Sudan (As-Suudaan in Arabic) is a huge country--in fact it's the largest country in Africa.  At 967,500 square miles, it is approximately equal in size to all of the United States east of the Mississippi.  It is almost twice the size of Alaska, 3 1/2 times the size of Texas, and over 21 times the size of Pennsylvania!   It is bordered by 8 other African countries.  More than 30 million people live in Sudan.  The name as-Suudaan actually means, in Arabic, "The Land of the Blacks."

The capital of Sudan is al-Khartoum.  It is located at the point where the White Nile and the Blue Nile rivers join to form the Nile River, which flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.  There are actually 3 cities built around this intersection of the 2 Niles--Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdurman.  Other important Sudanese cities include Port Sudan, on the Red Sea; Atbara, Dongola, Juba, Wau, El-Fasher, Kosti, and Kassala.

Sudan's geography varies greatly.  The Nile River and its two branches flow for more than 2,000 miles through the country, and are extremely important for agriculture and transportation.  In the North there are deserts and mountains, while in the South in some places there are swamps and forests.

Sudan is where the Arab/Islamic world meets sub-Saharan Africa.  That meeting has not always been peaceful, as Arab Muslims have clashed with the indigenous people and their beliefs.  Arabic culture and Islam spread through trade, and Arabic is also spoken by non-Muslims and by people who don't consider themselves to be Arabs.  About two-thirds of Sudan's population are Arabic-speaking Muslims; the rest are Christians or practice traditional African religions.  They live mostly in South Sudan.  Sudan is a huge country and is truly multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious.  Many peoples and tribes live there, and more than 100 languages are spoken in Sudan.

More than 500 Sudanese people live in Philadelphia, and the Sudanese community here is growing rapidly.  Many are refugees who have fled Sudan's civil war and found a new home in the United States.  These young people have been referred to in the media as the "Lost Boys of Sudan."

Map Source:  CIA World Factbook 2001.

Cotton is Sudan's main crop, but there is a product from the Sudan that almost everyone in America has in their house, even though they might not realize it.  It's called gum Arabic.  Sudan is the world's largest producer of gum Arabic, and almost all of it is exported to the USA.   Gum Arabic is actually the dried sap of a particular type of acacia tree which grows in Sudan.  It is used as a stabilizer in many food products and also in cosmetics such as lipstick, as well as chewing gum.  Check the ingredients of foods and other items around your house and see if they have gum Arabic in them.

The history of Sudan is long and complicated.  Here is a brief summary:

In ancient times, much of what is now Sudan was known as Nubia, or the Kingdom of Kush (also spelled Cush.)  Nubia extended along the Nile River from what is now Aswan in Egypt to present-day Khartoum in Sudan.  The ancient Nubians and ancient Egyptians were rivals.  Egyptians attacked and conquered Nubia many times, but Nubians actually conquered and controlled all of Egypt for a period of about 50 years, from 725 to 670 BCE.  The Kingdom of Kush lasted nearly 1500 years, from 1100 BCE to 350 AD.  The ancient Nubians (Kushites) had religious beliefs similar to those of the ancient Egyptians.  For example, they buried their kings in pyramid tombs.  There are actually more pyramids remaining in Sudan than there are in Egypt.  The Kushites had their capital first at the city of Napata, then moved it to Meroe after they were conquered by the Assyrians.

The University of Pennsylvania Museum has one of the best collections of ancient Nubian artifacts in America.  To learn about it, check out their website:  www.upenn.edu/museum/Exhibits/nubiagallery.html

NUBIA TODAY
 Who are the modern Nubians, and where do Nubians live today?  The Nubians have a unique culture, distinct from that of the Arabs who live around them.  Most Nubians today live in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. There are two main Nubian languages, and these are not related to Arabic, but to ancient Egyptian and the Berber languages of North Africa.  When the Aswan High Dam was built in Aswan, Egypt, in 1970, Lake Nasser was formed.  It is over 300 miles long, and spans the Egyptian-Sudanese border.  It has helped expand agriculture and electrical production for both countries.  But some 100,000 people, mostly Nubians, had to move to new areas when their villages and farmlands were flooded by the lake.  The lake also covered much of the ancient territory of Nubia, and although some temples and other archeological sites, such as Abu Simbel, were moved to higher ground, many of the treasures of ancient Nubia were lost beneath the waters of Lake Nasser forever.

In 23 BCE the Romans conquered the northern part of the kingdom, but the Kingdom of Kush lasted until 350 AD.  In that year, the Christian Ethiopian Empire of Axum (Aksum) defeated the Kushites and took over much of what is now Sudan.  Most of the people in this area converted to Christianity at that time.  After the power of the Axumites decreased, several native Christian kingdoms arose in this region.

In the Middle Ages the Arab Muslims invaded from Egypt in the north, followed by the Ottoman Turks in 16th century.  By then, most of the people who lived in what is now Sudan had converted to Islam.  The Funj and the Fur were native African Muslim dynasties.  One of modern Sudan's main provinces today is called Darfur, which means "the home of the Fur."

The Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali invaded and conquered Sudan in 1822, making it a province or colony of Egypt, known as Egyptian Sudan.  He also founded the city of Khartoum as its capital.  Later Sudan was ruled by the Egyptians and British jointly.  Then in 1880 a leader emerged to unite the Sudanese people to fight against the Egyptian/British occupation.  He proclaimed himself "al-Mahdi," "The Rightly-Guided One."  Muslims believe that al-Mahdi will come at the end of time to announce that the Day of Resurrection has arrived.  Al-Mahdi and his army captured Khartoum and defeated the British and Egyptian forces there, killing the British commander General Gordon.  But the Egyptian/British armies re-captured Sudan in1898, defeating the rebellion.

Sudan was ruled jointly by the British and Egyptians until 1956, when it received its independence and was declared a republic.  But unfortunately this did not bring peace to the country.  There were several military coups, and now the country is in the midst of a civil war, which has been going on for nearly 20 years.  Because of the war, many people have had to flee their homes and have become refugees, and many have starved to death.  More than a million people have died as a result of the war and the famine it has created.  Sudan is a rich agricultural country, but because of the war people have had to flee their farms and cannot plant crops.  Many people in the south of the country must depend on foreign donations to get food.

What is the war about?  People in the south of Sudan, who are mostly Christian, are fighting for autonomy from the northern part of the country, who are Muslim.  Both sides have committed many atrocities, especially against civilians.  How can the conflict be resolved???  They have been fighting for so long that it is clear there is no military solution, and both sides must negotiate a peaceful end to this war which has claimed so many innocent victims.

Here are some links to sites with more information about Sudan:

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/Sudan.html
www.sudan.net
www.arab.net/sudan/sudan_contents.html
www.refugees.org/news/crisis/sudan.htm