Sudan

The nation is officially called the Republic of Sudan (جمهورية السودان). The region has been inhabited since antiquity, where it was known as Kush by the Egyptians and came under Egyptian rule in the 8th century BCE. Though Kush would regain its independence from Egypt and its people and culture remain distinct, the region would be caught up in the affairs of Egypt and Assyria for hundreds of years. A Kushite kingdom was established at Meroe in 590 BCE, which would remain a cultural and economic center into the first few centuries of the Common Era.

By the 6th century, fifty states had emerged as the political and cultural heirs of the Meroitic Kingdom. Byzantine emmissaries brought Christianity to the region in 540 CE which mostly impacted the southern parts of modern Sudan and the kingdom of Alodia (or Alwah). Islam would gradually make its way into the north, primarily due to contact with Arab traders and settlers, and in 1093 a Muslim prince ascended to the throne of Dunqulah, with Islamic culture thereafter having a very strong impact on the development of Sudanese culture thereafter.