Sudan can be read by the earth ancient civilization. More precisely, it has always been a land that has been exploited by all sorts of other civilizations. Even the ancient Egyptians made trips south of the Nile rapids to the country of Nubia (from the word “Nub”, that is, gold). The Egyptians were attracted here by the gold mines, as well as by black slaves, whom they called “nehsi” (hence the word “negro”). Already in the 9th century BC. here existed the state of Napata (the first black state in history), which later bore the name Meroe. Later, Christianity spread here, so that the country, which was usually called Nile Ethiopia (so as not to be confused with another), was one of the centers of Eastern Christianity. However, the civilized Christian states of the blacks were located in the north of modern Sudan, while in the south the tribal system still dominated (however, in many ways preserved to this day).
Starting from the 9th century, Arabs began to penetrate this region. They spread their language, religion, and began to settle here themselves. Gradually they conquered the local blacks. By the 16th century, Christianity had completely disappeared in northern Sudan. Islam and the Arabic language began to dominate here, and several small Arab sultanates emerged. As a result of the mixing of Arabs with local blacks in the northern part of modern Sudan, a special people began to emerge, considering themselves part of the pan-Arab community, but sharply differing from the majority of Arabs in racial and anthropological features. It is no coincidence that this region received the name “Sudan” (in Arabic “bilad al-sudan”, which translates as “country of blacks”). In racial and anthropological terms, Sudanese Arabs are considered mulattoes, although there are also “pure” blacks among them. The actual white population in Arab Sudan is approximately 5-7%. These are mainly descendants of the Egyptians.
A wide variety of tribes still lived in the south, some of which were in a Stone Age state. Most of the inhabitants of the Sudanese south belong to the Nilotic group of peoples.
In 1820-22 Sudan was conquered by the ruler of Egypt. Egyptian officials, among whom the predominance was not even Arabs, but Turks, Circassians, Albanians and European adventurers of various origins, created an administrative division into provinces, which remained in Sudan until today. In 1869-74. in the service of the ruler of Egypt military units under the command of the Englishman Baker, they conquered the Upper Nile region and the Darfur region. As a result, the borders of Sudan began to roughly correspond to modern ones. Under Egyptian rule, Sudan became a supplier of black slaves, ivory and ostrich feathers. However, the spread of various Western goods and ideas in Sudan, and especially the desire of Europeans to abolish slavery, caused an explosion of indignation among Sudanese Arabs.
In 1881, local Muslims rebelled under the leadership of a certain carpenter Ahmed, who declared himself the Mahdi (Muslim messiah). The British, who had captured Egypt by this time, initially failed in the fight against the Mahdists. They created their own theocratic state, which lived according to Sharia law. Black slaves and ivory were sent in caravans to the Red Sea, and the Mahdist state flourished. After a three-year military campaign of 1896-98. The British defeated the Mahdists and subjugated northern Sudan. After this, they continued to conquer the pagan tribes of blacks in the south for a long time.
In 1899-1956. Sudan had the strange status of an Anglo-Egyptian condominium. In other words, the British were in charge of everything, the middle-ranking bosses were the Egyptians, and the Sudanese from the north were the bosses at the local level. As for the southerners, they were only a tax mass. As we see, Sudan was a classic illustration of well-known rule"Divide and rule"! However, European missionaries managed to convert some of the tribes of the south to Christianity, so that a small layer of European-educated intelligentsia appeared here too.
Under the British, construction was carried out in Sudan railways, navigation on the Nile began, cotton growing developed, the development of which the country occupied in the 30s. one of the first places in the world. But in general, the British were of little interest in this colony, since it was unprofitable, and this explains the reluctance of both large-scale projects in British Sudan and the desire to preserve the colony itself.
In 1952, Colonel Gamal Nasser, an admirer of Rommel and a supporter of socialism, came to power in Egypt and announced his refusal to jointly rule Sudan with the British Empire. The British, who did not need Sudan after the loss of India and the Suez Canal, gave it self-government in 1953, which was supposed to end with a full declaration of independence, scheduled for January 1, 1956.
On the eve of the declaration of independence, the northerners declared Arabic the state language in the south, began to spread Islam, and finally fired almost all the military and the few officials from the southern nationalities. It is clear that the southerners did not like this, and on August 18, 1955, an uprising began in the south. Thus, even before independence was declared, civil war broke out. Various tribal groups fought against the central government, of which only a third were armed with firearms. The rest at first used spears, bows and arrows. Around 1963, a rebel organization emerged in the south with the romantic name “Anya-nya,” which translated means “cobra venom.” Anya-nya received assistance with weapons and instructors from Israel, whose leaders looked with pleasure at the weakening of the Arab country. A number of neighboring countries that were in conflict with official Khartoum provided their territories for guerrilla training camps. Gradually, “cobra venom” spread to most of the south.
Meanwhile, in Sudan, political history has experienced an inexorable repetition of cycles - first a weak, ineffective parliamentary democracy, then a brutal dictatorship, then democracy again, then dictatorship again. After the ephemeral government offices of 1956-58, power was seized by General Abboud, who ruled with an iron fist and tried to crush the partisans in the south by force of arms. After his overthrow in 1964, there were again 5 years of democracy that did nothing, after which power passed to General Nimeiri in May 1969. Nimeiry started out as a supporter of Arab socialism, and even his party was called SSU (Sudanese Socialist Union). However, Nimeiri quickly dealt with the local communists and changed his orientation, becoming an Islamist. He shot most of his SS men and brought the Muslim Brotherhood organization to power.
But initially for the south, it seemed that Nimeiri's wonderful start to the days meant hope for peace and autonomy. In 1972, a peace treaty was signed in Addis Ababa, according to which the war ended and the 3 southern provinces received broad autonomy. But the music did not play for long. Nimeiri went further and further in the policy of Islamization. In 1983, he introduced Sharia law throughout the country. By order of the president, all drinking establishments were closed, wine was poured into the Nile, and Islamic punishments were introduced. To ensure the efficiency of carrying out sentences, they even came up with a special small guillotine for cutting off the hands of thieves, as well as special collapsible gallows.
