Arakamani (c. 270–260 BCE) | History of Sudan

1,000,000,000 BCE – 2,501 BCE

Prehistory & the Nile Valley

Palaeolithic and Neolithic communities of the Nile valley, Jebel Sahaba, the Khartoum Mesolithic and Shaheinab, A-Group and the roots of Kerma.

Timeline events

13

Rulers & leaders

1

Wars & battles

0

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

c. 250,000 years ago (estimate) Acheulean tools at Khor Abu Anga Stone hand axes and cleavers of Acheulean type were collected at Khor Abu Anga, a dry stream channel on the Nile near Omdurman, and they are among the oldest evidence of human toolmaking in the Sudanese Nile valley.
c. 13,400 years ago (c. 11,400 BCE) Jebel Sahaba cemetery of violent death At Jebel Sahaba near Wadi Halfa, archaeologists excavated a cemetery of about sixty individuals whose bones frequently carried healed and unhealed injuries.
c. 6500 BCE Cattle herding and Nabta Playa ties Herding communities appeared in the eastern Sahara and Nile valley, keeping cattle, sheep and goats alongside hunting and fishing.
c. 3800 BCE A-Group culture of Lower Nubia The A-Group is the name given to a Nubian culture of Lower Nubia between the First and Second Cataracts, centred in the area now lost under Lake Nasser.
c. 3100 BCE Egyptian rock relief at Gebel Sheikh Suleiman At Gebel Sheikh Suleiman near Wadi Halfa, a rock carving shows a fortified town, bound captives and a pharaonic ruler's name, often interpreted as a record of an Egyptian attack on Lower Nubia.

Explore all 13 events from this period

2,500 BCE – 1,070 BCE

Kerma & Egyptian Nubia

The Kingdom of Kerma, the Egyptian New Kingdom conquest and the viceroys of Kush.

Timeline events

25

Rulers & leaders

3

Wars & battles

5

Dynasties & regimes

3

Key Events

View full timeline

c. 2500 BCE Emergence of the Kerma culture Around 2500 BCE, the first phase of the Kerma culture appeared at the Third Cataract, in the upper Nubian Nile valley south of Egypt.
c. 1750-1500 BCE Kerma Classic: royal tumuli and sacrifices In the Kerma Classic phase, kings were buried beneath large circular tumuli up to 90 metres across, with hundreds of sacrificed attendants laid in corridors and chambers around the ruler's body.
c. 1500 BCE Tombos stela and Egyptian settlement in Upper Nubia At Tombos, near the Third Cataract, an inscription of Thutmose I records his victory and the border he set at the southern edge of Egypt's dominion.
c. 1380 BCE Amenhotep III builds the temple at Soleb Amenhotep III built a large sandstone temple at Soleb, on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Nubia, dedicated to Amun and to himself as a living god.
c. 1070 BCE End of the New Kingdom and Egyptian withdrawal from Kush Around 1070 BCE, the New Kingdom ended as Egypt divided between kings at Tanis in the north and High Priests of Amun at Thebes in the south.

Explore all 25 events from this period

1,069 BCE – 350

Kingdom of Kush: Napata & Meroe

Alara, Piye and the 25th dynasty, Taharqa, Meroe, the Kandakes and the end of the kingdom.

Timeline events

53

Rulers & leaders

54

Wars & battles

10

Dynasties & regimes

3

Key Events

View full timeline

c. 900 BCE Rise of the Kushite elite at El-Kurru At El-Kurru, a cemetery on the Nile near Jebel Barkal, a series of tumulus graves and later pyramids trace the early generations of the Napatan elite.
c. 721 BCE Death of Piye and accession of Shabaka Piye was buried in the first true pyramid known at El-Kurru, with his horses placed in tombs nearby, and was succeeded by his brother Shabaka.
c. 590 BCE Meroe emerges as a southern royal centre Archaeology shows a royal settlement and cemetery at Meroe, on the east bank of the Nile in the Butana, from the sixth century BCE. The city sat in a zone of better rainfall than the desert reaches around Napata, with grazing, millet and wood for smelting.
c. 25 BCE Kushite attack on Roman Egypt In about 25 BCE, a Kushite army attacked the southern edge of Roman Egypt, taking Syene, Elephantine and Philae.
c. 350 CE Aksumite king Ezana campaigns against Meroe An inscription of King Ezana of Aksum records a campaign against the Noba and the Kasu, a title that suggests Meroitic rule had already failed.

