ـ[بَحْرُ الرَّمَل]ــــــــ[02 - 11 - 2010, 02:21 م]ـ
SUDAN
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Background
From the end of the 4th millennium BC, Nubia (now
the northern Sudan) periodically came under Egyptian
rule, and it was part of the kingdom of Cush
from the 11th century BC to the 4th century AD. Christian
missionaries converted the Sudan’s three principal
kingdoms during the 6th century AD; these
black Christian kingdoms coexisted with their Muslim
Arab neighbors in Egypt for centuries, until the
influx of Arab immigrants brought about their collapse
in the 13th–15th centuries. Egypt had conquered
all of the Sudan by 1874 and encouraged
British interference in the region; this aroused Muslim
opposition and led to the revolt of al-Mahdi, who
captured Khartoum in 1885 and established a Muslim
theocracy in the Sudan that lasted until 1898,
when Mahdist forces were defeated by the British.
The British ruled the country, generally in partnership
with Egypt, until The Sudan achieved independence
in 1956. Since then the country has fluctuated
between ineffective parliamentary government
and unstable military rule. The non-Muslim population
of the south began rebellion against the Muslim-
controlled government of the north in the early
1980s, leading to famines and the displacement of
millions of people. Meanwhile, fighting broke out in
2003 between non-Arab Muslims in the Darfur region
of western Sudan and government-backed Arab
militias known as Janjaweed; tens of thousands of
people were killed and hundreds of thousands more
were displaced.
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
Area:
total: 2,505,813 sq km
Climate:
tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November)
Natural resources:
petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower
Population:
41,087,825 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
Ethnic groups:
black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Religions:
Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%
Languages:
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages
Capital:
name: Khartoum
Administrative divisions:
25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahda (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Central Equatoria), Gharb al Istiwa'iyya (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr el Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqoley (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Shimal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr el Ghazal), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyya (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warab)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1956
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