It is clear that in the Christian-pagan south Sharia was met with hostility, and in the literal sense of the word. Since 1983, a new civil war began there. That same year, the Christian rebel organization Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was formed in the south of the country. There were a number of other groups, in particular Anya-nya-2, but they were gradually defeated by the SPLA.
Nimeiri was overthrown in 1985, and again four years of democracy followed, which achieved nothing. The war continued. In 1989, after a military coup, power passed to a new president named Omar Hassan Ahmet al-Bashir. The new dictator decided to surpass Nimeiri in Islamism, publicly announcing that he would live according to the precepts of Ayatollah Khomeini. The general sought to pacify and Islamize the South using his usual methods. In the south, mass shootings, burning of villages, bombings and the like became commonplace. However, if Americans establish democracy using such methods, then why can’t the spread of Islam be inspired by advanced Western models?
In general, Sudan has in many ways begun to resemble Taliban Afghanistan. Slavery exists completely openly in Sudan. Many blacks in the south become slaves, mostly as domestic servants for wealthy Muslims. There are slave markets in Khartoum and some other cities. A black slave in northern Sudan costs no more than $15, while his relatives must pay $50-$100 for his release. Such a large profit is due to the fact that many slaves are redeemed by Christian charity organisations, which sometimes pushes slave traders to capture the same people several times. Young boys are often castrated because eunuchs are required for the harems of the faithful. However, in Sudan itself only a fraction of black eunuchs are used, most of them are exported to the Persian Gulf countries.
Since there is oil in areas inhabited by “infidels,” the Sudanese authorities even came up with a specific way to replenish the treasury through “oil raids.” Before going to extract oil, Islamic soldiers carry out a clean-up operation using tanks, artillery and aircraft. At the same time, the main targets are not considered to be rebel camps, but churches, schools and hospitals. Such “artillery preparation” lasts up to several weeks, followed by a punitive expedition to oil-bearing areas, oil procurement, mass torture and murder, destruction of surviving buildings, and finally a return to the north with the spoils.
In addition, the Sudanese military and Islamist gangs have come up with a wonderful way to distinguish a black believer from a southern infidel. When clearing a southern village, all residents' pants are removed, and if they find someone who is not circumcised, they are immediately shot. However, the partisans of the south began to use the same methods, clearing the south of Muslims.
So Sudan is a failed state. There is no industry other than predatory oil production. In the south, however, subsistence farming generally predominates. Average duration life in the country is 51 years (even in Russia it is higher, so there is someone to look up to). Note that in this country, 40% of the population has an income of less than one (1) US dollar per day. The country ranks 181st in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Below the poverty level (African level!) - 40% of the population. The unemployment rate is 18.7%. In reality, 1/3 of the population is unemployed. Literacy, according to official data, is 71% of men, 50% of women. But these figures can be questioned, since Sudanese Arabs speak their own dialects, which are very different from literary Arabic. It's about the same if state language in France make Latin. So many graduates from Sudanese schools learn by heart entire suras from the Koran, but are not able to read the instructions for using a vacuum cleaner (which, however, few people in Sudan have).
In the end, even the jihadists became tired of the many years of war, and on January 9, 2005, a truce was signed, ending the second war in the south, which cost 2 million lives and turning the same number of people into refugees. In pursuance of this truce, exactly 6 years later, a referendum on secession took place.
However, peace did not come to Sudan, since war began in Darfur province in 2003. It is significant that the vast majority of Darfurians, divided into hundreds of tribes, profess Islam. But despite all the talk about Islamic solidarity, Darfuris are enthusiastically slaughtering each other. However, Darfur has a lot of oil and it is more convenient to transport, so it is not surprising that the West suddenly remembered that human rights are not in order in Sudan. In March 2009, the International Criminal Court found al-Bashir guilty of genocide in Darfur and issued a warrant for his arrest. Of course, al-Bashir used this order in the soldiers’ toilet for its intended purpose, but the fact of the “black mark” against the head of the regime is important.
So, the referendum on the secession of South Sudan has begun. Even if al-Bashir declares victory for the supporters of a united Sudan, it does not matter. This will only delay the legal recognition of the long-separated south.
The significance of the referendum is not that a country that has never been united will disintegrate. Moreover, even the fact that Darfur, and perhaps some other Sudanese provinces will secede after the south, is also of secondary importance. The precedent of the collapse of the country in the 21st century is important. Now the wind of separatism will blow into the sails of independentists on all continents.
For Russia, the positive thing about the Sudanese collapse is that in a single country the Islamic model is a complete fiasco social order. No matter how disgusting the Western system is, the Muslim Middle Ages can hardly become a worthy alternative to it. Among American blacks there is a widespread belief that Christianity is the religion of whites, but Islam may be the original religion of blacks. But the reality of Sudan refuted these judgments. Racial discrimination against Arab mulattoes in Sudan was no better than apartheid in South Africa. The “Islamic economy” and the corresponding “Islamic society” modeled on Khomeini turned out to be a bloody obscurantism in Sudan (and not only there).
So, in the south of Sudan, after more than half a century of struggle, a Christian state is born. Official results The referendum will not be announced until mid-February, but now few people doubt that South Sudan will gain independence: a majority of votes is simply needed to make such a decision. The new state may officially appear on July 9, 2011.
Let us congratulate the courageous Christians of the South Sudanese state on their victory!
Story
From the 8th century, Arabic writing began to spread in Sudan, and the states of Sudan began to join Arab culture, including Islam. As a result, areas of Northern Sudan become vassal states paying tribute to the Muslim rulers of Egypt. In the 16th century, in the Nile Valley, we already see the feudal state of Sennar, the main Negroid agricultural population of which was gradually Arabized. In South Sudan, populated mainly by Negroid tribes, pre-feudal relations were still preserved (Fadlalla M. H. 2004: P. 13 - 15).
Religion
The penetration of Islam into Sudan took several routes. Firstly, thanks to the efforts of Arab missionaries, usually members of the tariqah. Secondly, by the Sudanese themselves, who were trained in Egypt or Arabia. As a result, the Sudanese version of Islam developed under the distinct influence of Sufi orders, with its devotion of ordinary Muslims to the head of the order and commitment to ascetic practices.
