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Book | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Historical discord in the Nile Valley |
Author: | Warburg, Gabriel R. |
Year: | 1992 |
Pages: | 210 |
Language: | English |
Series: | Series in Islam and society in Africa |
City of publisher: | Evanston, Ill. |
Publisher: | Northwestern University Press |
ISBN: | 0810110571 |
Geographic terms: | Sudan South Sudan Egypt |
Subjects: | foreign policy history 1800-1899 1900-1999 |
Abstract: | This book focuses on the conflicting interpretations by Egyptian, Sudanese and European writers of the history of the Nile Valley during four periods: Egypt's rule in the Sudan (1821-1885), the Mahdist State (1885-1898), the struggle for independence (1952-1955), and Sudan's civil war between the dominant Muslim North and the non-Muslim South since 1955. Egypt's quest for the 'unity of the Nile Valley' led to that unity being portrayed in Egyptian historical writings as the natural outcome of geographic, economic and cultural factors, and Egypt's expansion to the south, bringing progress and civilization to the Sudan, became part of that legacy. Both the Mahdist revolt and the Condominium were portrayed by Egyptian writers as unwelcome interruptions of that unity. The assessment by Sudanese writers of Egypt's contribution to the Sudan's progress is on the whole negative and portrays Egypt's legacy in the Upper Nile Valley as one of colonialism. The Mahdiyya is seen as an Islamic protest against foreign rule, leading to independence. In the 20th century, Egyptian politicians and historians regarded unity as an inseparable part of their anticolonial struggle. Sudan opted for independence instead of unity in 1955 because of the deep suspicions felt by the Sudanese towards Egypt. The last part of the book concentrates on Sudan's internal conflict. |