Explore all 53 events from this period

351 – 1503

Christian Nubia & Islamisation

Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, the Baqt, Old Dongola, the Mamluks, Arab migration and the fall of the Christian kingdoms.

Timeline events

44

Rulers & leaders

32

Wars & battles

8

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

c. 370 CE Ballana culture emerges in Lower Nubia Between roughly 370 and 550 a distinctive culture, once called X-Group, flourished in Lower Nubia between the first and second cataracts.
c. 7th century Faras cathedral begins as the seat of the Bishop of Pachoras Pachoras, modern Faras, was the capital of Nobatia and the seat of a bishop.
c. 10th-12th century Soba flourishes as the capital of Alodia From the ninth to the twelfth century Soba, on the Blue Nile near modern Khartoum, was the capital of Alodia.
1317-1323 CE Kanz al-Dawla ousts Barshambu and the Banu Kanz rise Kanz al-Dawla Muhammad, a nephew of King David and head of the Banu Kanz, killed Barshambu in late 1317, taking the throne for a time.
c. 1500 CE Dongola and the northern Nile decline into small chiefdoms By the late fifteenth century Old Dongola had lost its royal court.

Explore all 44 events from this period

1504 – 1820

Funj Sultanate, Darfur & Shilluk

Sennar and the Funj, the Keira sultans of Darfur, the Shilluk, Sufi orders and the Hamaj regency.

Timeline events

24

Rulers & leaders

29

Wars & battles

3

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

1504 CE Amara Dunqas founds the Funj Sultanate at Sennar According to the Funj Chronicle, Amara Dunqas founded the Funj Sultanate in 1504 and established his capital at Sennar on the Blue Nile.
c. 1555 Habesh Eyalet established on the Red Sea coast In the mid-sixteenth century the Ottomans created the Habesh Eyalet, a province stretching along the African coast of the Red Sea from Suakin to Massawa.
1744 Funj defeat Ethiopian invasion at the Dinder River In 1744 a large Ethiopian army marched towards the Funj border, probably in search of plunder or in retaliation for raids.
July 1793 William Browne reaches Darfur In July 1793 William George Browne, an English traveller who had joined a caravan on the Forty Days Road from Asyut, reached Darfur.
July 1820 Battle of Korti On 4 November 1820 the invading Egyptian army, led by Ismail Kamil Pasha, met the Shaigiya at Korti in the Dongola reach.

Explore all 24 events from this period

1821 – 1880

The Turkiyya

Muhammad Ali's conquest, Khartoum, the slave trade, Gordon, Zubayr and Ismail's reforms.

Timeline events

36

Rulers & leaders

26

Wars & battles

6

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

1821 Defterdar defeats Darfur at Bara and sacks El Obeid In 1821 the second Egyptian army, commanded by the Defterdar Muhammad Bey, who was Muhammad Ali's son-in-law, crossed the Bayuda and attacked Kordofan.
1839-1842 Salim Qapudan's expeditions up the White Nile Between 1839 and 1842 the Egyptian naval officer Salim Qapudan led three expeditions up the White Nile on the orders of Muhammad Ali.
26 May 1871 Baker annexes Equatoria at Gondokoro On 26 May 1871 Samuel Baker raised the Egyptian flag at Gondokoro, proclaimed the annexation of the equatorial Nile basin to Egypt and renamed the station Ismailia in honour of the khedive.
June 1875 Zubayr detained in Cairo In June 1875 al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur travelled to Cairo to complain about Ismail Ayyub Pasha, who had been placed in charge of Darfur, and to seek confirmation of his own rule.
1879 Gessi defeats Sulayman Zubayr In July 1879 Romolo Gessi, an Italian officer serving under Gordon as governor of Bahr el Ghazal, defeated and killed Sulayman, the son of al-Zubayr, who had raised a revolt after his father's detention.