IN early XIX century, a powerful movement of tariqa al-Khatmiyya (or Mirganiyya, after the name of its founder) emerged.
In 1881, the messianic movement of the Sudanese religious reformer Muhammad Ahmad began, declaring himself the messiah-Mahdi. His followers began to call themselves Ansars. This is how the second most influential Sufi order appeared in Sudan - al-Ansar.
After the Second World War (since 1947), sermons of the Muslim Brotherhood began in the country, which was explained by Sudan’s close ties with neighboring Egypt. However, if in Egypt the movement quickly gained popularity among the middle strata of the population, then in Sudan “Ikhwan Muslimun” became the lot of only Muslim graduates educational institutions. In 1989, the Muslim Brotherhood, represented by the National Islamic Front, seized power, becoming the ruling elite of the state (Fadlalla M. H. 2004: P. 18 - 29.).
The arrival of the Arabs made it difficult for Christianity to spread into the territory of once Christian Nubia. In the 19th century, several Catholic missions still operated, which carried out propaganda among the pagan population without much success, and Catholics and Protestants operated only in strictly defined areas. In 1964, the Sudanese government banned foreign missionaries in the country, but by that time Christianity had already gained a foothold in the southern provinces and had become an essential element of the political system.
It is also impossible not to note the role of the Coptic Church in Sudan. The few Sudanese Copts concentrated in the north, however, hold a significant part of the capital in their hands (Kobishchanov T. Yu. 2003: pp. 6 - 19).
Language
They speak Egyptian-Sudanese Arabic. The Sudanese dialects of the sedentary (Ga'aliyun) and nomadic (Guhaina) tribes are very different. The latter are close to the dialects of southern Egypt. In the east of the country, the Hadarib tribe speaks one of the southern Hijaz dialects of the Arabian-Arabic language.
The substrate influence of Nubian languages can be traced (Rodionov M. A. 1998: p. 242).
Lifestyle and life
Today, most of the Arabs and the Cushites close to them, both territorially and ethnically, the Beja, are city dwellers and cotton farmers. Only a modest portion of the Arabs and Beja continue to roam with their herds.
But even this share cannot be called uniform. According to the organization of work, according to the culture of life, even in appearance, camel breeders, goat herders and the so-called “cowboys” - baggara, engaged in cattle breeding, differ. An ancient breed of horses is bred in Nubia, and riding camels are bred in the Beja and Sahara deserts. Among the Arabs there is still a division into tribes with their own cultural characteristics and different dialects. This trend continues even in cities, where they prefer to marry their fellow tribesmen. The kinship system is bifurcated-collateral (relatives on the maternal and paternal lines are distinguished; collateral and direct relatives). The basis of the tribal organization is a family-kinship group that has a common ancestor in the male line and is bound by the customs of mutual assistance and blood feud; patrilateral ortho-cousin marriage is preferred). Several groups make up a subdivision of a tribe or the tribe itself, led by a chief. Social relations traditionally expressed as declared consanguineous (Rodionov 1998: 201), (Abu-Lughod L. 1986: P. 81-85).
Cultivation of land in Sudan presents a certain problem. Only 3% of the territory is arable; in the north, the Nile is the only water source. Every piece of land is carefully cultivated. Shadufs are still used (Human Development Report 2006: p. 164).
The national cuisine of the Arabs of Sudan is close to Egyptian. Traditional dishes: ful of legumes with vegetables, meat, seasonings, porridge or pilaf. Alcoholic drinks are prohibited; in the past (probably still) they were made from sorghum and millet.
Republic of Sudan, a state in northeast Africa. The country's territory is part of the vast natural region of Sudan, which extends from the Sahara Desert to the humid tropical forests Central and Western Africa.
In terms of its area (2.5 million sq. km), Sudan is the largest state on the African continent. Population - 41.98 million (estimate as of July 2010).
The territories that became part of modern Sudan were first united in the 19th century, and the current state borders were established in 1898. On January 1, 1956, the independence of Sudan was proclaimed. The capital of the country is Khartoum.
Ethno-racial composition - blacks (Nilotics, Nubians) 52%, Arabs 39%, Beja (Cushites) 6%, others 3%.
Languages - Arabic and English official, Nilotic languages, Nubian, Beja.
Religion.
The main religion is Islam. Muslims - Sunnis 70%, Christians - 5%, indigenous cults - 25%.
Since the vast majority of Sudan's population is Muslim, Islam is the state religion, beginning to spread here in the 8th century. AD
In fact, the entire population of the north of the country is Sunni Muslims. Islam permeates all spheres of social life, the most influential political parties created on the basis of Islamic religious organizations. The religious situation in the south is characterized by great diversity: each tribe professes its own religion (most often animist), a significant part of the South Sudanese population professes Christianity, which was actively propagated since mid-19th V. European Catholic and Protestant missionaries. This factor plays a big role in deepening the problem in the south. Ignoring it brings numerous social consequences, affecting customs and individual behavior.
In the north of the country there is a large number of mosques and schools for the study of religious sciences and Sharia (Islamic law). All this creates a layer of people who can read and write and have knowledge in the field various sciences. This leads to an increase in culture, the emergence of writers, poets and politicians.
In the south, the Christian population predominates and Christianity is widespread. Missions were sent from Europe, whose first concern was to serve the colonialists and incite national clashes between north and south.
The danger of the religious factor lies in the use of some layers to achieve political and economic goals, in which inter-confessional and inter-religious strife between peoples intensifies.
Tariqas play an important role in the religious, political and cultural life of the country. The largest of the tariqats are Ansariyya (more than 50% of the Arab-Sudanese living in the western part of the country and in areas along the banks of the White Nile belong to it), Khatmiya (other names are Hatymiya, Mirganiyya), predominant in the north and east of Sudan, and Qadiriyya. There are many followers of the Shazalia and Tijani tariqas in northern Sudan.
