Khartoum or Khartum is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 6,344,348, Khartoum's metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan.
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Egypt to the north, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, Libya to the northwest, South Sudan to the south, and the Red Sea to the east. Sudan has a population of nearly 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres, making it Africa's third-largest country by area and 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 Sudanese Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the forces' numbers at 109,300 personnel. The CIA estimates that the SAF may have up to 200,000 personnel. While Al Jazeera Media Network report that's the Sudanese Armed Force have around 300,000 personnel.
The rich and varied music of Sudan has traditional, rural, northeastern African roots and also shows Arabic, Western or other African influences, especially on the popular urban music from the early 20th century onwards. Since the establishment of big cities like Khartoum as melting pots for people of diverse backgrounds, their cultural heritage and tastes have shaped numerous forms of modern popular music. In the globalized world of today, the creation and consumption of music through satellite TV or on the Internet is a driving force for cultural change in Sudan, popular with local audiences as well as with Sudanese living abroad.
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi, and led a war against Egyptian rule in Sudan which culminated in a remarkable victory over them in the Siege of Khartoum. He created a vast Islamic state extending from the Red Sea to Central Africa, and founded a movement that remained influential in Sudan a century later.
The current flag of Sudan was adopted on 20 May 1970 and consists of a horizontal red-white-black tricolour with a green triangle at the hoist. The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, as are the flags of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine and formerly of the United Arab Republic, North Yemen, South Yemen, and the Libyan Arab Republic.
Ismail al-Azhari was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as Head of State of Sudan from 1965 until he was overthrown by Gaafar Nimeiry in 1969.
The Free Officers were a group of revolutionary Egyptian nationalist officers in the Egyptian Armed Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces that instigated the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Initially started as a small rebellion military cell under Abdel Moneim Abdel Raouf, which included Gamal Abdel Nasser, Hussein Hamouda, Khaled Mohieddin, Kamal el-Din Hussein, Salah Nasr, Abdel Hakim Amer, and Saad Tawfik, it operated as a clandestine movement of junior officers who were veterans of the Palestine War of 1948-1949 as well as earlier nationalist uprisings in Egypt in the 1940s.
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereignty and administration were shared between both Egypt and the United Kingdom, but in practice the structure of the condominium ensured effective British control over Sudan, with Egypt having limited local power and influence. In the meantime, Egypt itself fell under increasing British influence. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, Egypt pushed for an end to the condominium, and the independence of Sudan. By agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1953, Sudan was granted independence as the Republic of the Sudan on 1 January 1956. In 2011, the south of Sudan itself became independent as the Republic of South Sudan.
The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah against the Khedivate of Egypt, which had ruled Sudan since 1821. After four years of struggle, the Mahdist rebels overthrew the Ottoman-Egyptian administration and established their own "Islamic and national" government with its capital in Omdurman. Thus, from 1885 the Mahdist government maintained sovereignty and control over the Sudanese territories until its existence was terminated by the Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1898.
Zakaria Mohieddin was an Egyptian military officer, politician, Prime Minister of Egypt and head of the first Intelligence body in Egypt, the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.
The Mahdist War was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam, and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later the forces of Britain. Eighteen years of war resulted in the creation of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956), a de jure condominium of the British Empire, and the Kingdom of Egypt, in which Britain had de facto control over Sudan. The Sudanese launched several unsuccessful invasions of their neighbours, expanding the scale of the conflict to include not only Britain and Egypt but also the Italian Empire, the Congo Free State and the Ethiopian Empire.
The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, it also served in East Africa as part of the East African campaign and in North Africa during the Western Desert campaign.
The flag of South Sudan was adopted following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. A different version of the flag was previously used as the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. The flag of South Sudan predates the country, as the flag was adopted in 2005, while the country became independent in 2011.
Contact between Egypt and Sudan goes back to trade and conflict during ancient times. In 1820, the British conquered Sudan after they had conquered Egypt, and the Egyptians entered Sudan through the British as officials, but they did not have any authority over Sudan. The British continued to occupy the country until Sudan declared independence in 1956. Sudan later joined the Arab League, of which Egypt is a founding member. Relations between successive governments in Egypt and Sudan have warmed and cooled at various times. Relations today are cordial, but tensions remain.
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
Sir Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, KBE was one of the leading religious and political figures during the colonial era in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955), and continued to exert great authority as leader of the Neo-Mahdists after Sudan became independent. The British tried to exploit his influence over the Sudanese people while at the same time profoundly distrusting his motives. Throughout most of the colonial era of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the British saw Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi as important as a moderate leader of the Mahdists.
The Ansar are a Sufi religious movement in the Sudan whose followers are disciples of Muhammad Ahmad, a Sudanese religious leader based on Aba Island who proclaimed himself Mahdi on 29 June 1881. His followers won a series of victories against the Egyptians, culminating in the capture of Khartoum in January 1885.
Ali Abd al-Latif was a prominent Sudanese nationalist who served as a key member of the White Flag League and played a prominent role in the 1924 Khartoum revolt.
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