Sudan

The Sudan or Sudan, also known as North Sudan since South Sudan's independence and officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northern Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. It is the third largest country in Africa. The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, but it became independent in 2011. Its predominant religion is Islam.What is now northern Sudan was in ancient times the Kingdom of Nubia, which it ruled Egypt in the early years. Nubian civilization called Kush flourished until 350 AD. Missionaries converted the region to Christianity in the 6th century, but an influx of Muslim Arabs, who had already conquered, eventually controlled the area and replaced Christianity with Islam. During the 1500s, a people called the Funj conquered much of Sudan and several other black African groups settled in the south, including the Dinka, Shilluk, Nuer and Azande. British conquered Sudan in 1874 and after Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 it took over Sudan in 1898, ruling the country in conjunction with Egypt. It was known as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan between 1898 and 1955.