Almost all the Arab settlers who came to Sudan were Muslims, and the spread of Islamic culture in northern Sudan, dating back to the 15th-17th centuries, occurred thanks to the efforts of Muslim preachers and Sudanese who studied in Egypt or Arabia. These people were Sufis who adhered to tariqa, and in Sudan Islam was characterized by Muslim devotion to their spiritual guides and adherence to an ascetic lifestyle.
Initially, they were an association of sincere and submissive Muslims, familiar with secret knowledge.
Despite the large number of tribes in the north of the country, they are united by the Arabic language, which is common to them; even tribes that have no connection with the Arab clans speak Arabic, which is a second language for them. His knowledge is due to their contacts with the Arab tribes who make up the majority in the north of Sudan.
Some Muslim tribes in the north of the country do not speak Arabic, most notably the Cushitic-speaking Beja on the Red Sea coast, the Dongola and other Nubian peoples living in the Nile Valley and from Darfur.
Ancient and Middle Ages.
In ancient times, a significant part of the territory of modern Sudan (called Kush, and later Nubia) was inhabited by Semitic-Hamitic and Cushitic tribes related to the ancient Egyptians.
By the 7th century AD e. Sudan consisted of small scattered kingdoms (Aloa, Mukurra, Nobatia) and possessions. In the 640s, Arab influence began to penetrate from the north, from Egypt. The area between the Nile and the Red Sea was rich in gold and emeralds, and Arab gold miners began to penetrate here. The Arabs brought Islam with them. Arab influence spread mainly to the north of Sudan.
Around 960, a state was formed in eastern Nubia led by the top of the Arab Rabia tribe. Other Arab tribes settled Lower Nubia, which was annexed by Egypt in 1174.
XIX century.
In the second half of the 19th century, British influence increased in Sudan. An Englishman became the Governor-General of Sudan. Brutal exploitation and national oppression led to the emergence of a powerful popular protest movement with a religious orientation.
Mahdi of Sudan (1844?–1885).
Religious leader Muhammad ibn Abdullah, nicknamed "Mahdi", attempted to unite the tribes of western and central Sudan in 1881. The uprising ended with the capture of Khartoum in 1885 and bloodshed. The leader of the uprising soon died, but the state he created, headed by Abdallah ibn al-Said, lasted another fifteen years, and only in 1898 the uprising was suppressed by Anglo-Egyptian troops.
Having established dominance over Sudan in the form of an Anglo-Egyptian condominium (1899), British imperialism pursued a deliberate course of isolating the southern provinces. At the same time, the British encouraged and inflamed tribal tensions. Southerners were considered second-class citizens. An atmosphere of mutual mistrust and hostility was created in the country. Separatist sentiments fueled by the British found fertile ground among the South Sudanese population.
XX century
After the end of the First World War, British colonialists set a course to transform Sudan into a cotton-producing country. A national bourgeoisie began to form in Sudan.
The British administration, in order to strengthen its power, in particular, encouraged the ethnic and political separatism of the population of the Sudanese south, who adhere to traditional beliefs and profess Christianity. Thus, the preconditions were laid for future ethnic and religious conflicts.
Period of independence.
Egypt, after the July Revolution of 1952, recognized the right of the Sudanese people to self-determination. On January 1, 1956, Sudan was declared an independent state.
The central government in Khartoum, in which Muslims occupied key positions, refused to create a federal state, which led to a mutiny by southern officers and a civil war that lasted from 1955 to 1972.
The country experienced several military and coup d'etat in the 20th century (in 1958, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1985), but successive regimes were unable to cope with ethnic disunity and economic backwardness.
In 1983, Jafar al-Nimeiri replaced all existing legal laws with Muslim Sharia laws based on the Koran. But in 1986, Sharia law was repealed, and a judicial system based on the Anglo-Indian civil code was temporarily restored. In 1991 there was a return to Islamic law.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the country has been intensively pursuing the Islamization of life. Always in foreign policy Sudan followed a nationalist, pro-Arab and pro-Islamic course.
As a result of long-term colonial rule, the people of Sudan inherited many problems.
Having gained independence, Sudan also inherited the problem of the south of the country, which consists of the inequality in the levels of development of the southern and northern regions of the country, and the discriminatory policies of the central authorities towards the southern provinces.
Sudan is cultural.
Omdurman, a satellite city of Khartoum, is a huge African city with a population of about a million people. This is one of the oldest cities in the country and a kind of “gateway to rural Sudan”. The Hamed Ala Neel Mosque (Namdu Neel), constantly surrounded by Muslims, adds to the charm of Omdurman.
Omdurman is home to the most photographed building in the country - the tomb of the Mahdi, one of Sudan's most respected rulers.
Nearby is another attraction of Sudan - Al-Khalifa Belt. Here are exhibited things that were in one way or another related to the aforementioned Mahdi: flags, things, weapons. In the same building you can see an interesting exhibition of photographs depicting Sudan during the Mahdi uprising.
The best market in the country is also located here. Here you can buy unique silver jewelry and other decorations, as well as order yourself an exclusive souvenir made of ebony, which will be made before your eyes.
Crafts and arts are widespread in Sudan. In the northern provinces, Arab craftsmen perform filigree work on copper and silver, and make objects from smooth and embossed leather (saddles, camel and horse harnesses, waterskins and buckets). In the south, it is common to make products from wood, clay, metal (bronze, iron and copper), bone and horn: round-bottomed vessels with engraved and impaled line patterns. There is a variety of wicker products made from grass and dyed straw - mats (used as prayer rugs in homes and mosques), dishes and covers for them, as well as a variety of baskets.
National literature.
National literature is based on the traditions of oral folk art (Nubian folklore, oral poetry of the Bedouins, fairy tales of the peoples of South Sudan); the literature of Egypt also had a great influence on its formation. The first monuments of folklore - poetic tales - date back to the 10th century. n. e. Since the 8th century. AD and up to the second floor. In the 19th century, Sudanese literature (mainly poetry) developed as part of Arabic literature. The most significant works of this period are the so-called. Sennar Chronicles (narratives about the Sultanate of Sennar, which existed in the 16th–19th centuries on the territory of modern southern Sudan; authored by one of the most known options chronicler was Ahmed Katib al-Shun) and a biographical dictionary of Muslim saints, ulama and poets called Tabaqat (Steps), written by Muhammad wad Dayfallah al-Jaali. The poet of the Mahdist movement, Yahya al-Salawi, is considered the founder of political poetry in Sudan.
