrived. Welsby states after
22200-420: Was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari . Dissatisfaction culminated in a coup 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. Disputes between Marxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in a briefly successful coup in July 1971 , led by
22350-469: Was sent that December to occupy Sudan as the new Military Governor. Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan , as was his brother and successor, Fuad I . They continued upon their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate of Egypt was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan , but it was Saad Zaghloul who continued to be frustrated in the ambitions until his death in 1927. From 1924 until independence in 1956,
22500-440: Was the increasingly arid climate that forced them to attack the Nile Valley, although they would not manage to break through until the 4th century. The Ezana stele mentioned that they had occupied Kushite towns and were active as far east as the Takeze River , where they harassed Aksumite vassals. These attacks and them breaking oaths they had sworn to Ezana were the main reason for his Nubian expedition. It has been proposed that
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