Explore all 36 events from this period

1881 – 1898

The Mahdiyya

Muhammad Ahmad, the fall of Khartoum, the Khalifa Abdullahi and the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest.

Timeline events

24

Rulers & leaders

8

Wars & battles

14

Dynasties & regimes

3

Key Events

View full timeline

29 June 1881 (approx.) Muhammad Ahmad Proclaims Himself the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, a Sufi preacher from a Nubian boatbuilding family, announced from his retreat on Aba Island in the White Nile that he was the Mahdi, the divinely guided redeemer of Islam.
4 February 1884 Battle of Tamai A British force under Gerald Graham marched inland from Suakin and met Osman Digna's army in the ravines around Tamai.
9 March 1889 Mahdists Defeat Ethiopia at Gallabat Mahdist forces under Zaki Tamal fought an Ethiopian army led personally by Emperor Yohannes IV at Gallabat (Metemma) on the frontier.
7 June 1896 Battle of Firket Opens the Reconquest Herbert Kitchener, sirdar of the Egyptian Army, launched a campaign up the Nile toward Dongola.
8 April 1898 Fashoda Incident After Omdurman, Kitchener sailed upriver with gunboats and found a small French expedition under Jean-Baptiste Marchand holding the old fort at Fashoda (Kodok).

Explore all 24 events from this period

1899 – 1955

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

The Condominium, Gezira, Southern Policy, the Graduates' Congress and the road to independence.

Timeline events

38

Rulers & leaders

11

Wars & battles

4

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

19 January 1899 Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement On 19 January 1899, the British foreign secretary's representative in Cairo, Lord Cromer, signed with the Egyptian government an agreement establishing joint British and Egyptian rule over the Sudan south of latitude 22 degrees north.
January 1917 Lee Stack Becomes Governor-General Lee Stack, a soldier who had served in Egypt and Sudan, became governor-general and sirdar in 1917, when Wingate left to be British High Commissioner in Egypt.
4 July 1940 Italian Forces Invade Eastern Sudan After Italy declared war in June 1940, Italian forces from Eritrea and Ethiopia crossed the Sudanese frontier.
12 February 1953 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement on Sudanese Self-Determination On 12 February 1953 Britain and Egypt, then ruled by the officers who overthrew Farouk, signed an agreement in Cairo giving Sudan self-government and a transition of three years, after which the Sudanese would choose between independence and union with Egypt.
July 1955 Parliament Declares Sudan Independent On 19 December 1955 the Sudanese parliament in Khartoum unanimously adopted a declaration of independence, proposed by the prime minister and seconded by an opposition member.

Explore all 38 events from this period

1956 – 1988

Independence, Nimeiri & the Civil Wars

Azhari, Abboud, October 1964, Nimeiri, the Addis Ababa Agreement, sharia, the SPLA and the 1985 intifada.

Timeline events

33

Rulers & leaders

8

Wars & battles

3

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

1 January 1956 Sudan Becomes Independent At a ceremony in Khartoum on 1 January 1956 the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new blue, yellow and green flag of the Republic of the Sudan was raised at the palace by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
1963–1964 October Revolution Topples Abboud On 21 October 1964 a student, Ahmed al-Qurashi, was killed by police during a University of Khartoum meeting on the southern question, and his funeral led to massive demonstrations in Khartoum.
27 February 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement Ends First Civil War On 27 February 1972 the Sudanese government and the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Joseph Lagu, signed the Addis Ababa Agreement in the Ethiopian capital, with mediation by the World Council of Churches, the All Africa Conference of Churches and Emperor Haile Selassie.
16 May 1983 September Laws Introduce Sharia In September 1983 President Nimeiri announced that the country's legal system would be Islamised, and the 'September Laws' introduced hudud punishments such as amputation for theft and flogging, together with a ban on alcohol.
16 November 1988 DUP-SPLM Peace Initiative On 16 November 1988 Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, signed an agreement with John Garang in Addis Ababa.