Sudanese literature develops mainly in Arabic (since the 1970s, some authors also write in English language). Literature of the peoples inhabiting southern regions Sudan began to develop after the country gained independence. The poetry of black authors Muhammad Miftah al-Feituri and Mukha ad-Din Faris reflects the problems of relations between the South and the North.
Literature:
Gusterin P.V. Cities of the Arab East. - M.: Vostok-Zapad, 2007. - 352 p. - (Encyclopedic reference book). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-478-00729-4
Gusterin P.V. Sanai cooperation group: results and prospects // Diplomatic service. 2009, no. 2.
Smirnov S.R. History of Sudan. M., 1968 Democratic Republic of Sudan. Directory. M., 1973
Ihab Abdallah (Sudan). Role national question in the process of political development of Sudan.
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In this review we will talk about the territory that is becoming an independent country before our eyes.
It seems to ordinary people in the West and Russia that they probably know nothing about this region. But this impression is deceptive.
Residents of South Sudan many centuries ago ended up in Europe and Asia as slaves, and European readers often encounter references to people from this country in descriptions of eastern harems, both Arab and Ottoman.
Today, South Sudan is part of the still unspoken, but now acquiring official status, border where the watershed between the Islamic Arab world and Black Africa passes. And, as it seems, in the person of South Sudan, for the first time in a long time, a territory that is considered completely integrated into it is falling away from the Arab Islamic world.
Also on the second page of this review is original source material presenting the South Sudanese government's views on the politics, history and geography of its country.
On the third page is the Arab reaction to the secession of South Sudan.
- audio file No. 1
Arab colonial experience
Map of the spread of Islam in Africa with informal border Arab world and Black Africa.
Areas with a predominant Islamized population are indicated in green.
Areas where Muslims are a significant minority are shaded.
This map of the spread of Islam in Africa can also trace the border of the Arab world with Sub-Saharan Africa.
Here, areas with a predominant Islamic population are indicated in green, and areas where Muslims constitute a significant minority are shaded. Islam penetrated much further into Africa than Arabization itself, although the Arabs driving force Islamization.
The watershed between Black Africa and the Arab world passes through several countries:
through Mauritania(here the Arabized government governs the people, 60% of whom are light-skinned Arab-Berbers, and the rest are Negroid peoples (Tukuler, Pel, Wolof, Bambara, etc.) - all profess Islam);
Mali(here the African government governs a people consisting of African peoples - Bambara, Fulani, Songhai, Malinke - 70% of whom profess Islam, with a small percentage of Arabs and light-skinned Tuaregs professing Islam);
Niger(here the African government governs the African peoples - Hausa, Derma, Fulani, who converted to Islam. There is also a small percentage of Tuaregs among the population);
Chad(here the Arabized government governs a people 30% consisting of local African tribes that have undergone Arabization - Tubu, Zagoawa, Ouaddai, Hausa, Hadjerai, etc. Also 10% of the population are ethnic Arabs);
for now united Sudan(here the Arab government ruled a population consisting of approximately 40% Arabs, 52% blacks, including Nilotes (Nilotes are the Dinka, Shilluk, Nuer, etc. peoples) and Nubians. A separate group of Beja (from the ancient Cushites) makes up 6%. In the North of this divided country, which is a region with strong Arab influence, almost the entire population professes Islam; in the black South, the absolute majority of Negroid tribes there belong to Christianity and local cults);
Djibouti(here the Arabized government rules the people, 90% of whom are Cushitic tribes - Issa and Afar, who converted to Islam. The rest of the population is mainly ethnic Arabs;
Somalia(here the split country of Somali tribes (of Cushitic origin) who converted to Islam is ruled by several Arabized governments;
N and this map does not indicate the largest center of Arabization in Black Africa - (off the coast of the present African state Tanzania, where it now belongs), where until 1964 an Arab dynasty ruled over its black subjects.
The island of Zanzibar is not marked, because the center of Arabization ceased to exist there with the fall Arab state on the island .
And there is still no South Sudan, where the black population has already achieved independence from the Arabic-speaking Islamic government in Khartoum. But the border in Sudan between the Arab Islamic world and Christianized or animist Black Africa is clearly visible on this map.
In our audio file In the top left corner of this page you can listen to or download the new South Sudan anthem. For more information about this hymn, see the second page of this review.
For modern Arabs, fighting them as oppressors in the third world is a painful experience, because... They themselves have become accustomed in the last century to identifying themselves with the anti-colonial movement.
The Arabs as part of the oppressed people is an idea that has been established in the last hundred years also in Western civilization, due to the fact that almost all the territories inhabited by the Arabs were first under Turkish rule for 400 years, and then became Western colonies for decades.
The current image of the Arab nation as a liberating people was also facilitated by the fact that in the 20th century its statehood was revived not on the basis of the old structures of a single Arab world, but through new separate state formations.
However, regardless of this, in Black Africa, for the most part, they knew other Arabs - Arabs from the time of their powerful caliphate, or Arabs from the time of the Zanzibar Sultanate, which collapsed not so long ago.
Almost always in East Africa, the Arabs have always been the same white masters as the Europeans.
Moreover, the activity of Arab merchants in the African slave trade went back almost 1000 years, which is three times longer than the similar activity of European traders.
Unlike Egypt, in Nubia the language used in church services was not Coptic (i.e., derived from ancient Egyptian), but Old Nubian, and also Greek.
With the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs and the fall of Byzantine rule there, Nubia was cut off from the Christian world.
The Christians of Nubia increasingly needed priests, which the Egyptian Coptic Church, preoccupied with its own survival in the midst of the Muslim world, did not send in sufficient numbers.
The military incursions of Arab troops into Nubian territory during that period were not very successful.
For example, in 651 an Arab army invaded Makuria but was repulsed. As a result of this, a treaty ("baqt") of peace was signed, and this peace lasted until the 13th century, despite a series of Arab-Nubian clashes.
