Abstract
The earliest inhabitants of Sudan were Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, who lived and travelled in the region around Khartoum from as early as 30,000 BC. They had domesticated animals by 4000 BC. Cultural influences from Egypt rippled through to Nubia in north-eastern Sudan from around 3000 BC as Egypt’s first dynasty moved south along the river Nile in search of construction materials and slaves. By 2000 BC it had reached as far south as the river Nile’s fourth cataract, more than 700 km beyond Aswan. Egyptian-controlled Nubia was divided into Wawat in the north (centred on Aswan) and Kush in the south (based at Nepata, or the modern Marawi). When Egypt’s power waned in the 11th century BC (the end of the New Kingdom) Kush, with its Egyptian and African influences, mineral resources and its position on trade routes linking the Nile to the Red Sea, became a powerful kingdom. At its height, under King Piantkhi in 750 BC, the whole of Egypt was brought under Kushite control.
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Further Reading
Copnall, James, A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts: Sudan and South Sudan’s Bitter and Incomplete Divorce. 2014
Idris, Amir, Conflict and Politics of Identity in Sudan. 2006
Iyob, Ruth, Sudan: The Elusive Quest for Peace. 2006
Sidahmed, Alsir, Sudan. 2004
Woodward, Peter, The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations. 2002
National Statistical Office: Central Bureau of Statistics. PO Box 700, Khartoum.
Website: http://cbs.gov.sd/index.php/en
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(2022). Sudan. In: The Statesman’s Yearbook 2023. The Statesman's Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-96056-9_175
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-96056-9_175
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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