Explore all 33 events from this period

1989 – 2010

Bashir Era & the Partition of Sudan

The 1989 coup, Turabi, Darfur, the CPA and the road to South Sudan's independence.

Timeline events

40

Rulers & leaders

1

Wars & battles

3

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

April 1989 Operation Lifeline Sudan Launched In March and April 1989 the United Nations, led by UNICEF, and the Sudanese government and SPLM/A agreed to the Operation Lifeline Sudan, a relief operation to supply food to war-affected populations in the south and the Nuba Mountains.
18 August 1993 Sudan Designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism On 18 August 1993 the United States Department of State added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
January 1997 United States Imposes Trade Embargo on Sudan On 3 November 1997 US President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13067, imposing comprehensive economic sanctions on Sudan, including a trade embargo and the freezing of Sudanese government assets in the United States.
9 January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed at Naivasha On 9 January 2005 at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, President Bashir and SPLM leader John Garang signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending the second civil war.
11-15 April 2010 ICC adds genocide charges against Bashir On 12 July 2010 Pre-Trial Chamber I issued a second warrant for Omar al-Bashir adding three counts of genocide: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups.

Explore all 40 events from this period

2011 – present

Revolution, Coups & the War

South Sudan, the 2018-19 revolution, Hamdok, the 2021 coup and the SAF-RSF war from April 2023.

Timeline events

50

Rulers & leaders

2

Wars & battles

9

Dynasties & regimes

1

Key Events

View full timeline

9-15 January 2011 South Sudan votes for independence From 9 to 15 January 2011 southern Sudanese and diaspora voters took part in the self-determination referendum promised in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
6 April 2019 Army removes Omar al-Bashir On 11 April 2019 Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf announced on state television that Omar al-Bashir had been arrested and removed after thirty years in power.
15 April 2023 RSF captures Wad Madani On 18 December 2023 the Rapid Support Forces took Wad Madani, capital of Gezira State and a refuge for hundreds of thousands displaced from Khartoum.
21-26 March 2025 IPC confirms famine in El Fasher and Kadugli On 3 November 2025 the IPC reported that famine conditions had been confirmed in El Fasher in North Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan, both cut off by siege.
11 January 2026 Security Council extends Darfur sanctions On 8 October 2026 the UN Security Council unanimously renewed the 1591 Darfur sanctions regime for two months, a second short extension after a first one-month rollover under Resolution 2828 on 11 September.

Explore all 50 events from this period

Ruler at the Time

Explore the History of Sudan

Key facts of the era

Rulers & Dynasties

History at Glance

Prehistory & the Nile Valley

Kerma & Egyptian Nubia

Kingdom of Kush: Napata & Meroe

Christian Nubia & Islamisation

Funj Sultanate, Darfur & Shilluk

The Turkiyya

The Mahdiyya

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Independence, Nimeiri & the Civil Wars

Bashir Era & the Partition of Sudan

Revolution, Coups & the War

Sudan Through Time

The Middle Nile and Nubia

Kingdoms, Sultanates and Exchange

Independence, Partition and Conflict

Sources and Method

Rulers and Territorial Map

Research Limitations

Explore history differently

Interactive timelines

Historical maps

People, places & stories

The bigger picture

An independent project

Corrections, suggestions & contributions

Research & historical accuracy

Using the website

Analytics and external services

Browser storage

Messages you send

Your choices and questions

External links

Educational purpose

Accuracy and historical uncertainty

Maps and disputed territory

Images and third-party material

External websites

Corrections and rights concerns