At the same time, some ancient sources noted that in the 8th century the Nubian kingdoms even organized several military campaigns against Egypt in an attempt to protect the rights of local Coptic Christians and the Egyptian Coptic Church, which continued to govern the Nubian parishes.
Arabization of Nubia, or how Islamic Sudan arose
After an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Nubia, the Arab Islamic commander Abdallah ibn Saad later signed a regularly renewed treaty with the Nubian Christian state Makuria. This treaty (concluded in 651), known as baqt (from the Egyptian term for barter, or from the Latin for pact), governed relations between newly conquered Egypt and Nubia for more than 600 years. All information about him came from Arabic sources.
This agreement was violated under the Turkic Mamluk dynasty, which came to power in Egypt for some time, after the rule of the local Arab dynasties of the Fatimid and Ayyubid.
Under the terms of the baqt, Arab pastoralists could move freely in the region in search of fresh pastures, and Arab sailors and merchants could trade spices, slaves, etc. through the Red Sea ports. Intermarriage and assimilation under the shadow of the treaty also contributed to Arabization.
The Arabs valued the commercial benefits of peaceful relations with the Nubian states and used the baqt to facilitate travel, trade, and smooth border crossings.
The Baqt also contained security provisions whereby both parties agreed to come to the other's defense in the event of an attack by a third party. Baqt obliged an annual exchange of tribute in the form of a symbol of goodwill - the Nubians gave slaves (360 people per year, the best in physical data, equally men and women), and the Arabs gave grain.
This formality only denoted the most important goods between the two parties. But also horses and handicrafts were brought to Nubia by Arab merchants. And also ivory, gold, precious stones, gum arabic (gum arabic is a sticky resin obtained from certain types of acacias, used in cooking and in manufacturing) and large cattle traveled from Nubia to Egypt and Arabia.
The treaty of baqt did not predetermine Arab dominance in Nubia, but the treaty imposed conditions for Arab friendship that ultimately allowed the Arabs to achieve a privileged position in Nubia. Arab merchants opened new markets in Nubian cities to facilitate the exchange of grain and slaves. Arab engineers controlled the operation of the mines east of the Nile, in which they used slave labor to extract gold and emeralds. Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca traveled by ferries through the Red Sea ports of Aydhab and Suakin, which also transported goods between Egypt and India. Suakin, located 56 km. from what is now Port Sudan and still exists as a new city, it was later the largest center of the slave trade on the Red Sea.
The two most important Arabic-speaking groups settled in Nubia at that time were the Jaali and Juhayna.. The Jaali were sedentary rural settlers and pastoralists as well as city dwellers. Juhayna - nomads. These two groups belonged to the indigenous population of the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic period.
The Baqt lost power with the fall of Makuria, although the Egyptian government insisted on continued payment of tribute.
Slaves and eunuchs from Sudan
Modern Turkish guide to the former Sultan's Topkapi Palace in Istanbul Arzu Petek:
“African youths for the harem were specially castrated in Coptic monasteries in Northern Egypt. The Sultan bought only black slaves for his harem. There was a simple calculation in this. If, according to the Sultan, children are born from sinful behavior, they will be black. They can be distinguished immediately.”
Usually in comments from Islamic countries on the topic of castration of slaves and turning them into eunuchs, it is noted that Muslims themselves did not castrate slaves, because. The Prophet did not approve of this, but left this matter to the Christians and Jews in Egypt. Nevertheless, the Arabs and Turks were, along with the European powers that later joined them, one of the largest slave traders of black slaves in Africa. The journey of many of these slaves began in Sudan.
During the reign of the Arab Fatimid dynasty in Egypt, when Egypt had already separated from the united Arab caliphate, Makuria also willingly supplied slaves to Egypt. Under the next local dynasty in Egypt, the Ayubids, relations deteriorated somewhat.
Later, the Mamluks (a dynasty of Turkic warlords in Egypt that briefly overthrew their Arab masters) invaded Makuria from Egypt several times when it failed to fulfill its obligations to guard the Egyptian borders from local nomadic tribes.
The gradual collapse of Makuria occurred, including under the influence of these nomadic tribes and with the participation of its northern neighbor. The Mamluks again invaded and occupied Makuria in 1312. This time a local Muslim dynasty was placed on the throne. Its representative Sayf al-Din Abdullah Barshambu began transforming the nation into an Islamic one, and in 1317 the cathedral at Dongola was converted into a mosque.
The most famous state on the territory of Nubia on the ruins of Makuria later became Sennar. It was a state of the Fung people, who arrived in northern Sudan from the south - from the Sudd swamp area, fleeing the Shilluk people (both are Negroid peoples).
Very soon, the animist-Christian Sennar was completely Islamized and Arabized. Sultanate of Sennar under the so-called The "black sultans" were actively involved in the slave trade.
Part of Sennar was the dependent Sultanate of Darfur, now also a troubled territory of Sudan, where the local black population is dissatisfied with the management of the Arab government in Khartoum, and the territory is, for this reason, on the verge of secession from Sudan.
In 1821, Ismail bin Muhammad Ali, the son of the Khedive (ruler) of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, occupied Sennar without resistance, and Darfur was also absorbed at the same time. At that time, Egypt nominally belonged to Ottoman Empire However, in reality he was almost independent.
Sleepy Southbehind Sudd swamp
The characteristic landscape of the Sudd swamp area, which has always separated the South of Sudan from integration with the North.
The mention of the Negroid Fung people, as well as the Sudd swamps (above in our essay) for the first time since the beginning of the article takes us back to South Sudan, because everything that was said before concerned the northern part of Sudan, with the exception of slaves.
In fact, the entire known history of this country took place in the north, and South Sudan has always remained, as it were, in the shadow of history.
According to the current government of South Sudan in its information materials, since ancient times the South Sudanese region in the world was usually remembered only as a source of profit.
The beginning of the history of South Sudan and the Sudd swamp as an obstacle
Map of the Sudd swamp, which has always separated the South of Sudan from integration with the North.
The location of Sudd on the general map of Sudan can be found in the map illustration at the beginning of this article.
