Sudan Independence Day

Today is its national day and commemorates from Egypt and Britain on this day in 1956. It was once part of the ancient Egyptian Empire, but was settled by Muslim Arabs from the 14th century. In 1820 it was conquered by Muhammed Ali, viceroy of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire. In 1881 a revolt was led by Mahdi Muhammed Ahmad, which resulted in the establishment of the Caliphate of Omdurman and the end of Ottoman rule on 26th January 1885. This was short lived as the British Army under the command of Lord Kitchener defeated them at the Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898. The following year Britain and Egypt agreed that the country be run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. The 20th century saw the growth of Sudanese nationalism and was emboldened by the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and support from Egypt’s new leaders. When the Egyptians abandoned their claims of sovereignty, the British agreed to a free vote in the Sudanese regions on whether they wanted independence or British withdrawal. The vote was for independence and the Sudanese parliament declared its independence on 19th December 1955, with the British and Egyptian Governments recognising their independence on 1st January 1956.