The southern Darfur region of Sudan

The southern Darfur region of Sudan. Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features an area in the southern Darfur region of Sudan, just south of the city of Nyala.

The Wadi Nyala is the river that flows across the image, and is surrounded by agricultural land. 

The city of Nyala to the northwest, which is not pictured, experienced a surge in commercial activity with the arrival of the railway in the 1950s. Sudan’s history goes back to the Pharaonic period, witnessing the Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500–1500 BC), the subsequent rule of the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1500 BC–1070 BC) and the rise of the Kingdom of Kush (c. 785 BC–350 AD), which would in turn control Egypt itself for nearly a century. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, with the latter two lasting until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads. From the 16th–19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate, while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the far north.The southern Darfur region of Sudan From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Muhammad Ali dynasty, which was then eventually met with a successful revolt led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, resulting in the establishment of the Caliphate of Omdurman. This state was eventually toppled in 1898 by the British, who would then govern Sudan together with Egypt. The 20th century saw the growth of Sudanese nationalism and in 1953 Britain granted Sudan self-government. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956. Since independence,

The image was captured by Landsat-8 on April 13, 2014.

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Image Credit: ESA