One can understand why in South Sudan the official narrative of history begins in the 1820s. (See this essay reflecting the position of the South Sudanese government from our review)
This was the first period when external forces(then represented by the Ottomans and Muhammad Ali) for the first time could say that they controlled this region.
Moreover, as can be seen from the materials below from the information office of the government of South Sudan, the South Sudanese by “European invaders” first meant the government in Istanbul.
South Sudan, unlike Northern Sudan, (also known as Nubia), remained in virgin self-isolation precisely before the arrival of Muhammad Ali and Ottoman Turkey.
And the integration of South Sudan into a single Sudan, it is believed, was then limited to the area of the huge “plague swamp” - Sudd (from the Arabic سد - “obstacle, barrier”), also known as Bahr al Jabal. (The Sudd Swamp, with an area of 30,000 square kilometers, and during the flood 130,000 square kilometers, is located in the center of South Sudan.
This swamp is part of the White Nile water system, which, flowing through South Sudan and its main city of Juba, merges upstream in Northern Sudan with the Blue Nile flowing from Ethiopia. Two rivers form the famous Nile River in the area of the still capital of the united Sudan - Khartoum).
Characters of Sudanese history: Muhammad Ali, Mahdi, the British...
Muhammad Ali was the head of Egypt, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, but at the same time ruled almost as an independent ruler. His dynasty conquered Sudan in modern times.
Concerning Mahdi- then it was a local Sudanese figure from the bottom - Muhammad Ahmed, who proclaimed himself the messiah (in Arabic the word “Mahdi” مهدي, mahdī is “led” (by Allah). In 1881, Mahdi led an uprising of the Muslim population of Northern Sudan against those who came there The British managed to win several victories, but in 1898 the British regained control over Sudan.
In its turn English appeared in Sudan after they occupied Egypt in 1882, taking advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire, which could not ensure the security of the Suez Canal and cope with the activities of the local nationalist figure Orabi Pasha, who removed from power Tawfik, the moderate Khedive of Egypt from the dynasty of Muhammad Ali, who ruled on behalf of the Ottoman Empire (Khedive - from the Persian “lord, sovereign.” The Ottoman governors of Egypt received this title from the government in Istanbul under Ismail Pasha, the grandson of Muhammad Ali (who used the title without recognition of the Ottomans) and predecessor of Tawfik. The title emphasized the special status This dynasty of governors is higher than other governors in the Ottoman Empire).
The plague swamps of Sudd prevented the expansion of the Egyptian-Turkish regime into the far south of Sudan.
Although the Egyptian-Turkish regime claimed to rule all of Sudan for most of the 19th century, and to do so established the Equateur Province in the southern Sudan, it was unable to establish effective control over the far south.
Exactly at last years Under Egyptian-Turkish rule, British missionaries arrived from what is now known as Kenya to the Sudd Swamp area to convert the local, predominantly animist, Negroid tribes to Christianity.
Later, Egypt itself came under the influence of Great Britain, and in 1881 a rebellion of the Islamic Mahdist group broke out in Sudan against both Egypt and Great Britain, which was suppressed several years later. But for some time the Mahdists managed to create a semblance of an Islamist state in the center of Sudan.
Since 1898, Britain and Egypt ruled the entire territory of today's Sudan as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. But at the same time, northern and southern Sudan were allocated as separate provinces in this Anglo-Egyptian condominium. In the very early 1920s, it was even announced that passports were required to travel between the two zones, as well as special permits to open a business. The regions were governed by parallel administrations.
During the period of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, English and the African languages of the local tribes Dinka, Bari, Nuer, Latuko, Shilluk, Azande and Pari (Lafon) were declared official languages in the South, while Arabic and English became official in the North.
The British governors of South Sudan were administratively assigned to the East African Colonial Conference rather than Khartoum, and Christian missionaries were allowed to continue working in southern Sudan during this period.
In 1956, Sudan's independence from Great Britain was declared. The new government in Khartoum was Arabic-speaking, while local officials in southern Sudan considered English their native language. The south of the country was very poorly represented in the central government of the country.
Maxim Istomin for website
Sudan is a country plagued by ongoing conflicts. At first civil war back in 1983, constant hostilities became the norm here. The ongoing feud in Darfur province and neighboring Chad and Eritrea has cost hundreds of thousands human lives, and made life unbearable for millions. Sudan has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003. There are many reasons for the “good life”: drought, desertification, overpopulation, ethnic tensions (ethnic Arabs versus ethnic Africans), religious conflicts (Islamic north versus Christian south), political clashes (Sharia law versus authoritarian government), border conflicts , international interests (Chinese economic interests versus US interests). In addition, oil reserves estimated at half a billion dollars were recently discovered in Sudan. Obviously, peace will not come to this country very soon.
Sudan's authoritarian government supports Arab militants (known as the Janjaweed), using them to suppress tribal disputes and turning a blind eye to their brutal tactics. The Sudanese government is currently battling dozens of armed rebel groups, some of which are still continuing their attacks on the capital, Khartoum. In 2005, the United Nations declared that the situation in Sudan did not constitute genocide because, although there were numerous cases of murder and violence in the country, "they cannot be classified as genocide." Currently, about 10 thousand representatives of UN forces are located throughout the region with a mission to protect civilians and conduct humanitarian operations.
Often journalists try to explain the causes of the conflict, find out what groups are behind it all, and interpret the causes and consequences of political and military decisions. But behind all this, they often do not notice the faces of ordinary people who are “cooking” in this whole war cauldron. Refugees who lost their homes, antagonists in numerous conflicts, people who managed to stay alive in hostilities, leaders and followers. These are some of the residents of Sudan's Darfur and Abey regions who are forced to live very far from home today.
