The population of Kordofan was officially esti mated in 1926 to be 670,582. The inhabitants are roughly divisi ble into two types—Arabs in the plains and Nubas in the hills. Many of the villagers of the plains are however of very mixed blood—Arab, Egyptian, Turkish, Levantine and Negro. They all speak Arabic. The most important village tribe is the Go wama, who own most of the gum-producing country. Other large tribes are the Dar Hamid and the Bederia—the last-named living round El Obeid. The nomad Arabs are of two classes, camel owners (Siat El Ilbil) and cattle owners (Baggara), the first named dwelling in the dry northern regions, the Baggara in south ern Kordofan. The Baggara are great hunters, and formerly were noted slave raiders. They possess many horses, but when journey ing place their baggage on their oxen. They use a stabbing spear, small throwing spears, and a broad-bladed short sword. Some of the richer men possess suits of chain armour. The Nubas are split into many tribes, each under a mek or king, who is not uncommonly of Arab descent. The Nubas have their own lan guage, though the inhabitants of each hill have usually a different dialect. They are a primitive race, very black, of small build but distinctive negro features; they appear to have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and are believed to be the original stock of the Nubians of the Nile Valley. (See NUBIA.) In the northern hills are communities of black people with woolly hair but of non-negro features. They speak Arabic and are called Nuba Arabs.
The capital, El Obeid (q.v.), is centrally situated. On it con verge various trade routes, notably from Darfur and from Dueim, a town on the White Nile 125 m. above Khartum, which served as port for the province. Thence was despatched the gum for the
Omdurman market. But the railway from Khartum to El Obeid, via Sennar, built in 1909-1911, crosses the Nile some 6o m. farther south above Abba Island. Nahud, 165 m. W.S.W. of El Obeid, is a commercial centre which has sprung into importance since the fall of the dervishes. All the trade with Darfur passes through the town, the chief commerce being in cattle, feathers, ivory and cotton goods. Taiara, on the route between El Obeid and the Nile, is a thriving mart for the gum trade.
Bara is a small town some 5o m. N.N.E. of Obeid. Talodi and Tendek are government stations in the Nuba country. The Nubas have no large towns. They live in villages on the hillsides or summits. The usual habitation built both by Arabs and Nubas is the tukl, a conical-shaped hut made of stone, mud, wattle and daub or straw. In the chief towns houses are built of mud bricks with flat roofs.
Of the early history of Kordofan there is little record. It never formed an independent state. About the be ginning of the 16th century Funj from Sennar settled in the country ; towards the end of that century Kordofan was con quered by Suleiman Solon, sultan of Darfur. In 1821 Kordofan was conquered by Mohammed Bey the defterdar, son-in-law of Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt. It remained under Egyptian rule till 1882 when Mohammed Ahmed, the mandi, raised the country to revolt. It was in Kordofan that Hicks Pasha and his army, sent to crush the revolt, were annihilated (Nov. 1883). In 1899 the khalifa Abdullah met his death and the country passed into the hands of the new Sudan government. The chief difficulty ex perienced by the administration was to habituate the Arabs and Nubas, both naturally warlike, to a state of peace.