Kartoula, 14, a refugee from Darfur province in western Sudan, at a distribution center to receive her monthly food ration. Camp in Jabala near Gos Beida in eastern Chad, June 5, 2008. (REUTERS / Finbarr O'Reilly)
Nyakum Bakoni Chan, a 50-year-old resident of Abey Province. She had to hide under her bed for two days during fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and a rebel army from the south that raged through her village last week. She managed to escape, her son carried her on his shoulders to the nearby settlement of Agok, where he had to buy a chair and bed for his mother. And at this time, looters were walking around in her native village. Abey is located on the border of the northern and southern regions of the country, which are at odds with each other over oil resources and pastures. (AP Photo/Sarah El Deeb)
An aerial view of a fire in a settlement in Abyei province, Sudan, Friday, May 23, 2008. Most of the settlement burned down and was plundered by marauders. Before this, there were battles here for many days. fighting. The town, which has seen conflict between north and south Sudan over oil resources and pastures, was completely devastated last week during days of fighting between Sudan's armed forces and an army of former southern rebels. (AP Photo/Sarah El Deeb)
A general view of the ruins of the burnt city of Abey in southern Sudan, which, according to an official statement, was liberated by UN forces on May 22, 2008. According to army representatives, 21 Sudanese army soldiers were killed during fierce fighting with the forces of the south. (REUTERS/UNMIS/Handout)
People forced to flee Abey wait for the World Food Program to begin distributing food rations in Agok, southern Sudan. Photo courtesy of the United Nations Mission in Sudan. Taken June 3, 2008. (REUTERS/Tim McKulka/UNMIS/Handout)
A Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier stands guard at the UN base in Abeya, May 16, 2008. After two days of fighting in the oil-rich region, talks have finally taken place between the southern SPLA and northern Sudanese military commanders. (REUTERS/David Lewis)
October 18, 2007. Photo taken by representatives of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AUM). A Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighter accompanies General Martin Luther Agwai (3rd from left), Commander of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) Force, as he walks with Khalil Ibrahim (2nd from left) and another commander on the Sudan-Chad border in northwestern Darfur. Insurgency stated that on May 10, 2008, they came very close to the capital of the country, Khartoum, after which there was a clash with the army on the Nile River in the north, and the government entered into the capital curfew. The country's National Congress said the rebel attacks in Darfur had failed and officially accused neighboring Chad of supporting the attackers. (STUART PRICE/AFP/Getty Images)
Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), with his field commanders during a meeting April 18, 2008 with United Nations and African Union envoys in western Sudan, in Darfur. Ibrahim is among the 20 rebel leaders whose arrest was requested, as officially announced on June 10, 2008 information Agency SUNA, the government of Sudan sent to Interpol. The reason was their alleged participation in an unprecedented attack on the capital Khartoum in May 2008. (STUART PRICE / AFP / Getty Images)
Photo courtesy of Albany Associates. Fighters from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) ride in an armored personnel carrier after JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim met with United Nations and African Union envoys in Darfur. The location of the meeting was not disclosed, but it was in western Sudan, Darfur. April 18, 2008. (STUART PRICE/AFP/Getty Images)
An Arab girl waits out the midday heat with other women under a grass shelter in the village of Taiba. Ethnic Arabs forced to flee due to tribal conflicts and general instability in the region are now being held in shelters 40 km north of the town of Gos Beida, in eastern Chad. June 9, 2008. The village receives no support from aid agencies. The Darfur conflict, which has spread across regions on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border, has forced some 250,000 Sudanese refugees to remain in multiple camps in eastern Chad and 180,000 Chadians have also been forced to flee their homes, UN officials say . (REUTERS / Finbarr O"Reilly)
A small Sudanese refugee stands at the door of his temporary shelter in Juba, southern Sudan April 16, 2008. His family, like many other refugees, are returning from Uganda, Central African Republic, Congo and other countries. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in Abyei following armed conflict between northern Sudan's army and southern rebels. “We are receiving reports of tens of thousands of people moving in groups through the forest to the east, south and west,” a UN news source said. (TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
A boy plays with a stick and a pot lid in Gassire, a camp for refugees who fled fighting near the town of Gos Beide, in eastern Chad near the Sudanese border, June 7, 2008. The resulting conflict in Darfur, which has engulfed regions on both sides border between Chad and Sudan, about 250,000 Sudanese refugees are forced to remain in numerous camps in eastern Chad, and 180,000 Chadians have also been forced to flee their homes, UN officials say. (REUTERS / Finbarr O"Reilly)
Refugees from Darfur province in western Sudan watch the arrival of a UN Security Council delegation at the Jabala camp near the town of Gos Beide in eastern Chad, June 6, 2008. Refugees from Sudan's Darfur province and residents of Chad on Friday asked UN Security Council officials to provide them with protection. so that they can return to their homes. (REUTERS / Finbarr O"Reilly)
Stephen Morgan, the Irish military commandant, keeps civilians at bay while sappers peacekeeping forces European Union officials (EUFOR) are digging a hole to disarm a rocket-propelled grenade found on the side of a road near the town of Gos Beide in eastern Chad. 8 June 2008: EUFOR sent some 3,000 troops to Chad to provide security in areas near the Sudanese border, where the conflict in Darfur has forced some 400,000 Chadian and Sudanese people to flee their homes. According to EUFOR representatives, just last month near Gos Beide the peacekeeping contingent cleared about 80 unexploded shells. (REUTERS / Finbarr O"Reilly)
An Arab woman from a nomadic tribe queues to see a doctor at a Doctors Without Borders charity clinic in Kerfi, where thousands of Chadians have been displaced, June 10, 2008. As a result of the Darfur conflict, which has spread to regions on both sides of the border between Chad and Sudan, Some 250,000 Sudanese refugees are forced to remain in numerous camps in eastern Chad, and 180,000 Chadians have also been forced to flee their homes, UN officials say. (REUTERS / Finbarr O"Reilly)
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (center) waves his cane as he addresses a crowd at a rally in Khartoum on May 14, 2008. Tens of thousands of Sudanese citizens gathered on the streets of Khartoum on Wednesday, chanting nationalist slogans and condemning the attack on the capital by Darfur rebels that killed more than 200 people. Dressed in military uniform, Bashir sent the crowd into a frenzy. The protesters shouted slogans against the rebels and their leader, Khalil Ibrahim. (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla)
A refugee recovers from a difficult night during which she was attacked by armed bandits at the Doctors Without Borders charity clinic in Kerfi, where thousands of Chadians have been displaced. June 10, 2008. (REUTERS / Finbarr O" Reilly)